Emeritus Professor Bruce Tonge AO

Qualifications: MBBS, MD, DPM, MRC Psych, FRANZCP, Cert. Child Psych., RANZCP

Prior to his retirement in 2012 he was the Foundation Head, School of Psychology and Psychiatry and Head of the Discipline of Psychological Medicine at Monash University and also the Senior Clinical Advisor of the Mental Health Program of Monash Health at Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne, Australia. He has a distinguished record of clinical work, teaching and research in child psychiatry.  He established the internationally recognised Monash University Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology. He continues to have clinical, research and teaching interests in the area of developmental psychiatry with a particular focus in the areas of Autism Spectrum Disorders and behavioural and emotional disturbance in children and adolescents with intellectual disability and neurodevelopmental disorders, parent education and skills training public mental health interventions, and treatment outcome studies in childhood anxiety and depressive disorders.

Professor Peter Barlis

Interventional Cardiologist, Northern and St Vincent’s Hospital

Peter is an internationally-recognised Interventional Cardiologist with the Northern and St Vincent’s Hospitals in Victoria and Professor of Medicine with the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, the University of Melbourne. After graduating from the University of Melbourne, he completed cardiology training at Austin Health followed by a Master of Public Health with Monash University. In 2006, he secured a fellowship and scholarship at the prestigious Royal Brompton Hospital, London and then completed his PhD at the Thoraxcentre, Erasmus University the Netherlands, on the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in cardiology. OCT harnesses the properties of infrared light to look inside blood vessels in ultra-high resolution. Peter has since overseen OCT’s uptake across the region with over sixty centers in Australia and New Zealand benefiting from his foresight. He is internationally renowned for his interventional and imaging academic output, and early development programs for novel therapies in cardiovascular disease. He has maintained connections all over the globe and continues to attract industry support for his research. He runs an active research group in biomedical engineering focused on coronary imaging and computational modeling with an interest in the development of innovative cardiovascular technologies.

Professor Sarah Wilson

Professor Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne

Sarah Wilson is the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Student Life at the University of Melbourne, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS) and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA). Sarah’s research seeks to understand relationships between the mind, brain, human behaviour and its disorders, drawing on her expertise as a Cognitive Neuroscientist and Clinical Neuropsychologist. She has pioneered music neuroscience research in Australia, and was Founding Director of Music Mind & Wellbeing, an interdisciplinary initiative linking neuroscience with music and emotional and social wellbeing, fostering research spanning music, science, health and education. Clinically, she has characterised a new clinical syndrome that arises following the treatment of epilepsy and other chronic disorders, leading to better management of the cognitive, emotional, and social difficulties faced by individuals with neurological disorders. She has established a hospital-based rehabilitation service for epilepsy patients and their families, and a community-based Psychosocial Clinic for patients with functional neurological disorders. Her approach to patient care has been used as a benchmark of best practice (International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Commission Report, 2011), changing clinical practice around the globe.

Professor Greg Murray

Qualifications: BSc, BA (Hons), Grad. Dip Gestalt, MPsych (Clin), PhD (Melbourne)

Prof Greg Murray is currently a Research Leader in Psychology, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Mental Health at Swinburne University. Professor Murray has a national and international reputation for clinical psychology research, being ranked in the top 1% of researchers worldwide in the fields of Affect, Personality, Bipolar Disorders and Circadian Rhythms (expertscape.com). He is patron of Bipolar Life, a community support group for people with bipolar disorder. Professor Murray's work has had significant translational impact. He is Deputy Lead of the Canada-based CREST.BD, an international research network studying psychosocial issues in bipolar disorder. At University of Melbourne and Swinburne, he has played significant academic leadership roles, including Head of Psychology, Clinic Director, Director of Clinical Programs, and Deputy Dean. Based on his record of research, teaching and leadership, he was promoted to full Professor in 2011, 10 years after completing his PhD.

