Emily Andary
Senior Workforce Strategist
SA Department for Communities and Social Inclusion
An Organisational Development professional, Emily has a keen passion for diversity and inclusion in the workplace and across all aspects of life.
Having worked in the disability sector and South Australian Public Sector for over 15 years, Emily has actively participated in and helped facilitate a shift in how diversity and inclusion are approached in the workplace by bringing it to the forefront of leadership and culture development.
Emily has led the consultation, development and execution of the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion's (DCSI) first comprehensive Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, and associated key action plans. In doing so she has established and effectively managed professional relationships with key stakeholders across DCSI and the wider South Australian Public Sector.
Emily is dedicated to creating positive and inclusive workplace cultures and believes that a thriving and successful workplace relies on it.
Emily chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Community of Practice for DCSI.
Allana Bianchi
Manager, Workforce Strategy
Public Service Commission
Allana leads the inclusion and diversity portfolio for Queensland Government, within the Queensland Public Service Commission. The agenda focusses on gender pay equity, LGBTIQ+, disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and the mature workforce.
Allana worked a number of years in the human services sector, including in the area of disability. After gaining formal qualifications in Human Services, Allana joined the public service and worked in front line child protection, before establishing and coordinating a staff support unit for child protection staff. Moving from child protection to generalist human resources, Allana led the first Queensland Government agency to achieve White Ribbon Workplace accreditation in 2016, part of a whole-of-Government domestic and family violence workplace reform.
Working a significant amount of time in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships allowed Allana to expand on her cultural capability and awareness around working with Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people and a deeper understanding of the complexities that face them when they are employed in the public sector.
In addition to a Bachelor of Human Services, Allana has post graduate education qualifications.
Skye Blair
Transport Leader
Calibre Group
Skye is a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 15 years of combined construction, design, project management and corporate management experience in the civil and marine industry.
She understands civil design, project management and construction processes first hand which enables her to provide a holistic viewpoint that acknowledges the needs, expectations and constraints of multiple project stakeholders.
In Skye’s most recent role as National HSEQ Manager she led, designed and implemented Calibre’s integrated Health, Safety, Environment and Quality management system which she also achieved and maintained national third party certification for. Skye looks for the critical success factors and opportunities to innovate in every endeavour.
Garth Callender
Former Manager, Veterans Employment Program
Department of Justice
Garth left the regular Australian Army in 2013 after a distinguished seventeen-year career, during which time he commanded soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He currently leads the NSW Government Veterans Employment Program, working to ensure the highly transferable capabilities of former military professionals are understood and valued across Australian government and industry. In November 2017 the NSW Government announced that under Garth’s leadership the program had employed over 500 veterans, exceeding their target by 162 per cent, 18 months ahead of schedule.
Garth holds a Masters of Business Administration and is a published author. ‘After the Blast’ was released in 2015 and chronicles his military deployments, including his recovery from wounds inflicted by an insurgent bomb attack in Baghdad in 2004.
He remains an active member of the Australian Army Reserve and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust. He is an ambassador for Bravery Trust and the General Sir Harry Chauvel Memorial Foundation as well as the patron of the Matthew Millhouse Salute.
Alison Causley
Council Member
Australian Institute of Project Management
Alison Causley is a highly experienced Project Management Professional with substantial experience in the Defence Industry. Over the past 17 years her career has encompassed a broad range of roles delivering some of Defence’s major assets, which includes the C-17A Globemaster Heavy Air Lift Capability and the C-130J Hercules Upgrade (both aircraft used in humanitarian efforts across the globe) and the Captain Cook Graving Dock (return to Commonwealth) in Sydney’s Garden Island. Alison is now working in the Commonwealth’s strategic program to deliver Navy’s Future Frigate and Australia’s Ship Building capability.
Alison is a strong advocate for project management as a profession and uses her passion for business optimisation to align Program Management Offices with the organisational objectives.
Alison is a current Council Member for the ACT Chapter of the AIPM, and a Committee Member for the PMO Communities of Practice in the ACT where she is taking an active, front line role in improving diversity in Project Management.
Tina Dimitriadis
General Manager People and Facilities Services
Family Planning Victoria
Tina Dimitriadis is an experienced Human Resources Practitioner. As a certified human resources professional (CAHRI) with the Australian Human Resources Institute, Tina holds a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Masters of Human Resources.
Having worked across various sectors such as Telecommunications, Education, Transport, Aged and Disability Services, and now in Reproductive and Sexual Health, Tina is an agent of change and has a passion in guiding workplaces to attract, motivate and retain a highly skilled and diverse workforce whilst establishing a strong Employee Value Proposition.
