Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

– Speakers –

- Keynote Speakers -

Dee Madigan

Dee Madigan

- Dee Madigan -Dee Madigan is a well-known panellist on Gruen, a creative Director with a strong background in social and political marketing, and a board member of Australians for Mental Health and Per Capita Australia

Cathy McGowan

Cathy McGowan

- Cathy McGowan -Cathy came to national attention when she won the seat of Indi as an independent in 2013.  The community backed her again in 2016.  In 2019, Indi made Australian political history when Dr Helen Haines (who Cathy had endorsed) was elected as Indi's...

Dr Angela Jackson

Dr Angela Jackson

- Dr Angela Jackson -Dr Angela Jackson is the lead economist at Impact Economics and Policy and has expertise in distributional analysis, labour markets, disability, health, gender, housing and fiscal policy. She is the author of a number of major reports and appears...

Naomi Moran

Naomi Moran

- Naomi Moran -Naomi Moran is a Nyangbal, Arakwal and Dunghutti woman from New South Wales, and is the General Manager of Australia’s only independent Indigenous newspaper, the Koori Mail - and, chairperson of First Nations Media Australia, the peak body for...

Dr Richard Denniss

Dr Richard Denniss

- Dr Richard Denniss -Dr Richard Denniss is a Chief Economist and a former Executive Director of The Australia Institute. He is a prominent Australian economist, author and public policy commentator, and a former Associate Professor in the Crawford School of Public...

Jennifer Wong

Jennifer Wong

- Jennifer Wong -Our host for dinner is writer and comedian Jennifer Wong. She’s the presenter of Chopsticks or Fork?, an ABC series about Chinese restaurants in regional Australia, and is a regular guest on The Cook Up (SBS) and Celebrity Letters and Numbers (SBS). ...

– Panellists –

Sally Aurisch

Sally Aurisch

- Sally Aurisch-Sally Aurisch (she/her) is a not-for-profit, community, and disability sector leader with more than 15 years’ experience in policy development, program design and delivery, community engagement, and advocacy.  A vision impaired leader herself, Sally is...

Rosanna Barbero

Rosanna Barbero

- Rosanna Barbero -Rosanna describes her role as CEO of Addi Road as being “the captain who has to try and steer the ship”. With decades of work across aid and development in women’s rights, human rights and environmental justice, Rosanna has worked with a variety of...

John Byrne

John Byrne

- John Byrne -John Byrne is a Tharawal man who lives and works on Gadigal land. John was born in Lithgow, NSW, and grew up in Western Sydney. For the last year he has been the Project Manager for the SSTF project at AbSec. For the five years before that John was the...

Zac Carter

Zac Carter

- Zac Carter -Zac is an active community member, with a base in education as well as social work, lived experience from ability/disability, sexuality and discrimination as well as cultural balence. Zac demonstrates a high understanding of community needs while...

Stephen Chanphakeo

Stephen Chanphakeo

- Stephen Chanphakeo -Stephen Chanphakeo has worked in the NSW public service for over 20 years primarily in disability agencies and is currently an executive in the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). Stephen current responsibilities in DCJ include...

Pauline Cook

Pauline Cook

- Pauline Cook -Pauline Cook is the CEO of Monaro Family Support Service, a child youth and family organisation in the Snowy Monaro region which has been punching above its weight for almost 50 years. This role built on Pauline's prior experiences living and working...

Micaela Cronin

Micaela Cronin

- Micaela Cronin -Micaela has been the Director of RMIT’s Workforce Innovation and Development Institute (WIDI) since April 2019. WIDI drives innovation in education, training and applied research to enable the growth and transformation of the social service sector,...

Giancarlo de Vera

Giancarlo de Vera

- Giancarlo de Vera -Giancarlo de Vera (they/he) identifies as LGBTIQ+, queer, non-binary and a person of colour with disability. They are a passionate advocate for disability, multiculturalism, racial justice, LGBTIQ+ affairs and cultural diversity. Giancarlo was...

John Engeler

John Engeler

- John Engeler -John joined Shelter NSW as CEO in early 2020, having been involved in the formation, development and operation of Social, Affordable & Specialist housing for most of his professional life. He has a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning, and has...

El Gibbs

El Gibbs

- El Gibbs -TBCEl Gibbs is a disabled person, advocate and writer. She works as a consultant, specialising in media, communications and policy, across the disability sector. El is also an award-winning writer with a focus on disability and social issues, published...

Dr Paul Gray

Dr Paul Gray

- Dr Paul Gray -Dr Paul Gray is a Wiradjuri man from NSW and leads the Indigenous child protection hub at the University of Technology Sydney Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research. This work is focused on working closely with First Nations and their...

Marcus Harvey

Marcus Harvey

- Marcus Harvey -Marcus is passionate about transforming non-profit services and operations through effective use of technology, leveraging the non-profit offers to reduce cost and enhance impact. With 30 years of technology consulting expertise and 20 years in the...

Matthew Keeley

Matthew Keeley

- Matthew Keeley -Matthew Keeley is the Director of Youth Law Australia, an accredited national Community Legal Centre based at UNSW’s Faculty of Law and Justice. He is a solicitor, public advocate, researcher, and service developer whose interests include children’s...

