Kim-Marie Spence

Kim-Marie Spence has been a strong advocate for international students, highlighting the unique problems faced by postgraduate students from overseas.

She has helped shape students' University experience, the academic program of HDR students and the culture of ANU.

As international officer for the Postgraduate and Research Students' Association (PARSA), she took every opportunity to develop relationships with key stakeholders who could contribute to student life. She established a PARSA database of the international clubs and societies and knew most of their presidents by name.

She has an outgoing personality and was able to engage students and staff from all backgrounds, enabling her to represent the needs of the diverse international community of ANU.

After becoming Vice-President of PARSA, Kim-Marie worked to improve the induction experience of new PhD candidates and was always looking to improve the experience of students undertaking research.

She has also been involved in the promotion of creative events on campus. As a result, two events - PARSA Global Cafes and the Multicultural Festival - have gone from small events to large-scale productions, making PARSA synonymous with diversity and inclusivity. These contributions mean ANU students will benefit for years to come.

She is a PhD candidate at Crawford School of Public Policy where her research focuses on creative economy development policy in the Global South, with a comparative study of K-pop (South Korea), Reggae (Jamaica) and Bollywood (India).

In addition to Kim-Marie's university and student representative activities, she has been involved with community organisations in the performing arts and fashion fields.

Kim-Marie is a former Jamaica Rhodes Scholar and an Australia Awards scholar. She is also a former Jamaican Film Commissioner and Head of creative industries at the nation's trade and investment agency.