Meet our Team

After a lot of adversity in regional WA Troy has become a strong advocate for young people and the LGBTIQA+ community. Troy is the Chair of the Youth Pride Network which is working to improve the lives of young LGBTIQA+ people through systemic advocacy, education, and events.

He is a community development officer at the Town of Port Hedland and recently helped form the town’s first youth advisory council. Troy is also a Member for the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Youth Advisory Group for the Australian Government and has been a member of the YMCA’s Youth Parliament. The environment is also a passion of 

Troy’s, working with the Australian Association of Environmental Education, Millennium Kids, headspace centres, the Child and Adolescent Health Service, YACWA and other organisations.

Troy joined the YPN to ensure regional young people are represented and their extremely unique position is understood by a largely metropolitan population where they can often be overlooked.

Troy has studied mental health peer work and is currently studying for my Diploma of Community services while continuing their studies for a Bachelor of Arts.

A queer person of colour, Becca is a storyteller using their writing and poetry to share aspects of their experience as a trans/lesbian person. With a passion for LGBTIQA+ advocacy, they hope to continue this work throughout their personal and professional life.

A mental health advocate, Becca completed the zero2hero mental health leadership program and used their lived experience of being queer and having mental illness to deliver talks on Wear It Purple Day. Becca is passionate about ensuring that portrayals of queer people and queer people of colour in the media are accurate representations.

Shelley is a proud queer, neurodivergent, disabled person of colour with a passion for making spaces more inclusive, accessible, and representative. After completing their term in Youth Parliament—where they advocated for child protection and mental health law reform—they joined YPN to continue driving change for young people and marginalised communities.

Growing up in the hills, Shelley saw the gaps in access and support for young people firsthand. This sparked their commitment to uplifting intersecting identities and ensuring lived experience isn’t just heard, but valued in shaping real solutions. They’re especially passionate about representation that reflects the full diversity of our communities.

At Notre Dame University, Shelley studies a Bachelor of Laws and Arts, majoring in International Relations and Politics. When they’re not deep in legal theory or international policy, they’re working to improve student life and equity as a committee member for both the student association and the Stripes Club, advocating for accessibility and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Outside of their studies and advocacy, Shelley is a competitive synchronized ice skater, a lover of bold makeup looks, and someone who can usually be found with music playing in the background. Their key interests include social justice, humanitarian rights, and global politics—with a curiosity for understanding the systems that shape our world and how to change them for the better.

Raine is a queer and neurodivergent Muslim of mixed heritage. They grew up in Singapore but moved to Perth to begin their studies in genetics, allowing them to also begin their advocacy journey.

As a queer Muslim, her main passion in LGBTQIA+ advocacy is in increasing visibility and representation for other young queer individuals of Islamic and culturally diverse backgrounds. Her first experience in this was speaking at the Multifaith Pride Celebration in 2024, and continued when she joined YPN to help plan a Queer Eid event.

Her hobbies include horse riding and martial arts, and she is passionate about facilitating inclusion and safety for women and gender-diverse individuals in sports.
When not busy with her studies or advocacy, Raine can usually be found practising colourful makeup looks, under the guise of preparing for Pride!

Lucy has lived most of her life in Broome until moving to Perth for school in 2023 and aims to use their insight gained from experiencing life as a queer person in a regional town in their advocacy wherever possible. They’re passionate about advocating for improved support for LGBTQIA+ students in WA schools to aid wellbeing, as well as mental health and intersectionality in advocacy. They have previously advocated for these things in their time on the Shire of Broome Youth Advisory Council and the WA Student Council. She’s passionate about the arts, especially music, and is hoping to pursue a career in that area.

Aryan (he/they) is a 23-year-old originally from India who moved to Australia in early 2024 to pursue a Master of Business Psychology at the University of Western Australia. Passionate about fostering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) in organisations, they are committed to making workplaces more inclusive for all.

Aryan joined the Youth Pride Network to continue their advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community, which they began in India. They were drawn to YPN as both a platform to drive meaningful change and a space to build a sense of community. They are passionate about makeup, pop music, and LGBTQIA+ rights, with a particular focus on family, marriage, and adoption equality, as well as workplace inclusion.

With a strong background in event organisation, their proudest achievement is leading Queeriyat, one of India’s largest online pride parades, which brought together over 400 attendees in 2020. Aryan is also huge Lady Gaga stan and will happily find a way to bring her into any conversation

Lorien is a multiply disabled and neurodivergent transmasculine person living on Noongar land. They are studying environmental science, as they are passionate about the outdoors. Lorien is particularly interested in climate justice and increasing the accessibility of outdoor spaces to marginalised communities. An aspiring LGBTQ+ and disability activist, Lorien was a part of the Y’s Inside Our Minds video campaign, raising awareness about mental health in 2024.

Lorien is also a self-proclaimed “craft fiend” with too many creative hobbies. He dabbles in crochet, knitting, digital and traditional art, writing short fiction, and poetry. Lorien also likes to spend time gardening and birdwatching when their body allows.

Ezekiel is a 17 year old high school student born and raised on Whadjuk Noongar boodja. They joined YPN to put their passion for advocacy to good use, while also bettering his communication skills through teamwork with his peers. “I believe that my ability to bring a personal perspective should be of at least some use to the team, along with my ability to collaborate and work well with others which should allow me to glue well with the group”. He absolutely loves expressing himself through painting, photography and poetry, and is a HUGE music enjoyer. Their CD collection is ever growing, and he hopes to one day pass them on to his future niece/nephew.

My name is Alec (He/Him), I’m 16 years old and was born and raised in Perth. I’m a transman who has been openly out for four years and I’m passionate about mental health advocacy, particularly around mental illnesses like anxiety and OCD, which I openly talk about to reduce stigma. I’ve always loved the humanities and arts—especially history—and I’m currently studying Film and Television at North Metro TAFE, with plans to study Animation and Game Art as well. I joined YPN because I wanted to make a tangible difference in my community, particularly in politics, as I’ve always been interested in how political decisions impact people’s lives. My passions lie in human rights, community, and social change, and I believe that when people come together for a cause, real change is possible. Though I’m just starting my advocacy journey, I bring a fresh perspective, a passion for research, and a strong desire to contribute to meaningful change. Outside of my studies and advocacy, I have a wide range of interests—from reading, writing poetry, and drawing, to gardening and exploring philosophy and esotericism, which I find fascinating despite being completely unrelated to each other!

Alex is a Perth born and raised musician who has always used music as a way of bringing community together. She is passionate about advocating for human rights and mental health for members of the LGBTQ community, as a political rights and history student they aim to use their knowledge to help create safe spaces for queer people throughout Western Australia.