Speakers:

Dr Graham Phillips, presenter Catalyst

With more than 20 years experience as a journalist and commentator, Graham is one of the most accomplished science communicators in Australia.

He has been the presenter of Catalyst since 2007 and has been a reporter on ABC TV’s science programmes: Catalyst, Quantum and Hot Chips. He was also a co-presenter on Channel Seven's Beyond Tomorrow.

Graham has a PhD in astrophysics and has lectured and researched at various universities as well as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). He has penned columns for almost every major Australian newspaper and has somehow found the time to write four popular science books, including Our Fabulous Future and The Missing Universe. He has devised and taught university courses in journalism, Science & Environmental journalism and TV journalism.

Graham combines his detailed understanding of science with a down-to-earth approach making even the most complex of stories accessible and relevant

Bernie Hobbs

Bernie Hobbs is a popular judge on ABC TV's The New Inventors, and a firm favourite with audiences for her weekly science spots on ABC radio around the country.

Bernie has that rare combination of a sharp intellect, quick wit and warmth. With a background in medical research, environmental writing and science teaching, Bernie can tackle tough or technical subjects and bring the driest topics alive for lay or expert audiences.

She's worked with kids, animals and rocket scientists, and shared the stage with prime ministers and rock stars. She happily takes the hot seat at triple j when Dr Karl can't, and loves nothing more than working with a live audience.

Bernie has won awards for the kids tv show the experiMENTALS, and for her infamous greenhouse website Planet Slayer - where you find out what age you should have died at so you don't use more than your share of the planet.

She has a first class honours degree in biochemistry and microbiology, a very nerdy habit of birdwatching, and more than a passing interest in cycling, kayaking and ridding her backyard of asthma weed.

Mark Jennings MBA. BSc. CEng. 

Director of Healthcare Improvement
The King’s Fund, London

Originally qualified as a Charted Engineer, Mark has been an NHS Manager for over 25 years with experience at National, Health Authority and Trust levels including Director of a major acute hospital.

Subsequently Mark held the role of National Lead for Clinical Systems Improvement with the NHS Modernisation Agency where he led the development of guidance and systems to help the NHS improve patient flow. He also led a Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit review focused on the patient journey through the emergency care system and Mark was a member of the Department of Health project team responsible for delivering the maximum 4-hour Accident & Emergency wait. As part of this work he was also responsible for leading the development and delivery of the Making best use of beds programmefor NHS Trusts which has made a significant contribution to the improvement of patent flow and the achievement of access targets. Later work focused on applying industrial and commercial process and flow methodologies (such as lean management and six sigma) to help the NHS achieve the 18 week maximum total patient journey time from referral treatment for all elective care.

At the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement based at the University of Warwick Mark held the post of Priority Programme Director and was responsible for leading work focused on helping the NHS improve the quality, productivity and efficiency of care. His role includes publishing the NHS Better Care, Better Value Indicators and leading the Institute’s High Volume Care Programme.

In  2009 Mark  joined The King’s Fund where he lead it’s Health Care Improvement Directorate and the Quality in a Cold Climate Programme.

Eric Zachary Silfen MD, MSHAMA,

Eric Z. Silfen is Senior Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer for Philips Healthcare, located in Andover, Massachusetts.  Prior to joining Philips Healthcare in 2008, Eric was Senior Director of the Department of Biomedical Informatics Research for Philips Research North America, where he has led the design, development, validation and evaluation of clinical decision support systems for biomedicine. Since joining Philips in 2006, Eric has focused on healthcare research work in the areas of clinical bioinformatics, molecular medicine, computer-aided imaging, clinical systems, and diagnostic evaluations. In this role, he has worked closely with Philips Research teams, academics and researchers in North America and Europe.

Eric’s clinical, academic, and hospital administration experience is extensive. He received his Doctor of Medicine from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, and completed residencies in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Georgetown University Hospital. He is Board certified in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine. Eric has held a broad range of medical posts, including Chief Medical Officer at St. Charles Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, Port Jefferson, NY, Chief Medical Officer for the Reston Hospital Center, Reston, Virginia, and as Medical Director for Emergency Medical Services, Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, Dulles Airport, in Washington, DC.

Eric also holds a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Medical College of Virginia, and a Master of Arts in Biomedical Informatics from Columbia University in New York.

Eric is well-versed in healthcare administration issues. He has worked with the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), a leading provider of healthcare services for more than 280 hospitals and outpatient centers in the United States and England. Eric has participated in the implementation of patient safety and medication error reduction initiatives and other hospital-wide programs focusing on clinician order entry, pharmacy and therapeutics policies and procedures, and physician leadership and education.

Eric has built a broad network of colleagues in the global medical community and is well recognized for his career accomplishments and teaching experience. He has extensive experience in hospital and health plan clinical affairs, disease and care management programs, Joint Commission and National Committee for Quality Assurance standards and clinical quality/performance improvement. In addition, Eric has expertise in the implementation of information technologies in the medical setting. Eric is also a member of numerous professional societies, including the Society for Critical Care Medicine, the Society for Medical Decision Making, the Health Information Management Systems Society, and The New York Academy of Sciences.

