Lauren is the Manager, Transitional Services within Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District's (NBMLHD) Mental Health Service. Lauren’s role oversees key partnerships between NBMLHD Mental Health Service and a range of organisations and mental health programs. Lauren has been involved in supporting the Resolve Program since its commencement, and is passionate about the Resolve Program’s unique provision of services.

Emma is passionate about systemic mental health reform. Having worked for over a decade in social policy related positions, Emma is currently a Senior Policy and Project Officer within the Policy and Advocacy team at Mental Health Australia, the peak, national non-government organisation representing and promoting the interests of the Australian mental health sector. Emma has experience leading national projects related to mental health reform, which involve extensive consultation with people with lived experience of mental ill-health, family, carers and supporters and other key stakeholders and development of key policy documents designed to influence government deliberations on mental health reform.

Kym is project lead for the collaborative partnership between First Step and Launch Housing and is passionate about the benefits – to both staff and consumers – of collaborative and integrated service delivery. Kym has a Masters of Public Health and has worked in health and community services for over 15 years.

James is a social scientist with a background in organisation studies. They have extensive experience leading research and consultancy projects to help organisations solve collaboration and coordination problems, improve operations, and promote positive outcomes such as innovation and employee well-being. As well as being skilled in mixed methods research, James is an expert in social network analysis (SNA), a research methodology that uncovers the networks of informal relationships that shape organisational culture and drive organisational outcomes. At Neami James applies their deep knowledge of organising to evaluate and improve integrated mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) service delivery.

Lived Experience lead for the Prison Directorate at Forensicare. I have worked for two years at forensicare and four years in the lived experience space.

Muriel Cummins is an occupational therapist and holds a Master of Public Health. She graduated in Dublin 2001 and has worked in mental health and disability in Australia since 2005. She is passionate about working in close partnership with those with lived experience, and promoting co-design in service development. Muriel’s previous roles span the clinical, not-for-profit, peak body and private practice sectors.

Tom is the CEO of Neami National, one of Australia’s largest providers of community mental health services. Tom has worked in the mental health sector for 30 years, in government, clinical services and community mental health. He also sits on the Boards of Mental Health Victoria and the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness. His leadership is informed by the experience of being a carer for family members with mental health challenges.

Emma Davidson is the ACT's Minister for Community Services, Seniors and Veterans, Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Mental Health, and Member for Murrumbidgee. She holds one of the six Greens seats in the 10th Legislative Assembly. Emma was the Minister for Disability between November 2020 to December 2023. She is a former Woden Valley Community Council committee member and former Secretary at Pearce Community Centre. Emma was the former Convenor, and is now a member, at Women's Electoral Lobby. Emma has worked in social research and advocacy at the Women's Centre for Health Matters and at Equality Rights Alliance, managed online communications for the Australian Medical Association, was Director of Information Management at Navy, worked in private sector software development, owned and managed a small retail business, and worked at Centrelink.

Melissa's professional journey spans over a decade in the field of counselling and digital mental health, with a particular focus on supporting and empowering young individuals in need. Currently serving as a Team Leader for My Circle, an online peer-to-peer support platform, Melissa continues to draw from her rich experience to mentor and guide the My Circle Team in providing effective support services.

Clare is the Chief Executive Officer at Self Help Addiction Resource Centre SHARC which is one of the oldest peer led organisations in Australia. Clare’s work is informed by her own experiences and recovery as well as practice expertise gained through being a frontline peer and managing and leading lived and living experience workforces. Clare has developed and managed peer workforces in the Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) sector for many many years. She has qualifications in AOD, social science, social work, governance and strategy and is the current Vice President of Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association VAADA. Clares leadership in the Non-Profit sector was recognized in 2023 when she received the Harvard Club of Victoria Non-Profit Fellowship to attend Harvard Business School. The basis of that acknowledgement was leadership from a lived experience perspective.

