Thenu is an Australian policy advisor and human rights advocate with over five years of experience working across foreign policy, international development and law. Her key policy interests include conflict prevention, humanitarian law and forced migration. Thenu is particularly passionate about how Australia can better engage with diaspora and multicultural communities, and how to draw on their expertise to shape more effective diplomacy and foreign policy. Thenu currently serves as a policy officer at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Prior to this, she was CEO of the Oaktree Foundation, an organisation supporting young people in the Asia-Pacific to lead sustainable, locally-driven development. She also served as a Board Director of the Australian Council for International Development and co-authored Australia’s first youth national security strategy. Thenu holds a Juris Doctor and a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and International Studies) from the University of Melbourne. Thenu is a John Monash scholar.