In her current role as General Manager – People and Facility Services with Family Planning Victoria, Tina currently oversees Human Resources, Quality & Compliance, Health Safety and Wellbeing, Information Technology and Facilities Management.
Tina’s role as an Executive Human Resources professional has included the successful creation and establishment Greenfields HR functions, the re-engineering of HR department strategies, goals and practices to be in alignment with organisational strategies whilst working to ensure that the HR function is a strategic partner.
With a passion for driving diversity initiatives within organisations and working to sustain diversity through flexible work practices, Tina continues to seek opportunities to create opportunities for a diverse workforce.
Sandra Hills
Chief Executive Officer
Benetas
Benetas is one of the leading not-for-profit providers to older Australians of residential care, in-home care, respite care, housing services and retirement living in Victoria.
Benetas is proudly committed to Diversity. The organisation has a mandate to continually develop inclusive and welcoming initiatives for both clients and staff. Benetas has a strong record of levelling the playing field for women. The Federal Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has acknowledged Benetas with the Citation of Employer of Choice for Gender (previously women) for 11 years in a row. In 2016 Sandra was nominated as a finalist for the 2016 AHRI CEO Diversity Champion Award and was acknowledged for her service to aged care and promoting women in the workplace in Victoria with a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia, in the 2017 Queens Birthday Honour List.
Sandra Hills joined Benetas in 2009 with career experience in local and state government and the not for profit sector and has qualifications spanning: nursing, psychology, research and business management. Under Sandra's leadership, Benetas has diversified its services to meet new and future demand with a specific focus on innovation, research, workforce development and sustainable fiscal growth.
In 2014, Benetas released its Strategic Plan: Towards 2019 which identifies its forward focus and growth pathways across aged and community care, health, social advocacy and retirement living options.
Benetas has developed a recognised contribution in the research and advocacy space and the future focus will be on translating research into practice. As a voice and advocate for older people, Sandra’s published works span topics including social isolation, consumer engagement, promotion of a good ageing and end of life experience, quality and best practice, and a future reform agenda.
Benetas has committed to expanding its role in aged and community care and continues to influence debate and discussion on key topics. Sandra continues to work in leadership roles within the community including as; a long standing Director of peak body group Leading Age Services Australia, (Victoria), Directors of Anglicare Australia and Community Chefs, and as a member of the National Aged Care Alliance.
Lauren Jauncey
Director
Frankly Diversity
Lauren Jauncey is founder and Director of Frankly Diversity. Prior to launching Frankly Diversity, Lauren was the National Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at Australia Post.
Over her career, Lauren has a proven track record of improving organisational performance through the implementation of diversity, leadership, talent and culture change programs. She is an expert in improving the representation of women across all levels of leadership, achieving a gender pay gap of zero across the enterprise, developing and implementing Reconciliation Action Plans, supporting LGBTIQ programs organisation-wide and improving the experiences of people with a disability and their carers.
Jessica Kaaden 
HR Manager
Victorian Public Sector Commission
Jessica Kaaden specialises in strategic HR programs and projects in the Victorian public sector.
As a Senior Strategy Adviser working for the Victorian Public Sector Commission Jessica contributed to the Victorian People Capability Strategy and provided strategic advice to multiple government departments and agencies on a range of workforce challenges, including recruiting for diversity.
Jessica was named Australia’s HR Rising Star in 2016 by Dave Ulrich and the Australia Human Resources Institute for her work on innovative programs and projects across the Victorian public sector.
Jane Keating
Managing Director
Queensland Treasury Corporation
Jane was appointed Managing Director of Corporate Services effective July 2016. In this role, she leads the corporate support functions to enable business success—delivering vendor management, human resources, legal, corporate governance and communication services.
Jane joined QTC in 2013 as General Manager of Human Resources, bringing 20-years’ industry experience and expertise in leadership and talent management, organisational development and cultural change. During this time, Jane utilised her broad, diversified human resources and human services experience to support organisational development and enhance people outcomes at QTC.
Prior to joining QTC, Jane spent a number of years in Executive Management roles at Suncorp. As part of Suncorp’s Human Resources, Jane focused on leadership development and culture change initiatives, delivering key Group wide programs. She also developed innovative talent attraction and retention approaches, including developing strategies around talent mobility, critical experience and deployment opportunities.
For many years, Jane successfully ran her own consulting company with clients across a broad spectrum of private enterprise; State and Commonwealth Government. Managing her consulting business allowed her to develop broad diversified experience, including executive coaching, mentoring, project management, strategic facilitation, diversity initiatives and community consultation.
In 2017, Jane’s team received the Australian HR Team of the Year (≤ 1000 Employees) Award and was a finalist for Australian HR Director of the Year.
