Our People

We have a small, dedicated group of individuals who work hard in the fight for digital rights. They come from a range of fields: politics, technology, academia, legal and media, lending their expertise to our advocacy, campaigns and research.

Our Board

Lizzie O'Shea
Chair

Lizzie is a human rights lawyer specialising in public interest litigation. Lizzie has local and international experience in a wide array of court jurisdictions, and is passionate about equality before the law and that the rule of law should be protected, particularly given the incursions on civil liberties that have become a staple part of the war on terror. In 2019, Lizzie received the Human Rights Hero Award for her work campaigning against Australia's encryption laws.

Tom Sulston
Deputy Chair
Tom is a software delivery consultant for Thoughtworks Australia, working on continuous delivery, devops culture, and the psychology of failure. He also helps people secure their systems and data from unethical and illegal snooping.
Roselina Press
Secretary

Roselina Press is a writer, editor and communications specialist, currently working at the Human Rights Law Centre on digital engagement and communications. She is also a board member at Right Now, an Australian human rights media organisation, where from 2014-2018 she served as editor-in-chief.

Lilly Ryan
Treasurer

Lilly is a digital security consultant and public speaker. She specialises in web application security, privacy education, and the history of technology-related issues, bringing these topics to an international audience. Lilly believes in the power of consumer and tech worker action to help the technology industry better serve the people it affects.

Vanessa Toholka
Board member
Vanessa is National Knowledge Lead for Consulting for PwC Australia. She has over sixteen years experience working in content and digital strategy, across the public and private sectors. She is a technology commentator and radio broadcaster with Triple R’s weekly technology and computing show, Byte Into IT.
Penny Kyburz
Board member
Penny is a researcher in the areas of experience, enjoyment, and AI in games and a veteran game developer. Penny also worked as an advisor to a Senator on communications, including telecommunications, digital rights, and broadcasting.
Lucie Krahulcova
Board member
Lucie is a digital rights advocate with key expertise in export controls and surveillance trade, cybersecurity, data retention, encryption, and Net Neutrality. Lucie is the Asia Policy Analyst at Access Now, based out of Melbourne.
Mark Andrejevic
Board member
Mark is a Professor with the School of Media, Film, and Journalism at Monash University, and contributes expertise in the social and cultural implications of data mining, and online monitoring.

Our Staff

Sam de Silva
Director
Sam is Digital Rights Watch's Partnerships Director, based in Melbourne. Sam is also a Senior Advisor with Internews and was previously the organisation’s Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He has experience designing and delivering digital literacy and digital security programs to journalists and advocates, and working in the tech startup industry in Australia and around the world. His skills also include building communities and startup/tech ecosystems and social innovation.
Erin Farley
Media Manager
Erin Farley is Digital Rights Watch's Media Manager. Erin has an extensive range of experience in politics, campaigning and advocacy roles with a speciality in media and communications strategy.
David Paris
Campaigns Manager

For more than a decade, David has worked on communications and digital rights policy issues. David trains journalists and activists on digital security, and has campaigned for political parties and not-for-profit organizations working on climate change, refugee rights, LGBTQIA+ equality, income inequality, corporate tax evasion and other social justice and environmental issues.