Speakers

Session: Opening remarks from the Chair

As the Director and Principal Consultant of The Safety Team, Alanna Ball has over 10 years of experience in workplace health and safety (WHS) consulting, coaching, and leadership. She holds an MBA, a Post Graduate Certificate in Applied Law, and a Bachelor of Occupational Health and Safety, among other credentials. She is also the founder of Women in Safety, a platform that supports and celebrates women in the WHS industry.

Alanna's mission is to be the missing piece of the organizational puzzle and create great safety outcomes. She works with medium to large organizations across various sectors and regions, helping them improve their WHS performance and culture. She is skilled at developing and implementing WHS strategies, communicating with boards and leadership teams, and delivering engaging and impactful workshops. Alanna is passionate about empowering organizations to embrace authentic leadership and foster a culture of safety.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do you build the knowledge needed to develop your skills and progress your career?

A dedicated safety professional, Samantha has honed her skills at three leading tier 1 companies, including CBP, Lendlease, and currently Multiplex at the New Sydney Fish Markets. She is passionate about promoting a safe and inclusive work environment, prioritizing both physical and psychological well-being. Samantha is committed to inspiring and empowering women in construction, demonstrating that they can thrive in this industry.

Session: The future of women in health & safety: navigating challenges & unlocking opportunities

Skye spent the first 15 years of her career in private enterprise, before moving to the NSW Government’s WHS Regulator in 2010, where she developed her expertise in work health and safety regulation and its application.  Traversing roles leading SafeWork’s Engineering team, the Investigations and Enforcement team, and as the Director, Strategic Intelligence and Research, where Skye established the Centre for Work Health and Safety.

Skye has recently concluded the delivery of the 23rd World Congress on Health and Safety at Work, the world’s largest and longest standing global WHS events attended by over 3,000 people from 126 nations in Sydney.

Skye is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), and an Independent Director on the Australian Institute of Health and Safety Board, where she merges public practice and business acumen to advance the profession.

Session: ROUNDTABLE 4: Harnessing the collective power of HSE & HR collaboration

Session: Navigating psychosocial hazards: challenges and solutions in creating safer workplaces

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Supporting the person and psyche through authentic policy and practice in safety

With over 20 years of experience in health and safety management across various sectors, Danielle Buckland is a passionate and proactive leader who strives to deliver HSE excellence and value for Mirvac and its stakeholders. As the National HSE Manager for Construction, she oversees the implementation and improvement of HSE policies, systems, and practices for all construction projects nationwide, ensuring compliance, quality, and sustainability.

Danielle brings a diverse and rich skill set to her role, including safety leadership, value engineering, construction management, safety in design, integrated management systems auditing, health and wellbeing initiatives, and critical incident investigations. She is also an Exemplar Global Lead Auditor, a NAWIC NSW Chair for Major Events, and the creator of the Women in Construction Lean In Circle Series. These credentials and competencies reflect her commitment to continuous learning, professional development, and industry collaboration. Her mission is to foster a culture of safety, innovation, and inclusion in the construction sector, and to support the growth and success of Mirvac and its people.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do you build the knowledge needed to develop your skills and progress your career?

Session: Good governance, safety values & reputation management

Jo is a senior People & Culture professional with over 20 years’ experience leading the customer service, operations, safety and people & culture functions of large organisations including being responsible for People, Culture and Safety at APE and also at AHG as Chief Human Resources Officer.

Jo joined BINGO from ASX-listed Eagers Automotive, where she led the People & Culture function. Prior to this, she held senior operational and people roles at O’Brien Glass, including Human Resources Director and Customer Service & Operational Director. Jo has previously worked in human resources roles with KAZ Technology, Raytheon Australia, Boeing Australia and BHP. 

Jo holds a degree in Organisational Behaviour and Psychology, is a Chartered Member of the Australian Human Resources Institute and brings to BINGO many years’ of experience working across a range of industries, including manufacturing, corporate, retail, information technology and engineering.

