Dr Loretta Poerio

Senior Mental Health Adviser at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs

Dr Poerio is currently the Senior Mental Health Adviser at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs where she provides clinical advice to support policy, program development and research in relation to mental health, and contributes to the broader focus on mental health in DVA. She has also held the position of Assistant National Manager of the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (now Open Arms). Dr Poerio has a deep connection with the military; she worked as a Psychologist and clinical supervisor for the ADF in Darwin, her husband served the Army for 27 years, and her youngest daughter is currently serving in the Australian Air Force.

She has practised in the field of psychology in both clinical and management/advisory roles for over 25 years. She completed her PhD at Griffith University and her Clinical Masters at the University of Adelaide. Dr Poerio has worked in professional positions at the executive level across a range of organisations including the University of Sydney, Department of Defence, Centrelink, and the Commonwealth Department of Human Services.

She also works in part-time clinical practice, with her areas of interest involving trauma, bereavement, organisational change, resilience, workplace health, depression and anxiety.

Ms Pip Weiland CSC

Regional Director South Queensland, Open Arms - Veterans and Families

Pip Weiland commissioned in the Australian Army Psychology Corps in 2003, and during her 17 year career performed diverse roles across clinical, operational, research and staff positions. She completed her military service as the Commanding Officer 1st Psychology Unit, and is now the Regional Director South Queensland Open Arms, where she continues to support veteran and family mental health. Pip is passionate about evidence-based treatment, and has a special interest in psychological resilience and mental health issues associated with exposure to combat.

Mr Tony ODay

Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Interoperability, Fire Rescue Victoria

Tony is a career firefighter with over 25 years’ experience. He has tertiary qualifications in business and emergency management and was the Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) / Director - Emergency Medical Response / Wellbeing which included managing organisational wellbeing for the Country Fire Authority (CFA) of Victoria. At CFA he implemented a tailored wellbeing program for staff and volunteers and was a strong advocate for mental health, leading to the transition of the Wellbeing department from People and Culture into the non-traditional Operations Directorate, establishing wellbeing as being equally important as responding a fire truck. Tony commenced with Fire Rescue Victoria in 2020 and is the ACFO / Director of the Interoperability Department.

Todd Best

Senior Project Officer, Wellbeing Strategy Team, Queensland Police Service

Todd is a Senior Sergeant with the Queensland Police Service, currently seconded to the Wellbeing Strategy Team as a Senior Project Officer, where he is working on (PFA / PSO Reviews and Suicide Framework). Todd’s policing career spans over 20 years and has seen him work across a variety of settings including People Capability Command, Financial and Cyber Crime, Electronic Evidence, Railway Squad and General Duties. Todd a Peer Support Officer, volunteering to assist and support his colleagues experiencing personal and work-related difficulties. Todd is passionate about mental health, in particular the impact of frontline service on the psychological wellbeing of first responders.

Dr Kate Martin

Director, College for Law, Education and Training

Bio coming soon.

Dr Sadhbh Joyce

Senior Psychologist & Co-founder, Mindarma And The Black Dog Institute

Dr Sadhbh (Sive) Joyce) is a Senior Psychologist at Mindarma and has experience across clinical, academic and industrial settings. She is an External Research Fellow with the Black Dog Institute and UNSW Medicine. Sadhbh has over 16 years experience working in Mental Health. She provides evidence-based therapy to those struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, bereavement and workplace injury. Sadhbh has worked in inpatient and outpatient settings as well as occupational rehabilitation. Following her research with first-responders, Sadhbh co-founded Mindarma in 2016 with the aim of bringing evidence-based programs to the workplace. This award-winning holistic program teaches practice skills and strategies to help bolster psychological resilience and wellbeing. Mindarma has since been adopted as a core workplace mental health initiative by numerous organisations including Ambulance Victoria, New South Wales Ambulance, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Health, UNICEF, Reuters, St John Ambulance NT, Corrective Services NSW, Youth Justice NSW, WorkSafe ACT, TAFE Queensland, Business Victoria, Mercy Health Services, Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA, UNSW- LAW, Queensland Fire and Rescue, Queensland SES, Queensland RFS, NSW Health Pathology and the NSW Ministry of Health. You can read more about Sadhbh’s work here.

Mr Buck Reed

Associate Lecturer in Paramedicine, Western Sydney University

Buck Reed is Lecturer in Paramedicine at the Western Sydney University; Buck is a Registered Paramedic and practices clinically in the state of New South Wales. Buck is a Churchill Fellows and first paramedic graduate of the NSW Health Rural Research Capacity Building Program. Buck is a PhD candidate researching paramedic regulation and identity and holds a Master of International Health Management. Buck has been involved in designing wellbeing programs around paramedicine students and has presented on paramedic student resilience and wellness. Buck is heavily involved in the Australian paramedicine community as an academic, researcher and a member of the Australian College of Paramedicine Future of Paramedicine Working Group.