Professor Jayashri Kulkarni

Director of MAPrc and Head of Department of Psychiatry, Monash University (CCS)

Prof Kulkarni is the Director of MAPrc and Head of Department of Psychiatry, Monash University (CCS). Prof Kulkarni became a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1989 and was awarded a PhD from Monash University in 1997 for her thesis “Women and Psychosis”. She is internationally acknowledged as a leader in the field of reproductive hormones and their impact on mental health. Prof Kulkarni was elected the President of the International Association of Women’s Mental Health in 2017.

Professor Malcolm Hopwood

Professor of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne

Malcolm is currently with the Ramsay Health Care Professor of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne. At Ramsay Clinic Albert Road he provides inpatient care within the Professorial Psychiatry Unit as well as outpatient consultations focused on second psychiatric opinions. In addition to his clinical roles, Malcolm has a long track record of involvement in psychiatric research, focused on mood and anxiety disorders, psychopharmacology and psychiatric aspects of acquired brain injury. He also leads the undergraduate and registrar training schemes at the Ramsay Clinic Albert Road. Malcolm was President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists from 2015 to 2017, President of the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations from 2019 to 2022 and is now the Chair of the North East Metro Regional Mental Health Body in Victoria. 

Associate Professor Harry Minas

Head of Global and Cultural Mental Health Unit, The University of Melbourne

A/Prof Harry Minas is Head of the Global and Cultural Mental Health Unit, University of Melbourne, and Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Mental Health Systems. He has worked extensively on post-disaster mental health response, mental health system development and human rights in Asia, and on the mental health of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. He has served on multiple Commonwealth and State committees and advisory groups and has been an adviser to Ministries of Health and Social Affairs in several countries in the region. He was a development partner on the ASEAN Mental Health Taskforce and continues to work with ASEAN on its sustainable development program in non-communicable disease.

Professor Louise Newman AM

Psychiatry - Child and Adolescent, Psychiatry - Parent and Infant, Psychiatry - Perinatal, Psychiatry - Trauma/PTSD

Louise Newman AM is Professorial Fellow in Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at Newcastle University and Monash University. She has held senior leadership positions in mental health training and research including Director of the NSW Institute of Psychiatry, Director of the Monash University Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology and is Director of the Melbourne University BEAR (Building Early Attachment and Resilience) research program. She is recognised as Australia’s lead researcher in the areas of infant and early child mental health, disturbances of early parenting and parent-infant interventions. She has worked extensively in developing clinical programs for women with backgrounds of complex trauma and mental health issues needing support in the perinatal period and has over 25 years’ experience in women’s mental health. She is recognised as the leading international expert in the issues facing women with complex trauma disorder in pregnancy and the perinatal period. She is the past Director of the Centre for Women’s Mental Health at the Royal Women’s Hospital. She is currently Consultant Psychiatrist at the Ramsay Clinic Albert Road specialising in women’s mental health and perinatal and infant mental health.

Professor Richard Newton

Clinical Director, Penninsula Health

Clinical Director of Peninsula Health Mental Health Service and an Adjunct Professor at Monash University. Peninsula Mental Health is a large mental health service based in a teaching hospital. It has a range of Adult and Aged mental health services. He is also a consultant adult psychiatrist within the service. Until 2017 he was the Medical Director of Austin Mental Health, and the Clinical Director of BETRS a regional Eating Disorder service. He has a private practice specialising in eating disorders. He is a Board Member of the Butterfly Foundation and also a board member of Mental Health Victoria. He has had a number of roles within RANZCP and is the immediate past Chair of the Victorian Branch of the college. Richard is the clinical Principal Investigator on an NHMRC partnership grant to evaluate the state wide PARCS in Victoria and has conducted a number of consultancies within the Mental health sector. Richard is an Editorial Board member of national and international academic journals and sits on numerous federal and state based planning or advisory committees. He has published more than 60 peer reviewed articles or book chapters. He teaches a Masters level course in Structured Psychotherapy at the University of Melbourne and an Advanced Training course in CBT accredited for RANZCP AT in Psychotherapy.

