Speakers

Speakers participating in AFOI 2018

These people are leading or taking part in one or more event.

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Elyas Alavi

Born in Afghanistan, Elyas is an emerging visual artist and poet, now based in Adelaide. He has a Masters in Visual Arts from UniSA and has exhibited nationally...

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Dr Kristin Alford

As a futurist based at the futuristic Museum of Discovery, Kristin thrives on asking provocative questions about the role of science at the intersection...

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Kari Allen

Sparkke is an all-female alcohol company tackling entrenched biases of a male-dominated industry worth billions per annum. Kari’s extensive international marketing experience is now...

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Dr Jane Andrew

Match studio is an inspiring model for inter-disciplinary teaching and research.  Jane’s students are developing knowledge and skills within a context and reinforcing them...

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Robyn Archer AO

Awarded the International Society of Performing Arts Citation of Merit, Robyn combines artistic direction with performance, strategic advice, mentoring of younger artists and artistic...

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Edwin Kemp Attrill

Edwin won a 2015 SA Ruby Award and the Australia Council’s 2018 Kirk Robson Award. His work focuses on interactive theatre and participatory storytelling, exploring social justice themes.

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Dan Aubin

From the vantage of a handstand on top of a tall stack of wooden chairs, Dan’s mission is simple: To dare himself, and those...

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Dr Marnie Badham

Marnie is an artist-researcher at RMIT University.  She’s had the enviable task of exploring the relationship between food, sociality and sustainability through a series of...

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Professor Jason Bainbridge

Jason is an internationally recognised researcher in media, merchandising, screen studies, and popular understandings of law.  He occasionally finds his previous experience as a stand-up comedian very...

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Jani Baker

Having 20 years’ experience in the health industry under her belt, Jani has a passion for ensuring South Australians live good lives.

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Tully Barnet

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Dr Stephen Berry

Stephen is a scientist with a passion for investigating how we can improve the quality of people’s lives through better building and precinct design,...

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David Bevan

David co-presents ABC Radio Adelaide’s breakfast program. His account of the Ivan Polyukhovich prosecution, A case to answer, was republished this year to mark...

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Graham Blewitt AM

As deputy chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Graham helped to create an enforceable body of international criminal law.

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Ellen Broad

Ellen is a respected expert in data sharing, open data and artificial intelligence (AI) ethics. Her forthcoming book Made by humans: the AI condition is about...

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Professor Frank Bruno

Frank has been involved in research, consultancy and teaching in the areas of thermal storage, low energy buildings, air conditioning, refrigeration and solar thermal...

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Dr Ingrid Burkett

With two decades of experience in leading systems innovation, Ingrid is changing the ways that we approach place-based disadvantage, and fund and commission social...

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Jane Caro

Jane has published ten books, including the two novels Just a girl and Just a queen and memoir Plain speaking Jane. She created and...

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Dr Jennifer Caruso

Jenni is an Eastern Arrente woman who lectures in Aboriginal cultures and histories. Her research focuses on the impacts of removal on the Stolen...

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Dr Tim Causer

Tim is working on Jeremy Bentham’s writings on Australia for a project funded by UK Research and Innovation’s Arts and Humanities Research Council.

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Dr Megan Clark AC

Megan recently led the review of Australia’s space industry capability.  She is a director of Rio Tinto, CSL Limited and CARE Australia, and former...

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Taasha Coates

Taasha is best known as the front woman for the highly successful, multi-ARIA-winning Australian band The Audreys. She released her first solo album in 2016.

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Professor Marcello Costa

Born in Italy, Marcello is dedicated to public education in neuroscience. He’s a member of the Australian Academy of Science, and holds the title...

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Marshall Cowan

Having left a successful career in IT and software engineering, Marshall uses improvisational theatre with corporate clients and educational institutions. He’s won awards at the...

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Nick Crowther

Nick is an AFoI board member and runs creative agency, Freerange Future. He believes our values are the key to personal happiness and the...

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Michael David QC

Michael was senior defence counsel in Australia’s only war crimes trials. He has a keen interest in modern history, in particular the Nuremberg trials.

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Aaron Davis

Aaron is a design educator and researchers at UniSA, who develops innovative inter-disciplinary teaching models in higher education. His research focuses on understanding the...

