Our Staff
The Sydney Alliance is made up of our partner organisations, and we rely on the extensive voluntary and paid leadership that exists in those organisations. Here are the staff we employ to help train and support the practice of community organising.
David Barrow, Executive Officer, NSW Community Alliance
Over his 13 years at Sydney Alliance, David organised across issues, including housing, transport, employment, refugees and energy. He has worked closely with faith groups, unions, schools, charities, and migrant communities to build power for the common good. David is currently working with the Hunter Community Alliance 3 days a week. David’s role as EO supports the governance and fundraising work of Sydney Alliance. David also mentors organisers in Alliance sister organisations in QLD and NZ-Aotearoa.
Before the Alliance, he had organised for 7 years as the President of the UTS Union Board, the NSW and then the National Union of Students. David plays a leadership role in the Uniting Church as a member of the NSW Synod Standing Committee. David is proudest of the 300+ diverse young leaders he has mentored over the last decade. He is a nostalgic Coastie.
Chantelle Ogilvie-Ellis, Co-Lead Organiser, Sydney Alliance
chantelle@sydneyalliance.org.au
Chantelle joined our staff team in 2014, as Community Organiser for the People Seeking Asylum Campaign, supporting a powerful, diverse team that helped to secure transport concessions, fee-free TAFE and access to early childhood education and care for people seeking asylum living in Sydney. In 2021, she has stepped into a role leading training and reflection. Prior to the Alliance, she worked for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney as Justice and Peace Promoter, where she organised Catholic parishes to live out Catholic Social Teaching. She has three children, is proudly Filipino-Australian and lives in Western Sydney.
Cat Coghlan, Co-Lead Organiser, Sydney Alliance
ccoghlan@sydneyalliance.org.au
Cat Coghlan is the Project Lead for the Western Sydney Centre of Leadership in Social Work & Civic Action. Cat is a social work alumnus of Western Sydney University and has more than 25 years of experience in workplace diversity and inclusion, coordinating volunteers, community campaigning, and union organising. She has been involved with the Sydney Alliance for many years, first as an Organiser with the National Tertiary Education Union, and then as a co-chair of the Northern Beaches local group. She has three children and is a member of a faith community in Dee Why.
Adbalnasser Abumustafa, Community Organiser
aabumustafa@sydneyalliance.org.au
Abdalnasser is the organiser for Sydney’s Muslim communities. He has a Masters Degree of Islamic Studies and in Islamic Manuscripts. Abdal also has a Diploma of Community Services Work and Bachelor of Social Work. He has many years of organising experience with communities in Iraq, Palestine and now in Australia. Abdal graduated from the Sydney Alliance Assistant Organisers program. After only six months working with the Alliance, he connected the Grand Mufti and other senior Muslim leaders to the Housing Campaign. Abdal is a father of eight children and lives in Western Sydney.
Diana Olmos, Community Organiser
Diana’s organising work has previously focused on supporting Sydney’s international students and is now focused on supporting the Voices for Power project and the housing and energy campaign work of the Sydney Alliance. Before coming to Australia, she worked for the United Nations in Colombia in advocacy and research of internally displaced people. Since arriving she has worked as an organiser for the Latin American community in Sydney through Somos21. She first engaged with the Sydney Alliance as an Assistant Organiser, during that time, Diana organised to bring embassies, education providers and many students together during the midst of the 2020 Covid crisis. Diana’s life passion is being true to her purpose: building power with organisations to be sustainable and work for the common good.
Jessica Harrison, Community Organiser
jharrison@sydneyalliance.org.au
As the Organiser for Sydney's Jewish communities, she brings Jewish people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds together to work for the common good. She was raised in the Jewish Progressive Movement in Sydney where she served as Federal Chairperson of the youth movement 'Netzer Australia' and is a member of North Shore Temple Emmanuel. She combines her passions of building power in our communities and the creative arts in her double Bachelor of Arts and Fine Arts that she is currently studying. Jess is a proud member of her Union and was formerly an organiser with Voices for Power.
David Barrow
Raul Sugu, Community Organiser
Raul is a second generation Australian with Sri Lankan-Tamil and Chilean heritage. He developed his passion for community organising as an intern with the Sydney Alliance in 2019. There he helped turnout out over 350 members of the Uniting Church to attend the Climate Strike. He has continued to organise his community on various issues and has held several leadership roles within the Uniting Church from his local Leichhardt congregation to the National Assembly where he most recently worked as a Policy and Advocacy Officer. Raul also has experience working with diverse cultural communities, faith groups, and unions. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Laws from Sydney University.
Nusrat Islam, Community Organiser
Nusrat completed a Masters of Social Work (Qualifying) from Western Sydney University in 2020. She has a MBA in Human Resource Management. In Bangladesh, she was involved with the international development sector to promote voluntarism to establish human rights by providing human resources development, community support, employment support, capacity building, campaign, networking and motivation. In Australia she has worked as a child protection caseworker, and also in the areas of ethnic community services and disability advocacy, women’s empowerment and gender equality. Nusrat has one daughter and practices a Muslim faith.
Georgina Reid, Administration and Operations Manager
Georgina joined the NSW Community Alliance in July 2024. She brings with her more than 11 years’ experience working within the Community Services sector, providing project coordination and programmatic leadership across Disability and Social Inclusion portfolios. Georgina is currently completing her bachelor’s degree in counselling and has a genuine care for inclusion and equity within our communities. Georgina supports the NSW Community Alliance team as the Administration and Operations Manager full time.
David Nissen, Accounts Officer
dnissen@sydneyalliance.org.au
David has been involved in the not for profit industry for over 20 years. He enjoys working with people and organisations that help to make a difference to the plight of others. David spends his “quiet” time working on home building projects and gardening and spending time with his three adult children and families.
David undertakes the Finance function for the Alliance and works 2 days per week.