Presenters at WiT events and programs |
| Michael Eales Michael is the Managing Director of Business Models Inc in Australia and New Zealand, an award-winning international business, design and innovation consultancy. As a design pioneer, Michael is focused on pushing the traditional boundaries of work. His work focuses on the tools of design to shape new skills and mindsets for navigating uncertainty. He supports people in organisations of all sizes and across all sectors to think better, communicate more effectively, and work faster – so that their strategic ambition can be recognised. Michael has been involved with the WiT Mentoring Program for a number of years through Business Models Inc, utilising his experience to support both mentees and mentors in achieving their ambitions. |
| Julia McNamara Julia is an emerging strategy professional committed to creating innovative, collaborative and impactful solutions. With a background in Communications and Creative Intelligence, including experience spanning multiple sectors, she enjoys drawing out the connections within complex problems. In her work with Business Models Inc, Julia collaborates with organisations and individuals to realise their strategic ambitions. This has included working with the Women in Technology Mentoring Program throughout 2020, and she looks forward to once again supporting mentees and mentors on their journey in 2021. |
| Dr Sarah Pearson Sarah is the Deputy Director-General Innovation at the Department of Tourism, Innovation & Sport and is a leader with global experience and skills in building innovation ecosystems to deliver economic growth, driving corporate innovation, strategy for tech companies and start-up investment. Prior to taking the lead position in Queensland’s innovation agenda, her roles include Chief Scientist and Chief Innovation Officer at the Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Founding CEO of the CBR Innovation Network, PVC Innovation at the University of Newcastle, CEO of ANU Enterprise, management consulting with McKinsey & Co in Sydney, tenured Physics academic at UNE, and global head of Open Innovation at Cadbury plc in Reading UK. |
| Trevor Neville Trevor has been involved in the Healthcare & Biotechnology sector for >30 years in various roles of laboratory, sales, marketing, operational and general management of both multinationals, Australian and self owned companies. These organisations have covered diagnostics, medical devices, nutritional supplements, and medical consumables. This expertise, combined with his interpersonal skills has allowed him to successfully recruit personnel for the past 10 years in the Healthcare/Emerging Technologies sectors. |
| Sarah Yip Sarah is is an award recognized facilitator and keynote speaker. Over the past 13 years, she has stamped her mark on the leadership landscape with her focus on human-centered leadership. Sarah is a thought-leader and passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion and creating real change through the empowerment and capability uplift of leaders. She is driven by the desire to leave a legacy that is inclusive, ethical and sustainable. With considerable management experience across Australia and SE Asia, Sarah enjoys working with diverse organizations to improve people and business effectiveness as well assisting with development of current and future leadership skills. |
| Tanya Hegarty Tanya is the Future of Work Consultant at PwCi and priior a People and Culture Executive who transitioned to Consulting where she is able to influence and impact a wider number of organisations. She is passionate about helping organisations create an environment which enables optimum people performance and empowers everyone to bring the best versions of themselves to work. Tanya's expertise is in development of organisational effectiveness through contemporary people practices relating to executive alignment, change, culture, leadership and diversity, enabling a competitive advantage alongside the ever-changing nature of work. |
| Professor Melissa Brown Melissa completed her Bachelor of Science (Hons) and PhD in Molecular Biology at The University of Melbourne and is a Graduate of The Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has held research, academic or visiting academic positions at King’s College London, The University of Melbourne, The University of Queensland and The University of Oxford, and is currently the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science at The University of Queensland. |
| Dr Kylie Ellis Kylie is a specialist in business and research partnerships, with a strong scientific research background. She has a PhD in neuroscience and regenerative medicine and a background in research commercialisation in tertiary institutions. Kylie is currently the Research Partnerships Manager at Microba – an Australian biotech company specialising in gut microbiome analysis and discovery. |
| Professor Rebecca Ford Rebecca gained her BSc at Griffith University and her PhD at the University of Melbourne where she went on to work her way up the academic ranks. In 2017 she was appointed Dean (Research) for the Sciences Group at Griffith University where she also leads an engaged research team within the Food Futures Platform of the Environmental Futures Research Institute. |
 | Professor Bronwyn Harch Professor Harch has been the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Vice-President (Research) at The University of Queensland since July 2018. Professor Harch is an applied statistician with 24 years’ experience leading and undertaking research focused at the nexus of agricultural and environmental systems. She is very passionate about making an impact by generating knowledge, technology and practices that make our world more sustainable, secure and resilient. |
| Professor Lyn Griffiths Professor Griffiths is an Executive Director of the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), QUT’s health and medical research institute and Director of the Genomics and Personalised Health Research Centre at QUT. An active and respected molecular geneticist with more than 28 years’ experience, Prof Griffiths has brought a translational focus to medical research to increase IHBI’s influence and its impact on human health. |
