Monica has been the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Sydney since 2006. She has overseen the development and implementation of the City’s long-term vision for Central Sydney – Sustainable Sydney 2030-2050. Monica was awarded a Public Service Medal, holds a Master’s in Creative Arts, was a 2024 Committee for Sydney – Sydney Awards Finalist in the Sydneysider of the Year Category, was 2021 University of Wollongong Alumni Award Winner for Professional Excellence, in 2020 received the Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government Champion of Change Metropolitan Category and was a 2014 ‘100 Women of Influence’ finalist.

Lorraine Finlay is the Human Rights Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, commencing in this position in November 2021. In this role, Lorraine has particular responsibility for protecting and promoting fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, religion, movement, and association. She also leads the work of the Commission in areas including business & human rights, modern slavery, asylum seekers and refugees, and technology & human rights. Prior to joining the Commission, Lorraine worked as a lawyer and academic specializing in human rights and public law. Lorraine holds a dual Masters in Law from New York University and the National University of Singapore, where she studied as a Singapura Scholar. She has also been actively involved in a variety of community organisations, including past Board roles with the Ishar Multicultural Women’s Health Service and National Council of Women (WA).

Leading Beyond Boundaries

In today’s changing and challenging work environments, effective leadership means thinking beyond previous boundaries to inspire transformative change. Effective leaders must embrace innovative strategies that prioritise adaptability, foster collaboration, and enhance communication to drive team success. In this session, our expert panel will share their personal journeys and lessons they have learned as flexible, adaptive and innovative leaders. Through their experiences, you’ll gain practical insights and actionable tools to navigate the complexities of modern leadership.

	Prabha Nandagopal (She/her) Founder, Elevate Consulting Partners and SafesSpace@Elevate; Human Rights Lawyer Prabha is an innovative changemaker renowned for her ability to challenge the status quo and develop achievable solutions to complex systemic problems. Prabha has led the development of groundbreaking recommendations on numerous high-profile workplace cultural reviews, including the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces and the National Music Industry Review into sexual harm, sexual harassment and systemic discrimination. In 2020, she was a senior legal advisor to the Respect@Work National Inquiry and helped shape the positive duty regulatory scheme and in 2023, she worked alongside Elizabeth Broderick on the Independent Review into Workplace Culture at EY Oceania.
	Samantha Nuttall (She/Her) Founder & Coach, The Neurodivergent Coach Samantha Nuttall is late diagnosed Neurodivergent woman on a global mission to transform career outcomes for Neurodivergent professionals. With over 20 years of experience in HR, Coaching, Facilitation and Inclusion Advocacy in organisations, she brings a unique combination of lived and professional experience to her Coaching and Consultancy practice.  Sam supports Neurodivergent professionals to thrive in the workplace as their incredible, authentic selves, and enables organisations to create inclusive, performance driven cultures where their employees of all Neurotypes belong and succeed. As mother to two multi-Neurodivergent ‘2E’ children, Sam also brings a unique perspective of what it means to be a Neurodivergent professional juggling a significant caring role, whilst forging a career in a Neurotypical world.
	Thea O’Connor (She/Her) Workplace Wellbeing Advisor and Director, Menopause at Work Asia Pacific Thea O’Connor is a workplace wellbeing advisor, TEDx speaker and coach.  She works with leaders, teams and individuals to help them develop healthy, sustainable and effective work practices. Thea has a long-standing commitment to women’s health. As Founder of Menopause at Work® Asia Pacific, Thea encourages a life-stage approach to worker wellbeing so that different stages of the lifecycle, such as our menstruating years, pregnancy or menopause, can be accommodated. She has helped many workplaces become menopause-friendly, and helped hundreds of women navigate their careers, and this life-stage, with confidence. Thea gave evidence at the recent Federal Senate Inquiry into menopause. At the heart of all her work is the vision of creating body-wise cultures at work, and at home, so we can all flourish.
	Dr Alanna Kamp (She/Her) Senior Lecturer in Social and Cultural Geography, Western Sydney University Dr Alanna Kamp is a leading postcolonial-feminist geographer, cultural diversity, and anti-racism scholar. She is a researcher at the Challenging Racism Project at Western Sydney University and the Centre of Resilient and Inclusive Societies. Alanna’s research combats discrimination and improves the wellbeing of marginalised groups by providing empirical grounding for internationally award-winning interventions and anti-racism strategies. This includes research that informed the SBS TV documentary Is Australia Racist? which won the international Realscreen Diversity and Inclusion Award in Washington DC in 2017. Alanna is also an academic expert advisor for the Australian Human Rights Commission, involved in the revision of the National Anti‐Racism Campaign Racism. It Stops With Me and expert reviewer of the National Anti-Racism Framework.