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Emeritus Professor Graeme Davison AO

Graeme is Australia’s leading urban historian, interested in national identity, public history and family history. His books include The rise and fall of marvellous...

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Assistant professor Katie Dawson

Katie Dawson has written two books and presents locally and globally about ways to increase student engagement and ownership of learning through the arts.

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Dr Mark Diesendorf

Mark believes science, technology and economics should serve the community at large. He looks for ways to achieve ecologically-sustainable and socially-just development.

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James Dodd

James exhibits regularly across Australia in publicly-funded institutions, commercial galleries and artist-run spaces. His particular interests are in painting, machines as art, graffiti, adventure...

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Katrina Donaghy

Katrina’s interest in blockchain technologies is driven by her curiosity of the potential they offer to replace government legacy systems, thereby delivering efficiencies, stimulating...

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Peter Drew

Peter is known for his clandestine poster installation campaigns challenging Australian identity, most notably Real Australians say welcome, and for works based on the...

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Assistant professor Noura Erakat

Writer, activist and co-founding editor of the e-zine Jadaliyya, Noura is also a human rights attorney. She researches humanitarian law and refugee law.

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Associate professor Nick Falkner

Nick conducts research into computer network design and development, blockchain, network security, privacy preservation and the Internet of Things. His educational research focuses on...

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Guy Fisher

With 35 years’ experience in the construction industry, Guy’s passion is sustainable design.  His industry perspectives were gained through corporate property management, cost consultancy,...

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Nick Fletcher

Based at the Australian War Memorial for over 20 years, Nick knows a lot about military heraldry. He’s visited Afghanistan twice and regularly leads...

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Sally Francis

Ambassador for the Institute for Creative Health, Sally works towards having arts in health programs validated and integrated into the delivery of health services.

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Professor Peter Fray

As a reporter, editor and academic, Peter has lived through the digital revolution in news media – and spends his waking hours wondering how...

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Nina Funnell

Nina is a Walkley Award-winning journalist and anti-sexual-assault advocate. She headed up New Matilda’s exclusive #MeToo investigation into workplace sexual harassment.

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Courtney Gibson

Courtney’s experience in TV production and commissioning has been extensive.  She’s held executive and senior management positions at Screen NSW, ABC TV, Endemol Australia,...

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Morris Gleitzman

Morris writes fiction for children and young adults. His hugely popular and internationally-published books explore serious and sometimes confronting subjects in funny and unexpected...

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Dr Alice Gorman FSA

An advisory council member of the Space Industry Association of Australia, Alice is an internationally-recognised leader in the field of space archaeology. She tweets...

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Dr Julie Gough

Based in Hobart, Julie loves uncovering – through her research and art practice – subsumed histories, many of which refer to her family’s experiences...

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Chris Graham

Chris founded National Indigenous Times and the magazine Tracker. He’s won a Walkley Award, a Walkley High Commendation and two Human Rights Awards for his reporting.

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Professor Steve Graves

Steve is the international expert in arthroplasty registries. He conducts research and contributes to policy development and has presented and published extensively on the...

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Professor Tom Griffiths AO

Tom is a prize-winning author whose works include Forests of ash: an environmental history, Slicing the silence: voyaging to Antarctica and The art of...

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Paul Grillo

Paul has been involved in community organising for nearly 20 years and, before he knew it, doing something about the state of the world...

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Nicholas Gruen

As well as being founder of Lateral Economics and Peach Financial, Nicholas is adjunct professor, UTS Business School, and a policy economist, entrepreneur and...

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Sarah Gun

Sarah is an international award-winning innovator, disruptor, thought leader and crusader for a socially-equitable world.

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Professor Fiona Haines

Fiona explores how businesses create harm and commit crime, and what can be done about it. Her research projects include how to rethink regulation...

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Trish Hansen

From health, wellbeing, creative cities, public art and urban life, Trish has initiated, led and managed social enterprises, projects and programs in the tertiary...

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Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith

Astronomer, black-hole wrangler and author of When galaxies collide, Lisa is also a presenter of ABC television’s popular science series Stargazing live.

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David Hobbs

Awarded a Churchill Fellowship and Fulbright Scholarship, David has extensive experience in disability, rehabilitation engineering and assistive technologies. He recently represented Australia at the...

