Dalang has been a full time carer and advocate for her autistic non-speaking son since 2012. Prior to that she worked as a Producer of Wesley Mission Television and Corporate Communications. Recorded at Foxtel Television Studios, Sydney, she produced a weekly tv show 'Rise & Shine', (now called 'Wesley Impact') that screened weekly on Channel 9, the Australian Christian Channel (ACC), UCBTV (UK) and Shine TV (New Zealand). She also produced the 2007 Wesley Mission Christmas Documentary 'Santa’s Forgotten People', for Channel 7. This program won its ratings time slot with a viewership of over 170,000. In 2008, she produced 'Christmas Past and Present' – broadcast on Channel 7 which came second in its ratings time slot with a viewership of over 100,000. Her Master’s project at UTS, Sydney, 'The Narrow Path', won several awards and was screened internationally. She is currently completing her PhD with Creative Research Works on the lived experience of carers with her documentary film Unconditional which premiered in Canberra in March 2024. She is also involved in strategy and policy work with carer advocacy organizations.

At CMHL Lorna is the Family Carer Workforce Development Coordinator. She is an experienced and enthusiastic lived experienced educator and is passionate about lived experience leadership in mental health.

Ben is an award-winning singer songwriter, Indie Folk artist, theatre practitioner and community arts worker from Canberra, Australia. After a decade and a half working in mental health community arts believing he experienced the ‘normal level of mental health challenges’ because ‘wasn’t that depressed or anxious’, Ben made the mental transition from ally to lived experience consumer in 2023 with an ADHD diagnosis at age 41. Suddenly everything made a lot more sense. Following the international success of his debut solo single 'If I Don't Lie Down' in December, Canberra-based Indie Folk Singer/Songwriter Ben is captivating audiences once again with his award-winning sophomore single, 'Listen Now', a heartfelt tale about supporting a friend through alcoholism and dire mental health challenges. The new Indie Folk ballad debuted at #2 on the Australian Independent Record Label Association charts (trumping Kylie Minogue that week), and has received rave reviews from around the world after landing 2nd place in the 2023 Hawaii Songwriting Festival competition. 50% of Bandcamp sales will be donated to suicide prevention. Ben’s songs span from vulnerable and visceral ballads exploring the darkness of the human condition to upbeat foot stompers full of energy and hope. He has played shows in the US, Ireland and Canada and featured on bills with some of Australia’s greatest including Paul Kelly, The Waifs and Busby Marou as well as international stars such as Chris Isaak. His music has also featured on TV shows in the US.

Paul Dziatkowiec has spent close to a quarter century in international diplomacy and conflict mediation. He was an Australian diplomat for over a decade, with postings in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa - the latter as Deputy and Acting Ambassador to Kenya and other states including Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, and deputy Permanent Representative to the UN. He was a Peace Monitor in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea following the civil war, and was awarded an Australian Service medal. Later Paul moved to a career in mediating conflicts. During a decade at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) in Geneva, he deployed to various conflict zones to create backchannels and lead secret talks with armed protagonists, including in Myanmar, Nigeria, Thailand and Ukraine. As Director for Mediation and Peace Support at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Paul runs several discreet dialogue processes, including on Eastern Europe/Ukraine, the Caucasus, Middle East, Northeast Asia, and others. He also advises other organisations engaged in peacemaking. Paul has written on various aspects of peacemaking in Africa, the Middle East, the Arctic, and on US-China relations; and delivered lectures on such topics in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

David Edwards is a Worimi man who grew up in Turrbal/Jagera country and now lives on Bundjalung lands. David works from University of Sydney’s University for Rural Health in Lismore NSW as the Director of the WellMob website, under the national e-Mental Health in Practice project. David is also a voluntary trainer for the Core of Life pregnancy and child birth education program for young people. David is a member of the Dept of Health's National Digital Mental Health Advisory Group along with other national mental health reference groups to advocate for culturally informed practice for First Nations Australians.

Jess Edwards (She/Her) has worked in the mental health space for the past 15 years across both child & adolescent and adult services in a range of community and clinical setting. Jess brings her experience of working as a clinician (social worker) and her own lived experience of mental ill health into her work as a Project officer Mental health reform (lived Experience) at Gippsland PHN. She is passionate about mental health care being person centred, holistic and codesigned by those who use services.

Bec is a qualitative Lived Experience Researcher at Neami National. She is particularly interested in embedding participatory approaches in research.

Also known by her Matai title, Tupua, Suzanne is a Mental Health Practitioner and accredited Mental Health Social Worker providing psychological therapy for individuals experiencing mental health issues. She founded her own therapy clinic, Nesian Point, which serves clients from the Brisbane region, as well as statewide, nationwide, and internationally via Telehealth and phone sessions. Suzanne completed her Bachelor of Social Work in Hawaii and her Master of Social Work in Adelaide. She has worked in Hawaii, mainland USA, Samoa, and Australia. Suzanne brings a wealth of knowledge to her practice, using an integrative therapeutic approach that encompasses clients’ cultural values, personal/spiritual beliefs, and characteristics. This form of therapy closely aligns with the Diverse Cultural Framework used at Nesian Point.

Priscilla Ennals manages research at Neami National and has worked in and around the mental health system for 30 years as an occupational therapist, educator and researcher.

Athena Field is the NSW/ACT Practice Lead, Peer Support for Wellways Australia. She has worked in the community services industry for 30 years. In the last 10 years she has worked from the lived experience (peer work) perspectives. Her qualifications include Bachelor of Community Services, Peer Leadership Skillset Course, Cert IV Mental Health Peer Work, Diploma of Youth Work and Intentional Peer Support. Athena represents on Advisory Committees for SWS PHN & Headspace.

Scott is a Research Fellow in the Lived Experience Research Unit at the Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University. Scott’s research is grounded in the sociology of health and illness, public health, and applied ethics. His research interests are suicide, the social and political determinants of health, and lived experience. Scott is especially interested in broadening contemporary ethical discussion of suicide and its prevention within the fields of research, clinical, and public health practice and policy by examining the intersection between knowledge, practice, ethics, and politics.

I am a Lived Experience Peer Practitioner, who resides with my wife, 2 kids and a dog, and works in the Nepean Blue Mountains area, currently as a TZS Peer worker. My passion as a peer worker is empowering people to work towards reengaging with life. I have recently completed a BSSc majoring in Behavioral studies and also hold a Diploma of Leisure and Health.

Justine is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Mental Health in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne. She recently competed her PhD about the evaluation and implementation of Safewards in Victorian public mental health services. Justine is a registered psychologist who worked in private practice. She has over 15 years’ experience in mental health services research. Her research involves multidisciplinary teams including people with lived experience and focuses on services for people experiencing mental illness and their recovery, social inclusion and human rights.

Beth is the Acting General Manager, Services Vic/Tas for Wellways Australia. She has worked in both private and public mental health settings. Beth has established and supervised numerous mental health services. She is excited to be working with the team in providing tailored services to individuals living in residential aged care facilities.