Gloria Larman

Gloria Larman

- Gloria Larman -Gloria Larman is WJN’s Chief Executive Officer. Gloria has more than three decades experience working in the not-for-profit sector with particular focus on the criminal justice system and the impacts on women, children and families. Gloria was...

Tu Le

Tu Le

- Tu Le-Tu Le is a community lawyer, advocate, and organiser. She works in the community legal sector assisting victim-survivors of domestic, violence and coordinates capacity-building and community legal education programs. Tu serves as a board director of Addison...

Nadene Lee

Nadene Lee

- Nadene Lee -Nadene has over 15 years’ experience in senior executive roles for commercial and NFP organisations in Australia and overseas, complemented by governance and international business qualifications. Currently Chief Executive Officer of a long standing...

Liz Mackinlay

Liz Mackinlay

- Liz Mackinlay -Liz has over 25 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector, with extensive senior executive experience internationally and in Australia. She has held roles with a variety of NFP’s including with World Vision International as Global Vice President...

Renee Martin

Renee Martin

- Renee Martin -Renee is committed to contributing to better outcomes for people and the planet and has curated a diverse professional portfolio to support that ambition. Renee’s experience spans working in the financial markets, with farmers in rural Cambodia,...

Kristy Masella

Kristy Masella

- Kristy Masella -Kristy Masella is a Murri/South Sea Islander from Darumbal country in Central Queensland who has dedicated her life to empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. She was named one of Australia’s Top 100 Most Influential Women by...

Geraldine Menere

Geraldine Menere

- Geraldine Menere -Geraldine has experience working with both vulnerable individuals and the community organisations that assist them. Geraldine has held roles at Justice Connect working with Aboriginal community controlled organisations and other not-for-profits to...

Kate Munro

Kate Munro

- Kate Munro -Kate has 30 years experience in the youth and community services sector, specialising in youth participation, child and human rights, youth development, and systemic advocacy in NGO, local and state government. She has worked in a range of different...

Jessica Ngui

Jessica Ngui

- Jessica Ngui -Jess Ngui is one of the Social Impact Hub's Social Sector Transformation Fund (SSTF) Program Managers, alongside Rob Haggett, responsible for managing the delivery of Strategy and Governance advisory and capacity building services. Jess brings to the...

Esta Paschalidis-Chilas

Esta Paschalidis-Chilas

- Esta Paschalidis-Chilas -A former Canterbury City Councillor, with more than 30 years working in multicultural, public health, advocacy, government relations, policy and strategy, Esta took on the leadership at “4Cs” in February 2021. She was one of Probono...

Joanna Quilty

Joanna Quilty

- Joanna Quilty-Joanna joined the NGO sector in 2012, after an extensive career in the NSW public sector spanning social policy, watchdog agencies and the transport portfolio. She held senior operational roles at Relationships Australia and Flourish Australia before...

Jenna Roberts

Jenna Roberts

- Jenna Roberts -Ms Roberts began her career in mental health at a drug and alcohol recovery centre, where many participants were dealing with complex personal and health issues. Jenna’s previous roles include CEO of Tend Riverina, Suicide Prevention Manager at...

John Robertson

John Robertson

- John Robertson -John Robertson commenced full time employment at the age of 16 as an Apprentice Electrician and during his time, became an organiser for the Electrical Trades Union. Moving into the Labor Council of NSW as an Industrial Officer in 1991, John went on...

Kim Stace

Kim Stace

- Kim Stace -Kim Stace is the Sector Engagement Manager at Fams, a NSW peak body whose aim is to support the delivery of quality services by non-government, not-for-profit organisations working with vulnerable children, young people, families and communities.  Kim...

Karlie Stewart

Karlie Stewart

- Karlie Stewart -Karlie Stewart is a Yuin woman from Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales. She lived in Nowra throughout her childhood and spent time around the Nowra, Wreck Bay and Jerrinja Aboriginal communities with her family. Since the age of 10, Karlie...

Robert Stirling

Robert Stirling

- Robert Stirling -Robert Stirling is CEO for the Network of Alcohol and other Drugs Agencies (NADA), the peak body for the NSW non-government alcohol and other drugs sector. He is responsible for representing the interests of NADA’s members across policy, sector and...

Mariam Veiszadeh

Mariam Veiszadeh

- Mariam Veiszadeh-Mariam Veiszadeh is an award winning human rights champion, lawyer, diversity & inclusion practitioner, contributing author and social commentator. In 2021,  Mariam was appointed CEO of Media Diversity Australia. She has also founded the...

Linda Watson

Linda Watson

- Linda Watson -Linda Watson is the Director of the Centre for Community Welfare Training (CCWT), which is the training arm of the state peak body, the ACWA. As a team, we focus on providing quality, relevant and accessible training to the child and family workforce,...

Can Yasmut

Can Yasmut

- Can Yasmut -In previous roles Can has worked for the Upper Mountains Youth Services, St. George Migrant Resource Centre, Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre, Mountains Community Resource Network and for ANTaR NSW (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation)....

This conference is hosted by the NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) and is supported by funding from the NSW government under the Social Sector Transformation Fund (SSTF) 2021-2022 grant program. NCOSS also gratefully acknowledges the support of HESTA Super Fund.