Danièle Hromek is at the centre of an incredible moment. Creative, entrepreneurial, full of ideas, she’s right in the centre of a profound shift that’s underway towards a growing appreciation of Country, and of connecting and designing with Country, and it’s changing the way we think about and plan our cities. What I love about her work is the flui…

James Bradley grew up a couple of streets back from the beach, and it never let him go. Despite stints selling newspapers in a pub and working in a video shop, as a judge’s associate and a solicitor, it’s his career as a writer that’s given voice to that deep and abiding love and fascination with the ocean. With 10 books to his name and at least as…

Cath Dwyer is a radio maker and journalist who’s helped shape the culture of radio here. A former Young Journalist of the Year and Human Rights medal winner, she founded the ABC’s pioneering participatory journalism project ABC Open, and has worked in radio at all levels from community stations through to Radio National and Triple J. At a time when…

Brooke Webb is larger than life. From sneaking in to a Nirvana gig through a broken window (and landing right on the stage, in front of Dave Grohl’s massive right calf), to touring Sonic Youth. Running away to join the circus through to her current gig as Chief Executive of the Sydney Writers Festival. She’s lived a hundred different lives and reli…

Georgia Weir founded the life changing community running program Deadly Runners. She competed in the New York, Gold Coast, North Coast and Chicago marathons. But she wasn’t always a runner, in fact she came to the sport as an absolute last resort, having lived through some incredibly tough times - the perfect prep for the high highs of running at t…

Belqis Youssofzay is an architect who grew up in Afghanistan and India, moving to Sydney’s central coast as a teenager. From dreamy photography to the Powerhouse renewal, her work reflects that unique journey - this fascinating conversation covers so much ground, from Muriel’s Wedding and swimming cossies to the role of museums and culture in socie…

Kenny Yong-soo Son makes stunningly handcrafted metal objects from metal, concrete and sometimes timber, beautifully shaped spoons, a cup, dustpan and broom, a light shade, even a starkly geometric bookmark. If that wasn’t enough, he runs one of Sydney’s much loved restaurants, Sang By Mabasa, pushing the thinking around Korean food. His work is ex…

Mel Greblo is a startup founder and CEO working to help women rebuild their lives after family violence. At least a quarter of Australian women are affected by this insidious and deeply destructive form of abuse, which so often leaves victim survivors financially impoverished with battered self esteem, a tough base to build a new life. Helping them…

Ricky Simandjuntak has had a hand in so much that is good about music in our city right now. Sampa The Great, The Kid Laroi, Becca Hatch, ONEFOUR - four entirely different acts, all global stars or stars in the making - and you can see him front and centre in the new Netflix doco Against All Odds, as ONEFOUR’s manager. I started talking with Ricky …

Jess Hill has almost unbelievable stores of nerve. A teen actor who convinced advertisers to get on board with a Dolly meets Time magazine startup at 19, she’s made a career of doing things few of us have the courage for. Fearless and tenacious in pursuit of a story, she’s rigorous, passionate and deeply affecting in the telling of them. Despite st…

Topher Boehm took the risky move of going foraging for native flowers to create the yeast for his beers instead of getting a typical off-the-shelf starter, and the results are truly imaginative and special. His story starts in Dallas Texas, with stops in Rome and northern Spain, and an unfolding love affair with Sydney. It takes in cosmology and bi…

Kenny Sabir was playing a violin three-and-a-half. Programming a computer at four. He started Sydney’s Elefant Traks record label and the label’s flagship band The Herd; and he’s a software engineer who’s worked at Bell Labs, IBM’s Watson Lab, the Garvan and now leads R&D for the $100m livestock management startup AgriWebb. He’s pretty extraordinar…

Shaun Christie-David has created some of Sydney’s best places to eat. In the infamously precarious world of running restaurants, he’s making opportunities for refugees and people seeking asylum, Aboriginal people, people who’ve dealt with addiction and a range of disadvantage to find their way into good work. It’s practical and extraordinary work, …

Meagan Loader is one of the most influential people in music and radio. A key player in the creation of FBI radio and Double J, she’s nudged and shaped the careers of countless talented people. Meagan is someone who creates space for people to succeed and succeed on a large scale, she’s mischievous and fun, empathetic and encouraging, she taught me…

Jess Cook is an absolute force, one of those people who electrifies a room. She’s a leader in Sydney’s creative community with a record of building real things - particularly the big welcoming room and stage that is 107 Projects in Redfern - but go back and she’s been involved in countless shows, performances, projects and festivals. When I first m…

Ben Peake is an architect, responsible for playful, clever and creative work like Annandale’s photogenic Concrete Blonde house and Blacktown’s Woodcroft neighbourhood centre. He writes about architecture. He’s won awards. But he’s also kicked against the edges of the profession, pushing for change, including campaigning for the iconic Sirius buildi…

Sacha Coles has left his stamp on some of Sydney’s most interesting and talked about public spaces, from the Goods Line, Tumbalong Park and Pirrama Park, to the new Harbour Bridge bike ramp. He’s been deeply involved in shaping the conversation around landscape architecture and urban design, so I’ve always wanted to know more about what makes him t…

Dan Ilic is the most relentlessly creative person I know. Comedian, actor, TV producer, prolific on social media, podcaster and radio host, he’s driven surges of controversy for decades, stirring up front page stories, howls from politicians and passionate audiences. He’s also incredibly purposeful, often dropping everything for a crucial campaign.…

Gemma Smith’s work has taken shape as paintings on canvas and chessboards, architectural sculptures and a big Sistine Chapel Ceiling esque painting high above Brisbane’s Supreme Court. It’s uncontrived, yet controlled and deliberate. There’s something joyful and exhilarating, all wildly gesticulating brush strokes and colour. The process seems cruc…

Lynn Dang is a tech leader, with long stints at computing giants Microsoft and IBM, and a mentor to many through her roles with Australia for UNHCR, SheEO and others. She’s passionate, focused, with a powerful influence. Exactly the sort of person you’d hope would be shaping the talent pipeline for a major tech company. And at least part of that st…

Cam Webb’s band Seaworthy make music that’s quintessentially Australian - like the Go Betweens’ Cattle & Cane, Ed Kuepper’s Electrical Storm or Warumpi Band’s My Island Home - and he's one of the country's science stars, studying mosquitoes, which puts him at the intersection of some of the biggest issues we face. He's someone I’ve always wanted to…

Kaylene Milner was an eisteddfod kid who now plays drums in post punk band Loose Fit. She achieved the ultimate entree to Sydney’s fashion world, but now makes knitted band jumpers as Wah Wah. Straddling DIY culture and high end fashion, she’s a deep thinker on the business of creativity.Von Matt Levinson

Nik's won stacks of advertising awards, hosted a show on Triple M that was in the papers every week, he’s changed the sunglasses business and he’s teaching the next gen of designers at UTS. He's driven by purpose, skilled and deliberate about the work of storytelling. Plus he has a lot of nerve.Von Matt Levinson

Lee Tran’s not just an excellent eating companion or even an oracle to the best places to eat (both true), in a real way she’s changed the culture around food in Sydney – she's almost certainly the only person I’ll ever meet who’s had a sandwich named after her.Von Matt Levinson