Session: 7 Hidden and Underestimated Risks Safety Leaders Need to Know:

Iris Chan is the Director of Marketing at MyPass Global. Iris is responsible for leading its global marketing strategy and function, with a focus on elevating the customer experience. Iris has over 20 years’ experience in B2B technology marketing, specialising in industries such as construction and engineering, energy and utilities and the public sector. Prior to MyPass, Iris was the Head of Demand Generation and Growth at Autodesk. Her past leadership roles include: Head of Marketing at IBM Digital Business Group, APAC Head of Sales Enablement, Cisco and APAC Marketing Director at Seismic. In 2023, Iris was recognised as one of Asia's Most Admired Marketing Leaders by CMO Asia and ranked #5 in the B&T People’s Choice CMO in 2021. A passionate advocate for gender diversity, Iris was a finalist in the Women Leading Tech awards in Australia and a three-time finalist in the ARN Women in ICT Awards in Australia. Based in Sydney, Iris holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from the National University of Singapore.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we empower women in health & safety to drive progress, strengthen organisations and foster career growth?

Joanne is a work health and safety professional with some twenty years’ experience working within health and safety.

She has predominately worked within the health sector but has held safety roles in other government departments developing and reviewing safety management systems.

She has held roles in local government and worked at various councils, worked within the disability, and educational sectors.

She holds a master’s in occupational health and Safety Management systems of which she obtained from the University of Technology Sydney.

She is passionate about work health and safety about workplace cultural change and about injury prevention and the minimization of harm to workers whist at work.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Addressing systemic influences to promote safer working conditions for women

Session: ROUNDTABLE 4: Harnessing the collective power of HSE & HR collaboration

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Supporting the person and psyche through authentic policy and practice in safety

Bridget Dunoon is passionate about people and thrives off driving employee engagement and collaborating with management, teams and individuals to develop a future-focused organisation that delivers on strategic objectives.

She is skilled in a broad range of HR responsibilities including Psychological and Physical Injury Management, Strategic and Operational Workforce Planning, D&I and Engagement, Dispute Resolution, Performance and Development, and Workforce Analytics.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do you build the knowledge needed to develop your skills and progress your career?

Chris Edwards is an experienced Senior HSE Manager, with expertise in governance, risk and change management, strategic planning and implementation. She focuses on making sustainable changes within business, delivering positive benefits to an organisation's performance and overall culture.  Chris is an advocate for building diversity within the WHS profession, and building WHS capability.

Session: The art of stakeholder management

Melissa ensures the delivery and communication of AfPA’s objectives effectively represent the interests of all members and promote the sustainable use and growth of bitumen-based products in pavement construction and maintenance throughout her regions.

With an unwavering commitment to the construction sector, Melissa is a seasoned advocate, industry expert and a driving force behind growth and sustainability. Commencing her career in the civil sector over 20years ago, has seen her hold several leadership positions, promoting best practice in the interests of contractors, the supply chain, and other stakeholders.

Her relentless advocacy efforts have led to the implementation of polices which have enhanced safety, training, sustainability, quality, and growth of the civil construction industry.

Drawing on her experiences, Melissa can provide support to producers and contractors across all levels of their business. Her understanding of business and the importance of a strong pipeline of work in invaluable.

Melissa recognises the importance of collaboration and has strong relationships with industry leaders and government agencies which create a cohesive ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders.

Melissa was voted SA Woman of the Year in 2022 for a woman who is pursuing excellence in her chosen career and has overcome challenges to continue to pave their own path towards a career that they are thriving in, while supporting others to do the same.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What’s next in health & safety? Navigating evolving technological, regulatory, social & economic trends

Session: The prerequisites to safety leadership: the necessary skills to thrive

Session: ROUNDTABLE 3: Creating a circle of influence: mentors, networks and sponsors

Ingrid Fuentes is the Manager Network Safety & Risk within the Engineering Division at Energy Queensland.  Beyond her undergraduate degrees in Law and Business Management from the University of Queensland (Hons) (2006), Ingrid has been awarded a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law) and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Leveraging a strong background as a lawyer and expertise in managing risk and governance frameworks particularly as they relate to health & safety, Ingrid is accountable for the Network Risk Framework and the associated application of the framework across the optimisation of the program of work at Energy Queensland. In addition to this and recognising the potential risks that the electrical industry faces, Ingrid has been instrumental in developing comprehensive frameworks supporting high consequence asset safety related investigations management and asset safety assurance activities at Energy Queensland.