Eric's broad-based experience and leadership capabilities have prepared him well to represent Philips Healthcare as our Chief Medical Officer, serving as the voice of our business to the global medical community. He will represent Healthcare across a broad range of industry organizations, strengthening our brand position and competitive differentiator as a patient and care-provider focused business.

National speakers, chairs and workshop presenters

Professor Ian Anderson

Professor Ian Anderson, Foundation Chair in Indigenous Health, is the Director of the Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit at The University of Melbourne. Professor Anderson is also the Director of Research and Innovation at the CRC for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health (Lowitja Institute) and Director of Murrup Barak (Melbourne Institute for Indigenous Development). Professor Anderson chairs the National Indigenous Health Equality Council which was established in 2008.

Professor Anderson has a professional background in medicine and social sciences. He has worked in Aboriginal (Koori) Health for twenty-four years as an Aboriginal health worker, health educator, general practitioner, policy maker, and academic.

Dr. Amanda Barnard

Dr. Amanda Barnard is an Australian Research Council Queen Elizabeth II Fellow and the leader of the Virtual Nanoscience Laboratory at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). She received her BSc in Applied Physics (2001) and Ph.D. (Physics) in 2003 from the RMIT University, before going on to a 2 year position as a Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory (USA).  This was followed by 3 years in the prestigious senior research position as Violette & Samuel Glasstone Fellow at the University of Oxford (UK) with an Extraordinary Research Fellowship at The Queen's College (Oxford). Using thermodynamic theory and first principles computer simulations, her current research includes predicting the properties of nanoparticles for different high performance applications, and predicting the environmental stability of nanoparticles or their interactions with natural ecosystems.  For her work she has recently won a 2008 L’Oreal Australia "For Women in Science" Prize, the 2009 Young Scientist Prize in Computational Physics from the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, the 2009 Mercedes Benz Environmental Research Award and the 2009 Malcolm McIntosh Award from the Prime Minister of Australia for the Physical Scientist of the Year, and the 2010 Frederick White Prize from the Australian Academy of Sciences.

Gillian Biscoe

Gillian Biscoe is the Executive Director of the The Bellettes Bay Company Pty Ltd. Gillian held senior positions in health in Australia and New Zealand (to departmental secretary level in Australia and deputy director-general in New Zealand) after a first career in nursing. She is now an experienced consultant and works both internationally and in Australia across a variety of health system and organisational reviews, strategies, issues and planning; facilitates senior trans-Tasman learning sets; and is an executive coach. Her key pro-bono professional contribution to her home state of Tasmania is through the cross-sector Tasmanian Leaders Program for emerging state leaders, for which she is co-designer, co-facilitator and a board member of its governing body.

Patrick Bolton

Patrick Bolton is National Vice-President of the AHHA and Director of Clinical Services at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney. Patrick has worked clinically and in health service administration in urban and rural Australia in general practice and hospitals. He is a Clinical Association Professor at the University of NSW. He expertise in information management and health service evaluation and is currently researching the impact of hospital culture on health service outcomes.

Professor David Bowtell, BVSc (Hons)
BAnSci and PhD

Professor Bowtell recently returned to full time research after 10 years as Director of Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Australia’s largest cancer research group.  He is a Head of the Cancer Genomics and Genetics Program and a Group Leader at Peter Mac.

He trained as a molecular biologist and has an extensive background in signal transduction, genetics, genomic technologies, and cell biology. He is Principal Investigator for the Australian Ovarian Cancer Study, a national molecular epidemiological study of ovarian cancer.  His laboratory has a major focus on understanding the molecular basis of platinum resistance in ovarian cancer, the development of individualized cancer medicine using novel molecularly targeted therapeutics, and gene-based diagnostics.  He is a member of the International Cancer Genomics Consortium. He has been a CJ Martin Research Fellow, Wellcome Trust Senior Medical Research Fellow, NHMRC Fellow, and Howard Hughes International Research Scholar.

Dr Nick Buckmaster

Dr Nick Buckmaster is a General and Respiratory Physician , Director of General Medicine and Chronic Disease for the Gold Coast Health Service, and also currently medical advisor to the Queensland Health eHealth program.

Virginia Bullock

Virginia Bullock is the Managing Director of Home Support Services (HSS) which has been providing community based health care for over 21 years. Virginia began HSS in 1989 after negotiating the first hospital avoidance health benefit. HSS now provides care to over 22,000 patients per year across South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. Virginia has worked tirelessly to change traditional models of healthcare from acute settings into the community. Virginia works with many stakeholders across Australia in driving the future of healthcare reform. In 2009 Virginia was awarded the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Services Category (Central Region) for South Australia and went on to become a finalist in the 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year National Awards.

Stephen Carmody

Stephen Carmody has been with Silver Chain since early 2001, and is the organisation’s General Manager of Health. 

Stephen has spent 30 years in health care, working in a variety of settings in the private and public sector, metropolitan, rural and remote environments.

