Official Event Advisory Panel
Quest Events would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the official event advisory panel who contributed their valuable time and expertise to ensure the agenda for this event is timely and relevant for all stakeholders working in the Government Diversity & Inclusion sector.
Amanda Lawrie-Jones
Disability Inclusion Consultant
Accessible Action Consulting
Amanda Lawrie-Jones is a skilled Disability Inclusion Consultant with decades of organisational capability experience, working in both government and non-government sectors. Her field of expertise focuses on the social model of disability and supports organisations to improve outcomes and increase participation for people with disability. She provides functional expertise and valuable lived experience from the perspectives of people with disability to shift mindsets and promote access and inclusion within your organisation. Her purpose is to enable our clients to progress their access and inclusion journey by developing strategies, policies, and processes to include people with disability from a customer, community and employee perspective.
Amanda is a strong advocate for shifting mindsets and breaking down barriers and to influence people to think differently about disability. Her leadership in this area is demonstrated by her commitment to her community connections on several Boards, including a member of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council reporting to the Minister of Disability, Ageing and Carers, The Hon Luke Donnellan.
Justin Lokhorst
Director – Business Surveys Transition Team
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Justin Lokhorst is the South Australian Strategic Partnership Manager at the Australian Bureau of Statistics in Adelaide and has over 20 years experience in a variety of analytical, technical and leadership roles. Justin is recognised for his pragmatic, customer-focused delivery of outcomes in conjunction with his inclusive leadership of staff.
He has built large, high performing and diverse teams through a focus on inclusion and workplace adjustment. In 2017, he was awarded the Australian Public Service Commission individual award for Diversity and Gender Equality, recognising his effort in providing an inclusive workplace for all staff.
Rev Lin Surch
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Beyond Gender
Reverend Lin Surch is the founder and CEO at Beyond Gender; Australia’s national inclusion, belonging and well-being program. Beyond Gender provides best practice support to workplaces in all aspects of Interfaith Inclusion, LGBTQ+ Inclusion, well-being and belonging.
Lin holds extensive experience in LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion, gender diversity, access and inclusion, building resilience and psychological safety. She is known for her dynamic and engaging workplace inclusion workshops. Across her career, Lin has supported hundreds of organisations across Australia and the APAC region, where she has consulted on inclusion projects, built employee networks and facilitated thousands of workshops to tens of thousands of employees across the public and private sectors.
An ordained Interfaith Minister, Lin has lived experience on the intersectionality of diverse sexuality, gender and faith. Her practice in multi-faith and inter-spiritual inclusion at work incorporates the disciplines of psychology, neuroscience, organisational development, workplace diversity, education theory and cultural studies.
Lin lives in Sydney with her partner Tracey and their four beloved fur babies; Ruby, Theo, Meg and Jagar. In her down time, Lin loves to spend time with her beloved friends, and Ministers at Sydney Sacred Centre, Pitt Street Uniting Church. A trusted consultant and inclusive change agent, Lin contributes to many panels, conferences, podcasts and continues to influence leaders and corporate communities in Australia and across the globe as they navigate the ever-evolving world of diversity and inclusion.
Superintendent David Tucker
Commander – PoliceLink
Queensland Police Service
David is a Superintendent of Police with 38 years of policing experience in a variety of areas including general duties, child protection, youth justice, training, education, projects including sixteen years as a Commissioned officer serving as staff officer to the Assistant Commissioner, District Officer - Innisfail, District Officer - Redcliffe, Ethical Standards Command, and Policelink and Programs. During his time at Innisfail he was the District Disaster Co-ordinator for tropical cycle Yasi for the Innisfail Disaster District.
In leading the Policelink non urgent contact centre for nearly five years he has been exposed to the challenges of delivering services which result in almost 2 million contacts per year. David has a strong interest surrounding issues of inclusion and diversity which was validated during his studies for his Master of Education (Educational Leadership).
In 2019 David was awarded an Exemplary Conduct Medal (Corporate) for the action he had taken in the QPS workplace surrounding inclusion and diversity, in particular with respect to LGBTQ+ inclusion.