Lola Fisher, CEO, Create Happy Media
Lola Fisher is the Co-Founder and CEO of Create Happy Media. Passionate about shifting narratives and amplifying young voices, she has worked to create a platform where rangatahi can tell their own stories with depth, nuance, and compassion. Under her leadership, Create Happy has trained and supported over 90 young journalists and published hundreds of articles centering youth perspectives. Lola has spoken on youth-led storytelling and media representation as a TEDx speaker, with government Ministers, the Chief Children's Commissioner, Save the Children, UNICEF Aotearoa, Spark New Zealand, and the Department of Conservation. She is committed to reshaping the media landscape to reflect the experiences of young people better.

Ella Sage, Editor, Create Happy Media
Ella Sage is a writer, editor, and youth advocate based in Ōtautahi. She is passionate about amplifying youth voices and works across multiple organisations to ensure rangatahi perspectives are heard in Aotearoa’s media landscape. Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Canterbury, Ella is deepening her understanding of media, communication, and storytelling. She has experience in both journalism and youth advocacy through her roles as Co-Editor and journalist at Create Happy Media and as the 2025 Print Editor for CANTA.

Pretoria Gordon, Journalist and Producer, RNZ
Pretoria has been working with Radio New Zealand since the beginning of 2024, starting with a 24-week internship. She now works across the newsroom as a Journalist, Digital Journalist/Homepage Editor, Producer for Morning Report, and Bulletin Writer/Editor. She has two goals she wants to achieve while working in mainstream media: to engage more of our rangatahi and to share more lived experiences of our minorities, beginning with our largest - tāngata whaikaha - as well as our tangata whenua and tangata moana. She believes everyone has a story to tell, and loves being able to give a voice to those who might not otherwise be heard.

Olivia Shivas, Editor, The D List
Olivia Shivas has worked in the media industry for a decade, both in the disability sector and in the mainstream media. As editor at The D*List, her job is to write, commission and curate content for The D*List online magazine. Olivia has Malaysian and Scottish roots, is a third generation disabled person and lives with muscular dystrophy. She is passionate about authentic storytelling, bringing disability rights to life, perfecting her combos at boxing class and creating excellent gingerbread houses.

Kirsty Frame, Content Specialist, Common Equity Housing Limited
Kirsty is a writer and journalist from Aotearoa with a career branching over news, radio, publishing, and campaigns. Her love for journalism began at university, when she wrote for Salient Magazine and, in 2020, became Co-Editor. That year Salient broke stories that gained national attention about student accommodation during lockdowns. As a journalist for RNZ, she honed in on stories about social housing, disabled communities, youth, and mental health. Now based in Naarm/Melbourne, Kirsty works in the not-for-profit sector, focusing on homelessness and community housing.

Janhavi Gosavi, Multimedia Journalist
Janhavi Gosavi is a freelance journalist based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. She found her start in media through Salient, the student magazine at Victoria University of Wellington, where she worked her way up to being the editor. Janhavi then freelanced for outlets including The Spinoff, Ensemble Magazine and the Pantograph Punch. She most recently worked as a multimedia journalist at Re: News where she told stories for and about young diverse New Zealanders.