He believes that Silver Chain’s role in primary care is to maximise an individuals’ independence and capacity to manage their own health, and, where necessary, provide support of identified gaps through the provision of technical, clinical, psycho-social and pastoral interventions.

Stephen’s professional qualifications began in 1982 with the completion of a hospital based Diploma of Nursing, followed by a Certificate in Midwifery in 1986.  He also has completed Bachelor of Health Science (1987), Master of Business (1999) and Graduate Diploma in Pastoral Studies (2000).

Helen Courtney-Pratt

Helen Courtney-Pratt is a registered nurse with over twenty five years of clinical experience.  Helen is active within several research groups and has an interest in  eHealth services,  chronic disease, practice development and translational research.   Currently nearing completion of doctoral studies, which focuses on care provision to persons with COPD, she has recently taken up a research position with the Practice Development Unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital. 

Philip Darbyshire

Professor Philip Darbyshire, is internationally recognized as a leader in nursing and health care research and practice development.  Philip has been called “the ‘go-to’ person for hospitals and health care organizations who want research and evidence-based practice demystified and moved out of the ‘too-hard basket’ and into the hearts and minds of clinicians who will use it make a real difference”.

Philip works with organisations enabling the best in staff potential to solve problems, think creatively and 'raise the bar' to improve both personal and organisational performance.  For 13 years he led one of Australia’s most successful practice-based research departments, described by ACHS as an “example of excellence in research leadership”. He also uses innovative arts and humanities approaches to help staff develop deeper understandings and more responsive care related to ‘The Patient Experience’.

Judith Dwyer

Judith Dwyer, BA, MBA, FAICD, FCHSE, Professor of Health Care Management, Flinders University School of Medicine.

Professor Judith Dwyer works in the Department of Health Care Management at Flinders University in South Australia, and was formerly the head of the Department of Health Policy and Management at La Trobe University.  She is a former CEO of Southern Health Care Network in Melbourne, and of Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide, and worked in the Australian health system for more than 20 years in a broad range of community, hospital and government settings.  She is currently a Program Leader for the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, with a focus on ‘Enabling Systems and Policy’.

Professor Dwyer’s research is focused on health system governance and design, with a particular interest in Aboriginal health services; and she teaches in a leading Master of Health Administration program in Australia and in China. She recently published (with colleagues) the results of a major study of the effectiveness of government funding for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (The Overburden Report: Contracting for Indigenous health services, available at http://www.crcah.org.au/publications/ ).

Judith is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and of the Australian College of Health Service Executives, and has extensive experience as a board director and as a senior manager. She was the inaugural president of Women’s Hospitals Australasia, and founding chair of the Australian Resource Centre for Healthcare Innovation. She was listed as one of Australia’s ‘Smart 100’ by The Bulletin in 2003, and was awarded the inaugural Women’s Health Award by the Australian Medical Association in 1998.

She has published widely in academic and professional journals, and with colleagues is the author of the popular book Project Management in Health and Community Services: Getting Good Ideas to Work, published by Allen and Unwin.

Kathy Eagar

Professor Kathy Eagar is professor of health services research and Director of the Centre for Health Service Development (CHSD) at the University of Wollongong Australia.  Kathy has over thirty years experience in the health and community care systems, during which she had divided her time between being a clinician, a senior manager and a health academic.  She has authored over 350 papers on management, quality, outcomes, information systems and funding of the Australia and New Zealand health and community care systems.  The CHSD has a team of over 40 researchers covering 18 disciplines and manages the Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre (AROC), the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) and the National Casemix and Classification Centre (NCCC).

Niki Ellis

Professor Niki Ellis is an occupational and public health physician, who is currently the CEO of the new Institute of Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research at Monash University.  Previously she was the Foundation Director and Professor of the Centre for Military and Veterans’ Health at the University of Queensland.  Before becoming an academic she worked in government and then the private sector.

Mary Foley

Mary is currently the National Health Practice Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Australia.

She has held senior positions in government, corporate private health, not-for-profit and academic sectors including the role of CEO of St Vincent’s & Mater Health Sydney, and Deputy Secretary of the NSW Department of Health.

Mary is a published expert in the financing and structuring of health systems and recently advised the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission on the public-private mix of financing and delivering health care in Australia.

Ian Hardy

Ian Hardy has been Chief Executive of Helping Hand Aged Care in South Australia since 1990.   One of the state’s largest aged care providers, Helping Hand built and piloted the first “ageing-in-place” care facility in Australia and is well known for innovation in rehabilitation, hospital avoidance, mental health and social support services for older people.

At the end of 2001 Ian completed a two-year term as President of the national aged-care peak body Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA).

He is a member of the Board of the Adelaide Northern Division of General Practice, and is a former member of the Boards of the Repatriation General Hospital in Adelaide and the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing, the South Australian Ministerial Advisory Board on Ageing and the State Disability Advisory Board. He was a member of the Reference Group for the Hogan Pricing Review of aged care and of the Australian Government’s Community Care Ministerial Advisory Committee.

