Scholars, Researchers & Knowledge Experts

Dr. Anne Hendry is a geriatrician, stroke physician and clinical lead for Integrated Care with over 30 years’ experience in transforming health and social care in Scotland. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (UK), honorary professor at the University of the West of Scotland and holds honorary appointments with the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh’s Global Health Academy.

As a graduate of the founding cohort of Delivering the Future, Scotland’s national strategic clinical leadership programme 2005- 2006, she has extensive experience in coaching and mentoring leaders from all sectors.

Previous national clinical leadership roles span stroke, Long Term Conditions, Healthcare Quality, Joint Improvement Team, Reshaping Care for Older People, Active and Healthy Ageing, and Multi-morbidity. Anne leads a Work Package in the European Joint Action on Frailty, participates in Advisory Boards for a number of European programmes, and provides technical advice for WHO initiatives on integrated care and transformation.

Download Anne Hendry’s presentations:

• Transformers II: Beyond the Legislation
• Transformers II: Managing Complex Care

Apostolos is a senior researcher at the Health Economics Research Centre (HERC), University of Oxford. His main research interests are related to the economic evaluation and financing of complex interventions, with a particular focus on integrated care and mental health care. Apostolos is involved in several research projects across a wide range of services for prevention, assessment, diagnosis and treatment. He is also leading IFIC’s Special Interest Group in Health Economics.

Michael is a Senior Procurement & Supply Chain Executive with over 16 years’ experience across procurement and supply chain functions, including direct, indirect, corporate and logistics spend. Working with global multinationals such as McDonald’s and Nestle has provided Michael with a wealth of experience across regional & global strategic sourcing, including the strategy & development of a greenfield strategic procurement function. He is customer focused and fully appreciates the value and importance of stakeholder engagement and communication at all levels, particularly senior leadership.

In his current role as Chief Procurement Officer for NSW Health, Michael is responsible for procurement across Australia’s biggest Health cluster and one of the biggest Health budgets on a global scale.

Jane joined Hunter New England Health as the Director of Innovation Support in November 2009. Before this, she led NSW Health’s Patient and Carer Experience Program for the Health Services Performance Improvement Branch from 2006-2009. Previously, she was the Director of Communication for Hunter Health.

Catherine trained and worked as a Registered Nurse before moving into Health Service Management. Catherine has extensive experience in Community Nursing, leading large scale change management projects within clinical settings and in implementing policy to drive improvement within clinical practice. Catherine lead the team which achieved implementation of the Aged Care Emergency program into over 90 Residential Aged Care Facilities, achieving almost $1M in savings to the health system. The program was recognised with the 2014 Australian Doctor Medicare Local Innovation of the Year award.

Brett has over 25 years experience as a finance executive improving the performance of businesses and negotiating and implementing growth strategies in line with boards and external stakeholders’ requirements. He also has over 10 years experience in the energy retail & distribution sector, as well as water & wastewater industries. Much of Brett’s experience has included negotiations with external parties and stakeholders and managing complex internal implementation plans.

Andrew was recently tasked with overseeing $350 million of capital investment leading to the transformation of NSW Health’s state-wide ICT infrastructure systems. He is currently developing the strategies, associated business cases and architectures for what will likely become the largest enterprise ICT infrastructure project in Australia, HGEN Transformation.

Technologies impacted through HGEN include cabling, networks, telecommunication infrastructure, unified communications, duress, nurse call, building management, patient entertainment, location and some clinical equipment.

Reanna Browne is a ‘mutant’ professional working at the cross section of foresight, strategy and design. Her broad suite of skills span multiple industries and organisational environments (big, small, private, public and start-up) and she brings with her a deep understanding of systems, processes, services and culture. She is a futurist, strategist, service designer, graphic designer, policy writer, artist, researcher and entrepreneur all rolled into one.

Sally Kelly is a registered nurse with more than 30 years’ experience in public healthcare and is the Director of Nursing & Midwifery at Eastern Health, Victoria’s second largest health service. Sally has a wide range of experience including critical care, patient access and workforce. She has been instrumental in bringing to life the vision which now sees Eastern Health sitting as industry leaders in nursing and midwifery workforce development.

Associate Professor Jacqui Yoxall is an experienced clinician and academic and chair of the North Coast Allied Health Association. She has practiced as a psychologist for 24 years in the private and public sector and has extensive experience in human response to trauma; psychological assessment within forensic and clinical contexts; and treatment of psychopathology. She has strong vision for the continued development of authentic inter-professional education and inter-professional practice and is a strong advocate for the contribution that allied health can make in meeting the health needs of our local and global community

South Eastern Sydney Local Health District is committed to fostering research and translation within its district to improve the health care and wellbeing of our patients and the community. Anna empowers patients and improves their health outcomes and experience through the Partners in Care program and delivers a better return on training and development investment.

