Tamara has been a Consumer Peer Worker for Northern Sydney Local Health District for approximately 4 years. Tamara works primarily within the Older People's Mental Health Services across the community teams, and participates in a lot of committees and working groups to represent this space. Tamara is the current Project Lead for an MHDA Breast Screening Project to help minimise the gap between consumers of the NSLHD Services and the general population. Tamara currently sits as the Chair for the NSW Statewide Consumer Peer Workforce Committee and is the NSW Consumer Representative on the National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum.

I currently work with NSW Ministry of Health reviewing the implementation of the NSW Mental Health Act (2007) in public mental health hospitals, and, Acknowledge Education instructing mental health, ethical practice, as well as, other relevant units, to its Bachelor of Community Services cohorts.

Misha Adair is a Senior Project Officer with Safer Care Victoria and Project Lead of the Improving Sexual Safety Initiative, which aims to reduce gendered violence in inpatient Mental Health settings. Misha worked in various roles in the Alcohol and Other Drugs sector prior to joining Safer Care Victoria.

Liam Adams is a science fiction/fantasy writer and cartoonist who lives with Autism and Intellectual Disability. He has a gift for telling complex stories. His books are edited for spelling and grammar but retain the authenticity of him as a proud author with his disabilities, valid in its own right. Liam presented three talks about himself as an author with his disabilities and reciting from his novels at 2024’s Adelaide Fringe Festival and won a Weekly Award for Emerging Artist. Website: everyoneneedsaliam.com.au

Nigar is a Psychologist working across Western and South Western Sydney area for 10+ years. Being from a culturally and linguistically diverse background herself, Nigar is passionate about services delivering culturally competent interventions and assessments and understanding the unique challenges faces by these communities. Nigar has worked in a range of settings, include youth and paediatric mental health, indigenous services, out-of-home-care and adult mental health in public and private settings. Nigar aims to work in person-focused, trauma-informed care. She is currently the Acting Clinical Service Manager for the Parramatta Head to Health service.

Born in South Australia, Taimi has spent nearly two decades in New Zealand leading organisations championing Lived Experience Leadership and designing innovative responses to mental health system gaps. Amongst other roles promoting systemic change, she served on New Zealand’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, and the Suicide Mortality Review Committee, and advised the Royal Commission on Abuse in State Care. Taimi blends her own lived journey through mental distress with a vision for transformative mental health care. Her focus in South Australia involves leveraging local, national and international partnerships to integrate global best practices. Committed to the "equally well" principle, she is passionate to see longer, healthier lives for those with mental health experiences. Recognised for her pioneering work, Taimi was awarded the "Emerging Leader" award by the Australasian Mental Health Outcomes and Information Conference and named a Local Hero Medallist in Kiwibank’s New Zealander of the Year Awards.

Amaya Alvarez is currently Manager of Research at Tandem Carers. She brings to her role her lived experience across the generations - supporting a family member with mental health issues as well as experience supporting a sibling and a parent in alcohol and other drugs and mental health. Amaya also works supporting the CEO of Mental Health Carers Australia Here her focus is on family and carer concerns at the National level, including the development of the new family & carer Peak. She is in the completion stages of a PhD examining MH family and carer experience of the NDIS - how marketisation relies on the systemic unpaid work of families and carers. Amaya is a founding member of FaCRAN the newly formed Family and Carer Research and Advocacy Network, auspiced by RMIT University.

Kate has been a Senior Peer Worker for the Safe Haven in Newtown for 3 years, and a peer worker for 7 years, with Sydney Local Health District. Working with people in suicidal distress has been edifying and challenging but also very rewarding. Kate is conducting a research project on the Clozapine Video with internal and external stakeholders and is an enthusiastic, knowledgeable peer worker, receiving two awards in the time of her service. Kate has a degree in Acupuncture from the University of Technology, Sydney, and is a great advocate for advancing the peer movement.

Katrina has been employed as the Executive Officer, Mental Health Carers Australia (MHCA) since 2019 following a 30-year career in the disability sector. MHCA has been recently awarded grant funding to establish a new national mental health peak body representing families, carers and kin and Katrina is committed to ensuring that their voices are heard and represented in policy and funding decisions that affect their lives. Katrina looks forward to collaborating extensively to ensure structurally the new peak is inclusive, reflects the diversity of Australia’s population and geography, and is there to stay as the national voice for families, carers and kin in mental health.

I am a professional multidisciplinary visual artist. I work as a lived experience peer worker and use my experience of mental health diagnosis is and mental distress to inform my work. I am a parent of four and grandparent of one and am disabled, queer and non binary. I live in rural south Australia and look after two silly boisterous dogs.

Bryan has a Bachelor of Psychology Honours and skills in program management including mental health, youth, and therapeutic services. After starting as a mental health support worker, Bryan obtained over 15 years of experience in the NGO sector. For the last 11 years, Bryan has managed over 25 government funded programs across a range of therapeutic services with a strong focus on mental health overseeing 1:1 psychosocial support, therapeutic groups, counselling, lived experience workforce, and carer support. Since its inception, Bryan has facilitated the establishment and development of the Chrysalis Forensic Mental Health Service, initially as Service Manger and more recently as Senior Manager. Bryan has exceptional skills in cross sector collaboration as demonstrated by the success of the complex suite of services that Bryan currently oversees at Uniting Communities.

TheMHS Awards have been recognising excellence, innovation and best practice in mental health for over 30 years. TheMHS Awards Ceremony highlights the exemplary work being done in mental health.

Leanna Azoury is the Lived Experience Workforces Manager at Centre for Mental Health Learning, where she leads a cross-discipline team (F/C and Consumer perspective LEW) who support the development of the Victorian Lived Experience Workforces. She is passionate about promoting socio-economic and health equity, and uses her lived experiences and intersecting identities to inform her work.

Guy Baker (Ngāti Porou) is Kaitohutohu Wheako Whānau Māori / Principal Advisor Māori Whānau Lived Experience at the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. Guy’s foray into the mental health and addictions sector came later in life after a career within the Public Service, hospitality and local government sectors. His passion to work within mental health and addiction was sparked by a personal journey of lived experience and recovery. As an adult peer support / advocacy worker, Consumer Leader and Mataora, Guy was privileged to carry the voice of whānau to local, regional and national forums where he was Co-Chair of Nga Hau e Wha (national Consumer advocacy group) and a member of the National Association of Mental Health Services Consumer Advisors (NAMHSCA). Guy lives in sunny Gisborne, and enjoys all sports (watching more than participating now) and music, and still moonlights as an entertainer as part of a duo on the East Coast / Gisborne entertainment scene.

An emerging voice in the Lived Experience space, Sonia is passionate about bringing a human-first focus into Quality for mental health services.

Michelle is Professor of Lived Experience Research at the ANU Centre for Mental Health Research and Co-Director and Lived Experience Research Lead at the ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation. In both roles she leads a program of research that embeds lived experience in all aspects.

Casey is a Year 11 student who is currently a member of the ACT Child and Youth Mental Health Sector Alliance Youth Reference Group. They are a passionate youth advocate, especially for those experiencing mental ill-health. As someone with lived experience, they are dedicated to ensuring other young people with lived experience are included in policy, service design and decision-making. Outside of their work with the Youth Reference Group, they spend large amounts of their time volunteering for various organisations. Additionally, they are currently a member of the ACT Youth Advisory Council.