Professor Kim Felmingham

Chair, Clinical Psychology, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne

Professor Felmingham is the Chair of Clinical Psychology at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She is recognized for her research investigating the neurobiology of PTSD and the neurobiological mechanisms underlying exposure therapy, with over 150 publications in this field. Her research has been continuously funded by the ARC and NHMRC over the past 15 years. She has expertise in neuroimaging, psychophysiology, stress, hormonal, and memory research. She is a clinical psychologist with over 20 years’ experience working with traumatized clients and patients with PTSD. She is currently conducting clinical trials to identify ways to augment exposure therapy for PTSD. She is the Director of the Trauma Anxiety and Stress (TAS) Lab at The University of Melbourne. The TAS Lab research examines the mechanisms underlying the development and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Anxiety Disorders, predictors of response to exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, and the impact of stress and trauma on brain and emotional functioning. Specific research questions include examining the impact of stress and sex hormones, sleep and cognitive processes on emotional memory consolidation (intrusive memories), fear extinction, and treatment response in individuals with anxiety disorders and PTSD. The aim of the research is to lead to the development of more targeted and effective treatments for PTSD and anxiety disorders.

Dr Ros Lethbridge

Senior Clinical Specialist, Phoenix Australia

Dr Ros Lethbridge is a clinical psychologist and senior clinical specialist at Phoenix Australia - Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, where her work centres on translating evidence into practice and leading best practice initiatives. She leads mental health reviews and surveys in the police, emergency service, government and disaster sectors and played a lead role in developing trauma-informed care resources for the aged care sector. Ros is particularly interested in the intersection of health, law, and ethics. Since 2014 she has been involved in the regulation of the profession of psychology as a Panel and then Board member, in 2021 completing her appointment to the ACT/Tas/Vic Regional Board of the Psychology Board of Australia as Presiding Member. She has a current appointment to the Patient Review Panel.

Dr Christopher Mogan

Clinical Psychologist, The Anxiety Clinic

Dr Christopher Mogan is a Clinical Psychologist with over thirty years of experience in the provision of psychological services across a range of people from community Health Centres, private psychiatric hospitals, Workcover, TAC, Victims of Crime and in private practice. Dr Christopher Mogan has a special interest in anxiety and phobias, depression, PTSD, OCD, shyness and Social Skills deficts, Smoking Cessation and Internet Counselling.

Professor Amanda Richdale

Adjunct Professor at La Trobe University and Researcher at Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre

Professor Amanda Richdale is adjunct professor and researcher at the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC), La Trobe University; she is also a psychologist (Educational & Developmental). She has worked in the autism field for over 30 years, including early intervention, and assessment and diagnosis, but her primary research interest is autism and co-occurring conditions, particularly sleep difficulties and their inter-relationships with mental health. Amanda led the Autism CRC's longitudinal Study of Australian School Leavers with Autism (SASLA) which examined social, emotional, and mental and physical health factors in autistic young people aged 15-25 years over two years. Currently her research interests focus on factors underlying sleep and mental health difficulties in autism and working with colleagues to investigate ACT as an intervention approach.

Professor Mitchell Byrne

Head of Discipline, Charles Darwin University

Professor Byrne is an endorsed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with over 35 years applied experience. He has worked in both public and private organisations across Australia in WA, SA, NSW and NT. He was also a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the UK for several years leading the Adult Mental Health services for an NHS Trust. Since 1997 Prof Byrne has also been a full time academic, teaching and researching across a variety of mental health areas, at several universities. Prof Byrne is currently Head of Discipline at Charles Darwin University.