Brendon McDougall is the Integrated Care Projects Manager for South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD). Brendon’s professional interests are centred on improving chronic disease management through client enablement and enhanced use of technology, with recent projects focussed on health coaching, patient activation and eReferral. Over the last 18 months, Brendon and the Partners in Care project team have been working together to redesign the SESLHD’s approach to health coaching, with the aim of embedding health coaching as standard practice amongst the District’s clinicians and local primary care.

Mandy Holloway is a passionate, energetic and inspiring speaker. A leadership trailblazer, Mandy inspires people to be courageous in the way they lead both themselves and others. Her empathetic style and ability to intimately understand the ongoing pressure faced by leaders is clear and grounded in personal experience. She delivers intriguing and practical content with enthusiasm and realism. If leadership capability and courage is the critical enabler for service success, then the health and social care sector will benefit from the Courageous Leaders model. mandy@courageousleaders.com.au

Professor Baum was named in the Queen’s Birthday 2016 Honours List as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished service to higher education as an academic and public health researcher, as an advocate for improved access to community health care, and to professional organisations”. Professor Baum is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and one of Australia’s leading researchers on the social and economic determinants of health.

Jenny Caspersonn has been the Manager of the Chronic Care Network at the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) since 2015 and has broad expertise in the health care sector. As a Registered Nurse, Jenny has comprehensive clinical experience across acute and primary care. Jenny is passionate about health equity and improving health outcomes, particularly for people living with chronic and complex conditions. Her focus is collaboration and improvement through building relationships with stakeholders across the social care and health care landscape.

As CEO of The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI), Carolyn Curtis brings over 20 years’ experience working in social innovation and child welfare to her role.

Starting her career as a frontline child protection worker, Carolyn wanted to help give children the best opportunities in life. After a decade working in government she realised she would struggle to drive the change needed from the inside.

Formed in 2009 as a South Australian Government initiative, Carolyn was a founding member of TACSI’s radical redesign team. She went on to become the founding Director of Family by Family, TACSI’s first venture, which is now scaling in Australia and internationally. Since becoming the CEO in 2012 Carolyn has grown TACSI to become an independent not-for-profit organisation working on projects and initiatives across Australia.

Under Carolyn’s leadership, TACSI works on some of our most complex social challenges. From the pressures of an ageing population, to growing inequality and out-dated and ineffective public services, Carolyn believes social innovation is key to tackling the challenges of our time.

Carolyn is a Non-Executive Director for world-leading social innovation network, The Social Innovation Exchange. She is also on the boards of The Fay Fuller Foundation and The Difference Incubator.

Michele is a Gumbaynggirr/Yaegl woman with connections to Biripi nation. She is an advocate for all young people, families and communities experiencing challenges within the mental health and wellbeing area is informed by theories and frameworks of Anti Oppressive, Social Justice, Aboriginal Healing Framework and Self-determination. Michele’s cultural obligation and responsibilities as a First Nations woman are to advocate for an increase in social justice, equality and opportunity for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples. Michele’s goal is to lead cultural ways of healing and strengthen spirit to improve overall health outcomes to disturb the predictable negative outcomes.

Professor Andrea Maier’s research is driven by her passion to unravel ageing mechanisms and the interaction of ageing and age-related syndromes and diseases. As part of her mission to prolong the healthy lifespan of our ageing Australians, she was part of the recently completed three-arm feasibility trial of PreventIT – a personalised ICT based intervention designed to change behaviour, supporting older adults in the early stages of retirement to form long term physical activity habits at a point of major lifestyle change.

Carmen Stewart comes to the world of community development through the eyes of a futurist. Since her early 20’s, she has been observing and learning from how we humans think and feel about our collective future. This was the focus of her Masters in Applied Science and led to her spending 12 years designing and managing initiatives to help children and young people imagine better futures. More recently, Carmen has worked in the Northern Rivers as a consultant specialising in community engagement, workshop facilitation, project design and strategic planning. Combining her learnings from the community sector with her passion for better futures, has led Carmen to design It Takes a Town – a collective impact initiative that’s all about getting the culture of community right to support children and their families.

Professor Rosemary Calder is a leading health and social policy expert. She has held positions as a senior executive in health policy and administration in both State and Commonwealth Departments of Health and was head of the Office for the Status of Women in the Commonwealth Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 2000 to 2003.

Rosemary was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2015 Australia Day Honours. She received the honour for “significant service to public administration, particularly in the areas of mental health and ageing, through academic roles, and to the community.”