He has spoken at conferences throughout Australia and in New Zealand, Singapore and Spain.

In 2003 he was awarded a Centenary Medal and in 2004 was the recipient of the Aged and Community Services Australia Individual Award for Excellence. In 2005 Ian was awarded the honorary title of University Fellow by the University of South Australia, and in 2007 a Federal Minister’s Award for Excellence in Leadership and Management in Aged Care.

In 2008 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) “for service to the community, particularly in the area of aged care as a leading contributor to the development of better services”. He has recently returned from a Churchill Fellowship tour to investigate “consumer-directed” aged care in the UK, Europe and Japan.

Siobahn Harpur

Siobhan is currently Transitional Chief Executive Officer of Population Health in the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services.

Siobhan has managed primary health, mental health, aged care and rural and community health services in Australia and England. She was instrumental in a financial sustainability analysis that flagged the changes ahead with workforce, demographic and health care needs in rural communities.

The Tasmania Health Plan has included more than 140 different projects and initiatives and Siobhan was appointed to coordinate implementation and lead some its strategic developments including:  integrated care centres and partnerships with the GP Divisions and University of Tasmania Health Faculty, as well as the broader Tasmania community. More than 50% of the Plan is now being progressed by service delivery leaders in the Agency.  Siobhan has led programs of strategic development including frameworks for innovation and integration of care, training and education for the current and future workforce, partnerships with general practice and the education sectors, and whole sector strategies for chronic conditions and community engagement.

Professor Ken Hillman

Ken Hillman is Professor of Intensive Care at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and is an actively practising clinician in Intensive Care. Ken graduated from Sydney University and trained at St Vincents Hospital in Sydney and St. Bartholomews hospital in London. He became the Director of Intensive Care at Charing Cross Hospital in London before returning to Australia to become Director at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney. He has over 100 peer reviewed publications; approximately 50 chapters in textbooks; co-authored an intensive care textbook; co-edited several textbooks; and written a book. He is the Director of the Simpson Centre for Health Services Research which is affiliated with the Australian Institute of Health Innovation at the UNSW.

Bruce Hurley

Bruce Hurley has been involved in the Victorian primary health care sector for 27 years, two years as a community health executive officer for the Victorian Healthcare Association and 25 years as a CEO of several Community Health Centres. He has represented community health on various government committees, chaired the second international primary healthcare conference in Melbourne 2000 and has presented at conferences in Australia and Canada.  He is currently CEO of Gippsland Lakes Community Health, a centre that is noted for its partnerships with Aboriginal communities.

Tina Ivanov

Associate Professor Tina Ivanov, Manager Graduate and Vocational Education, Ambulance Victoria

Tina has worked in Ambulance for 13 years, both as a Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) Paramedic, and more recently as a Manager of Education. She has worked in metropolitan and rural settings, and has experience with Vocational Education as well as Higher Education programs. Tina has responsibility for the education and training programs for the Graduate Ambulance Paramedics and their in-field support staff, as well as for the volunteer ambulance staff across the state. Tina has a strong interest in clinical education and the role of mentors.

Janet Kelly

Dr Janet Kelly is an experienced researcher and community health nurse. She has worked and researched in Aboriginal and mainstream primary and tertiary health care settings, in urban, rural and remote areas.

Dr Kelly now working on the Stepping Up: Mainstream Care for Aboriginal People project focusing on improving metropolitan hospital care for Aboriginal people, particularly those from rural and remote areas. 

Professor Michael Kidd AM

Michael Kidd is a general practitioner and the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (including the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing and Midwifery) at Flinders University. He is also the chair of the Australian Government’s Ministerial Advisory Committee on Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections. He is a past President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. His book with Professor Leanne Rowe on doctors’ health and well being, “First do no harm – how to be a resilient doctor in the 21st century”, was published by McGraw Hill in 2009.

Michael Legg

Michael Legg PhD FAICD FAIM FACHI MACS ARCPA is Principal of Michael Legg and Associates, a Professorial Fellow with the Health Informatics Research Centre, University of Wollongong, and has just stepped down from a six year term as President of the Health Informatics Society of Australia.
A physiologist by training, he was a leader of small, medium and large health care provider organisations, including pathology laboratories, for more than 20 years and now provides advice to governments, associations and private companies.

Sandra Leggat

Professor Sandra G. Leggat BSc (Physical Therapy) Toronto, MHSc (Health Administration) Toronto, MBA York, PhD (Organisational Behaviour) Toronto, Graduate Certificate (Higher Education) La Trobe, CHE, FCHSE

Dr. Sandra Leggat is Professor of Health Services Management and Associate Dean Human Biosciences and Public Health at La Trobe University located in Melbourne, Australia. Sandy trained as a Physiotherapist, is a Certified Health Executive from the Canadian College of Health Services Executives and a Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Managers. Her doctoral research examined the transformation in the practice of medicine and human resource management resulting from a change in financial incentives provided to a group of paediatricians.
Prior to joining La Trobe University, Sandy was a Principal Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers where she managed large health care and broader public sector engagements throughout Asia Pacific. Sandy has also had substantial experience in health service management as Chief Planning Officer of the Inner & Eastern Health Care Network (Melbourne) and as a senior manager at The Toronto Hospital and Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care (Canada). She was CEO of the Health Station Community Health Service and Chair of the Board of Directors of COTA Community Rehabilitation and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. 