Professor Leah Brennan

Professor, Advanced Practice, La Trobe University

Associate Professor Leah Brennan is a clinical, health, educational and developmental psychologist and a board approved supervisor. Her areas of clinical research focus include eating, weight and body image (e.g., eating disorders, overweight/obesity, body image, weight stigma), and the promoting the availability of best-practice psychology treatment (e.g., telehealth psychology, guided self-help). She works as both an academic (teaching and research) and a clinician. Leah joined La Trobe School of Psychology and Public Health in October 2019. Prior to that Leah worked in a range of clinical (hospital, community and private), academic (ACU, Monash, RMIT University) and policy (Victorian Government) roles. Most recently she was an Associate Professor at Australian Catholic University where she has focused predominately on postgraduate teaching and leadership. There she led the Body Image, Eating, and Weight Clinical Research Team (BEWT) and established and led the Clinic for Health Eating and Weight (CHEW) aimed at integrating science and practice in postgraduate psychology training.

Associate Prof. Chris Pepping

 Director Student Wellbeing at UNSW Sydney

Dr Pepping is Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology in the School of Applied Psychology. His research focuses on two interdependent themes: (1) mental health of stigmatized groups, with particular emphasis on the mental health of LGBTQ+ populations; and (2) close relationships, including the role of social connection in mental health outcomes, experiences of singlehood, and the conditions under which romantic relationships may buffer the effects of stigmatization. Dr Pepping is a Member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), a Fellow of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists, and a Member of the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health. Dr Pepping is passionate about research supervision and has supervised to successful completion 41 PhD, Doctorate, Masters, and Honours students. He also maintains a small clinical practice.

Neil Morris

 Director Student Wellbeing at UNSW Sydney

Neil Morris is the Director Student Wellbeing at UNSW Sydney and has had a lengthy career within the University. Neil has held several senior positions including: Vice-President Campus Life and Community Engagement (March 2011 - April 2017) during which period he was also Chair of UNSW Global; Executive Director University Services (Feb 2009 – Feb 2011); and Director Human Resources (Jan 2004-Dec 2009). His current portfolio encompasses a broad range of outside the classroom student engagement roles such as Sport and the engagement with local community; Student Health, Safety and Wellbeing including international student health; Psychology and Wellness; Student Cultural, Artistic and Religious Life; Student Accommodation and Residential Colleges. Neil manages the relationship with the UNSW Student Organisation, Arc and works closely with the 300+ student clubs and societies.

Associate Professor Laura Jobson

Psychology, Monash University

Dr Laura Jobson completed her PhD (Clinical Psychology) at the Australian National University in 2008. Following that she took up a post as Clinical Lecturer/Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia (United Kingdom). In 2010, Dr Jobson was awarded a prestigious National Institute for Health Research Fellowship which was hosted by the University of East Anglia and the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Medical Research Council, Cambridge (United Kingdom). In 2015 she moved to Monash University to take up the position of Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychological Sciences. Since 2006 she has also been a registered Clinical Psychologist. She is currently a registered clinical psychologist, an Associate Editor for the journals Memory and Development Studies Research, and has been a grant reviewer for the NHMRC and National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council.

Professor Trichur Vidyasagar

MBBS, PhD, The University of Melbourne

Trichur Vidyasagar (Sagar) is a neuroscientist with a particular interest in vision. He is a Professor in the Department of Optometry & Vision Sciences at the University of Melbourne and also an Honorary Professorial Fellow of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. He is Lab Director of the Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory. The lab’s main aim is to understand the neural basis of visual perception, attention and memory, with a particular focus on the visual system. Sagar’s career-long work in this area has led to a new theory of how basic attributes of a visual scene such as lines, colours and movement are coded by the brain. Such an understanding could help in being able to explain many perceptual disturbances ­– as well as contribute to the development of neural prostheses for the blind. More recent work on attention has helped to shed light on the neural mechanisms that different parts of the brain use to communicate with each other. This research has led to insights into the neural processes that enable the brain to search for objects in the cluttered world around us and match our perceptions to stored memories. In turn helping us understand a number of neurological disorders such as dyslexia, autism, ADHD and schizophrenia.