Rosemary has held the position of Chief of Staff to a former Victorian Minister for Health and has extensive experience in policy and organisational management and board governance in the not for profit sector. She is a sociologist and began her career as a journalist with The Age.

Tony Davies is an experienced executive with over twenty years experience at senior management levels in government agencies, the non-government sector and private enterprise. Tony is the CEO of Social Futures, an organisation which envisages communities in which people are equally valued and included.

Tony has longstanding experience in working in complex environments requiring high level problem solving skills, advocacy skills, and sensitive management of both issues and stakeholders. He has acquired highly effective communication skills through media management, community liaison and published work and brings with him demonstrated research, policy analysis, change management, strategic planning and implementation skills to new areas of work. Tony has a thorough understanding of current trends in human services and issues that impact on service delivery for regional communities and has strong skills in networking and building alliances and high level skills in organisational leadership, project and financial management and leading organisational change.

Tony has an extensive understanding of the operations of government, including working with elected representatives at local, state and federal level.

Kate Colvin is responsible for Council to Homeless Persons’ policy and strategic communications. Kate has over 20 years’ experience in policy and advocacy roles and has led sector campaigns on housing affordability and minimum rental standards, as well as climate change and transport issues. Kate is the national spokesperson for the Everybody’s Home campaign and also played a key role in the Australians for Affordable Housing campaign. In the 2016 federal election, Kate led the national Vote Home campaign.

Professor Kristy Muir is the CEO of the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) and a Professor of Social Policy at UNSW Sydney Business School. Kristy is an elected member of UNSW Sydney’s Council, Chair of Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy Australasia, a Non-Executive Director of the Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth, and is an invited member of the Community Director’s Council, the NSW Premier’s Council for Homelessness, and the Gonski Institute for Education Advisory Board.

Kristy has undertaken more than 70 research and capacity building projects with many government, not-for-profit, corporate, and philanthropic organisations to help improve social impact. These projects have attracted almost $16 million in funding. Her research has focused on children, young people, families and communities and spans many social domains (e.g. housing, education, employment, social participation, disability, mental health, financial resilience and wellbeing). She has published widely in policy, sociology, social work, history and public health journals and in publicly accessible and popular media, such as TEDx, The Mandarin, The Guardian and The Conversation.

Donnella is a Torres Strait Islander woman with ancestral and family links to Masig and Nagir in the Torres Strait. She is a Cairns–based lawyer with LawRight and the project lawyer for the Wuchopperen Health Justice Partnership. Her role as Chair of NACCHO is to champion why Community-Controlled is the pinnacle model in achieving greater autonomy and self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Sandra is the Director of Allied Health and Clinical Support Services at The Royal Women’s Hospital. In this role, Sandra is responsible for the effective and efficient delivery of a diverse range of services including Physiotherapy, Social Work, Nutrition and Dietetics, Food Services, Pharmacy, Pathology, Medical Imaging, Interpreters, Centre Against Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault Crisis Line, Infection Prevention, Genetics, Aboriginal Health, Pastoral Care, Family Accommodation, and the Victorian Perinatal Autopsy Service.

Sandra is also the Chief Allied Health Officer for the Royal Women’s Hospital which includes allied health therapy and science disciplines.

Sandra’s background in health spans over 25 years and includes a range of management and practitioner roles in the public health system. Sandra originally trained as a Speech Pathologist in the early 1990’s and has worked as a clinician, clinical manager, Program Manager, and Director of Community and Ambulatory Services.

Sandra’s extensive health experience and her range of roles across different settings has equipped her with a deep knowledge of the health care sector.

Pat Anderson is an Alyawarre woman known nationally and internationally as a powerful advocate for the health of Australia’s First Peoples. She has extensive experience in Aboriginal health, including community development, policy formation and research ethics.

Ms Anderson has spoken before the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous People, has been the CEO of Danila Dilba Health Service in Darwin, Chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Chair of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, and was the Chair of the CRC for Aboriginal Health from 2003 to 2009. She has served as co-chair of the Prime Minister’s Referendum Council, is the current Chairperson of the Remote Area Health Corporation, and the Chairperson of the Lowitja Institute.

Ms Anderson was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2014 for distinguished service to the Indigenous community as a social justice advocate, particularly through promoting improved health, and educational and protection outcomes for children.

Richard Weston is a descendant of the Meriam people of the Torres Strait and Deputy Children’s Guardian for Aboriginal Children and Young People at the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian. He has more than 25 years’ experience working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs and is a proven leader when addressing the healing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Richard brings a depth of knowledge and understanding through both his lived and professional experience.

Previously Richard was the Chief Executive Officer at SNAICC and the CEO of The Healing Foundation. He is a member of the National Health Leadership Forum and the Close the Gap Working Group and is an advisory committee member for the National Empowerment Project and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation Project.

