Keith Banks is one of Queensland's most decorated police officers, a recipient of the Bravery Medal and twice awarded the prestigious Queensland Police Valour Award medal, among other honours.

Keith was an undercover operative and a special weapons tactical operator for more than two decades. His police experience left him with undiagnosed chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.

Access to psychological counselling provided by the Queensland Police Service did not exist in that era and, although he maintained an outwardly confident and calm manner, beneath the surface Keith was battling PTSD. In 1995 he resigned to accept a senior corporate role in risk management, emotionally broken and leaving the job he loved, knowing that if he stayed it would destroy him.

He completed a Master of Business Administration in 2000 and subsequently worked in a variety of senior executive roles, the most recent as Chief Operations Officer for a membership association.

Keith was formally diagnosed with PTSD in 2019.

Today, he is on a mission to help people build resilience and lead fulfilling personal and professional lives.

Wayne Bennett AM is a revered figure in Australian rugby league history. He has made an indelible mark as a coach, mentor, and leader in the sport for several decades.

Bennett's coaching career spans over four decades, marked by success and a profound impact on various rugby league teams. He has coached several clubs in the National Rugby League (NRL), including the Brisbane Broncos, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Newcastle Knights, and South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Known for his astute tactical approach, Bennett's coaching style combines strategic planning, player development, and motivational leadership. His ability to connect with players on a personal level and extract the best from each individual has been pivotal in his success.

Beyond his coaching accomplishments, Bennett is admired for his mentorship and the lasting impact he has on players and fellow coaches. Many of his proteges have gone on to become successful coaches themselves, a testament to his mentorship and guidance.

Megan has worked as a Disability Support Worker with Multicap since July 2022, and is currently completing her third and final year of a Bachelor of Paramedic Science at the Queensland University of Technology. She graduated from a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland in 2019, where she also worked as a Research Assistant in the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry.

Helen Cameron is a Registered Music Therapist with the Australian Music Therapy Association with over 30 years experience in the field of neurodevelopmental disability.

Helen has provided group music therapy services, through her private practice, JAM music therapy, to the disability community for over 25 years and she is passionate about ensuring that everyone can access and experience the joy of participating in live music.

She recently completed her Masters by Research at the University of Melbourne, exploring the lived experiences of support workers who attend a long term, group music therapy program.

Helen is also the Disability Advisor to the Australian Music Therapy Association, and involved in advocating for music therapy for people with disabilities in the NDIS.

Trent Carberry is the Group Research Lead for the Vertaview Group.

Trent has worked in research for over 20 years across a diverse range of fields. His early experience was in road safety, working in a team looking at pedestrian visibility and older drivers with eye disease.

Trent's interest in the disability sector was fostered by his volunteering as an archery coach working with athletes with disabilities.

View the session abstract here

Vicky Chen holds the position of Practice Specialist - Rights and Advocacy at Multicap. With a Master of Social Work degree, she brings extensive experience as a case manager in the aged care sector, focusing on Home Care Packages and aged care counselling.

Vicky is deeply committed to advancing and safeguarding the human rights of vulnerable individuals.

Jessica Crossan is the Group Practice Specialist in Disability for Vertaview Group and is a Certified Behaviour Analyst. With a background in Positive Behaviour Support and experience working directly with people with disabilities, Mental Ill Health, and frontline workers she has developed a passion for organisational practice improvement.

Grace Edward embodies unwavering commitment, evident in impactful contributions to advocacy and the arts.

Co-founder of the Youth CALD Disability Collective (YCDC), Grace aims to create a peer support space for young people from vulnerable and marginalised communities. Her passion for advocacy was ignited at MYAN FUSE Summit in 2016.

Grace is also a theatre enthusiast, skilled Playwright & Director with a BA in Contemporary & Applied Theatre and MA in Creative Industries and is a versatile collaborator with leading arts organisations in Queensland. 

Grace is currently working as a Project Officer at Queensland Performing Arts Center, working with a fantastic team of individuals shaping meaningful art experiences for advocacy & community development.