Sandy is interested in health care planning and has participated in a variety of strategic and service planning assignments throughout Australia. Her current research focuses on human resource management in the public sector, with an emphasis on teamwork, and planning and performance monitoring for public sector organisations. 

Adrienne Lewis

Adrienne has a broad range of multidisciplinary health experience having worked across the nursing, medical and dental sectors. In addition, she has proven experience in clinical education, workforce planning and high level project management at both a state and national level. A Master of Public Management and a Master of Nursing Studies support her understanding of human service delivery, government health policy development and implementation.

Professor Vivian Lin

Vivian Lin is Professor of Public Health at La Trobe University in Melbourne. She has previously worked at senior levels of government in NSW and Victoria, as well as the National Public Health Partnership. Vivian is the President of the Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Victoria, serves on the Australia-China Council and the boards of the Coopertative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health in Australia as well as the International Union of Health Promotion and Education, as Vice President for Scientific Affairs. She consults for the World Bank, World Health Organization, and the UK Dept for International Development, particular in China and the Asia-Pacific Region. She is an advisory editor for health policy for Social Science and Medicine. Vivian received her educational qualifications at Yale (BA) and UC Berkeley (MPH and DrPH).

Dean Littlefield

Account Executive, National Health Practice CSC

Dean Littlefield is the Account Executive for SA Health within CSC’s National Health Practice. Dean brings to CSC an extensive 35-year career in the Information and Communications Technology Industries. He has held senior management positions with a number of leading Australian and International IT companies. His work has predominantly spanned across Australia, but has included periods overseas; three years in London, a year in San Francisco, and three and a half years in Singapore as Director Business Development for the Asia Pacific region. Dean has also served as CEO of two medium-sized Adelaide software companies, building global and international partner networks throughout the Asia Pacific region.

Dean’s work over the past six years has focussed on the Healthcare industry, gaining significant experience in National eHealth Initiatives throughout Europe and North America, including Health Information Network Initiatives in Denmark, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the states of Massachusetts and Minnesota. Dean’s expertise spans to include General Business Management, Sales and Marketing Management, Business Growth, International Business Development, OEM and Business Partner Relationships, Major Bid Management, Staff Leadership and Team Development. He has conducted over 100 presentations and keynote addresses at a variety of seminars and sessions on National eHealth Initiatives, Information Technology in Healthcare, Information Technology and Telecommunications, Technology in Manufacturing, Total Quality Management, Call Centre Technology, eCommerce, and Spatial Information Systems.

As Chair of the ICT Council of South Australia, Dean oversaw the merger between the ICT Council and the Electronics Industry Association. He is the past Deputy Chair AIIA in South Australia, Director of the Financial and Services Sector Industry Skills Board, Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Playford Centre (benevolent organisation promoting Information Technology and financially assisting IT start-ups), funded by EDS, Microsoft and the South Australian Government.

Yvonne Luxford

As CEO of Palliative Care Australia, Yvonne Luxford interacts and collaborates with all levels of government, health professionals, service providers and advocacy bodies in an effort to achieve high quality health care which is accessible and culturally appropriate.

Her previous roles include managing the policy, advocacy, media and communication strategies of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, SEO of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine, and several years as a university lecturer in various health related subjects. She has qualifications in philosophy, higher education and her doctoral thesis explored a mixture of policy and medical issues with a focus on child oral health. Yvonne has held positions on various boards and senior committees across sectors including health, higher education, housing and childcare. She has particular interests in Indigenous health, chronic disease prevention and equity of access to healthcare.

Kerry Lyons

Principal Project Officer, Queensland Health. Kerry Lyons is a Social Worker with extensive experience in Policy development and health service reform. Most recently Kerry has worked on the development and trialling of alternate service delivery models for allied health.

Professor John McCallum

Professor John McCallum is Senior Scientist (Public Health) and Executive Director Health Evidence and Advice Branch of NHMRC. He completed Economics and Psychology and won the 1977 University Medal at University of Queensland, then Bachelor, Masters and Doctoral studies at Nuffield College in Oxford University UK. In 2003 he was awarded a Federation Medal ‘for outstanding service as a researcher into ageing. He was Deputy Vice Chancellor (Educational Programs) and Director TAFE at Victoria University 2004-2010 and Executive Dean of Health at the University of Western Sydney 1995- 2004. He worked as a National Service Officer in the Pacific Island Regiment and Employment Officer at Bougainville Copper both in PNG, at Griffith University, the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California, Nanzan University in Nagoya and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology both in Japan. His major research activities include the Dubbo Longitudinal Study with more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, national policy projects, the Australia-Japan Collaboration in Aged Care, the international Asset and Health Dynamics of the ‘Old’ Old (AHEAD) project, the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study and the Vietnam Veterans Mortality Study.