This interactive development session will explore the role of artificial intelligence in business and leadership. Through discussions, activities, and real-world examples, we will examine how AI can be used effectively and ethically, and when to proceed with caution. You will gain practical insights and decision-making strategies to navigate AI’s impact in your organisation.

Yumi Lee has worked on women’s rights and violence against women for over 30 years. Prior to returning to working for the Older Women’s Network, she was based in Hanoi with an organisation supporting street children and rescuing women trafficked to the sex trade in China. As the CEO of OWN NSW, she is now advocating and lobbying on issues impacting older women, including housing insecurity and homelessness as well as violence against older women, especially in aged care. Yumi received the NSW Women’s Legal Service Advocacy and Reform Bright Sparks Award of 2021 for her work in advocating for the safety of older women; and is a member of the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission’s Advisory Board and the Federal Attorney General’s Lived-Experience Expert Advisory Group on Sexual Violence.

Receiving The 2025 NSW Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership

Linda Burney is the Member for Barton, and former Minister for Indigenous Australians. A proud Wiradjuri woman, Linda was the first Aboriginal person to be elected to the NSW Parliament and the first Aboriginal woman to serve in the House of Representatives. In May 2022, Linda was appointed as Minister for Indigenous Australians, the first Aboriginal woman to hold the portfolio. As Minister, Linda’s priorities were health, education, jobs, housing and justice issues. Linda was one of the first Aboriginal students to graduate from Mitchell College, now known as Charles Sturt University, with a teaching degree in 1978. Linda began her career as a teacher in western Sydney, and was later appointed Director General of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs. She received an Honorary Doctorate in Education from Charles Sturt University in 2002. Prior to entering Federal politics in 2016, Linda served 14 years in NSW Parliament and held a number of senior portfolios including Family and Community Services. Linda has also held senior positions in the non-government sector and served on a number of Boards including SBS, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board, and the NSW Board of Studies.

Samantha has 16 years’ experience leading HR functions across Mining, Oil & Gas, Transport, Technology, Defence and Utilities sectors and has brought her knowledge of complex operating environments to the aviation sector, joining Virgin Australia in 2023. Samantha is a Member of the Industry Skills Australia Strategic Workforce Planning Committee for Aviation, addressing the considerable workforce challenges across the Aviation sector. Samantha is passionate about the global, demographic and technological forces that continue to reshape how we work and live, and is particularly invested in fostering inclusive workplaces where diversity is truly celebrated.

A luminescent presence on stage, Steph’s warmth and wit has been a hit with audiences. Her award-winning solo shows sell out around the country, and she’s frequently booked to play the biggest gigs on the most prestigious stages where she holds her own alongside the world’s best. As a result, Steph is fast becoming a ubiquitous presence on mainstream television being a regular guest on The Project and Hughesy We Have A Problem. An earlier interest in politics saw her first enrolling in law, and this sense of social justice matched with her formidable intelligence enables her to deliver social insights that challenge cultural stereotypes in a way that is hilarious, relatable and importantly, as a proud Indigenous woman, powerful. Authentic, ebullient and endearing, Steph’s changing the world while taking the piss all at the same time.