Dr Shankar Srinivas

Consultant Psychiatrist & Founder/ CEO, OPENMINDS Psychiatry, Counselling and Neuroscience Centre

Dr. Shankar is a British trained Psychiatrist, with over 15 years’ experience in the field. He has extensive expertise in the management and treatment of mental health and psychological issues and complex medication management related to the field of Psychiatry. Prior to founding OPENMINDS Psychiatry, Counselling and Neuroscience Centre,  Dr. Shankar worked in various leading healthcare institutions in UK and UAE. Dr. Shankar earned his Psychiatry specialization from the Yorkshire School of Psychiatry, Leeds and Northwest Deanery (Manchester) UK. He is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK, Associate member of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology and International Fellow of American Psychiatric Association. Dr Shankar treats a wide range of mental health issues such as, Stress Reaction, Adjustment disorder, ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Major Depressions, Eating Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Panic Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Dementia, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), Various mood and anxiety disorders coexisting with medical conditions like Hypo/Hyperthyroidism, Diabetes, Emotionally unstable personality issues, Mental health issues related to Pregnancy and more..

Professor Kimberley Norris

Head of Discipline, University of Tasmania

Kimberley Norris is a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Psychology, School of Medicine within the College of Health and Medicine. Her overarching research and academic interests are focused on maximising human health, wellbeing and performance in both normal and extreme environments. Kimberley is a psychological scientist and clinical psychologist who works across academic, research, and clinical psychology practice settings. Her overarching research interests focus on human adaptation, health, behaviour and performance in both normal and extreme environments. Kimberley is the consultant clinical psychologist for the Australian Antarctic Division, and Associate Member of the SCAR-COMNAP Joint Expert Group on Human Biology and Medicine.

Professor Bernard Baune

Professor of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Germany

Prof. Bernhard Baune (PhD, MD, MPH, FRANZCP) is the Director of the University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Münster, Germany. Prof. Baune is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrist (FRANZCP), Australia. He is a professorial Fellow of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and a Professorial Fellow of the Florey Mental Health Theme at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Australia. He leads an extensive research program into personalised psychiatry, molecular psychiatry, prediction and biomarker research in psychiatry and treatment response prediction and in neuroimmunology. Prof. Baune’s translational work aims to make real-world differences to the lives of people with mental illness by integrating neurobiological and clinical information, by personalising treatments and by targeting the mechanisms of functional recovery.

Associate Professor Scott Clark

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide

Scott Clark is the Discipline Head for the University of Adelaide Discipline of Psychiatry. He coordinates the Adelaide Medical School’s Psychiatry program and is a consultant psychiatrist in the Western Community Mental Health Service. Scott’s research focuses on novel clinical trials and the use of biomarkers and biotypes in the prediction of outcomes in serious mental illness. Scott was awarded the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Early Career Psychiatrist Award 2017 for his work on the use of simple Bayesian models to combine multimodal clinical and biological data to predict the first psychotic episode. He is a principle investigator for the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in PREdiction of Early Mental Disorder and Preventive Treatment (PRE-EMPT), the NIMH funded Accelerated Medicines Partnership Schizophrenia (Prescient), the NHMRC TMS for social cognition in Autism study, and the Wellcome Trust funded Cannibidiol for Youth at Risk (CanARY) study. He is a lead investigator in Defence funded projects exploring the genomics of cognitive function and the use of novel aperiodic analyses of EEG in combat trauma.

Associate Professor Christina Bryant

Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne

Christina is a clinical psychologist with a strong commitment to mental health and training of psychologists. Until recently, she was the Director of the University of Melbourne’s clinical psychology training programme. She has 20 years’ clinical experience and 15 years’ research experience in psychology and the mental health of older adults, in particular the prevalence of anxiety and depression; the relationship between attitudes to ageing and anxiety, depression, and well-being; and the promotion of healthy ageing. She collaborates extensively with other researchers within and outside psychology and has published widely in international journals and books. Current research projects include a programme of research examining the health and well-being of women in midlife and interventions to alleviate depression in older adults in residential care.