Max’s expertise lies in helping people and organisations, flourish in spite of the intensity and challenge of change events. She is a strategic change specialist – supporting and guiding organisations through change to deliver greater productivity, performance and profitability.
Max has been consulting in change and communications for over 10 years, working with boards, executive leadership, middle management and project teams. With over 25 years’ experience in education, communications and change, Max works with all levels of management to execute organisation-wide change and has become known as a trusted advisor to people at all levels within the organisation.
Karen Lay-Brew
President
Australian Business Software Industry Association
Karen is a Board Member and Corporate Advisor, and presently holds the position President on the Australian Business Software Industry Association (ABSIA) Board.
She works closely with both Australian Government and the private sector. Karen previously worked at Microsoft HQ in the USA as VP for delivering global software launches coordinating Marketing, Sales, Partners and Customer Service, and established Women in IT. She also served as the VP of Six Sigma and CIO for BHP Billiton Base Metals division where she implemented a world-wide Six Sigma Operational Excellence programme. As the CIO for Honeywell Asia-Pacific, she has worked across different cultures and geographies to successfully integrate the disparate IT organisations serving 14 different countries.
Karen has also consulted to various Government departments and SMEs. With over 35 years’ professional experience, Karen specialises in changing the culture of organisations and communities, and is an avid diversity champion on women’s challenges.
Jon Le Breton
Relationship Manager
Pride in Diversity
I've transformed workplaces and implemented change to create positive outcomes over the last 18 years. I’ve trained over fifteen thousand people in various skills and enable Australia's Public Service and private organisations to build their inclusion capability and enhance overall performance.
My training and facilitation style is engaging, exciting, educational, and innovative. I offer a wide range of solutions to really get your organisation stepping out of old ways that didn’t work and into new ways of thinking that are all about unlocking potential, possibilities and opportunity. Training really lifts the benchmark and empowers everybody who is a part of it. Get the best results from your team and improve satisfaction all around with my training and facilitation solutions.
Organisations who've benefited include: Sydney International Duty Free (Heinemann), Hollard Financial Services, ANZ (OnePath), ING Australia Insurance, Super and Investments, CBA, BT Financial Group, Westpac, Cubic Corporation, CoverMore, NSW Government, Advertising Advantage (ADAD), Reactor 7, Wesfarmers Insurance, Centre for Corporate Health (CFCH), Mardi Gras Sydney, Asian Football Cup 2015, and Business Education Centre Australian Government NEIS program. Not for Profits include Community Brave Foundation, Twenty10, and University of Wollongong Ally Network.
Key Australian Public Service departments I've supported include Defence, Australian Federal Police, Department of Health, Department of Social Services, Australian Taxation Office, Department of Human Services, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and agencies such as CSIRO, ASIC, ACCC and APRA.
Danielle Marsden-Ballard
Founder & Owner
Sacred Earth Works
As a change agent, I work across community, government, private & NFP sector organisations including: Telstra, Commonwealth EPA, ACT Commissioner for the Environment, Goulburn Jail, Auswide, the ANU, Uni of Canberra (UC), Canberra Institute of Technology, Greencorps, TAFE Goulburn, a local government authority, Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) et al.
Landscaper, farmer, ecotourism host, youth worker, builder, welder, geek, electronics technician, writer, speaker, advocate, social ecologist, climate science communicator, RFS Duty Officer & firefighter, & muso; custodian of 500 beautiful bush acres; Mum to 7 horses, 7 cats, 2 dogs & a possum, & still aiming for Renaissance Woman badge ;-)
Being transgender, transdisciplinary, & a high functioning autism spectrum woman, I don’t conform to labels & artificial boundaries. I was described by my peers while on an international sustainability project, as a walking encyclopaedia on all aspects of sustainability & social change.
Not taking illogical ‘Nos’ for an answer, I take opportunities missed, poke papered-over cracks & into dark corners uncovering mythologies, incompetence & corruption; & I create new knowledge. This leads to more brickbats than bouquets, & more contracts terminated than extended.
Peter Nemtsas 
Managing Director
Myoora Transformations
Peter owns and operates his own consulting and contracting business that provides organisations with a competitive edge through the application of sound supply chain management and process improvements through Lean and 6 Sigma to reduce bottom line costs. The business also performs training design and delivery services for transport and Logistics, Project Management, Competitive Systems and Practices, Management and Leadership.
