Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli AM is an Australian academic, author and activist specializing in the study of gender, sexuality and intersectionality.[1] Pallotta-Chiarolli is an Honorary Fellow at Deakin University, and a member of its Gender and Sexuality Studies Network and LGBTIQ+ Network, researching in gender diversity, cultural diversity, family diversity and sexual diversity.[2] She is also the author of Australia's first AIDS biography.