Diana Connell

Diana is a proud Kiwi, originally from Aotearoa (New Zealand), now living in Werribee, Victoria. She is a lived experience leader, ceramicist, and advocate working with Global Sisters as the Domestic/Family Violence and Women’s Economic & Housing Security Lead in Geelong.

Diana is deeply connected to the land, a connection nurtured in her upbringing and now expressed through her handmade ceramics business, Earth by Diana, founded in 2021. As a mother and survivor of more than two decades of family violence, she brings courage, clarity, and lived wisdom to her work, always centring the needs and voices of women.

She is contributing her lived experience and advocacy to Little Green Houses for Her, an initiative helping women who’ve experienced violence move toward owning their own homes. It’s about more than housing, it’s about security, dignity, and the chance to truly begin again.

Diana holds a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and Social Sciences from La Trobe University. During her time there, she also served on the Academic Board, representing four regional campuses. A role that deepened her commitment to equity, inclusion, and the power of lived experience in shaping systems.

Her advocacy extends across community and government spaces. She has worked with McAuley Community Services for Women, the Safe at Home pilot, and the St Vincent de Paul Society, and has contributed to major policy submissions to the Royal Commission into Mental Health and the Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Homelessness.

Diana is also a sought-after speaker, regularly invited to share her story and insights at events like the Vinnies CEO Sleepout and across media platforms. She uses her voice to drive change, raise awareness, and build systems that truly support women and children.

Whether speaking on stage, creating with clay, or walking alongside another woman in crisis, Diana is grounded in purpose and powered by hope.

diana@globalsisters.org