Early Confirmed Expert Line-Up of Speakers
Sally Macindoe
Executive Counsel and Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion
Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
Sally Macindoe
Executive Counsel and Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion | Norton Rose Fulbright AustraliaSally Macindoe is Executive Counsel and former partner and past Chairman of Norton Rose Fulbright Australia. In addition to her Planning & Environment practice Sally continues to lead the strategic discussion concerning Diversity and Inclusion with the national and global executive of the firm and more broadly within the business community and legal services industry. Sally was named Diversity Leader for the Advancement of Women by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency at their 2011 Business Achievement Awards, Female Partner of the Year at the 2012 Lawyer’s Weekly Women in the Law Awards in recognition of her leadership in the diversity area, National Australia Bank Women's Agenda Leadership Change Champion in 2013 and named in the 2013 AFR/Westpac 100 Women of Influence Award.
Kristie Cocotis
Aboriginal and Cultural Diversity Program Team Leader
Diabetes Victoria
Kristie Cocotis
Aboriginal and Cultural Diversity Program Team Leader | Diabetes VictoriaKristie Cocotis is the Aboriginal and Cultural Diversity Program Team Leader at Diabetes Victoria. Kristie has a Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Science) and a Master of Public Health and has been working in health promotion with a focus on diversity and inclusion for over 12 years. She has worked in non-for-profit organisations overseas (Tonga) and interstate as well as local government. Kristie is passionate about health equity and the complex world of health literacy.
Jacqui Bainbridge
Head of Indigenous Affairs, Diversity and Inclusion
Sodexo
Jacqui Bainbridge
Head of Indigenous Affairs, Diversity and Inclusion | SodexoWith degrees in International Politics and Law, Jacqui has nearly ten years’ experience bringing corporate and community together. In her current role she heads up Sodexo’s Indigenous Affairs and Diversity teams, leading a team of passionate individuals delivering community engagement, diversity and inclusion strategies, Sodexo’s Reconciliation Action Plan, Indigenous employment and spend with Indigenous owned businesses. Jacqui also co-leads Sodexo’s global Indigenous workgroup. Prior to joining Sodexo, Jacqui worked across a range of industries, including at Toll, Melbourne Water and Medibank, in a range of diversity and Indigenous Affairs roles. Jacqui is passionate about social justice issues and is driven by supporting people and organisations to be their best.
Dawn Hartog
Senior Program Manager, FFMVic Culture and Diversity
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
Dawn Hartog
Senior Program Manager, FFMVic Culture and Diversity | Department of Environment, Land, Water and PlanningAn experienced manager with a demonstrated history of working in public safety and emergency management for over 20 years. Holding her Master's degree in Education, Dawn has used adult learning principles throughout her career to design and develop programs and curriculum. Dawn works for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, leading the Women in Fire and Emergency Management program across Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic). Dawn is Captain of Toolangi Fire Brigade, as well as a Board Member with the Country Fire Authority. Dawn has a history of working with community groups. She is passionate about ethical behaviors and gender equality in the emergency management sector.
Katie Larsen
General Manager Diversity Inclusion and Participation Inclusion Participation
Mind Australia
Katie Larsen
General Manager Diversity Inclusion and Participation Inclusion Participation | Mind AustraliaKatie is committed to contributing to better mental health outcomes for people within marginalised populations through systemic and structural change processes. She works to develop and operationalise strategies for organisational capacity, workforce development and practice that are underpinned by an understanding of cultural safety, health equity, lived experience and participation. Katie has been working in social services for more than ten years with experience in both service delivery and strategic roles across child and family welfare, family violence, homelessness and mental health. She works from a social justice and human rights perspective incorporating lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ identity and mental health supported by a Master of Social Work. She is a graduate of the National Mental Health Commission, Australian Mental Health Leaders Fellowship.
