Management committee

Abdul Jarrah

President

Abdul is a senior executive with extensive experience in leading mining and construction businesses, both nationally and internationally, and ensuring strong and accountable governance in organizations. He is currently a Group Executive General Manager with a large mining services provider, responsible for the business’s strategic agenda.

Abdul holds a Bachelor of Science (Civil Engineering) from George Washington University and a Master of Science (Civil Engineering) from the University of Maryland. He also holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Law from the University of Queensland.

He is admitted as Attorney-at-Law to the Bars of Maryland and Washington DC in the US. He is also admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland.

Abdul previously served on the Board of the Queensland Resources Council and NSW Minerals Council Executive Committee. He joined RAILS’ Management Committee in November 2021 and has been its President since November 2022.

Kelly Morrow

Secretary

Kelly previously practised in both state and federal personal injuries law before moving into the community legal sector in 2023. Kelly has volunteered with LawRight (formerly QPILCH), VoRTCS, the Indooroopilly Uniting Church Visa Application Program and at RAILS as a law student and volunteer lawyer. She joined RAILS’ Management Committee in November 2021 and became secretary in November 2023.

Kate McKeon

Treasurer

Kate has a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) degree and Post Graduate qualifications in Information Technology. She was a qualified Chartered Accountant and has over 25 years of experience covering all aspects of finance and administration, project management and business analysis.

Kate has more recently operated her own consulting company focusing on financial feasibility and business transformation. Her clients have been diverse across multiple sectors including Government, Higher Education, Social Impact Organisations, ASX and Global companies. She joined RAILS Management Committee as Treasurer in June 2022.

Matt Black

Member

Matt is a barrister in private practice. He has a particular focus on Administrative law, which includes migration and citizenship proceedings. Since about 2013, Matt has regularly provided pro bono representation in judicial review proceedings involving protection visas and related issues. In 2015, he was awarded the Australian Lawyers Alliance Civil Justice Award for pro bono work on a significant migration law case.

Matt has been a member of RAILS' Management Committee since November 2018.

Hiwa Zandi

Member

Hiwa is a practicing lawyer specialising in commercial, property and migration matters. Hiwa has worked for the International Organisation for Migration in a consultancy position coordinating the asylum seeker Voluntary Return Program in Manus Island and Nauru in 2014. Later, he joined a Brisbane based boutique firm as a Senior Solicitor for six years.  From 2021, Hiwa is the Managing Director of his own boutique law firm, Madina Lawyers and its associated migration firm Migrating to Australia Consultancy.

Hiwa’s association with RAILS goes back to more than 15 years when he initially worked as a voluntary legal clerk between 2004 and 2006. He has been a member of RAILS’ Management Committee since 2016.

Narelle Sutherland

Member

Narelle is an experienced grant and policy program manager. She has more than 30 years of experience in community legal centres, domestic violence and housing support organisations and state government agencies. Narelle currently coordinates grant programs for First Nations land management. She has volunteered on a number of non-government management boards and as a settlement support worker with recently arrived refugees. She has qualifications in Social Work, Arts (Sociology) and policy analysis. Narelle joined RAILS Management Committee in November 2020. 

Lorraine Hill

Member

Lorraine Hill is a practising solicitor with an extensive background in refugee and administrative law. Lorraine has a deep understanding of refugee and immigration law having worked as a representative for asylum seekers in Australia and offshore; and has undertaken decision making roles with the Department of Immigration and Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Lorraine has a long standing association with RAILS as the founding solicitor for RAILS' Unrepresented Asylum Seekers (UAS) project, which continues today.

Dr Angus Francis 

Member  

Dr Angus Francis has over 30 years’ experience representing refugees. He represents clients across Australia and overseas before the Department of Home Affairs and on appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Immigration Assessment Authority, the Federal Circuit and Family Court, and the Federal Court of Australia.   

Prior to commencing his own practice, Dr Francis was Principal Solicitor at RAILS where he was awarded the Australian Lawyers Alliance Queensland Civil Justice Award for his work representing refugees.   He is listed by the 2022 Doyle's Guide to the Australian Legal Profession as one of Queensland's leading immigration lawyers.  

Dr Francis was awarded a PhD from the Australian National University for his thesis examining refugee status determination from a comparative perspective and is the author of two books and numerous journal articles and book chapters in the area.  He has established and delivered undergraduate and postgraduate courses and student legal clinics in immigration and refugee law at Griffith Law School, Queensland University of Technology, and Charles Darwin University.

He became a member of RAILS' Management Committee in November 2023.