Philip Thalis has been described as an influencer for a better future. As one of Australia's most respected architects, he’s literally shaped the physical environment of Sydney.

In being awarded the Australian Institute of Architects’ highest honour - the Gold Medal - he was described as a role model for the architect as a public intellectual.

Through his research, teaching, his magisterial tome Public Sydney and his persistent advocacy, he’s changed the way we think about our city - I’m constantly challenged to look at the city differently by the care and affection in his social media posts.

So, of course, I’ve always wanted to know more!

Amanda Tattersall discovered politics at five years old, watching Hawke’s triumphant election as Prime Minister.

Watching the TV show Rumpole of the Bailey with her grandma got her thinking about the law, and everyone in the family agreed - she was great at arguing.

Amanda’s an absolute force of nature, and it’s clear that was the case from the start.

She was a founder of GetUp, the Sydney Alliance and Labor for Refugees, and she makes the excellent Changemakers podcast, too.

Prolific and undeniably deeply creative in her impact, she’s also become a powerful voice in the still far too taboo space of mental health and the way our brains work.

Despite all that, she’s far from a household name - so, of course, I’ve always wanted to know more.    

Ebony Wightman is a designer, illustrator and artist. In her work, she draws on a life's worth of health challenges and her own experiences as an autistic person, but that's just one aspect of her work.

As one of the founders of We Are Studios, an entirely disability-led art studio in Blacktown, I've seen Ebony's leadership for her community, for the intersectional rights and identities of autistic and neurodiverse communities and people with a disability at large, it's had a real impact across Sydney.

She's brought together programs and work at the Biennale of Sydney, galleries from Blacktown Arts to Hawkesbury to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and along the way become a key advisor on disability and access to governments.

In short, she's doing the work of changing the city's cultural landscape.

So of course, I've always wanted to know more.