Tilé and Olly Meets: Meena Singh

After a brief hiatus, we are so proud to return to the airwaves in this episode with Meena Singh. Her accessible articulation of cultural nuance provides insights into her approach to her current role as Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People in Victoria.

Meena Singh is a Yorta Yorta and Indian woman, born, raised and living on the land of the Kulin Nations. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Law degree. Meena started her legal career with Victoria Legal Aid, where she practised in human rights and criminal law, and was also their inaugural Associate Director, Aboriginal Services. She has led legal services and programs at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Human Rights Law Centre, as well as consulting in training and organisational development across many organisations. Meena commenced as the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People in Victoria in April 2022. In her work, she is passionate about elevating the voices of Aboriginal children and young people to ensure their experiences are centred in service design to promote inclusion, connection and ultimately achieve social justice and equitable outcomes.

Meena is married, with two dogs, Reg and Betsy, is soon to walk her fifth Camino de Santiago and being an old calisthenics girl, loves sequins. We really enjoyed this episode, and you can tell because of all the laughs. We touch on so many things from US politics, to whether you need to have children to be the Commissioner for Children, to the art of career pivots which Meena has been able to do skillfully throughout her many roles. Whilst she has had a very accomplished career, her answer to our question of whether she feels she belongs in the profession is a call for more of us to actively show allyship and solidarity beyond words. We are so grateful to Meena for hosting us and for her candidness in sharing her personal and professional experiences.