Interview with Dr. Sonja Hood AM

“You occupy this planet; work out how you’re going to do it well.”

Wise words from philanthropist, Dr Sonja Hood AM, who I had the pleasure of chatting with to learn more about her work in social cohesion in light of her prestigious accolade of the Order of Australia honour.

As a previous chief executive of Community Hubs Australia, Dr Hood has worked to provide support for immigrant families, specifically children and women struggling through the social transition of settling into a new country. She iterated that without having been to anything like kindergarten, playgroup or maternal child care, the first day of school can be especially daunting as children and parents lack the unspoken understanding that can’t be taught in a classroom. Dr Hood explained that, “They don’t know how to participate or don’t know how to join in, and we have a whole system that assumes they do.”

Often we hold assumptions about language barriers or education levels, but through her work, Dr Hood has found that wives of skilled visa holders have been the most isolated people she’s met. No matter how many degrees you have or how good your English is, without understanding the work culture around you – something that feels inherent to your colleagues – it can be difficult to transition.

Instead, Community Hubs Australia invites these women who feel lost in our community by taking kids into early learning or playgroups, providing English language classes if necessary, and offering skills and job training opportunities. For Dr Hood, this experience has been “absolutely transformational.”

She explained that growing up with divorced parents during a time when this was uncommon, highlighted to her “how isolating being different could be.” However, “it doesn’t take much to include people, and gee, we’re better off when everyone’s included.”

This is reflected in her response to her favourite aspect of her job: the people she gets to meet. For her, despite all the struggles, the cost of living pressures, the systemic racism and “the words used by politicians that do my head in,” community and connection will always remain and we just have to talk to each other.

Social change comes with its struggles, a significant one of which Dr Hood identified is the polarising rhetoric utilised in these spaces.

“We’ve got this notion in Australia at the moment that the “us” is white people and the “them” are migrants, right? But actually, we’re so diverse now that who’s new and who’s established, who’s second generation and who’s third generation –at what point do you get to call yourself Australian? At what point do you get to be a part of the “us” and not the “them”?”

As the mother of a Palladian and a Melbourne High Old Boy as well as a previous School Council President and MacRob Foundation Board member, Dr Hood has been highly integrated within our own school community. She shared that her favourite part of this experience was the culture of diversity and acceptance embedded at MacRob. “It’s wonderful, it’s the way the world should be.”

Nevertheless, polarising spaces exist all around us and we’ve watched effects of misinformation and assumptions via social media but how can we better mitigate this for ourselves? Dr Hood highlighted that media outlets remain driven by financial gain in the form of clicks. And what gets the most clicks? Disagreement.

“I think it’s important to think about the rationale for the space existing… Opt out of spaces that are harmful or negative and remember that the echo chamber you’re in is just an echo chamber, it’s not truth, you’ve just got to be a bit sceptical and a bit curious.”

In addition to all her work in social cohesion, Dr Hood enjoys hobbies such as sitting down to watch North Melbourne in a game of footy for which she operates as one of the few female presidents of a major Australian sporting club. No matter how daunting that may seem, Dr Hood carries this in her stride, marching with authenticity and withstanding the pressure to conform to the views around her. “The more authentic you are, the more you make a contribution.”

Currently, she is the chief executive of the Scanlon Foundation, seeking to build social cohesion. When asked what values must be practised to achieve her vision she said, “Curiosity… vulnerability but you need to have a degree of self protection because not everybody’s going to approach your vulnerability in the right way… Bring judgement to things but not in a judgy way… and have some impatience. People will tell you you have to slow down– don’t. You’re passionate about something, go for it.”

Thank you Dr Hood for the inspiring work you do. Sharing stories is another way to strengthen communities so know that we’re turning the page with you.

Soleil Premkumar (11K)