Carrie is a registered music therapist who graduated from Melbourne University masters of Music Therapy course in 2018.

Carrie has worked as a music therapist with a variety of populations in different context including; community adult disability, specialist schools, early childhood intervention, and brain injury rehab.

Carrie has a background in social work and is passionate about social justice and human rights advocacy.

Predominantly a vocalist and guitarist, Carrie has many years of experience playing live in bands in Australia and in the USA. She is currently playing percussion in a local Brisbane band ‘Carnaval Republic’.

Manager of Multicap's behaviour support team since 2018. Sarah is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and in her professional career she has invested time delivering high quality positive behaviour supports and in the training and supervision of behaviour support practitioners.

Alicia Jones is a highly skilled creative businesswoman residing on Jagera country, SE QLD. With formative years in Hospitality management and Commercial Property marketing, Alicia has worked in the Queensland community development sector as producer/facilitator across Cultural Event Management, Education and the Arts. Alicia is the current Program Lead for the Centre of Creative Arts, Multicap’s professional development program for artists and has worked in the Access sector since 2004.

As a professional performing artist, Alicia is a member of award-winning companies Little Dove Theatre Art (Canberra) and Ozfrank Theatre Company (Brisbane). Alicia’s solo work investigates modes and methods of knowledge exchange and acceptable violence within Australian society. Alicia’s body of work stems from the exploration into her cultural heritage (Palawa TAS/Australian) and the drive to activate performance/audience response-ability to break cycles of violence. Alicia undertakes research in the rehabilitative impact of performance/installation practice in rewiring neurophysiology and disorganized attachment.

On a senior level, Alicia fulfilled peer assessor roles with Regional Arts Development Fund (Ipswich) and Regional Arts Australia. Producer credits include contracts with Major Brisbane Festivals (2009/10), Jarjums Coordinator (Dreaming Festival 2011), Associate Producer Festival 2018 (Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018), First Nations Producer for state-wide regional arts conference Arts Ablaze (Oct 2019) and QMF Outback Trail – Queensland Music Trails (2023/4).

Alicia is a certified Trainer with qualifications in Creative Industries, Early Childhood Education and Business and regular Teaching Artist for Education Queensland. Alicia currently studies a Diploma in Counselling with the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors.

www.aperformerslife.com

Kath isn’t your normal athlete. In fact, she’s so modest she wouldn’t even consider herself an athlete, but the former NSW cricketer has more fight in her than most professional athletes. Kath’s story is one of inspiration and utter strength; from a hospital bed defying a prognosis of paralysis to setting up a global movement that drives her desire to create a world where people are kinder to one another. There have been more than a few significant bumps along the way, but Kath has never let the setbacks get the better of her. Creating joy out of sorrow with her physical and mental resilience, Kath has pulled herself through challenges that most of us could not comprehend, without letting them shake her belief that we all have the capacity for kindness.

Now known worldwide for her kindness adventures, Kath shares her journey of how she turned adversity into triumph, with the thoughts that lead her to leave her home with nothing but the clothes on her back, attempting to prove that you really can survive physically, mentally, and emotionally, on kindness. An outpouring of support and offers of food and shelter on social media had Kath travelling around Australia on nothing but the kindness of strangers, spreading her message of hope.

Kath will inspire you to challenge the way that you see the world. She will take you on an emotional roller coaster, leaving you in awe of her incredible strength and determination to do and be better, regardless of the hurdles faced and she believes that anyone can achieve the same.

Natasha Milner is the Education Coordinator, Disability at (True) True Relationships & Reproductive Health (formerly known as Family Planning Queensland). She has provided information and facilitated education to schools and communities about relationships, reproductive health, and sexuality since 2011.

Natasha has also facilitated both accredited and non-accredited training to staff who work in schools and community organisations and to parents/carers. She regularly teaches relationships and sexuality topics in primary and secondary schools in special education and mainstream classes.

Natasha is an advocate for all people being able to access information on how bodies work, healthy relationships, and sexuality.

Queenie is the Senior Music Therapist and team leader at Multicap. A Registered Music Therapist with over 12 years of experience in the disability sector, working with people with all abilities and language backgrounds.

