Martina McGrath

Martina McGrath is a highly experienced lived experience of suicide and mental health, early career researcher and practitioner. Since 2015, Martina has significantly contributed to the development of public health equity policies and practices that better respond to the needs of people with a lived experience of suicide or mental health concerns. She also continues to contribute to the development of the lived experience workforce. Martina is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. Martina’s research examines the disclosure of suicidality within workplaces and the role of stigma in influencing disclosure decisions. Findings from the study will inform best practice guidelines for workplaces. Martina has also authored several peer-reviewed articles.

Martina has held positions on numerous state and national-level boards, committees and advisory groups. In addition to completing her PhD, Martina is working as a research assistant at the University of Melbourne and as a lived experience consultant collaborating on projects across mental health, suicide prevention and lived experience workforce development. Martina is also a member of the Australian Institute of Suicide Research and Prevention’s Suicidology Industry Advisory Board (Griffith University) and the University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health’s Graduate Research Training Committee. Martina is a founding co-chair of the International Association of Suicide Prevention’s LGBTQA+ Special Interest Group and founder of the recently launched initiative UnLonely Hour.

Leanne Hall

Leanne is a Psychologist and Therapist with over 20 years of experience working across a variety of government, non-government and private services and programs. She has a passion for working with young people, advocating for lived experience and actively working to dismantle the power hierarchies ingrained within the mental health system.

Leanne is a published author, publishing her first book in 2017 as well as contributing to several book chapters and peer reviewed research papers. She also has over a decade of experience as a TV presenter and media expert and commentator, and is often consulted on issues about relationships, youth mental health, parenting, mind/body health.

Currently the Clinical Lead for Youth Insearch, Leanne is involved in advocacy and lobbying alongside Peer Leaders for the development of a National Workforce of Lived Experience Peers. Also a PhD candidate at Sydney University Leanne is involved in a number of current research projects with a focus on Lived Experience and developing a robust evidence base for Youth Peer Work in Australia.

Matthew Caruana

Matt unintentionally became an international speaker after becoming a paraplegic when he attempted suicide at 16. Now he is best known for his humanitarian work surrounding suicide prevention, resilience and mental health. His initiatives have been featured on 7 News, ABC, SBS, Channel 9, The Daily Telegraph and many other media sources while bringing him two separate (NSW) state-wide awards.

Gus Worland

Family man. Friend. Sports fan. Founder. Australian radio host and TV personality Gus Worland is the driving force behind mental fitness charity Gotcha4Life.

Gus set up the not-for-profit foundation in 2017 to help people develop the emotional muscle, resilience and social connections needed to build mental fitness and prevent suicide.

A compassionate bloke, Gus wears his heart on his sleeve. But that heart was shattered the day news arrived that Angus - his friend, mentor and father figure - had taken his life. Angus seemed to have it all – a beautiful family, home, great job, the respect and friendship of many. But he had something else too. Inner worries that were eating away at him. And he never told anyone about it. The stigma around mental health stops too many from reaching out and asking for help when life throws challenges our way.

Gus was driven to action. In 2016, he hosted three part documentary series Man Up, lifting the lid on the relationship between masculinity, social isolation, mental health and suicide.

The attention it received created awareness – but Gus knew more was needed. ‘It is time for action- time to draw a line in the sand to engage, educate and empower people about mental fitness.’

Jase Te Patu

Jase Te Patu is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, thought leader and facilitator. His 30-plus years in the wellbeing industry make him the perfect person to empower people with simple and accessible wellbeing tools. He has garnered many awards for his work in the mental health space, is a popular Ted Talk Speaker, Edmund Hillary Fellow and Founder and CEO of M3 Mindfulness - a holistic Mindfulness-based resilience programme for teachers, students and families right throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Pip Rae

Pip Rae is a survivor strategist for victims of domestic and sexual violence. She is a former police officer, now journalist and Domestic violence subject matter expert with extensive time spent in law enforcement, government and organisational response to trauma.

She has knowledge of systemic and gender issues, jurisdictional processes and systems and embed an evidence based approach to educate others in mental health, wellbeing and safety. She has created a womens change behaviour and well being program that supports women at risk of domestic violence, contributed her expertise to podcast interviews, books and events about the impact of abuse and violence on mental health. Pip chairs the National Child Protections Alliance and has provided evidence to State and Federal Government agencies in her advocacy work. Pip has previously shared her own journey from PTSD to Post Traumatic Growth where she invested heavily in her recovery from the debilitating impacts of severe anxiety, depression a dm adrenal fatigue to the life she only thought was possible. She now travels Australia educating front line workers and shaping the wholistic response provided to Domestic and Family Violence victims survivors.

