Violet Rish

Strategist

Mentally Friendly

Violet Rish is currently a strategist for design and innovation studio Mentally Friendly in Canberra, focusing on the design of development projects and student experiences in the international education space, among other things.

Prior to that she was a Senior Research Officer at the Australia-Indonesia Centre, where she co-authored the Stronger Education Partnerships report, commissioned by the Australia Department of Education and Training, that investigated and outlined opportunities in Indonesia for Australian education providers and related industries.

Violet has previously held the position of Vice-Consul at the Australian Consulate-General in Makassar, promoting trade and investment ties between Australia and eastern Indonesia, with a focus on education.

Violet has a background in international development, working for the UN and Oxfam prior to working for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade between 2012 and 2018. She completed an undergraduate and master’s degrees in International Relations at the University of Sydney, with her master’s thesis on peace-building in Aceh published as a chapter in Forming a Culture of Peace, by Palgrave Macmillan in 2012. 

An early career highlight was making documentary film Swapping Lives for SBS television, set in Yogjakarta in 2005, to promote cross cultural understanding. Violet remains committed to furthering Australia-Indonesia relations, innovative and collaborative approaches to program design and making a positive contribution to an environmentally sustainable future.