Mitch Messer

Mitch is the Chair of the Board of the Australian Institute for Health Policy Studies and has been a consumer advocate for over 25 years, working at local, state, national and international levels.
He is a past Chairperson of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) and was previously Executive Director of Cystic Fibrosis WA (CFWA), where his work focussed on advocacy, policy development, community and government partnerships, contract management, strategic planning and fundraising. He continues to support the Cystic Fibrosis cause and is currently the President of Cystic Fibrosis Australia and Cystic Fibrosis Worldwide.
Mitch has been a regular speaker on the topics of consumer participation in health, cystic fibrosis, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, quality use of medicines, e-health and safety & quality in health care.  He is passionate about ensuring that the consumer voice is heard whenever there is a debate about health reform, policy, planning and service delivery. He believes that it is impossible to design and operate a health care system that delivers necessary, high quality, safe and efficient services without including and listening to the consumer voice and experience.   

Prof Anthony J McMichael

Professor Tony McMichael, medical graduate (Adelaide University, Sth Australia) and epidemiologist, holds an NHMRC Australia Fellowship at the Australian National University, Canberra, where he heads a large research program on Environment, Climate and Health. He is also Honorary Professor of Climate Change and Health at the University of Copenhagen. He was previously Professor of Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. His past research interests have spanned dietary, social and, in particular, environmental epidemiology. During the 1990s he helped pioneer the assessment of health risks from global environmental change. In 1993 he published Planetary Overload: Global Environmental Change and the Health of the Human Species (Cambridge University Press). During 1993-2006 he played a leading role in health risk assessment for the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In addition to his many published research papers and book chapters, his most recent books are (sole-author) Human Frontiers and Disease: Past Patterns, Uncertain Futures (Cambridge University Press, 2001) and (senior editor and author) Climate Change and Human Health: Risks and Responses (Geneva: WHO, 2003).

Michael Montalto

Dr Michael Montalto is the medical director of Hospital in the Home at Epworth Hospital and Royal Melbourne Hospital. He has been involved in research, evaluation, policy development and clinical care in Hospital in the Home for 17 years. In 1999, he received a PhD in the evaluation of Hospital in the Home. Michael served as a member of the Advisory Board to the Victorian Department of Health review of Hospital in the Home

Stephen Moo

Stephen has been employed in the health sector for in excess of 25 years and over the last 12 years has had direct responsibility for the design, development, implementation and on-going systems management for major corporate client and clinical information systems and Information Communications Infrastructure.

Stephen has been Director of e Health NT for the past 7 years and is the principal Architect and Sponsor for the development and implementation of a comprehensive e Health program that is widely regarded as being the most advanced of its kind in Australia.

Stephen has been Chair of the National Health CIO Forum for the past 2 years and has played a key role in the development of the National e Health Strategy and the development of national e Health foundation services and standards by the National e Health Transitional Authority (NEHTA).

Greg Mundy, Chief Executive Officer, Aged & Community Services Australia

Greg Mundy is the Chief Executive of Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) the national peak body for providers of residential care, community care and housing for older people.  Greg has an extensive background in the aged and community care sector and in the broader health and human services field.

Greg has a strong commitment to the development of the aged care sector and its capacity to provide high quality services that meet the diverse needs of its clients.

Greg has a background in policy making in Government and holds a master’s degree in sociology from the Australian National University. He was born in England and educated in England, New Zealand and Australia.   

Esther Murray
CEO Manningham Community Health Services

Irish born Esther Murray trained as a Registered Nurse in Dublin specialising in Mental Health. 

Arriving in Australia in the 70’s Esther has worked in NSW, NT & Vic in Remote, Rural and Metro areas in Health & Disabilities.  With extensive experience in Acute and Primary Health Esther has held Senior Leadership positions at The Alfred in Melbourne, St John of God in Sydney and Melbourne and Primary Health in Melbourne.

Dr Tony O’Connell

MB, BS, FANZCA, FJFICM
CEO Centre for Healthcare Improvement

Tony is the CEO of the Centre for Healthcare Improvement in Queensland. He took up his position in Aug 2009. Previously he was Deputy Director-General - Health System Performance in the NSW Dept of Health. He directed the NSW Government’s major redesign program for Health, the Clinical Services Redesign Program.  His background is as a clinician for 28 years as an intensive care specialist and anaesthetist. He moved from being Head of the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, NSW to work full-time in the NSW Department of Health in 2004.
He has been involved in state-wide system change for over a decade and his major achievement has been facilitating a turnaround in access performance for both emergency and elective patients in NSW in the face of rising demand for services.

Brian Oldenburg

Brian Oldenburg is Professor of International Public Health at Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Associate Dean (Global Health and International Campuses) in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University. His research program focuses on health policy, global health and the primary and secondary prevention of chronic conditions and associated social and behavioural risk factors across the life-course. He also holds honorary positions as Visiting Professor at Beijing Centre for Diseases Control in China and the National Public Health Institute of Finland. He is also Regional Director of the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium of Public Health (APACPH).  He has conducted research, teaching and consultancies in countries throughout the regions of Asia, the Pacific and more recently, Africa.