Whether partnering with senior stakeholders to design and implement risk management strategies or providing guidance on compliance and governance frameworks, Ingrid brings a dynamic approach that considers the unique safety needs and challenges of each stakeholder in order to mitigate asset related risks and protect employees and stakeholders. Ingrid’s ability to navigate complex regulatory landscapes and communicate legal requirements effectively, has earned her a reputation for providing practical and tailored advice to stakeholders across Energy Queensland.

Session: Closing the gap: practical strategies to address gender inequality in the workplace

Session: ROUNDTABLE 1: Authentic communication strategies to achieve positive safety outcomes

Phoebe entered the safety field through an unconventional path of engineering, environmental science, people and operational leadership. Now, as the National Executive for Safety & Compliance at WSP Australia, Phoebe is a long-standing advocate of women in the safety industry, developing and creating opportunities for women through her leadership roles. Phoebe firmly believes that “a core responsibility of safety professionals is to effectively communicate, build rapport, and influence decisions and behaviours. They have to be able to tell a compelling story and get people on side to effect positive change. This is particularly critical in our high risk industries, such as construction, manufacturing, and mining, which also tend to be male-dominated

Session: Sponsor speech

Session: Leadership skills to guide your team & organisation to success

Catherine firmly believes that every leader has a powerful contribution to make to the world. But they can’t do it alone. They need to connect with and influence their team, customers, suppliers, investors and networks to support them on the journey. And this requires effective leadership communication.

In fact, as the world leverages the power of technology, digital and social media, virtual reality, automation and AI, the power of - and need for - effective interpersonal communication skills grows stronger, especially for leaders.

It’s with this in mind, that Catherine’s mission is to equip both current and future leaders and with the knowledge, skills, resources and confidence to communicate in a way that connects more meaningfully with their stakeholders and increases their ability to influence others so they can achieve their goals and make a positive impact.

For over 20 years, through her individual coaching, group workshops and strategic consultancy, Catherine has empowered leaders at Fortune 500 organisations, some of Australia’s leading corporates and small-to-medium businesses, as well as entrepreneurs as they launch and scale their start-ups to realise their full potential.

She hopes she can do the same for you.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do you build the knowledge needed to develop your skills and progress your career?

Tanya Howard, as the Head of Health Safety and Wellbeing at the Foxtel Group, brings over 15 years of experience in Health, Safety, and Wellbeing. With an Allied Health background, she leads the company’s multifaceted approach to health, safety, and wellbeing, managing people risks. Foxtel Group, a successful media company in Australia, has solidified its position in over half of Australian homes. Tanya’s partnership-driven, collaborative, and open-minded approach supports the ongoing evolution of Foxtel Group’s culture, emphasizing people-centric values and leadership capability. She champions wellbeing, adaptability, and the creation of psychologically safe environments, truly making a difference in her role.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How do you build the knowledge needed to develop your skills and progress your career?

Trinette has more than 20 years' experience in Work Health Safety and Injury Management within the private and public sector, including transport and logistics, manufacturing, warehousing, agriculture, mining, finance, food processing, foundries, health services and aged care.

As a well-rounded safety professional, her in-depth knowledge includes workplace wellness coaching, risk management strategies and the development and implementation of sustainable safety management systems. This also includes going beyond compliance, with the implementation of applied functions such as behavioural change programs, and facilitation of leadership programs.

Businesses exemplifying a strong safety culture generally have the following in common; leaders showing an active commitment towards safety practices, and workers who feel supported, valued and actively contribute towards a safe workplace.

As a coach and mentor, she has worked and coached busy, overwhelmed leaders in a variety of industries. She has helped teams of all sizes and levels strategically think about their critical risks and open their minds to creative and innovative solutions to improve their culture and systems. Using behaviour psychology and coaching skills, Trinette strive to empower people to lead and motivate each other to make sustainable change, with limited resistance.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we empower women in health & safety to drive progress, strengthen organisations and foster career growth?

