Faces of Environmental Justice Australia

Meet Azalea

Azalea is one of the people working quietly but powerfully behind the scenes to connect EJA’s supporters with the impact they help make possible.

As relationship coordinator, she’s often the mastermind behind our donor briefings and supporter updates – crafting meaningful moments that bring EJA’s legal work to life.

She brings to the role a deep belief in climate and environmental justice, as well as experience in fundraising, stakeholder engagement and public interest litigation. Born and raised in Malaysia, Azalea draws on a global perspective and a rich mix of skills to help grow a community of support for systems-level change.

What do you do as Relationship Coordinator at EJA?

At its heart, my role is about making sure our supporters – especially our donors – know their support truly matters. and that it’s working.

Aside from sharing the impact we make (through things like quarterly impact reports or donor briefings), I also think about how we can deepen the connection between donors and the work we do. That includes thinking about ways to grow our monthly giving program, which begins with people hearing and learning about our work, connecting to the systemic impact we make, and ends with them hopefully being a part of it – through the Envirojustice Collective – our special community of people chipping in monthly, delivering environmental justice for generations to come.

There’s a mix of tasks, but one big recurring event is our donor briefings. I usually start by checking in with our CEOs to pick out five things we want to highlight from our quarterly impact report as well as guest speakers. After that it’s logistics – setting up meetings, creating the agenda and run sheet, sending invites and reminders. On the night, I’m there hosting. If anything goes wrong – like a CEOs’ internet drops out – I’m the backup!

“In a world that can feel pretty bleak, I think it’s important to remind people that there are others out there doing the work with them – and that, together, they’re helping make it all possible.”
— AZALEA AZARE, Environmental Justice Australia RELATIONSHIP COORDINATOR

What’s been one of your favourite projects so far?

Our last tax appeal stands out. I worked with our Communications Team to design this beautiful fold-out mailer. I love creative writing; it really clicks when I care about what I’m saying.

We needed a great photo for the cover – those are hard to come by and can often be expensive. I found a gorgeous photo of a Swift Parrot and reached out to the photographer to see if we could purchase it. They said, “No worries,” and let us use it for free – and even sent two options to pick from. That was a beautiful moment of generosity and alignment.

What first sparked your passion for climate and environmental justice?

I moved to Melbourne in 2019 because I couldn’t deal with the legal working culture in Malaysia. While I was doing my qualifications here, the summer bushfires hit. I didn’t know a lot about Australia or bushfires, and it gave me an existential crisis.

In Malaysia, I’d already been feeling the weight of the world dying, while being stuck in construction law working long days. It was killing me. Then I got here, and the bushfires happened, and I knew – I wanted to put my energy into working in the climate space. A friend invited me to volunteer at local charity Climate for Change, and that’s really how I became a part of this movement, as well as how my fundraising journey began.

One aspect of what I love about EJA is that it brings both of my worlds together: fundraising and legal advocacy. I’m still learning more and more about fundraising, but I get to stay close to the legal side of things, which I love.

How has your background in public interest law and fundraising shaped your approach?

I’ve always had a strong sense of justice and a deep love for administrative law – the fact that systems can and should be held to account is important to me, because no one is above the law. I love administrative law so much I even dedicated a blog to it at one point! I think its important to review governmental powers and to make sure they’re acting within their legal bounds.

That’s the connection for me – this deep drive to ensure systems are working the way they should – the way the law intended. EJA’s work is justice-driven, ensuring people and nature are protected, and that really resonates with me.

What do you enjoy most about helping people feel connected to making an impact?

That they’re happy. That’s a wonderful feeling. This work, and the whole environmental movement, is about protecting the things we all care about. It’s a shared dream.

We’re also part of a broader movement – advocacy groups, community orgs, grassroots campaigns – but EJA takes it a step further. The work our donors power mean we can help communities access the legal system and use the law for environmental justice. This legal work can and has shifted goalposts.

It’s hard work, though, and sometimes people can get frustrated when change doesn’t come fast enough. But I think our donors keep supporting this work because because they see the long game – they know we’re doing what needs to be done.

Our supporters are committed. Backing the work of not-for-profits is one of the ways we make democracy work.

What are you hoping to explore in your role over the next year?

More creative writing. it’s hard (and painful, sometimes!) but necessary. I’ve been reading The Little Red Writing Book by Mark Tredinnick, and it’s been helping me find rhythm and clarity.

In terms of fundraising, the goals would be to continue to grow our funding so we can keep doing this work. EJA plays a unique role – not just for a safe future, but a thriving one. But we’re competing with a busy world: short attention spans, cost-of-living pressures, fatigue. Our job is to cut through that noise and connect with people who care, because we know they’re out there.

How does it feel to be part of a movement focused on hope, community and long-term change?

I actually wrote some words about this when applying for my job at EJA:
“Some may call it being a romantic or even a hopeless dreamer, but I am where I am today – somewhere in between being a lawyer and a fundraiser – because of a dream I hold. A dream where I can hand over a world that is intact, even better, to the younger generation.”

“I don’t just want to dream. I want to be in the thick of it, working with people who share the same vision.”
— AZALEA AZARE, Environmental Justice Australia RELATIONSHIP COORDINATOR

I will acknowledge that this work can be hard. It’s often one step forward, three steps back. But positive change does happen – when people use their voice, participate in democracy, and support organisations that are advocating for better.

Even if our leaders aren’t where we want them to be, we keep pushing.