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EM RUSCIANO

Former SBS Newsreader, Television & Radio Presenter, Journalist

Comedian; Writer; Singer; Radio, Television, and Podcast Presenter

BREEANNA BROCK

Gold Medallist Paralympian

Chief Executive Officer, Brisbane Lions Women's Team

TIARNE SHUTT

Premier of Queensland

Associate Director – Business Advisory, First Australians Capital

CANDICE (YEONG) LAM

Board Director, Author and Youth Advocate

Associate Director, Aurecon; Director, Change & Advisory, Engineering New Worlds

ALINA DINI, PH.D.

Prime Minister of Australia, 2010-2013​

Founder, Whirl; Director, Energy, Climate & Circular Economy, Deloitte

DR MELLISSA NAIDOO

Premier of Queensland

Chief Health Officer, Viridis Consultants; Non-Executive Director and Board Member

ASTRID JORGENSEN

Human Rights Activist; Entrepreneur; Inspirational Speaker; Philanthropist; Mentor​

Founding Director of Pub Choir™ and Couch Choir; Finalist, QLD Young Australian of The Year 2020

DR DINESH PALIPANA OAM

Human Rights Activist; Entrepreneur; Inspirational Speaker; Philanthropist; Mentor​

Award-winning Doctor; Co-founder, Doctors with Disabilities Australia; Disability Advocate; Researcher; Lawyer

DR BE PANNELL

Human Rights Activist; Entrepreneur; Inspirational Speaker; Philanthropist; Mentor​

Course Leader, MBA and Coaching, Australian College of Applied Professions

08:30 - 09:00

REGISTRATION

09:00 - 09:30

Welcome & Acknowledgment of Country

DR JANET SMITH

Program Specialist and Lead Facilitator, Women & Leadership Australia

09:30 - 09:40

Welcome Address

KAREN TAYLOR GAICD

Chief Executive Officer, Women & Leadership Australia

09:40 - 10:10

Opening Address

BREEANNA BROCK

Chief Executive Officer, Brisbane Lions Women’s Team

Breeanna Brock was the first female CEO to be appointed in the AFL. In her nine-year tenure in female football, she has cemented Queensland’s reputation as one of the powerhouse states for women’s AFL. By establishing the Brisbane Lions inaugural women’s team, who won their first Premiership in 2021, Breeanna has created a full playing pathway for the women and girls of Queensland. With access to this elite, high performing environment, females are no longer forced to abandon a game they love due to lack of professional opportunity. Awarded the AFL Football Woman of the Year award in 2018, Breeanna’s work is slowly dismantling age-old thinking around female representation in sport, to create a more level, gender-balanced, playing field. The daughter of a diplomat, Breeanna spent her early years growing up overseas. Lucky enough to have lived in England, Greece, Pakistan and Kenya her childhood helped shape her into an accidental feminist.

10:10 - 10:40

Keynote Address

TIARNE SHUTT

Associate Director – Business Advisory, First Australians Capital 

Tiarne is a descendant of the Worimi people and has mixed English/Danish heritage, a member of the Gathang language group, born on Awaba Country, raised on Darkinyung Country and living on Yuggera Country. Tiarne excels at pushing boundaries, shifting mindsets, and affecting social change through storytelling and relationship building. Tiarne is at her best when she can use story and compassion to facilitate conversations focused on action. Tiarne is the Associate Director – Business Advisory at First Australians Capital; FAC supports indigenous economic development through wealth creation and financial and wrap-around support.

10:40 - 10:45

Gold Sponsor Address

Australian College of Applied Professions

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11:10 - 12:45

PANEL DISCUSSION

Cracking the Code: Innovation for a Gender Equal Future

Building upon UN Women Australia’s theme for International Women’s Day, our panel will look at innovative ideas, technology, and accessibility in the modern age. How can creative ideas and use of technology reduce equality barriers and forge more diverse, inclusive, and accessible workplaces? What can leaders do to foster these types of environments? Our expert panel will share their experiences and stories of technology and innovation and give advice on incorporating these ideas into your own workplace to help shape an equal future for our world.

Panel Members

CANDICE (YEONG) LAM

Associate Director, Aurecon; Director, Change & Advisory, Engineering New Worlds

Candice is a fierce advocate, mentor & leader for diversity & inclusion within STEM. With a background in control systems engineering, her career has led her to work internationally for companies such as GE Oil and Gas (Baker Hughes), FMC Technologies (TechnipFMC), BHP, Emerson Automation, Rio Tinto, KBR and Aurecon. Throughout her career she has been a proactive campaigner and trailblazer for equity, inclusion and developing emerging leaders, and has a deep passion for coaching and mentoring the next generation of engineers and lifting the voice of women and marginalised people. She has been recognised for her personal and professional dedication, being awarded the 2019 Women’s Agenda Emerging Leader in Technology, one of the Top 10 Emerging Women Leaders by Engineers Australia, and Consult Australia’s Champion of Change in 2022.

ALINA DINI, PH.D.

Founder, Whirl; Director, Energy, Climate & Circular Economy, Deloitte

Dr Alina Dini is a trusted advisor to global organisations and everyday consumers looking to reduce climate impacts using emerging technologies. As a Director in Deloitte’s Climate and Sustainability team, Alina leads high performance teams in navigating the energy transition and enabling the circular economy. Her noteworthy accomplishments include launching Tesla’s $2B credit trading program, authoring some of the Asia Pacific region’s earliest work on consumer energy resource adoption, and founding Whirl, an award-winning start-up aimed at increasing consumer access to clean technologies. An advocate for workplace diversity, Alina is also the Chapter Chair of the Women of Electric Vehicle professional association Chapter Chair in Australia & New Zealand and a regular mentor for entrepreneurs and rising young professionals in the energy and mobility sectors.