Dr Eric Morris

Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University and Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Northern Health

Dr Eric Morris is a Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University and Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Northern Health in Melbourne, Australia.  Eric has over twenty-five years’ experience working as a clinical psychologist in Australia and the United Kingdom, engaging people with complex mental health problems and their families using contextual cognitive behavioural therapies. He previously worked as a consultant clinical psychologist and the psychology lead for early intervention for psychosis, at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, UK. He also taught and supervised in cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp) for postgraduate programs at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London. Eric is a founding member and a former chair of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Special Interest Group (ACTSIG) of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies. He also served as a Board member and President of the Australia & New Zealand Chapter of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. Eric is a Fellow of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science.

Associate Professor Angela Dwyer

Associate Professor, Policing and Emergency Management, School of Social Sciences

Deputy Director, Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies, University of Tasmania

Dr Angela Dwyer is an Associate Professor in Police Studies and Emergency Management at the School of Social Sciences and Deputy Director of the Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies (TILES). Her research on how sexuality, gender, and sex diversity influences policing contributed to founding the niche discipline area of queer criminology, and she was a founding chair of the Division of Queer Criminology for the American Society of Criminology. Angela’s research expertise around police-LGBTIQ relationships directly informs strategic advice to police organisations around Australia about policing LGBTIQ communities and police liaison programs and she presents upskilling workshops to senior managers on LGBTIQ workplace issues (for instance Department of Police, Fire, and Emergency Management, Tasmania). She coordinates a Professional Honours program linked with the promotional pathways of Victorian and Tasmanian police officers and teaches serving police officers skills around leadership and critical incident management to create more critically thinking police leaders, especially around policing vulnerable communities.

Dr Alberto Veloso

General Paediatrician, Child and Family Psychiatrist

Alberto is a specialist Child Psychiatrist and General Paediatrician, from Melbourne, Australia. He is a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College os Psychiatrist, and the Royal Australian College of Physicians. He is passionate about Child and Family Mental Health with a particular focus on understanding and assisting the emotional development of children and adolescents. His clinical focus is assessing and treating mental health problems by integrating our understandings about brain development, the impact of relationships on emotional maturity and evidence-based biological and psychological treatments. Alberto provides integrated and holistic mental health care. He has specialist training in the assessment of mental health disorder including Mood Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Psychosis, Substance Abuse Disorders, PTSD, Eating Disorders, ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is skilled in the biological and psychological treatment of mental health disorders which may include prescribing medications or engaging in individual and/or family therapy.

Dr Edwin Joseph

 President of Multicultural Council of the NT

Dr Edwin Joseph is passionate about serving the community and making it better by working for the disadvantaged. He is qualified in several disciplines. His experience is multifaceted, working for private and public sectors, including roles in education, HR, project management, community engagement, research, policy, consultancy, etc. Having migrated to Australia as an adult, Edwin understands the problems faced by CALD people in Australia and advocates for real inclusiveness. Throughout his life, Edwin has been volunteering for community groups, not-for-profit organisations and professional associations, often with leadership positions. He currently serves as the President of Multicultural Council of the NT, Deputy Chair of FECCA (Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia), Board Member of Australia Day Council NT, Board Member of NEDA (National Ethnic Disability Alliance), Treasurer of DASSAN (Darwin Asylum Seeker and Advocacy Network), Public Officer of Darwin Lions Sports Club, NT Convener of Religions for Peace Australia, Committee Member of Institution of Public Administration Australia NT and NT Branch Executive Member of Australian Computer Society. 

Dawn D’Amico 

Advanced Therapeutic Counselling, Wisconsin, United States

Dawn D’Amico is a psychotherapist, author, and educator who specializes in trauma. She provides keynote speaking appearances, seminars, continuing education credits, and private psychotherapy internationally. 