Dr David Panter
Executive Director, Statewide Service Strategy
SA Health

David was educated in England and holds a PhD in Developmental Psychology.  He brings a wealth of experience in senior leadership roles with extensive public sector experience in policy development and implementation at national, regional and local levels across the health and local government sectors in the United Kingdom.  He has held senior executive and chief executive roles in a number of National Health Service bodies over 15 years, including the UK’s first Primary Care Trust.

Before arriving in Australia in 2004 David was the Chief Executive of Brighton and Hove City Council.  In October 2004 David was the inaugral Chief Executive of the Central Northern Adelaide Health Service, the largest of the SA health regions. In May 2005 David was also appointed Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Adelaide.

In January 2007 David moved to his current position of Executive Director, Statewide Service Strategy in the SA Department of Health. In this role David is responsible for all clinical service planning in the State and driving forward the implementation of the SA Health Care Plan launched by Government in June 2007.

Dr Emma Parkinson-Lawrence

Emma is a passionate advocate for health and medical research in Australia, was a recipient of a Young Tall Poppy Award in 2007 and is President-elect of the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR). ASMR is the peak body representing health and medical research and researchers in Australia, fostering excellence and promoting community understanding and support through public, political and scientific advocacy. Emma is the associate group leader of the Mechanisms in Cell Biology of Disease Research Group and a Lecturer in Life Sciences within the School of Pharmacy and Medical Science at the University of South Australia. Her research is focussed on understanding how material stored within intracellular lysosomes affects the function of neurons in a genetic disease called Sanfilipo Syndrome. This is a collaborative project with researchers in the lysosomal diseases research unit, SA Pathology and Flinders University.

Lisa Pettigrew

Lisa Pettigrew is the Director for Health Services at CSC. Lisa joined CSC in 2009 bringing 15 years experience in management and IT consulting supporting clients in the health, human services and public sector markets in Australia and overseas.
Lisa’s work over recent years has involved providing consulting services to several large public sector health organisations as Program Director, Change Lead, Strategy Lead and Expert Advisor. These programs included reform of models of care and business processes across many clinical specialities in hospital and community settings, to drive operational improvements and a more connected patient experience; IT Transformation to implement mature industry standard processes; feasibility studies and strategies for shared services and supply chain reform in the health and human services sectors; and various system and business reviews across public sector health organisations.
Lisa’s previous roles also included oversight of health industry consulting operations throughout Asia Pacific which necessitated an understanding of healthcare, systems and models in many countries.
Lisa’s role at CSC encompasses creating and operationalising the company’s strategy for the health market in Australia. This includes bringing and localising relevant experience, assets and skills from CSC’s extensive work in the health sector in UK, USA and Europe. A particular area of focus is bringing CSC’s acknowledged international experience to the Australian arena of e-health and electronic
medical records.

Assoc Prof Ian Scott

Annette Schmiede

Annette Schmiede has a wealth of experience in Australia’s Health and Aged Care sectors. With a career spanning three decades, she has a deep knowledge and extensive experience in all aspects of service planning and delivery, operations and governance. She has had advisory and leadership roles across a range of public and private organizations, and has an established reputation for managing complex projects.

Over the last ten years she has combined responsibilities for managing complex hospital development projects along with organizational governance responsibilities. She has been involved from the earliest days of PPP health projects in Australia, both at the project development and tendering phase, through to project implementation and operation.

Annette has played a significant leadership role in the development of Catholic Health and Aged Care in Australia. She has an in-depth understanding of the structure, funding and policy framework of health and aged care in Australia, and is conversant with the major issues confronting these industries.

Annette is an economics graduate from the University of Sydney, she is an adjunct associate professor at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy at Sydney University and is a member of the Australian College of Health Service Executives. Annette maintains an extensive local and international health network.

Dr Paul Scown
MB, BS (Qld), BHA (NSW), FRACMA, AFCHSE

Dr Paul Scown established his consulting practice in 2005 after a career in medicine, medical administration and general management. His practice covers the health, education and research sectors and their interfaces, and involves issues management, services and facilities planning and development, project management and directing, services reviews, strategic reviews and executive and clinician mentoring.

His assignments are varied, including the roles of Project Director, Asbestos Diseases Research Foundation, developing a charitable foundation and overseeing the construction of the Bernie Banton Centre at Concord NSW; and as Interim Chief Operating Officer of the Brain & Mind Research Institute (BMRI) with the University of Sydney, assisting in the development of the BMRI as a formal Centre of the University and assisting in developing a new approach to interdisciplinary, cross-faculty research groups.

Over recent years he has completed a range of consultancies across the health, education and research sectors in Australia and is an assessor for the Australian Medical Council’s (AMC) accreditation of new Medical Schools and professional medical colleges.