Dr Andrew J Greenshaw PhD

Dr. Andrew J. Greenshaw, University of Alberta Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, trained in Europe and Canada. A Fellow of the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CCNP), for which he served as President from 2000-2002, and the Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum (CINP), Andy served as University of Alberta Associate Vice President (Research) and served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the CIHR Institute of Neuroscience Mental Health & Addiction. Andy has broad research interests that range from neuroscience to policy in mental health, with particular interests in AI and machine learning applications and e-health. Andy is a founding member of the University of Alberta computational psychiatry group, working closely with members of the Alberta machine intelligence institute. Since 2016 Andy has served as Scientific Director for the APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health.

Nicole Gibson

Nicole Gibson is redefining what it means to be an entrepreneur. Obsessed by love’s power to effect change, Nicole’s focus is to facilitate a tipping point in human consciousness; to successfully actualise a civilisation of love by 2030.

Combining the intersections of visionary technology, transformative arts and complex systems thinking, Nicole is building a bridge to an entirely new way of living and being for humanity.

While leading events and facilitating experiences for over 1 million people, Nicole identified a code that unlocked humanity’s greatest potential. Spanning from the establishment of a charitable organisation, to becoming the youngest Commonwealth Commissioner in history, to launching a social movement with a reach across 40 countries; Nicole’s main preoccupation is to leverage love’s power to transform and scale it to 350 million people globally.

Listed as Australia’s top 100 most Influential Women, finalist for Young Australian of the Year and Pride of Australia Medalist, Nicole’s just getting started.

Dr Kaushik Ram

Dr Kaushik Ram is a Neuroscientist and Author. Formerly based at Brain and Mind Institute, University of Sydney, Dr. Ram was the project lead for the implementation of AI in clinical workflow. He was responsible for the successful design and deployment of the MS Federated Imaging Repository (MSBIR) - an AI-assisted Neuroinfomatics Platform housing 75,000 multiple sclerosis patients. Dr. Kaushik Ram completed his PhD in Neuroimaging genetics at the Department of Psychiatry, Westmead Hospital.

Dr Ram now applies his evidence-based research in leadership programs for enterprise and government organisations. He spoke at the 2022 TEDx Sydney Leadership event in collaboration with LinkedIn. He has been featured in multi-award winning documentaries and is the author of Hidden World, a book that asks the deeper questions of science and spirituality.

Shivani Gupta

Over the last 20 years, Shivani has spoken in 18 countries to over 250,000 people. Her why is to help businesses and leaders of those businesses grow. She takes her corporate career as a leader and over 20 years of running her own businesses into strategies and actions you can take. Her presentations are practical, actionable, and fun!

Matthew Steans

Matthew is the founder of Hope Upstream Charitable Trust, a charity for the research, evaluation, and development of suicide prevention initiatives relevant to Aoteroa New Zealand.

He has previously launched Stigma Statistics, a social venture enabling suicide prevention through data and technology in the UK. Stigma provided technology for suicidal behaviour monitoring technology and real time suicide surveillance.

Addressing suicide prevention is the most important thing to Matthew given his personal experience. He is a passionate mental health campaigner with a corporate treasury and management consulting background.

Kevin Kropinyeri

Kevin is one of Australia's most established and popular Aboriginal comedians with a long list of Australian TV credits. He is a proud Aboriginal man from the Ngarrindjeri Nation of the lower River Murray, Lakes and Coorong region in South Australia.

A high-energy performer, Kevin is sharp, likeable, silly and measured: mixing keen observational standup with joyfully ridiculous physical comedy. His engaging brand of comedy warmly invites both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal audiences to share his journey, his culture, his life.

Kevin is a regular feature on the mainstream corporate, club and festival circuits and a Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow regular. He is a bona fide star of the Indigenous performing arts scene.

Associate Professor Simon Stafrace

A/Prof Simon Stafrace is a psychiatrist and the Program Director of Mental & Addiction Health at Alfred Health, a major tertiary health service in metropolitan Melbourne.

He also holds several honorary appointments, as Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University; Co-Chair of the Community Collaboration Committee of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), bringing the voice of lived and living experience to the policy, education, and advocacy work of the College; and non-executive director of Mental Health Victoria, a peak body representing service providers in Victoria.

Simon was recently Chief Adviser in the Victorian Department of Health Division of Mental Health & Wellbeing from 2020-22. In that role, he contributed to the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System and was a member of the senior executive team tasked with early implementation of its recommendations.