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David Homburg

Former president of the Australian Institute of Architects (SA), David regularly contributes to the public conversation on cities, cycling and design thinking and is...

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Victoria Hunt

Victoria Hunt is an Australian-Maori performance artist, living on Gadigal land in Sydney. She works to reinstates the power of Indigenous creativity and knowledge...

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Sophie Hyde

An award-winning filmmaker and co-founder of film collaborative Closer Productions, Sophie’s currently busy directing the feature film Animals, producing a feature doc Gayby Baby...

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Aldo Iacobelli

Aldo’s four decades of distinctive practice is informed by political, religious and socio-cultural concerns. Working across painting, drawing, sculpture and installation, he has exhibited...

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Tim Jarvis

Perhaps best known for his Antarctic expeditions, Tim is passionate about helping to solve climate change issues through his 25zero project. He now focuses...

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Stephanie Johnston

A former book publisher turned urban and rural planner, Stephanie has been working on the bid for UNESCO world heritage listing of Adelaide’s Mount...

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Professor Jon Jureidini

Jon advocates non-pathologising approaches to mental health as well as safer, more effective and more ethical research in mental health. He regards parents and...

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Fotis Kapetopoulos

Former senior government multicultural media and policy adviser, and former head of Multicultural Arts Victoria, Fotis writes for Daily review and Neos kosmos and...

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Ofer Karliner

Ofer is a portfolio manager at Magellan, with responsibility for company analysis and portfolio management functions. He also a member of the Magellan Investment...

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Professor John Keane

Distinguished professor at Peking University, John is renowned globally for his creative thinking about democracy. He’s currently working on a book about its decline...

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Dr Fiona Kerr

Fiona speaks and consults on a range of topics including the neurophysiology of human-human and human-technology interaction, neurogenesis, and how good leaders create organisations...

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Professor Alison Kitson

Alison Kitson is an internationally recognised researcher and nursing leader and is the Vice President & Executive Dean of the College of Nursing &...

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Carl Kuddell

As a filmmaker and change agent, Carl has won national acclaim delivering workshops across the nation to remote, regional and urban communities and working...

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Charles Landry

Charles is an international authority, author, speaker and adviser on the use of imagination and creativity in urban change.  His latest book is The...

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Benjamin Law

Benjamin has written The family law, Gaysia: adventures in the queer east and Quarterly essay 67: moral panic 101. The first of these is now an award-winning TV series for SBS.

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Professor Carmen Lawrence

Carmen, former Premier of WA, held portfolios across fields including education, environment, industry and innovation, and Aboriginal affairs, and was minister assisting the prime...

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Chris Leishman

A recent migrant himself, Chris is well placed to comment on factors (including migration) that drive house prices, and the role that supply plays...

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Michael Lennon

Michael is national chair of the Community Housing Industry Association, a member of the South Australian Planning Commission and a trustee of the History...

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Gabrielle Leonello

Gabrielle heads up littlelion PR, a boutique agency specialising in luxury, lifestyle and community brands. She has more than 25 years experience and works...

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Professor Enzo Lombi

Enzo is strand leader at the Future Industries Institute, UniSA, where his major research focuses on the behaviour and fate of contaminants and nutrients...

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Ken Long

A sustainability consultant at dsquared Consulting, Ken is passionate about creating built environments which enable a positive quality of life. His work has ranged...

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Miriam Lyons

Miriam, who has been a frequent guest on media programs including the ABC shows Q&A and The drum, is a policy analyst, writer and...

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Jen Lyons-Reid

Since 2002, Jen has explored creative multi-disciplinary ways of addressing social justice, environmental and human rights issues.  She and Carl Kuddell are high impact trouble-makers.

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Justin Macdonnell

Justin has held executive roles in major arts organisations in Australia, NZ and the USA. He’s provided strategic advice to a diverse range of...

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Professor Stuart Macintyre

Stuart’s most recent books are No end of a lesson, on what happened to our universities, and Australia’s boldest experiment, on the extraordinary national...

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Greg Mackie OAM

Culture broker’ and ‘ageing provocateur’, Greg’s service has been recognised nationally with a Medal of the Order of Australia (2002), the Dame Elizabeth Murdoch...

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Dr Martina Skrubbeltrang Mahnke

Martina is a researcher in the University of Copenhagen’s Human Impact project. She’s experienced in media and communication studies and is a creative educator...

