AUSTRALIA BENEFIT DINNER

Join us in Sydney on Wednesday 28th August, 2024 for the Australia Benefit Dinner at the ICC Sydney in the iconic Darling Harbour.

In celebrating our many differences, Americans and Australians have always come together under a common belief in freedom, openness and optimism to unite our two countries. The Australia Benefit Dinner will celebrate and honour exemplary leaders of significance who advance and strengthen our alliance and inspire others to do the same through their visionary leadership and actions.

Funds raised from the dinner are integral in supporting the Association and the next generation of American and Australian leaders to strengthen industry and research capacity, develop solutions to pressing global issues, and foster international collaborations through our Graduate, Veteran and Arts scholarship programs. Many of our alumni have become notable thought leaders in their fields, and you will have the chance to hear from some of these innovative leaders during the evening.

Your crucial support allows us to continue fostering the talent of our future leaders.

To secure your partnership package or to inquire about ticket sales, please contact [email protected].

2024 Honouree

Mark Vassella

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Bluescope

Mark Vassella was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BlueScope Steel in January 2018.

Mark joined the Company following BlueScope’s 2007 acquisition of Smorgon Steel Distribution where he was the Chief Executive. He was appointed Chief Executive Australian Distribution and Solutions before moving to the US as President, BlueScope Steel North America in 2008. He returned to Australia in 2011 to take up the role of Chief Executive BlueScope Australia and New Zealand.

Mark has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Business Administration.

Mark is on the Executive Board of Directors at World Steel Association (worldsteel) and holds the office of Treasurer. He is a past Board member, President and Treasurer of the Family Life charitable organisation, and is a stalwart supporter of the St Kilda Football Club.

Entertainment

Daryl Braithwaite

Daryl Braithwaite is an iconic Australian singer/songwriter and ARIA Hall Of Fame Inductee. As the front man and vocalist for 1970’s band Sherbet, Braithwaite rode a wave of local and international success with songs such as Howzat and Summer Love propelling the band the band to superstar status. Braithwaite went on to embark on a highly successful solo career which included a #1 ARIA Album Chart for his album Edge (1988) featuring the hit singles As The Days Go By and One Summer. Braithwaite’s 1990 follow up album Rise included the single The Horses which reached #1 on the ARIA Singles Chart and to this day remains an anthem for generations of Australians. In 2020, Braithwaite joined a host of local and international artists to perform at Fire Fight Australia, Concert For National Bushfire Relief in front of an audience in excess of 70,000 at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium. In 2023 Daryl was invited by Harry Styles to sing HORSES with him at Accor Stadium Stadium Sydney in front of 60,000 people.

Mi-Kaisha

“Mi-kaisha’s voice is just like silk,” says Triple J’s Tyrone Pynor. With her honey vocals at centre stage, the NYC-via-Sydney vocalist draws equally from soul tradition and pop melody, guided by hard-hitting lyrics about her experience as a young Aboriginal and Pacific Islander woman. Growing up on the streets of her local music scene, the soundtrack of her childhood included soulful 90s tunes and the island music of her father’s Koori Radio hip-hop show “Island Hopping.”

“My existence is super political, but my music totally doesn’t seem so at first glance,” says Mi-kaisha. “And I think there’s power in that.” As an artist and storyteller, Mi-kaisha is also an advocate with a responsibility to actively support her communities and work against the systems that have perpetually oppressed Pacific Islanders and First Nations Peoples in Australia. Splitting her time between Warang (Sydney) and Lenapehoking (New York City), Mi-kaisha has just completed her Bachelors at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, NYU. The vocalist and songwriter has just released her single ‘Eternity’ and is preparing to release more music in 2024.

Mi-Kaisha is alumni of the American Australian Association having received an Arts Scholarship to assist with her studies at NYU.