Mr James Maskey

Engagement Manager, Fortem Australia

James Maskey is a passionate engagement and advocacy professional, striving to enhance the mental, personal and social wellbeing of the emergency services community. James is also a retired front-line Queensland Police Officer with a service history including General Duties and the Child Protection & Investigation Unit. In 2013, James was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

James is currently the 'Engagement Manager' of Fortem Australia. Fortem provides evidence-based, comprehensive and integrated mental health and wellbeing support to first responders, and their families. In this position, James is responsible for developing and implementing engagement strategies across multiple stakeholders, including corporate, national security and first responder agencies to build sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships.  

In addition, James remains a tireless advocate of creating mentally healthy workplaces, tackling stigma and improving help-seeking behaviours in the emergency services sector. In doing so, James supports executive and front line leaders in the emergency services sector to drive industry-led and sustained educational, cultural and policy changes that have a tangible impact for those on the ground.

For his ongoing mental health advocacy pursuits, in March 2020, James was recognised as one of 25 Pro Bono Australia Impact 25 Award recipients for 2019. In May 2019, James was also announced as a finalist in the Victorian Young Achiever of the Year Award in the ‘Create Change’ category.

As a world record holder and ultra-endurance athlete, James has represented Australia on the world stage in ultra-marathon running, raising funds for mental health organisations. James utilises his endurance pursuits as a platform to passionately share his own lived experience of mental health difficulties, challenge mental health stigma and encourage the help-seeking behaviours of others who may be impacted by mental health conditions.

Matt Newlands

TBA

Bio coming soon.

Tara Lal

Senior Firefighter and Peer Supporter, Fire & Rescue NSW

Tara is a professional firefighter and peer support officer with Fire and Rescue NSW. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of New England and was awarded the inaugural Australian Rotary Health scholarship for research into the mental health of emergency service workers in 2018. Her research focusses on understanding the impact of suicide on firefighters. She is also the internationally published author of Standing on My Brother’s Shoulders – Making peace with Grief and Suicide. Tara is a Mental Health First Aid instructor and has managed the psychological wellbeing program in Fire and Rescue NSW working with researchers at the Black Dog Institute to implement programs aimed at building resilience and improving mental health outcomes in firefighters. She was a finalist in the Rotary Inspirational Woman of the Year awards in 2017 and was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal in 2022 for her work supporting the mental health of firefighters. In March 2021 Tara cycled 5000km unsupported from the western most point to the eastern most point of Australia raising over $21k for Lifeline and awareness for two organisations for which is an ambassador - Fortem Australia and StandBy Support After Suicide. Her mission is to use the voice of lived experience in her research to effect meaningful change at individual, organisational and community level.

Adrian Burke

TBA

I am a current serving Custodial Correctional Officer with Queensland Corrective Services for over ten years with a Lived experience in PTSD.

I am also the founder of Response Mental Health Peer Support Inc. Response began as a closed Facebook group which has rapidly grown to around 1200 members.

We then became a not for profit, and soon after we achieved a major goal and millstone of being registered as a charity with the ACNC.

Response is run by Custodial Correctional Officers with a lived experience and is established to be a charity whose purpose is to advance health by preventing and controlling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of custodial correctional officers in Queensland, by undertaking the following activities:

• Raising Awareness
• Building Stronger, healthier, Socially Connected and Resilient Officers
• Research
• Financial Assistance

Stuart Bartels

TBA

I am a current serving Custodial Correctional Officer with Queensland Corrective Services for over ten years with a Lived experience in PTSD.

I am also the founder of Response Mental Health Peer Support Inc. Response began as a closed Facebook group which has rapidly grown to around 1200 members.

We then became a not for profit, and soon after we achieved a major goal and millstone of being registered as a charity with the ACNC.

Response is run by Custodial Correctional Officers with a lived experience and is established to be a charity whose purpose is to advance health by preventing and controlling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of custodial correctional officers in Queensland, by undertaking the following activities:

• Raising Awareness
• Building Stronger, healthier, Socially Connected and Resilient Officers
• Research
• Financial Assistance

Adele Saunders

Manager, Psychological Health and Wellbeing Adele Saunders is a Registered Psychologist, who started her career working with individuals presenting with complex issues relating to their experiences of trauma. With over 18 years of experience, Adele has provided therapeutic intervention for individuals and families as well as developing staff and organisations through coaching, education and supervision. Adele currently works for St John as their Manager of Psychological Health and Wellbeing, where she is responsible for developing and implementing a robust mental health and wellbeing strategy in this high-risk organisation. This has meant that in the last few years Adele has been closely involved in supporting the St John Ambulance staff following major incidents such as the Christchurch Mosque attacks, the Whakaari eruption and more recently the COVID-19 Pandemic response.