Association Specific Events

Mike Teece has been Policy Director (Academic) at Universities Australia since February 2016. Mike is responsible for higher education policy, including funding and regulation, and manages UA’s statistical and analytical work. Mike previously worked in a similar role at the Group of Eight and before that at the Commonwealth Education Department in higher education and international education policy roles.

Dr Alice Gorman is an internationally recognised leader in the field of space archaeology. Her research focuses on the archaeology and heritage of space exploration, including space junk, planetary landing sites, off-earth mining, rocket launch pads and antennas. She is a Senior Lecturer at Flinders University and a Director on the Board of the Space Industry Association of Australia. In 2017 she won the Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing. Her book Dr Space Junk vs the Universe: Archaeology and the Future was published in April 2019. She tweets as @drspacejunk and blogs at Space Age Archaeology.

Jamie Fitzgerald has worked around the world in financial services, F&B, government and primary sectors. His business, Inspiring Performance, has helped hundreds of organisations around the world gain clarity and alignment on the value they create, future business models, their priorities, and how to maintain momentum along the way. His ability to translate strategic thinking into practical steps is very hard to beat.

One of Jamie favorite projects was to manage the training and culture of Rugby World Cup volunteers in 2011. This was a programme for 6000+ people tasked with delivering a ‘uniquely New Zealand’ customer experience.

Outside of his business career, Jamie has walked unaided to the South Pole, captained rowing crews versus Cambridge and Oxford Universities during his management degrees, holds the world record for rowing 5000km across the Atlantic Ocean, hosts various TV documentary series, and is a keen bee-keeper.

Selected from over 200,000 initial applicants, Josh Richards is currently one of 100 people short-listed for Mars One’s 2031 one-way mission to Mars. As a former Australian soldier, British Commando, explosives engineer, physicist, comedian, science-adviser to the richest living artist in history, and author of “Becoming Martian”, Josh’s natural talent as a storyteller makes for compelling and entertaining corporate keynotes and workshops on leadership, small-team dynamics, performance psychology, and the challenges of life in space that inspire every audience to discover the sky is not the limit.

Dianne is one of seven Australian shortlisted Mars One astronaut candidates in the remaining Mars 100. The Mars One mission seeks to establish the first permanent human settlement on Mars.

It is a one-way journey.

What makes Dianne a suitable astronaut candidate?

She is a leader, team player, project manager and creative problem solver. Her experience working in and managing teams in sales, marketing, emergency services and government provides her with a strong platform to work as a unit to deliver on outcomes.

Dianne’s sense of adventure, determination and fitness has seen her sail tall ships in the southern ocean, cycle extreme distances, jump from planes, and run marathons and an ultra-marathon.

Dianne believes nothing is insurmountable.

She has a special interest and growing expertise in sustainable food systems, something that will be critical in a completely new environment for human habitation.

Dianne is a proficient public speaker who delivers engaging and dynamic talks to a variety of audiences from school children to corporates to space scientists/enthusiasts.

Dianne’s work experience has provided her with strong expertise in project management, marketing and government organisations in her time with the Australian Energy Regulator, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). While at GSK she won a global marketing award, and held numerous positions, including a global marketing position based in Europe where she was responsible for a $1billion (AUD) brand portfolio, and won a global marketing award.

Dianne leads a purposeful life that seeks to create better environmental outcomes. Towards this goal, she is currently the Director of the sustainability and business consultancy, Food for Thought Consulting Australia.

Passionate about sustainable food systems, she is also a Director on the boards of three not-for-profit organisations that operate in the food sustainability/community food space: Cultivating Community, 3000acres and the Open Food Network.

Jana Wendt is a journalist and writer.

Her feature writing has appeared in publications including The Monthly, The Spectator, The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald.

In broadcast journalism she has worked for every Australian television network as a senior reporter and presenter on programmes including 60 Minutes, A Current Affair, Dateline and Sunday, and as a contributing correspondent for the American CBS Network’s 60 Minutes.

Wendt has interviewed many key newsmakers including Mikhail Gorbachev, Muammar Gaddafi, Henry Kissinger, Rupert Murdoch, Conrad Black, Benazir Bhutto, Binyamin Netanyahu, and Yasser Arafat. She has interviewed widely in the arts where her subjects have included pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim; opera star Cecilia Bartoli; conductor Riccardo Muti and jazz diva Cleo Laine.

Jana Wendt’s book A Matter of Principle, based on conversations with notable individuals about their values was published in 2007, and her second, Nice Work, about the world of work in April 2010. She is currently working on a book of short fiction.

Simon is the Co-Founder and CEO of Who Gives A Crap, a profit-for-purpose toilet paper company that uses 50% of its profits to build toilets in the developing world. He is an outstanding entrepreneur and philanthropist who has built two social enterprises, generating donations of more than $1.9 million. His work has been covered by countless media outlets around the world, including The Huffington Post, MTV and The Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Katrina OAM is a triple Gold Medal winning Paralympian who turned her disability into one of her greatest strengths. All who hears this Australian sporting legend’s story will be inspired and motivated, learning success isn’t always the easiest journey and there are often many hurdles along the way. As a professional speaker, Katrina has impressed audiences at an international level.

Jane is an author, lecturer, mentor, social commentator, columnist, workshop facilitator. speaker, broadcaster and award winning advertising writer. Jane runs her own communications consultancy and lectures in Advertising Creative at The School of Humanities and Communication Arts at WSU, Jane also mentors young business people through McCarthy Mentoring.