Mahlab was the CEO and Founder of Pro Bono Australia, Australia's first online social sector publisher.[4] Established in 2000, Pro Bono Australia operated as an online information hub serving Australia's community and non-profit sectors until 2023.[5] The platform provided news coverage of sector developments, a job board for non-profit positions, information about charitable organizations and their services, details on corporate community initiatives, and links to volunteering opportunities.[6]
Mahlab has also co-founded several social enterprise and philanthropic startups, including The Public Interest Journalism Initiative, which conducts research into how to make Australian public interest journalism sustainable;[7] PS Media, a collaborative local media service that co-creates the news with the communities it serves;[8] and the MacroMelbourne Initiative, a Melbourne Community Foundation project researching socioeconomic disadvantage.[9]
As a volunteer, Mahlab has served in numerous leadership and governance positions across philanthropic, cultural, and social justice organizations.[10] She has been Chair of the Australian Art Orchestra since 2016 and of Victoria University's Sir Zelman Cowen Centre since 2019. Her previous board memberships include the Reichstein Foundation (2015-2019), Ten20 Foundation (2014), Jewish Aid Australia (2008-2012), and the National Council of Jewish Women Foundation Victoria (2007-2015). Mahlab was a long-term board member (2002-2012) and later Ambassador (2012-present) for the Australian Communities Foundation, where she initiated and chaired the MacroMelbourne Initiative (2006-2011), which directed over $2 million to projects addressing urban disadvantage.[11]