Alana Marsh was born on the banks of the Johnstone River, in the Innisfail Hospital. She has called Wurundjeri country in Melbourne home for the last 15 years. She has been sharing Wayapa since November 2016, a modality that places reciprocity with the Earth as the starting point for the mind, body, spirit wellness and draws on Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing.

Hailing from Torres Strait, Papuan and Gaelic stock, Alana understands herself (and you) as being Indigenous to the planet.

Robyn Forester hails from Bundaberg in South East Queensland. She is a Yuwibara and Australian South Sea Islander woman but now calls the nation’s capital, Canberra home.

In January 2018, Robyn joined the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre as its’ Chief Executive Officer bringing with her a wealth of knowledge, experiences and a commitment to advancing leadership opportunities for all.

In July 2013 Robyn stepped into the Senior Executive Service with the ACT Government to lead the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (OA&TSIA) providing advice on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs across the ACT Government. Robyn came to the ACT Government from Australian Federal Police but has over 23 years experiences working in a number of commonwealth agencies including Families and Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; the former Department of Social Security / Centrelink and The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to just to name a few.

An experience HR and Public Relations Practitioner with over 28 years’ experience working in the government, Robyn has worked across a range of policy development and programme delivery arenas. She has represented the Commonwealth government nationally and internationally at various forums including the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and she has sat on various committees in both government and community organisations.

In 2012, Robyn was awarded a Churchill Fellowship which enabled her to travel to Canada, the USA, the UK and New Zealand. Her research was titled Peer Support and Mentoring Networks for Law Enforcement Officers from Diverse Backgrounds. In 2015, Robyn attended INSEAD, the International Business School in Singapore as a Roberta Sykes Scholarship holder to undertake a short course “Leading for Results”.

Outside her public sector employment Robyn is an active member of the local first nations community. She studied Communications specialising in Public Relations at the University of Canberra. She is a skilled facilitator, trainer and coach specialising in the delivery Cultural Diversity Training & Career Development and provides executive coaching support on request. Robyn has a keen interest in the Arts and is also a qualified Dance and Theatre Practitioner using these talents to support emerging and established artists.

Robyn is passionate about exploring the world having travelled to more than 35 countries and sailed away on over 25 cruise ships, she one day hopes to travel the world as a full-time adventurer and showing others how to do the same.

Robyn believes that nothing is impossible and that we are the only ones who can determine where we are going and how we will get there. Once you set a goal the only person standing in your way is you.

Richard Frankland is a proud Gunditjmara Man who lives on country in south-west Victoria.

His roles include an Investigator for the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission, Fisherman, Musician, Author, Writer for Live Theatre, Screen Writer, Director of Stage and Screen, Theatrical Producer, CEO, Keynote Speaker for Theatrical Institutions, Workshop Facilitator and Key Note Speaker in Indigenous Issues including Lateral Violence, Cultural Safety, Community Capacity Building and Associate Dean, Associate Professor, Doctor of Visual and Performing Arts and most importantly, Family Man.

Despite leaving school at the age of 13, Richard has notched up many academic achievements. In 2007 he completed his Master of Arts at RMIT University with a thesis entitled ‘The Art, Freedom and Responsibility of Voice’ In 2019 Richard completed his doctorate and was awarded his Doctor of Visual and Performing Arts from the University of Melbourne a dissertation on his life’s achievements and contributions towards Indigenous Australian’s cultural and community foundations.

Richard’s current role is the Associate Professor Cross Disciplinary Practice – Richard at the University of Melbourne – School of Theatre, Film and Television

Richard’s lifelong work has been to facilitate the voice of Indigenous Australians via his many public personas. Richard constantly reminds people that: “We are not a problem people, we are people with a problem and that problem was colonisation”.

Joshua is a Gamilaraay man that now calls Wiradjuri Country home. He has a degree in Health Science and is currently studying to be a Physical Education teacher (Secondary). Health is everything to Joshua and his commitment to fitness has helped him through some dark times. Through Blackfit Fitness he aims to provide participants with a strong and powerful understanding of the dimensions of heath, more specifically the determinants within their community that affect their wellbeing. Blackfit specialises in programs that empower children and communities to make healthy lifestyle choices and live quality healthy lives.

Mark is a descendent of the Ngiyampaa people and holds academic qualifications in holistic health, participation, voice and cultural safety. His grandmother, from the Stolen Generations, encouraged him to become educated and make changes for First Nations Australians. Today, he is an Associate Editor of the Australian Journal of Rural Health, and he continues to write and edit academic articles. He currently spends two days a week ‘in residence’ at Whibayganba Headland and believes it’s this connection to the land that drives his creative mind when writing.