Growing up with music training from a different country, Queenie is passionate in using music to support emotional expression & regulation and speech & language development.

With extensive experience in music teaching, Queenie encourages students to develop music interest for expressions. She is currently the pianist for Brisbane Christian Choir and the clarinettist at Concordia Chamber. 

Annabelle Oxley is an advocate, trainer, and Disability Project Officer for the Queensland Council for LGBTI Health specialising in the LGBTIQ+ community, individual rights, sexual health and accommodation issues, for people with disabilities.

Annabelle has a Bachelor's of Psychological Science from Griffith University. She has spoken at the United Nations side events, various public events and organised conferences and all abilities events.

Annabelle also sits on numerous advisory groups around the country and consults with disability organisations on best practice around working with LGBTIQ+ people with disabilities.

 In the 1980’s, Kevin served as the Principal of a Special Developmental School, pioneering inclusive education, and then became involved in supporting families to advocate for inclusive education, and training workers from residential homes to overcome institutional practices.

In 1989, Kevin established VALID, an advocacy organisation driven and led by people with intellectual disability and their families, which he served as the CEO for the next 33 years. During that time, Kevin also served on the board of the National Council on Intellectual Disability (now Inclusion Australia) and acted as chair for many years.

 
Throughout his career, Kevin has been at the forefront of national policy development, providing constructive, collaborative and outcomes-driven representation at the highest levels, whilst working intensively to build structures and resources to support the development of self-advocacy leadership.

 
In 2021, Kevin retired from VALID and now provides training to sector workers in The Empowering Advocacy Method (TEAM). This training resource has been developed through Kevin’s work with thousands of workshop participants over the past forty years and highlights the important role of disability support workers in providing advocacy support, decision-making support, and safeguarding support.

 
Kevin is the father of four adult children, three of whom have severe disabilities, one of whom is recently deceased.

https://www.advocacyteam.org/

Elke is a registered pharmacist with 20 years' experience in medication safety, clinical governance and quality assurance in pharmacies, hospitals and aged care facilities.

Over the past 18 months Elke has been working for a registered NDIS provider as the Risk and Quality Assurance Manager focused on ensuring all their customers receive safe and high-quality support which is aligned to best practice.

Maria is an experienced disability researcher who is currently working as a Research Fellow at the University of Queensland. Before this, Maria was the Senior Researcher at Endeavour Foundation and most recently, was the Director of Behaviour Support Research and Data Analytics for the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

As a registered psychologist, Maria aims to conduct research that positively impacts people with disability, their families, and the services that support them. In collaboration with service providers and policy makers, she has been involved in research examining voluntary out-of-home care (relinquishment) of young people with disability and service responses to improve the identification of families in crisis.

She has also led research examining disability work-related issues such as job burnout in the disability support worker population and defining the role of a support worker. She has also worked on projects evaluating behaviour support plan quality at an organisation, state, and national level.

View the session abstract here.

Dr Ursula White completed her optometry training at Cardiff University in Wales. She has worked in a variety of settings across the UK, New Zealand and Australia, including private practice, hospital optometry, academic teaching, and clinical research. As a senior clinical tutor at Auckland university, she re-established a student-led low vision clinic and developed a collaborative scheme with the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind to improve access to CCTV’s for people who were blind/vision impaired.

After moving to Brisbane in 2009 she began working at the Paediatric Low Vision Clinic, based within the Department of Education, Statewide Vision Impairment Services, a position she held for almost ten years. Working in paediatric low vision afforded the opportunity to develop skills in assessment of patients with complex needs, including those who are non-speaking / minimally verbal, and/or intellectually disabled. During this time, she also completed a PhD investigating falls and concerns about falling in older people with macular degeneration.

She works as a clinical supervisor in the Vision Rehabilitation Clinic at QUT and is currently establishing Special Eyes Vision Services: a specialised Optometry practice for children and adults with complex needs. She has a keen interest in developing equitable access to eye health for everyone, regardless of their abilities, and in developing support for people affected by cerebral visual impairment.