Peter is an industry recognised Supply Chain Executive and passionate trainer and mentor. Best practice know-how is provided through the application of Lean Manufacturing techniques and international standard of excellence, captured from having worked with iconic industries like Transport and Logistics (Linfox) Energy (Western Power), Retail (Coles Myer & Spotlight), FMCG, Industrial (Komatsu), Health Care (Faulding, Mayne Health, Glaxo Smith Kline), Tyres (Dunlop Goodyear, Michelin), Technology (Telstra, SPAusnet), Auto (BMW, Holden, Mitsubishi), Defence (Royal Australian Air Force) to Consulting (CEVA Logistics and KM&T).
Peter was most recently the Asia Pacific Training Manager/CEO RTO 103554 for Linfox where he developed and delivered nationally recognised training in logistics, warehousing, transport, (including the new 2016 units for Chain of Responsibility) and Competitive Systems and Practices. Peter is also the Deputy Chairman of the Transport and Logistics Industry Reference Committee and is a member of two Transport and Logistics Technical Advisory Committees for Fatigue Management and training design and delivery in the Pacific region.
Peter has a Diploma of Administration, Certificate in Vocational Instruction, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (including LLN), Project Management Certificate, Applying Sustainability to Learning Programs, completed the Defence Industry study Course and has also completed training in Lean/6 Sigma, adult learning, industrial relations, strategic outsourcing and business planning.
Donna Rygate 
Chief Executive
Local Government NSW
Donna Rygate is the Chief Executive of Local Government NSW which is the peak industry association representing the interests of all 152 NSW general purpose councils, associate members and the NSW Aboriginal Land Council. Donna previously held senior roles in policy, communications, governance and operations in the NSW public sector.
Prior to Local Government NSW, Donna was Chief Executive of the NSW Office of Communities, the umbrella organisation for functions including: Sport; Recreation, Venues NSW, Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Penrith Lakes, Youth, Veterans’ Affairs, Volunteering, the Commission for Children & Young People, the Children’s Guardian and Aboriginal Affairs.
At the NSW Department of Planning; Infrastructure, Donna headed Corporate Governance and Policy. Prior to that, she was Deputy Director-General, Strategy, Communication and Governance at the NSW Department of Community Services. Donna's broad experience has also included roles in central agencies, transport, conservation and environment protection.
Ashley Samson
Diversity and Inclusion Consultant
Australia Post
As a child Ashley Samson loved checking the mailbox for letters and was determined to prove girls could do anything that boys could do, so her role as a Diversity and Inclusion Consultant at Australia Post was a natural fit. Add to that her volunteering for Share the Dignity, an organisation that supports women and girls in Australia, and you have the perfect mix of feminist party guest.
Ashley completed a Bachelor of Business (Human Resources) and a Bachelor of Psychology at Victoria University before starting as a HR graduate at Australia Post in 2015. She worked in enterprise culture and HR business partnering before discovering her passion lay in advocating for diversity and inclusion. With experience across the gender, culturally and linguistically diverse, LGBTI+ and disability portfolios, Ashley's looking forward to moving the conversation from one about diversity to one on how to truly foster workplace inclusion.
Belinda Watton
Executive General Manager People and Safety
Energy Queensland
Belinda Watton was appointed Executive General Manager People, Culture and Safety of Energy Queensland in October 2016 and is responsible for leading Energy Queensland’s safety, leadership and cultural improvement strategies, in addition to managing all human resource related aspects of the Group.
Prior to joining Energy Queensland, Belinda was Ergon Energy’s Executive General Manager People and Culture.
Belinda is an experienced human resources executive with a track record of transforming cultures and facilitating the creation of high performing teams in a range of complex public, private and not for profit organisations. She brings expertise in corporate strategy development, leadership and talent development, employee engagement, safety leadership, industrial relations and remunerations management.
Belinda holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Griffith University, Master of Applied Law from University of Queensland, and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance from KAPLAN. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Leigh Yardy
Head of Human Resources
City of Parramatta
I am a senior HR Executive with broad experience, having worked in highly complex and diverse organisations. My industry experience includes local government, education, transport and logistics, entertainment, event management and health. I am an accomplished HR leader who brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience to any business. I particularly enjoy the challenge of aligning business strategy with people strategy to create organisational capability that delivers results. I have led large scale projects, including organisation redesign, systems implementation, process re-engineering and mergers integration, all requiring expert change management skills.
Speaking opportunities are available!
Present your company, showcase your leadership and demonstrate how you can help public sector leaders on how to best implement their diversity and inclusion strategies.
Use this unique forum to demonstrate your value to government heads. Speakers will assert themselves as leading suppliers and solution providers to the sector.
Contact Nischal Aryal on +61 (0)2 8488 9948 or email nischala@questevents.com.au to find out how we can put you in front of a highly engaged and receptive audience.
You can also download a copy of the partnership prospectus