Michelle Shepperd
Transgender Community Liaison Officer
Radio Personality and LGBTIQ+ Consultant
Michelle Shepperd
Transgender Community Liaison Officer | Radio Personality and LGBTIQ+ ConsultantMichelle Sheppard “Mama Mish” is a highly respected presenter, advocate, and trainer in the gender equity space. As a transgender woman, she appreciates the difficulties within the grey created by the gender divide and not only traverses them herself, she willing takes others on the ride with her. Some of her high profile media engagements include JOY 94.9, AFL, ANZ, BMW, and Channel 9. She embodies dignity, grace and the change that is needed to make a positive difference in others’ lives, empowers women and challenges barriers to inclusion, discrimination, and harassment.
Nick McGuigan
Associate Professor,Director of Equality, Diversity and Social Inclusion
Monash Business School
Nick McGuigan
Associate Professor,Director of Equality, Diversity and Social Inclusion | Monash Business SchoolNick is the Director of Equity, Diversity and Social Inclusion in the Monash Business School. He is an award-winning educator who works as an innovator, instigator, and disruptor to create future-oriented business education programs that focus on innovation, creativity and design thinking.
Penny Rush
Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Australia & New Zealand
Aurecon
Penny Rush
Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Australia & New Zealand | AureconPenny is Aurecon's Diversity and Inclusion Manager for Australia & New Zealand. She holds a Masters in Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts (Public Relations) and has had a wide-ranging career in communication, policy, research and advocacy within government, corporate and consulting settings in Australia and the UK. For the past five years Penny has worked in the area of diversity and inclusion (D&I), playing an integral role in the current state review and strategy development for D&I at PwC before joining Aurecon in late 2018. Changing the experience of work and disrupting the system to transform 'business as usual' drives her professionally and personally. Penny is particularly interested in expanding men's choices in regard to industry sector, parenting and caring roles. She is a strong advocate for flexibility in the workplace to enable every person to actively and safely engage in work, family, community and to pursue personal passions.
Leigh Frost
Diversity & Inclusion Lead
QSuper
Leigh Frost
Diversity & Inclusion Lead | QSuperLeigh Frost has over 15 years’ experience across a variety of industries including retail, mining and finance. She has deep expertise in recruitment, mobility, business improvement and business partnering but has found her passion in diversity and inclusion. Leading the D&I strategy at QSuper has been her most rewarding role to date, and one where she feels that she has contributed to enhancing the employee experience and the culture of the organisation. “As a parent of two returning to the workforce I was looking for purpose in my work life. I feel like I am contributing to the creation of an inclusive workplace where my children will be able to bring their whole selves to work”.
Navanita Bhattacharya
Navanita Bhattacharya
Independent ConsultantBorn in India to feminist parents and having lived and worked in many different countries, I really am a vagabond and a global citizen. After years of living overseas, I moved to Melbourne, in December 2016, with my partner and our mighty little girl, who is already a fearless feminist. It is for this reason too that I chose to contest the elections in the School Council at the Ivanhoe Primary School; volunteer with my local council whenever I am not travelling, and take my daughter along with me in events I am invited to speaks- so that my daughter, and others know and see capable women, from diverse ethnic backgrounds, in various platforms. After twenty odd years working in humanitarian aid and international development in Asia, Africa and Oceania working on gender justice in various sectors – Infrastructure, Elections, Violence against Women, I stepped out of my ‘comfort zone’ and into my newly created role in the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) as their Senior Advisor -Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. My role is to lead, guide and embed intersectional elements of diversity and strengthen inclusion across the organization and in its people, practices, policies. The EDI canvas at TIO is gradually being filled with different shades of passion, creativity and purpose, aimed at making us an Employer of Choice where all employees dare to be great, feel respected and inspired, evolve and grow and are celebrated.