DR MELLISSA NAIDOO

Chief Health Officer, Viridis Consultants; Non-Executive Director and Board Member

Dr Mellissa Naidoo is a values-driven and collaborative leader with over 15 years of industry experience in clinical, medical leadership and executive roles across both the public and private sectors. Mellissa is an experienced board director and graduate of the AICD, and holds a Masters in Health Management and dual fellowships with the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators and Australasian College of Health Service Management. Having been on both sides of medicine, Mellissa is passionate about innovation, health systems and strategy and improving healthcare, she is a trusted advisor to various organisations to support staff, consumer and community health and wellbeing. An advocate for equity and inclusion, she is actively mentoring and training the next generation of diverse medical leaders through her college and university roles.

ASTRID JORGENSEN

Founding Director of Pub Choir™ and Couch Choir; Finalist, QLD Young Australian of The Year 2020

Astrid Jorgensen is a Brisbane-based choral conductor, composer, and presenter who is teaching the world to sing. Co-founder and director of ‘Pub Choir™’, and its online adaptation ‘Couch Choir’, Astrid has become one of the most recognisable faces in the world of community music making. Armed with a quick wit and an unquenchable enthusiasm for singing, Astrid has delivered her unique music lessons to over 300,000 people worldwide since Pub Choir’s inception in March 2017. Astrid’s ability to enchant audiences and guide untrained singers to musical greatness has been featured extensively in world media including the BBC World News, the New York Times, Australian Story, and Vogue Magazine. Additionally, under Astrid’s leadership Pub Choir has raised over $400,000 for charity since 2018, for which Astrid was a nominated for 2020 QLD Young Australian Of The Year.

DR BE PANNELL

Course Leader, MBA and Coaching, Australian College of Applied Professions

Dr Be Pannell is a leadership expert and academic who combines business experience in senior management with a deep understanding of psychology and neurobiology to facilitate the thinking required of future leaders. Be provides coaching and leadership development programs in Corporate, Government and Academic sectors. With expertise in senior management, academia, coaching psychology and applied neuroscience, she brings over 20 years of experience working with thousands of people in the field of adult leadership development.

DR DINESH PALIPANA OAM

Award-winning Doctor; Co-founder, Doctors with Disabilities Australia; Disability Advocate; Researcher; Lawyer

Dinesh Palipana OAM is a doctor, lawyer, disability advocate, and researcher. Halfway through medical school, he was involved in a motor vehicle accident that caused a cervical spinal cord injury. As a result of his injury and experiences, Dinesh has been an advocate for inclusion and is a founding member of Doctors with Disabilities Australia. Dinesh works in the emergency department at the Gold Coast University Hospital, as a doctor for the Titans physical disability rugby team, is a senior advisor to the Disability Royal Commission, and is ambassador to the Human Rights Commission’s Includeability Program. He is a senior lecturer at Griffith University, adjunct research fellow at the Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, and a research fellow at the Jamieson Trauma Institute. Dinesh has won many awards including Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service’s Junior Doctor of the Year in 2018 and 2021 Queensland Australian of the Year. In 2019 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.

12:45 - 13:30

Lunch

16:00 - 16:40

Keynote Address

EM RUSCIANO

Comedian; Writer; Singer; Radio, Television, and Podcast Presenter

Em Rusciano is one of the most talented entertainers in Australia. She is a comedian, singer, writer, storyteller, and broadcaster. She hosts the Spotify exclusive Emsolation podcast and is a regular panellist on Network Ten’s The Project. Em has amassed a large and very dedicated social media following through her unique and authentic content. With her finger in every piece of the performing pie, Em is one of Australia’s most well-rounded performers and has co-hosted breakfast radio, sold out the Sydney Opera House with her live comedy shows, released chart-topping songs, books, and audiobooks, and most importantly, wielded a Bedazzling gun like no one else on Earth. Em is an engaging and unique keynote speaker; she recently addressed the prestigious National Press Club of Australia on the subject of ADHD and her son’s autism. She has been widely praised for the speech and the effect it’s had on helping to remove the stigma around neuro-divergence.

15:30 - 16:00

Afternoon Tea

16:40 - 17:00

Closing Comments

DR JANET SMITH

Program Specialist and Lead Facilitator, Women & Leadership Australia

KAREN TAYLOR GAICD

Chief Executive Officer, Women & Leadership Australia

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BRISBANE

Friday 12th May 2023

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Meanjin

Cnr Merivale and Glenelg Streets, South Bank, Brisbane, QLD, 4101

If you need assistance with your purchase, please email us at events@wla.edu.au

10:45 - 11:10

Morning Tea

14:30 - 15:00

The QLD Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership

ROCHELLE COURTENAY

Founder & Managing Director of Share the Dignity

15:00 - 15:30

The National Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership

KAREN MUNDINE

CEO, Reconciliation Australia

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13:30 - 14:30

DEVELOPMENT SESSION

Women’s Economic Security – in partnership with the Australian Gender Equality Council

Increasing women’s economic security is an urgent societal and personal priority, as the data reveals that Australian women are persistently and overwhelmingly less economically secure than men. Australian women continue to lag behind men in terms of employment security, income and superannuation balance. This development session will examine the current data on Australian women’s economic security and highlight ways that intersectionality further multiplies discrimination and disadvantage for women.

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