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Dr Amrita Malhi

Amrita is a researcher, writer, instructor and adviser on the histories and politics of Muslim movements in Southeast Asia – especially in Malaysia –...

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Dr Rob Manwaring

Rob teaches and researches into politics and public policy. His research is in the area of social democratic politics, and his 2018 co-edited collection...

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Peter Mares

Peter’s work helps people, through dialogue, to access new ways of thinking about their challenges. His most recent book is Not quite Australian: how...

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Sandy McCathie

Sandy is an environmental and sustainability adviser. She’s been implementing innovative solutions to advance sustainability practices in a variety of industries for over 20...

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Professor Stephen McDonald

Stephen, a kidney specialist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and SAHMRI, is researching the epidemiology of chronic kidney disease – who is affected, their...

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Professor Alexander McFarlane AO

Alexander is a psychiatrist with international expertise in the field of traumatic stress. He has extensive experience as a researcher and clinician dealing with...

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Pamela A Melroy

A military test pilot (retired colonel, US Air Force) and former NASA astronaut, Pam flew on three space shuttle missions. Her first flight aboard...

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Amy Milhinch

Motivated by beauty and excellence, Amy is a visual communicator striving for deeper meaning and human/universal connection. She is deeply committed to culture and the...

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Dr Amy Milka

Amy researches eighteenth century history, literature and culture. Her interests include radical politics, legal history, and print culture.

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Simon Molloy

Simon co-founded a software company in the 1990s and has been an economic consultant to most Australian arts and screen agencies. He’s managing director...

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Professor Stephen Muecke

Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Stephen has long worked with Indigenous people and his current research involves ethnographic documentation of Goolarabooloo...

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Julie Munk

Julie has extensive experience, in both public and academic platforms, in enabling collaborative learning environments, knowledge exchange and co-designed solutions to deal with complex...

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Professor Peter Murphy

Peter is strand leader within UniSA’s Future Industries Institute. He was one of UniSA’s inaugural industry professors, in recognition of his extensive research engagement...

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Jane Mussared

Jane actively promotes the rights, interests and futures of South Australians as they age. She’s won an SA Telstra Business Women’s Award and a...

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Jennifer Nielsen

Jennifer is founder of ekko.world, a tech platform supporting eco products and services and the Global Eco Alliance (G-ECO-A) – a movement focused on making...

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Thea O’Connor

Thea is dedicated to re-humanising our work ethic.  She is also a Naptivist, aiming to normalise the powernap in our personal and professional lives.

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Ruby-Rose O’Halloran

Ruby-Rose works across issues such as electoral law reform, maintaining a free and independent media landscape, and fighting mass surveillance.

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Gary Outten

Gary specialises in working with survivors of torture and trauma. From 2012 to late 2017, he worked as a trauma counsellor in the Nauru...

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Peter Owen

Peter, who was Australian Environmentalist of the Year 2016, has been instrumental, with his team, in protecting vast areas across the State from practices...

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Veronica Pardo

Veronica is currently handing over her position to an artist living with a disability. Arts Access Victoria has an agenda of social and artistic transformation for people...

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Julianne Parkinson

With over 25 years’ experience as a global financial and legal consultant under her belt, Julianne has played a leading, collaborative role in supporting...

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Amanda Pepe

With a long career in media, communications and management under her belt, Amanda now oversees print and online publications including the iconic Adelaide masthead,...

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Yaara Plaves

Yaara has extensive experience in the construction industry. She has managed design development and implementation and been contract manager across industrial, residential, commercial and...

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Professor Jason Potts

One of Australia’s top economists, Jason specialises in how new technology, innovation and creative industries drive economic and institutional change. 

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Lindy Powell QC

Lindy’s areas of practice are civil and commercial litigation and criminal law. She briefed for the defence in the three Australian war crimes prosecutions.

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James Rickard

An independent creative consultant, James has been responsible for creating some of the state’s most recognisable and globally awarded campaigns for iconic local brands...

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Dr Damien Riggs

Damien has written many publications on gender, family, and well-being, including (with Clare Bartholomaeus) Transgender people and education. As a practising psychotherapist, Damien works...

