Leanne Smith is Director of the Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University, an international human rights lawyer by training, with a Masters in Public Policy. Leanne has worked in the Australian judicial system, for the Australian Human Rights Commission, in the international NGO sector, regional human rights organisations, as an Australian diplomat (DFAT) and in various roles for the United Nations in New York and in the field, most recently as Chief of Policy and Best Practices for UN Peacekeeping Operations.