I am a transgender authority who lives in Melbourne. I was brought up in Auckland and have lived in Melbourne since 1999. I recently transitioned from male to female in 2015. I am also an advocate, consultant, Mistress of Ceremonies (MC) and keynote/inspirational speaker. I was a board director of Elder Rights Advocacy Victoria and JustSociale a Sydney-based Non-Profit Organisation.
I was a finalist in the 2019 Australian LGBTI awards in the Hero Category and received an Australia Day Achievement Award in 2019. I also received the Rex Karmaveer Global Chakra Award instituted by ICONGO & from India in 2019.
I was a finalist for Agenda Setter of the year in the 2018 Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards. I was also a finalist for 2017 Victorian LGBTI Person of the year award.
I have raised a lot of awareness around how to make the workplace more inclusive for transgender people. I have also managed to get a gender identity policy introduced at the Brisbane Racing Club, Melbourne Racing Club and Victoria Racing Club.
I am an Ambassador for Flutterbys in the UK and Global Goodwill Ambassador (GGA) – LinkedIn. I was Ambassador for Ygap’s 2017 Polished Man campaign. In 2017 I featured on Channel 10’s popular morning show Studio 10 as well as previously speaking on radio in USA. More recently I spoke on Joy 94.9 FM’s Saturday Magazine program and ABC News in September.
You can find the link to this and my other interviews and articles featured in or written and videos of interviews on my website: http://www.melissagriffiths.com.au/advice.html.
I am interested in Keynote Speaking, being an MC at events and being part of panels for events.
I speak about the following topics:
– Belonging and the Power of Connection
– Bullying, Harassment, Intimidation and Sexual Harassment
– Confidence and Communication
– Diversity and Inclusion
– How to be an effective advocate
– Gender Identity
– How to be more inclusive
– Leadership and my leadership journey/story
– LGBTQIA+ issues/rights
– Overcoming challenges
– Organisational Gender Diversity Policy
– Social Media – The importance and value of it in a modern world
– Transgender from all Angles – My story and tips for employers re: person transitioning in the workplace.
Melissa has spoken at the following events:
• 13/06/2017 – Out for Australia Foundation event: Diversity through the Looking Glass held at Victorian AIDS Council Building in South Yarra. I was part of the panel discussion as a panel member.
• 03/08/2017 – Iceberg Employment Agency’s Leading Ladies event in Southbank as part of a panel discussion with Angie Greene speaking about Stress and Depression in the Workplace and my story about implementing a gender identity policy at Victoria Racing Club.
• 31/08/2017 – Healing Minds Psychology Peer Group in Glenroy. I delivered a presentation on gender identity then answered any questions attendees had around this.
• 04/09/2017 – Alpine Valleys Community Leadership Program Study Tour at Australian Institute of Company Directors, Melbourne. I delivered a presentation on effective advocacy.
• 21/01/2018 – Women’s March Melbourne. I was one of the guest speakers at this event.
• 17/05/2018 – Vic Road Bendigo. I spoke on IDAHOBIT Day.
• 15/06/2018 – Brace Education, Frankston. I delivered a presentation on gender identity and also facilitated Q & A session.
• 19/07/2018 – Brace Education, Frankston. Speaking about my journey as a transgender person and facilitating Q & A session afterwards.
• 08/10/2018 – Presented at the National Employment Solutions conference on transgender from all angles.
• 07/03/2019 – Keynote on Organisational Gender Diversity Policy at RMIT School of Accounting for International Women’s Day.
• 19/06/2019 – Ted Talk at Lead and Influence: LGBTIQ+ Paving the Way by Pride Inclusion Programs. Event run by Out for Australia Foundation held at Clayton Uts.
• 19/02/2020 – Part of LGBTIQA+ Wellness Panel Discussion held in Melbourne.
• 28/05/2021 – Spoke as part of online NBN Pride committee panel discussion for Pride Month
• 25/06/2021 – Guest speaker at PerkinElmer’s Pride Month LGBTQ virtual lunch
• 11/03/2022 – Panelist for Westrac’s IWD 2022 event.
• 17/05/2022 – Guest speaker at The Gordon TAFE for IDAHOBIT Day.
• 14/06/2022 – Guest speaker for Q & A session for Pride Month at Melbourne Airport.
• 08/09/2022 – Guest speaker at the Priceline Pharmacy Customer Operations conference in Melbourne
Melissa is interested in Keynote Speaking, being an event MC and being part of event panels.