Aradhana Bakshi
Human Resources Professional, Inclusion & Diversity
Ex-Wipro
Aradhana Bakshi
Human Resources Professional, Inclusion & Diversity | Ex-WiproAradhana has close to 6 years' diverse experience as Inclusion & Diversity Specialist, HR Business Partner and Business Risk Consultant in India. A passionate advocate of diversity & inclusion, she has spearheaded several initiatives in this space at a micro and macro level at Wipro globally. In her HRBP stint, she has anchored employee engagement, talent management, capability building, change management, communication & branding for a niche skilled service line. Prior to MBA and Wipro, she was with Deloitte, Risk Advisory for two years. She holds a Masters in Human Resources from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIU), Pune. A fitness and travel enthusiast, she enjoys reading and blogs actively about her travels, poetry, and musings under the pen name Nomadic Suitcase. She strongly believes that I&D is no longer a choice, it is a necessity in the new-age digital era of remote/hybrid workplaces.
Olivia Kyomugisha
Agile Coach
ANZ
Olivia Kyomugisha
Agile Coach | ANZOlivia started at ANZ in 2017 and has worked in the banking industry for 13 years. In Olivia’s current role as an Agile Coach she works with teams on uplifting culture and empowers them to perform at their best. Outside her day job, Olivia is also involved in community leadership, advocating for girl’s education, and educating refugees and other disadvantaged communities in financial literacy.
Monita Mascitti-Meuter
Cultural Diversity Program Coordinator
St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
Monita Mascitti-Meuter
Cultural Diversity Program Coordinator | St Vincent’s Hospital MelbourneA cross-cultural trainer by profession, Monita has over 25 years’ experience in lecturing, teaching and training of students and clients from diverse cultural backgrounds at Australian Hospitals, Canadian and Australian Universities, Australian Language Centres, as well as Australian and North American Relocation Management Companies. Multilingual (fluent in Dutch, English and Spanish with working knowledge of French, Italian and Papiamento) she completed a BA Hons. and Master degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies at Queen’s University (Canada) as well as a Master in International Business (Swinburne University. Since 2009 she has been the Cultural Diversity Program Coordinator at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, during which time she developed foundational policies/plans, a cultural diversity events program, a language app and a comprehensive training program which covers more than 20 topics ranging from cross cultural conflict resolution management to cultural considerations at end of life as well as the impact of culture and language on pain and pain assessment. With an annual delivery of over 60 workshops as well as an online training module, cross cultural training at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne reaches nearly 2,000 staff across the health service every year.
Selena Choo
Founder
Humans Like Us
Selena Choo
Founder | Humans Like UsSelena founded Humans Like Us in 2019 to mobilise the business sector to more effectively support refugees in their working life. She convenes quarterly meetings of the Employer Network for Refugee Inclusion. Previously, Selena was the National Manager of the Friendly Nation Initiative at the Migration Council of Australia. Selena worked in the integrity sector for over 20 years, as a public sector investigator and researcher, with long experience in improving systems and the way government functions in practice.
Louise Ellis
Inclusion and Talent Manager
ANZ
Louise Ellis
Inclusion and Talent Manager | ANZLouise has worked for ANZ for 19 years across a number of different roles, in sales, operations, governance and projects. She has always had a passion for Diversity and Inclusion and has had great success with employing many staff members from underrepresented groups. She moved into the role of Inclusion and Talent Manager a year ago and her portfolio includes the Given the Chance refugee employment program, ANZ's Reconciliation Action Plan, Indigenous traineeships and the Graduate Program.
Angela Brown
Manager Industry Capability and Development
Level Crossing Removal Project
Angela Brown
Manager Industry Capability and Development | Level Crossing Removal ProjectAngela has worked in a variety of learning and development roles across the private sector and government over the course of 15 years. Most recently, she has been working in industry capability and capacity, investigating ways to grow and develop a skilled workforce to deliver on major transport infrastructure projects in Victoria. As a part of this work, she has also been working in industry diversity and inclusion initiatives, and is proud to have delivered employment and education programs for diverse Victorians such as refugees and asylum seekers. She is also passionate about growing the female workforce in Victorian transport infrastructure and rail projects and works to deliver greater opportunities for women.