| Dr Gerardo Miguel Soret-Cantero Gerardo undertook his PhD at the University of Queensland and is currently a Fire Engineer at Queensland Fire and Emergency Services. |
| Dr Julia Hocking Julia is the Research Development Manager at Griffith University. Julia has a Msc in Cognitive Neuropsychology and a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience. In her current role Julia works on development of collaborative and strategic partnerships to build competitive funding successes. |
| Dr Nagaraj Gopisetty Dr Gopisetty is the Deputy CEO of Life Sciences Queensland and heads the business development program - Life Sciences Catalyst. Nagaraj is an innovation architect with a proven track record in technology translation and commercialisation. |
| Dr Zoe Cahill Zoe is an Executive Manager of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at UQ and has nearly 10 years of management experience across tertiary and early education sectors. She has a PhD in fetal neurophysiology and an Honours Bachelor of Behavioural Neuroscience from Monash University. |
| Georgia Rhodes Self care – it’s not what you think" (and how it can lower your stress levels and support your wellbeing)” A passionate advocate of self-care forming the foundation to wellbeing, Georgia takes a refreshingly simple, yet highly nourishing and effective approach to movement, stillness, mindset and nutrition. Her unique classes, rest experiences, coaching, mentoring, women’s circles, retreats and online spaces all share her simple, gentle, slow and nourishing ethos. |
| Janelle Ware "The 5 pillars of health" as seen through Janelle's experiences as a woman, athlete, trainer, business owner, mother of three daughters, and going through a cancer journey. What she shares with you is the tools she used and what she haslearnt from all these life experiences and how you can incorporate some of these things into your life creating a place of gratitude & balance . Her story could be your story , it’s real , raw , informative & hopefully entertaining !!! |
| Carol Russell Carol's holistic and intuitive approach to wellness takes into consideration all aspects of human health. Mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. Through mentoring, women’s circles, retreats and corporate programs Carol's vision is to support people to dive deep into the parts of themselves that may be preventing them from fully tapping into their limitless potential. |
| Indi Tansey In 2016, Indi's curiosity led her to Brisbane, where she co-founded Codebots, a technology platform that is reimagining the way businesses create software. Codebots are software robots that can write over 90% of an application’s code, empowering human teams to solve the creative and complex challenges of a digital transformation project. I Indi brings 10 yrs+ experience as a creative strategist in global advertising agencies and has co-founded and launched two technology businesses. She uses storytelling and data-centric insights to connect business strategy to early-adopter communities, building tribes of people around trailblazing ideas. |
| Carla Wall Carla is a fearless leader and changemaker, a proud advocate for women, as well as a passionate champion for social enterprise. She is an avid traveller with only two pages left in her current passport for stamping, a serial ‘whodunit’ book reader, and takes inspiration from the likes of Cheryl Sandberg and Brené Brown. Handy to know, she is a self-confessed crisis manager, adept at making tough decisions albeit with a sense of humour never far away |
| Kelly Wilkes Kelly has spent the last 20 plus years working in a variety of IT and business roles ranging from Insurance and Banking to Government and Education, from global giants to a 3-person technology start-up. She has had many roles and worked in Australia, Sri Lanka, Africa, Europe and the US. Currently she is the Head of People and Culture for MOQdigital using what she has learnt from all these diverse roles to understand people and enable them to realise their full potential. |
| Jennifer Witheriff Jen is the Director/Co-owner of GJR Consulting, an Australian company specializing in organizational and leadership development, executive coaching, training and facilitation. She has held leadership roles in Government before starting her private business. Jen has decades of experience in leadership development and coaching have equipped her with the knowledge and confidence to work with leaders at all levels. Jennifer offers deep insights about complex dynamics and is genuinely involved in supporting leaders to transform. Jennifer's areas of interest include adaptive leadership, influencing styles and change. |
| Guy Taylor Guy is a BDO Partner and Private Wealth Advisor, who will provide simple tips and advice that will help you understand your current financial position and build a strong financial foundation for your future. |
 | Dr Sue Keay
Sue is a Research Director CSIRO's Data61 set up the world's first robotic vision research centre, and now leads CSIRO's Data61 Cyber-Physical Systems program. Last year, she developed Australia's first Robotics Roadmap highlighting how advances in robotics (and AI) will impact on every sector of the Australian economy. |
| Hugh Kearns
Hugh is from Thinkwell and is recognised internationally as a public speaker, educator and researcher. He draws on over twenty five years of experience as a leading training and development professional within the corporate, financial, education and health sectors. He has coached individuals, teams and executives in a wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors. Hugh lectures and researches at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. He is widely recognised for his ability to take the latest research in psychology and education and apply it to high-performing people and groups. |
