From There To Here
Khayshie Tilak Ramesh · 78 min
From a classroom in Ashfield where a child apologised for the colour of her own skin, Khayshie Tilak Ramesh traces a journey that transformed personal pain into a practical roadmap for building workplaces that leave no one behind.
Support services
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
In year two at Ashfield primary school, a boy told Khayshie Tilak Ramesh that the colour of her skin made him want to vomit. She was so young she thought she had done something wrong. She made an apology card with an art set, slipped it into her pocket, and gave it to the boys the next day. She thought that would fix it. A teacher had to sit her parents down and explain that her daughter didn't understand what had happened to her, that the cruelty said something about them, not about her.
That fracture taught Khayshie to watch. Over decades, she noticed how racism transforms. The overt childhood cruelty becomes subtler in adulthood: assumptions, stereotypes, microaggressions dressed up as compliments. A coworker asking what her mum cooked while she heated a microwave meal. People amazed at her English. These quieter forms are harder to name, which is exactly why they stick around so long.
Today Khayshie is a DEI strategist and consultant who helps organisations see what their systems are leaving out. She translates the principle of intersectionality, how overlapping forms of discrimination compound and create unique experiences, into practical tools for change. She speaks about being anti-racist, not just non-racist; about calling people in instead of calling them out; about reframing system failures as failures of structure, not character. She knows how to sit in rooms where power is unequal and keep her cup full afterwards with people she belongs with. And she knows that the movement only survives if the people in it rest, win small victories, and stay sane.
This is a conversation about what it takes to stay in advocacy work without burning out, and how to build workplaces where no one gets left behind.
Every story here belongs to the person who lived it. They said yes to sharing it, and we sat with it carefully before it went up. Nothing here is exaggerated and nothing is used without permission. Read how we handle these stories ↗
Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