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Clyde Rigney Jnr

A Ngarrindjeri man, Clyde is a cultural competency leader, creative producer, writer and long-term collaborator with Change Media. He led recent treaty negotiations with...

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Dr Philip Roetman

Philip runs innovative citizen science projects. He has engaged thousands of people in activities like tracking pet cats, counting koalas, and recording bat calls.

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Professor Lyndall Ryan

Lyndall has produced the first digital map of frontier massacres in eastern Australia 1788-1872. Its purpose is to reframe the way Australians understand the...

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Jeremy Ryder

A criminology PhD candidate at Flinders University, Jeremy has been producing annual public exhibitions of prison art since 2012. He studies what it does...

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Rev’d Professor Peter Sandeman

Before joining AnglicareSA, Peter served in leadership roles for Anglicare in NSW and ACT, and for Mission Australia. He has a long history of working for...

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Caroline Seow

As connector-in-chief, Caroline passionately advocates conscious and inclusive capitalism, aiming to build trust between sectors, foster cross-pollination of ideas, and catalyse profit and non-profit partnerships.

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Professor Pierre Serna

Pierre has been professor of the history of the French Revolution and the Empire at the Sorbonne. He’s written works about the place of...

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Darren Sharp

Darren works on programs that amplify the strengths of people and communities through sharing. He is the Australian editor of Shareable and the Melbourne...

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Lisa Slade

A curator and writer, Lisa developed the exhibition Sappers & shrapnel: contemporary art and the art of the trenches. She chairs ArtlinkAustralia and Arts SA’s...

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Adam Smith

BOSS Magazine’s Young Executive of the Year in 2009, Adam volunteers as a mentor, facilitator and adviser for many non-profit organisations, especially those supporting...

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Dr Thomas Smith

Former South Australian Rhodes scholar and Churchill fellow, Thomas runs a masters course in space physiology and health. Working clinically as an anaesthetist, he’s...

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Dr Ashleigh Smith

Ashleigh’s work focuses on reducing age-related disability through novel, sustainable and enjoyable exercise interventions and on exploring the nexus between physical activity, brain function...

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Garry Stewart

Since taking on his current role at ADT in 1999, Garry has created over 15 original contemporary dance works which have toured extensively to...

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Dr Zygmunt L Szpak

Zygmunt is a computer scientist whose research interests lie at the interface of computer vision, image processing, machine learning, and statistics. He is passionate...

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Dr Duncan Taylor

An associate professor of biology, Duncan has worked in forensic biology for 13 years, supervising hundreds of cases and testifying around Australia. He pioneers...

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Professor Gillian Triggs

Chair of non-profit organisation Justice Connect, Gillian is dedicated to connecting those locked out of the justice system with free legal help. She has provided...

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Guy Turnbull

Guy nurtured CASA into an employee-owned enterprise delivering domicilary care services across northern England and created an innovative training approach to social enterprise development with people with a disability.

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Chris Vanstone

Chris’s first career was product designer, designing biscuits, cameras and razors. He’s spent the last 14 years working with interdisciplinary teams and communities to...

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Dr Niki Vincent

Niki helped to deliver the Governor’s Leadership Foundation. She’s a member of the SA Women in Sport Taskforce and, on weekends, a foster carer...

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Peter Walker

Peter, a former principal who spent over 20 years in diverse educational settings across NSW and SA, now lectures at Flinders University. In 2016,...

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Rev’d Dr Robyn Whitaker

Robyn is interested in the contemporary use of the Bible in debates about sexuality, gender, race, and ethics. She has published in academic journals...

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Associate professor Paul Willis

Paul is passionate about dinosaurs, fossils, trains, his great dane Caesar and his son Chester, but do not ask him to rank these passions!...

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Rob Wilmot

Rob is a technology entrepreneur with a passion for helping people to succeed by giving them the power to unlock their own potential on...

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Jarod Winders

Jarod thinks of himself as a ‘fun’-ancial adviser. As a master aerospace engineer turned wealth manager, his passions and skillsets lie in understanding people,...

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Maria Zagala

Maria specialises in Italian Renaissance art. She has followed Iacobelli’s career for over a decade, with particular interest in the way he draws on...

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Professor Ghil’ad Zuckermann

Ghil’ad researches language revival and mental health. He’s been working with the Barngarla Aboriginal communities on reclaiming their language and also been a consultant...

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