| Dr Sally Ernst Sally holds a Masters and Doctorate in business administration specialising in ​corporate innovation​ and over 16 years building an international senior commercial background including not for profit, and academic experience through to board level. Increasingly, Sally has applied management science in innovation concepts to the complex organisational problems arising directly as a result of the unprecedented ​cyber-enabled, convergence of land sea air and space​, alongside emerging technologies from ​cybersecurity​ to ​ai, blockchain and quantum​. |
| Jason Murray Jason is a Director with the People & Change Practice at KPMG and a recognised leader in human development, performance and productivity. For the past 25+ years he has worked with CEOs, executive teams and entire organisations from Corporate, Defence, Government and the NFP to develop the highest levels of leadership ability and inspire performance driven from the heart as well as the head. |
| Sandra SlaterSandra is the Chief Information Officer for TMR, Sandra leads a team of more than 400 staff and contractors. She is passionate about leading the Information Technology Branch (ITB) to become and agile organisation with a strong customer focus, delivering innovative ICT and digital solutions and driving outstanding performance in partnership with key TMR stakeholders and external vendors. |
| Dr Lorraine StokesDr Stokes is an endorsed Organisational Psychologist and Director of Russell Professional Group. For the past 13 years, she has provided organisational psychology services to public and private sector organisations across Queensland – including individual coaching and counselling, conflict resolution services, team reviews and development, and early intervention for psychological injury in the workplace. |
| Gemma DziummaGemma is engaged to provide organisational psychology services to organisations across Queensland and is an experienced facilitator currently undertaking training to become a WORC corporate coach. Gemma is a Master of Organisational Psychology candidate in Griffith’s School of Applied Psychology with interest areas in employee psychological health, leadership and coaching. |
| Prof Avril RobertsonProfessor Roberston is Biotechnology Program Director at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland. She is also “UQ Women Create Change Ambassador” for the Science in Australia Gender Equity Pilot of Athena SWAN. |
| Laure MartineLaure is a Senior Scientist and R&D Program Manager at Ellume, a health technology company developing and manufacturing real-time diagnostics for doctors and consumers. She is working on development of a rapid Influenza A and B test for point-of-care use and is responsible for coordinating assay development alongside fluorescent reader technology, mechanical design and software development. |
| Rebecca McIntoshRebecca has a Bachelor of Business majoring in Communications and a Master of Arts in Digital Media and has been employed in the commercial, nfp, government and tertiary sectors both in Australia and Europe. She has been a Career Advisor at UQ providing one-on-one career guidance and job strategy advice to undergraduates through to post-docs. |
| Prof Bernd RehmDr Rehm is Professor of Biotechnology and Director of the Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers at Griffith University. His research aims to develop innovative functional materials and technologies that provide solutions for global health and environmental challenges. |
 | Nasa WaltonNasa is an award winning Chief Information Officer with a career in delivering innovative solutions. For the past five years, she has been the CIO of a hospital and health service, and has experience in senior leadership roles within the health industry. |
| Liza-Jayne (LJ) LochLJ brings almost three decades of experience in helping organisations, causes and individuals successfullygrow their profiles and accentuate their positive. She has worked at the highest levels of media, government and business as a journalist and trusted adviser. |
| Louise PascaleLouise is a producer, journalist and media consultant with 25 years of experience. She has worked in Australia and the United Kingdom with her work being seen across Australia, Europe, the US and the UK. As a media consultant she works across in traditional and new media sharing her knowledge and expertise. |
| Tracey SpicerTracey is a television presenter, journalist and author who has anchored programs for ABC TV, Network Ten, Channel 9 and Sky News. Over the past 30 years, she has worked in the private sector and at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School as a media and presentation trainer. Her TEDx Talk, The Lady Stripped Bare, has been seen by more than 1.5 million people. The 50-year-old's lifelong passion is amplifying women's voices. |
| Gareth PriceGareth has been an active Genomics Scientist for over 15 years and believes healthcare and research are at their best when coupled with the most accurate, highest throughput and innovative technology. |
| Raphael CouzetRaphael is an awarded high-performer, passionate about making technology fun, useable and profitable. He specializes in solution selling, business development, and product development with a solid foundation in management consulting. |
| Renea CollinsRenea works as a Clinical Director at eHealth. Renea provides clinical leadership, strategic direction and leads the change management in the implementation of an integrated electronic medical record (ieMR). Her clinical background has been as Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Clinical Nurse Consultant in which she coordinated a VTE prevention program at a tertiary hospital & health service district which led to significant & sustained improvement in appropriate VTE prophylaxis rates. |
| Bernadette HylandBernadette is the Co-founder of 3 Round Stones specializing in data modeling and visualization of publicly-funded science data. 3 Round Stones has served U.S. Government organizations including the EPA, Commerce and NOAA, NASA, Health & Human Services and Library of Congress, to ensure publicly funded environmental and health data remains findable, accessible, interoperable and re-usable on the Web. |