Dr Sudipto Chatterjee

Psychiatrist - National Institute of Advanced Studies, India

Dr. Sudipto Chatterjee is a psychiatrist based in Bangalore, India at the National Institute of Advanced Studies. He is a Consultant to the Special Initiative in Mental Health program of the WHO and also associated with the Parivartan Trust. He has made important and original scientific contributions in relation to developing community based care for people with serious and common mental disorders in low resource settings across a number of low and middle income countries, while consulting for the WHO and the University of Melbourne. He has also been involved in clinical trials involving treatments for common and serious mental disorders that have been published in high-impact scientific journals and have been globally influential. His continued interests include efforts to reduce the treatment gap and enhance the social inclusion for people with serious mental disorders effectively and at scale in low resource settings.

Mrs Lesley Alway

Clinical Health Planner

Lesley Alway is a clinical health planner working in Australia and Asia. With more than 30 years of clinical experience in the healthcare industry, she has been involved in the design and development of a large number state of the art hospitals and healthcare facilities. Her speciality is in highly critical areas such as Operation Suites and CSSD, ICU and Emergency department design and Infection Control, with emphasis on productivity as well as resources management, always in compliance with the newest and most strict national and international standards. With a positive and pragmatic approach, Lesley communicates well how to improve national standards to achieve the best outcome in clinical practice. Including the goals of infection control and prevention, patient safety and staff efficiency, supporting users and opinion leaders to achieve a successful implementation. She is a committee member of the Australian Health Design Council and a member of the Australian Infection Control Society, as well as a member of the SRACA (Sterilization Research Council of Australia), a Life Member of Australian Day Surgery Nurses Association.

Bruce Wong

Managing Director of the Foot Solutions

Bruce was raised in a traditional Chinese family with a very strong emphasis on cultural principles in harmony, honesty, respect, honour, benevolence, righteousness, hard-working and filial piety. He received his early education at a French Catholic Jesuit Mission school in Cambodia. He is a renowned business entrepreneur in the Australian Asian community and holds a successful record of 35 years in the business world with companies he founded and helmed in Australia, America and around South East Asia. As Managing Director of the Foot Solutions Group Australia and America, Bruce and his family has time remembered how Australia has blessed them and today they are strong advocates of the Australia way of life and its values.    His latest community endeavour is the Mental Health Foundation Australia’s “Meals to the Community Covid-19 Project” launched in August 2020. He is one of the key founders of the project. Through his financial contribution of a new refrigerated food delivery truck, MHFA’s is able to roll out its weekly cooked meals for distribution to needy communities in partnership with the Department of Health & Human Services and The Salvation Army in Victoria.   Bruce continues to fund the MHFA’s meals project with regular weekly donation of cooking items and other essentials. To date, MHFA has delivered over 60,000 prepared meal boxes to the Covid-19 communities in need.   

Dr. S Amutha Kumar

General Physician, Dr. Mehtas Hospital

Dr. S Amutha Kumar is a General Physician at Dr. Mehtas Hospital, Chennai. Being a General Physician, Dr. S Amutha Kumar has knowledge about all the parts in the body and can help people with almost every issue related to their health. Dr. S Amutha Kumar has a broader spectrum of understanding the human body and can deal with patients who suffer from difficult or unusual medical issues. Using his immense knowledge and experience, he treats general conditions like diabetes, anxiety, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, digestive problems, urinary problems, and abdominal. His compassionate and friendly approach towards his patients makes it easy for them to communicate with the doctor and share their problems with ease.

Dr Peter Goodin

PhD (Clinical Psychophysiology) and Senior Data Scientist @HitIQ

Dr. Peter Goodin is a neuroimaging research fellow at the Melbourne Brain Centre and the Neurology department at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Peter is actively engaged in mental health related issues and research. He received his PhD in 2015 from Swinburne University which explored the psychoneuroimmunology of Major Depressive Disorder. Peter took a wholistic view of the disorder and incorporated cognitive, neuroimaging and biochemical markers to examine connections between the body and brain and how these are altered during the acute phase of the disorder. Peter then moved to the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health where his research focused on prediction of post-stroke depression and recovery of touch sensation after stroke. His current research at the Royal Melbourne Hospital focuses on identification of pharmacological, biological, cognitive and mental health causes that can may help promote optimal recovery after stroke. 

