"One of Australia’s best and brightest emerging change-makers and social innovators."
Executive Director & Cofounder
Rosie Thomas OAM is Cofounder of PROJECT ROCKIT, Australia’s youth-driven movement against bullying, hate and prejudice. Rosie launched the social enterprise with her sibling fresh out of high school and grew it into a national, award-winning organisation that has reached close to one million students from more than 3,000 Australian schools. She knows what it’s like to be young and underestimated, and has since elevated more than 150 young people into career-starting roles in the social impact sector.
Founder, CEO, Board Chair and public speaker - but at the heart, Rosie is a social innovator known for building organisations and innovative partnerships, bringing the right people together, and turning bold ideas into tangible impact at scale.
She is known for rallying major partners behind ambitious ideas and translating big vision into memorable results, working with organisations including Meta, Telstra Foundation and Google. She works with values-aligned brands, companies and philanthropists to create tangible impact and lasting change, and believes organisations can take risks, lead social change and succeed while doing so.
In 2022, Rosie established the Project Rockit Foundation, a charity focused on ensuring young people in disadvantaged communities can access prevention education, wellbeing and leadership programs regardless of postcode or background. In its first three years, the Foundation has raised almost $4 million and funded programs for more than 155,000 young Australians facing barriers.
Rosie also serves as Board Chair of Scarf, a social enterprise creating employment opportunities for young people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. She advises government and industry on youth and technology and has served on global safety advisory boards for organisations including Meta.
Rosie is a recipient of the Order of Australia Medal, a Westpac Social Change Fellow and a proud Scholar of The Marketing Academy. In her spare time, she mentors emerging social entrepreneurs and leaders across the social impact sector.
Awards:
- 2020 Westpac Social Change Fellow
- 2018 Order of Australia Medal for service to youth and against bullying
- 2018 ‘Driver of Change’, INStyle & Audi Women of Style Awards
- 2017-current Global Inspiring Rare Birds Ambassador
- 100 Women of Influence, AFR and Westpac 2015
- Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, League of Extraordinary Women, 2015
- Young Social Pioneer, FYA, 2015
- FOSI Outstanding Achievement in Cybersafety, Washington DC, 2013
- Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Melbourne, SSE, 2012
- School for Social Entrepreneurs, 2012
- Bachelor of Arts, 2011
Boards and Working Groups:
- Facebook’s Global Safety Advisory Board
- Facebook’s Global Youth Advisory Council
- Twitter’s Global Trust and Safety Council
- National Centre Against Bullying (NCAB)
- Telstra and Inspire’s Technology and Wellbeing Roundtable
- Braveheart’s Research Advisory Panel
- Elephant Ed Advisory Board
- Aware Project Advisory Board
- Federal Working Group for Safety by Design, Office of the eSafety Commissioner
Want to have Rosie visit your school? Check out Rosie's Keynotes & Assembly Talks.