| Professor Peter CrollPeter is passionate about developing safe technological solutions by demystifying the complexities of today’s software driven world. With extensive ICT experience spanning more than three decades, he offers knowledgeable insight across all application domains that demand trustworthy solutions. |
| Caroline McGuireCaroline has built a career on supporting, developing and challenging individuals within the workplace, and throughout wider networks and associations.Caroline is a qualified and certified human resources specialist and coach, with a broad background across industries and organisations over 18 years. Her background incorporates human resources, operational and management experience |
| Laura ChongLaura from 400C will help you to understand your professional context and translate this into a professional look that will help you on your way to landing that dream job or taking the next step up the career ladder. |
| Kristie GoodenNavigate your way through the professional style jungle Kristi Gooden Certified Image Consultant from Style Liberation |
| Linda EdwardsLinda is an experienced and accomplished Business Leader with over twenty five years industry experience in a variety of corporate cultures both locally and abroad. A skilled Shared Services professional, her passion is for inspirational leadership, strategy execution and people development. She has led large teams across the globe and delivered multi-million dollar programmes across the technology and financial services sectors. |
| Rhonda BrightonRhonda is recognised as one of Australia’s foremost experts in human resources, specialising in leadership, diversity and future of work. Her fundamental belief is that inclusion and good leadership are not only foundational for good people practices in organisations, but equally of more equitable and prosperous economies and communities. |
| Yvette AdamsICT Woman of the Year 2013, Yvette Adams from The Creative Collective is an experienced speaker & trainer who will share with us some key insights on how to determine the right content for your audience, which networks are right for your message, how to engage people online & how you can leverage social media opportunities for the purpose of brand development, positioning & personal professional outcomes. |
| Vanessa GarrardVanessa founded consumer products group of companies in 2006 which is now Australia’s leading supplier of youth electronics and private label tech gadgets. 1 in 2 Australians owns a product that Vanessa’s company has produced. The business is now global. Walmart, Best Buy, Argos, Kmart, Target are just some of the retail giants stocking product created by her company. |
| Steven YorkWith over 20 years experience at senior levels in national and international organisations as a specialist in AML, corporate security, enterprise risk management, legislative compliance, risk mitigation and business continuity. He has led major cultural change programs, optimized business processes and ensured continued and sustainable revenue growth in consulting companies and within industry. Steven established the negotiations team with Police Service and developed it with predominately female staff. |
| Heidi UytendaalWith more than 20 years' experience, Heidi Uytendaal, is Rio Tinto's Manager Global Programme Services and also the Chairperson of the Rio Tinto Inclusion and Diversity Network in Brisbane. Navigating through a giant, global organisation, Heidi has managed teams in geographical and culturally diverse arenas. |
| Sonya Trau
Sonya Trau is a Senior Business Leadership Coach with AltusQ & involved in design & delivery of numerous corporate mentoring programs nationally for over 4yrs, including the first industry wide mentoring program in Australia. She believes passionately about the power of effective mentoring skills & relationships both for individuals involved & organisations to which they belong. She has spent much of the last 15 years consulting, advising & coaching in corporates, NFPs & mid-sized businesses across numerous industries. |
| Linda ObrienAs Pro Vice Chancellor Linda is a member of the University executive with responsibility for development and implementation of Griffith’s information strategy and management of the University's information services; including the e-learning and e-research services, the Library and University-wide information and communication technology services, systems and infrastructure. |
| Dr Melissa AgnewWith almost 30 year's experience as a voice teacher and coach, Dr Melissa Agnew is one of Australia's most sought-after experts in her field. She consults on voice, speech and dialect in the theatre, broadcast, film and television industries, the in the corporate sector and in education at all levels, from Preschool through university. |
| Dr Catherine BallDr Catherine Ball is a renowned environmental scientist with business credentials to match. Inspired by a childhood love of the natural world, her breakthrough work focused on sending Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to remote areas of coastline to observe endangered turtle colonies. Dr Ball is today at the absolute forefront of RPAS technology. Her work at engineering consultancy URS put Australia on the world stage. |
| Dr Barbara George-JaeggliDr Barbara George-Jaeggli is working for the University of Queensland as part of the ARC-funded Centre of Excellence in Translational Photosynthesis, and working for DAF on GRDC-funded agronomy projects. The main objective of her previous and current work is to increase crop yields in variable environments, be it through pushing the yield ceiling genetically or identifying optimal agronomic practices to ensure yield potentials are achieved in growers’ paddocks |
| Dr Angela DalyDr Angela Daly is Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow at QUT Faculty of Law and Australian Privacy Foundation board member. She is a socio-legal scholar of technology and a digital rights activist. Angela has previously worked for the Swinburne Institute for Social Research (Australia), Electronic Frontier Foundation (US) and OFC. |
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