Er. A.C.S. ARUNKUMAR

LMCSI, LMISTE, LMIET

Doing various business for survival will not be satisfactory. Providing Education catering to the need of the public and helping the socially downtrodden will make our mind peaceful. In between his hectic schedule he has become Life Member in various bodies / societies like Indian Society for Technical Education, Institute of Engineering Technology, Computer Society of India, etc. He is a Golden Member of all International Hotels in India. In his professional life he has received the Youngest Edupreneur-2014 & 2015 Awards and received EduIcon - 2016 & 2017 Awards. Apart from this educational field he is the Managing Director for the Three Star Hotel “Benz Park Tulip”, Chennai & Vellore. He holds the position of Vice Chairman for the ACS Group of Institutions at Arni, Kodaikanal and Bangalore. His sharpness as an administrator, as a good thinker and as a perceptive educationist, has made A.C.S. Arunkumar, a dedicated and devoted human endeared to the cause of education. His focus was on reforms and to bring about development in the latest fields of education.

Ashok Mysore

Vice President Regional Head – Delivery & Operations Australia & New Zealand

Ashok Mysore has over 29 years of industry experience across Telecommunications, Financial Services, Logistics, Energy, Utilities and Services industries. Ashok as Vice-President and Regional Head - Delivery and Operations for Australia and New Zealand, is responsible for developing a performance driven culture among a group of diverse and talented individuals to achieve accelerated profitable growth by delivering value while continuously improving internal efficiencies. Ashok is recipient of IABCA Business Leader of the Year 2019 Award that recognizes outstanding achievements of a business leader. He is an advisor to the Australia India Institute – Education Body, an advisory body that advises on issues relating to the Institute’s work to support the education relationship between Australia and India. He is part of the Global Steering Committee on Blockchain, sits on multiple customer steering committees and program boards, has been actively involved with the Australian Computer Society and is a sought after speaker amongst industry, academia and partner ecosystem. Ashok completed his Executive Leadership Program from the Stanford Graduate School of Management, has an MBA in Strategy & Leadership from the Mt Eliza Business School, and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Engineering.

Jane Monica-Jones 

Financial Therapist

Jane Monica-Jones is Australia's leading Financial Therapist. She is a pioneer in the study of the psychological and behavioural challenges with money and financial practises, such as gambling, overt financial risk, retail therapy, overspending and underearning. She has a passion for this sometimes challenging subject and works compassionately with clients and organisations to repair this relationship. She released her latest book The Billionaire Buddha in 2019, a culmination of seven years of work, study and research in the field of Financial Therapy. Jane is the host of Financial Therapy, a podcast dedicated to the promotion and facilitation of economic empowerment for all. Also check out Financial Wellbeing for all her financial literacy, financial capability and economic empowerment trainings.

Steven Farrugia

Founder and CEO of ShareTree

Steven Farrugia is the founder and CEO of the ShareTree Group of social enterprises lead by the charity organisation ShareTree. ShareTree charity directly provides solution to improve mental health, wellbeing and performance for organisations using science, training and technology. Steven has extensive industry based research and experience in improving mental health, wellbeing and culture for organisations through education, technology and data lead solutions. Steven has advised to over 120 different organisations globally in strategy, culture and continuous improvement. Steven is a Degree Qualified Manufacturing & Management Engineer, Certified Character & Culture Master Facilitator, Lean Six-Sigma Agile Master Facilitator, Certified Mental Health First Responder & Aider, Strategy & Executive Advisor, Social Entrepreneur and has personally experienced growth through trauma.