From 2000-2005, Paul was the Chief Executive of Melbourne Health, a major Melbourne public health service of $600+M, 1200 beds and 7000 staff. Paul headed Melbourne Health, which includes the Royal Melbourne Hospital, for 4 1/2 years, during a period of significant strategic and cultural change. He also led the financial and performance recovery of Melbourne Health, using a balanced scorecard approach.

Paul has previously worked in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia before moving to Victoria. He has been a practising clinician and medical administrator before moving into general management in 1993. He also has a long history of involvement in emergency planning at the national, state and local level since 1986.

He has been a Board Director of the Walter & Eliza Hall Research Institute (WEHI), Bio21 Australia Ltd, Health Roundtable, Royal Melbourne Hospital Foundation Ltd & the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI).

Paul is currently national Vice-President of the Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association (AHHA), a post he has held since 2004, Victorian State President of the AHHA and a National Councillor on the Australian Council on HealthCare Standards (ACHS).

Mark Sullivan

Mark Sullivan has over 25 years of executive level experience working with public health care in local government and community health. For the past 12 years Mark has served as CEO of Dianella Community Health Service – a primary health care organisation on the northern fringe of Melbourne, Victoria. 

Dianella delivers extensive primary healthcare services within a model which values the need to address the social determinants of health. The organisation has experienced rapid growth over recent years and employs approximately 300 staff including allied health, nursing, dental, general practitioners and health promotion specialists.

Dianella is an independent charitable company owned and run by the local community with funding largely derived from State and Federal Government sources.

Mark is currently a representative on the Board of the National Peak body, the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association. Previously Mark has served as chair of the Victorian peak body, Community Health Victoria. His particular interests are the development of robust clinical governance systems in a primary care environment and the delivery of evidence based health promotion services.

Anne Trimmer

Anne Trimmer is the Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Technology Association of Australia.  Prior to joining MTAA, Anne had an extensive career in the legal profession, practising law as a commercial partner of a major Australian law firm.

Anne has held several leadership positions in professional and educational bodies, including a period as President of the Law Council of Australia, Deputy Chancellor of the University of Canberra and Chair of the Australian Government’s Advisory Council on Intellectual Property.

Anne chairs the Centre of Excellence in Vision Sciences at the Australian National University and is a director of organisations with interests in medical research and legal policy.

Professor Merrilyn Walton

Merrilyn Walton is Professor of Medical Education (Patient safety), Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney. She is a leading patient-safety academic and works nationally and internationally in the field. Currently she is working with the WHO as a lead expert on patient safety education for health professionals. She is the author of two books and co-author of her latest Safety and Ethics in Health Care. Professor Walton is immediate past chair of the NSW Prevocational Medical Training Council and is a member of the Management Committee of the NSW Institute for Medical Education and Training. She is also a member of the National Health Practitioner Registration Agency and a member of the Australian Health Ethics Committee. She is a visiting professor and affiliate of The Buehler Center on Aging, Health and Society at Northwestern University in the USA.

Professor Tarun Weeramanthri, Executive Director Public Health and Chief Health Officer, WA Department of Health

After training in WA, Tarun worked in the Northern Territory from 1991-2007, first in Aboriginal health research, and then as an outreach and specialist physician. He helped develop the NT Preventable Chronic Disease Strategy, and became NT Chief Health Officer in 2004. He returned to WA in 2008 to establish a new Public Health Division. His interests are in the contribution public health can make to Aboriginal health improvement, health services research and the implementation of health policy, and the potential of spatial technology as an everyday tool for health data analysis.

Marvin Weinman, Company Director, Chairman and Founder ShareLife Australia, Outcomes Australia

Marvin Weinman is a Company Director and Business Advisor with over 20 years experience in managing companies in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the United States and Canada.

Marvin has a wide-ranging management background in marketing, supply chain management, and financial and strategic planning within the fast moving consumer goods, apparel products and building material industries.

With a track record of driving major change and improvement programs, his Executive experience includes positions as Managing Director of George Weston Foods – with a turnover of over $1.6billion – owners of some of Australia’s most iconic food brands such as Tip Top bread and Wagon Wheels. He was Managing Director of Boral Building products – with sales in excess of $1.2billion – and he served as General Manager for Laminex Industries and Formica Asia.

Marvin is currently a Director for Walden Farms International, ProPlanet, T-Box Canada and CoSports Australia. He holds economics and sociology qualifications and was a Member of the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.

Since semi-retiring, Marvin has developed a strong community interest. As a former Director for the Garvan Research Foundation and former Chairman of Transplant Australia, he is now enjoying imparting his business knowledge into not-for-profit community interests.

As Chairman of Outcomes Australia and ShareLife Australia, he is leading a diverse and committed group of like-minded leaders in initiating community change, the first initiative being to stop Australians dying needlessly by improving the number of transplants performed in Australia.

Sue White

Sue White is the General Manager of Complex Care and Oral Health at Inner South Community Health Service. She has a long standing interest in and commitment to health inequities. For most of her professional life, she has worked with marginalised populations both in Melbourne and internationally. She is a registered nurse and has recently completed her Masters in Public Health.