Ms Rosie Thomas OAM

Ms Rosie Thomas OAM is an award-winning social entrepreneur and a leading Australian voice on bullying, youth leadership and online safety. She is the Co-founder and Executive Director of PROJECT ROCKIT, a national social enterprise tackling bullying, hate and prejudice. Since 2006, PROJECT ROCKIT has reached almost one million students across more than 3,000 schools throughout Australia.

Ms Thomas launched PROJECT ROCKIT straight out of high school, determined to tackle bullying and drive meaningful change. What began as a start-up movement has grown into a national youth-led organisation working at the intersection of education, advocacy and innovation.

Today PROJECT ROCKIT partners with schools to equip young people with the skills and confidence to challenge bullying, participate safely online and build cultures of belonging - 96% of participants report increased confidence to stand up to bullying after the program.

PROJECT ROCKIT collaborates with major tech partners, including Telstra, Meta, Google, Snap, Spotify, TikTok and Roblox to translate youth insight into programs, policies and product thinking that support safer digital environments. Ms Thomas has served on global safety advisory boards for major technology platforms, including Meta, and contributes to Australian policy conversations on youth wellbeing and online safety.

In 2022, Ms Thomas established the Project Rockit Foundation, a charity expanding access to the organisation’s programs for schools facing disadvantage. In its first three years the Foundation has raised almost $4 million, enabling more than 155,000 young people to access fully funded programs instead of falling through the cracks.

Ms Thomas’s leadership has been recognised nationally and internationally. In 2019 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to young people and bullying prevention. She has also been named one of UNICEF’s Digital Champions for Children’s Rights in the Digital Age and received the International Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cybersafety in Washington, D.C. Ms Thomas is also a Westpac Social Change Fellow and a Marketing Academy Scholar.

Ms Thomas serves as Board Chair of Scarf, a social enterprise creating hospitality employment opportunities for young people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds.

Ms Thomas holds a Bachelor of Arts specialising in Criminology from Monash University.