Janine Davies is Director of Nursing (Mental Health) at Peninsula Health and Adjunct Associate Professor (Monash University). Janine provides nursing leadership for the mental health nursing workforce ensuring the delivery of high-quality consumer centred care. Janine has worked within a variety of clinical, operational, strategic and professional leadership positions in the UK and Australia and is passionate about workforce development and well-being. Janine provides professional nursing guidance to approximately 400 nurses who work in the Peninsula Health Mental Health Service throughout multiple sites. Janine loves to inspire and invest in nurses, to support them reaching their aspirations. Janine is currently on a 12 months Secondment to Safercare Victoria as Anna Love's (Chief Mental Health Nurse for the state of Victoria) Mental Health Nursing Advisor during 2024.

Kelly works as the Senior Wellbeing Navigator Peer at the new, peer-led, Benalla Wangaratta Mansfield Mental Health Wellbeing Local. Wellbeing Local services are one of the principle outcomes of Victoria’s recent Mental Health Royal Commission. Kelly has a dual role, working directly with participants in a peer support role, as well as providing mentoring and leadership to peer workers and carer peer workers in the service. Kelly has lived experience as a carer for someone living with mental health challenges and is studying towards a Social Work degree. This experience informs Kelly’s work and underpins her passion for mental health reform in Victoria, especially around further developing the seamless amalgamation of clinical and lived experience into quality mental health care delivery.

Sophie has worked for the Western Australian Mental Health Commission where she was the state Chief Medical Officer-Mental Health. In this role, she worked with mental health leaders and stakeholders to provide strategic clinical input to mental health policy, planning, commissioning, and reform. Sophie has also been Western Australia’s Deputy Chief Psychiatrist, overseeing mental health care standards in WA. She is a Forensic Psychiatrist, experienced in various clinical settings in the UK and in WA. Sophie will continue to provide clinical services to WA prisons one day a fortnight. Sophie is committed to improving outcomes for people with mental health issues and has an interest in women’s mental health. She values engaging frontline staff and people with Lived Experience in system improvements. Sophie is committed to working towards an integrated system that can provide a holistic approach.

Clare (she/her) has lived experience of an eating disorder. She joined Eating Disorder Victoria's Peer Mentoring Program during its pilot in 2017. Clare is passionate about utilising the voice of lived experience to create meaningful change. Her values of connection and hope are reflected in the work that she does as both a Peer Mentor and Senior Advisor.

Lynda is lived experience and is the Manager for GROW WA. She has worked in the community services in various roles and in various settings, including rural, remote and metro and has a deep passion for empowering others, regardless of age, background or culture. Lynda has worked in case manager and management roles working with people experiencing crises and associated short- and long-term complex issues for close to two decades. She has also developed and delivered training and education of professional staff specifically for family violence prevention; and various adult learning units at university level for postgraduate students in a sessional role. Lynda has recruited peer-workers into the workforce, and in 2017 was invited by WCDFVSWA to present at the Dignity International Conference in Perth and by the Human Rights Commission to the 2015 Perth Round Table Human Rights event for children affected by family and domestic violence.

With extensive experience across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in Australia, Jordan, and India, Caroline leads initiatives to advance inclusion, community cohesion, sustainability, and systems change. In her current role as Senior Manager Design, Participation and Inclusion at Neami National Caroline seeks to drive authentic collaboration; elevating the diverse voices of lived and living experience and shifting power towards people and communities so to reimagine and transform the mental health system. Her commitment to elevating diverse voices underpins her vision for a fairer, more sustainable, and connected world.

Barbara has extensive leadership and management experience within the New Zealand education and health sectors. She has held a number of senior public positions including chair of the first Mental Health Commission and Deputy Secretary Ministry of Education where she had responsibility for special education. Barbara has worked in a number of non government organisation Chief Executive roles including the Mental Health Foundation, Richmond Fellowship and Emerge Aotearoa a large mental health, addictions and social housing provider. She has been involved in a number of Government reviews including chairing the review of the ACC Sensitive Claims pathway and as a panel member of the 2018 He Ara Oranga Mental Health Inquiry. Barbara was also a panel member for the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service which heard the stories of over 1000 people who had experienced abuse or neglect while in state care. She is currently on the Board of the New Zealand Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, as well as TheMHS Learning Network. Barbara has a doctorate in education from Macquarie University Sydney and in 2011 was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to mental health.