Session: Understanding, solving and eliminating unconscious bias in health & safety

Kanae Dyas is the Anglo American Workplace Support Manager leading the Work Place Support Program and Trauma Informed Support Unit. Managing psychosocial hazards and risk mitigation in Bullying, Sexual Harassment, Discrimination and Domestic Violence. Kanae’s career spans over 25 years in the global resources and manufacturing sector specifically in the areas of Occupational Health, Safety, Wellbeing, Psychosocial Hazard Management, Mental Health in Mining and Inclusion and Diversity programs in gender and cultural safety. Kanae is also a QRC WIMARQ and QMEA Mentor, holds working group positions on QRC and MCA for Psychosocial Management and Respect at Work, Screen Australia Mental Health, a board member for Northwestern QLD Mental Health Network and Pasifika Women’s Alliance. Kanae was involved in a number of notable ACARP Mining Health research programs that evolved as best practice recognised across the industry and panel discussions for women in mining. Kanae represented Australia and Papua New Guinea for International  Women Innovators In Tahiti in 2018 and is currently nominated at the 2023 QLD Mining H&S Industry Health Awards.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Addressing systemic influences to promote safer working conditions for women

Michelle is a qualified and highly inspiring Health, Safety & Environmental leader who has acquired over 17 years of experience in developing and implementing safety management systems within different sectors and environments. Focused on delivering good governance to mitigate risk exposure, protect our people, increase productivity and reduce incidents. Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills, with the ability to liaise across all levels of the organisation influence decisions and gain support in regards to change

Session: Reflections on the evolving landscape of safety career progression and the impact of motherhood

Laurence is Process Safety Manager within Origin Energy’s Integrated Gas Business Unit in Australia. She is a Fellow Engineer and Chartered Professional Engineer with Engineers Australia, Registered Professional Engineer QLD, Associate member of IChemE, Functional Safety Engineer (TUV certified) and Justice of the Peace (Qual). She specialises in process and process safety engineering and has 18 years of experience leading technical teams and programs across Europe and Pacific. Her experience spans over the whole lifecycle of Assets and she brings a practical and structured approach based on stakeholder engagement to achieve positive outcomes. She is passionate about building an open learning culture and collaboration across disciplines and boundaries, to prevent future process safety incidents and technical failures. 

She has been exposed to Corporate and Site roles at international levels in O&G, Energy and Mining industries, and speaks 6 languages.
Laurence’s recent experiences include Process Safety Manager, Engineering Manager and Process Engineering Lead providing leadership and engineering support to Australia Pacific LNG upstream operations in Queensland, Australia.

Laurence sits on the IChemE International Safety Centre (ISC) Advisory Board, the IChemE Major Hazards Committee, and she is a speaker at conferences.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What’s next in health & safety? Navigating evolving technological, regulatory, social & economic trends

Lisa Crawford is the General Manager of Health & Safety at Jemena. Her role is focused on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all team members, delivery partners and members of the public.

Her role includes risk management and systems implementation and has leadership of the organisation- wide health and safety strategy.

Lisa has 15 years of experience across management and consulting environments in construction, civil and renewable energy sectors. Lisa has a Bachelor of Psychology (Hons).

Session: Future-ready safety: adapting practices for an ever-evolving landscape

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: What’s next in health & safety? Navigating evolving technological, regulatory, social & economic trends

Kelly Lovely is a contemporary Health, Safety, Leadership and Culture Specialist with a vision for solving complex issues in Australian workplaces.

She is a Prosci Change Management Certified Change Practitioner, HBDI Certified Practitioner and trained Program Manager with 25 years experience in improving Health, Safety, Environment (HSE), Leadership, Governance and Compliance and Business Transformation performance and results.

She is an excellent Communicator and People Leader with a demonstrated history of working with people in high-risk work environments and the industries of construction, communications, Power Generation, utilities and healthcare.

She has been AGSM trained in Corporate Governance and Risk Management; Masters Qualified in HSE, Business Management and experienced in Strategy, Leading High Performance Teams and driving positive change across the Australian Health & Safety Industry.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we empower women in health & safety to drive progress, strengthen organisations and foster career growth?

Session: Beyond Safety Expertise: Strategies I Use to Level Up My Influence

Samantha McGolrick is an Aussie-Canuck (physically in Australia, emotionally still in Canada) and former Deloitte Businesswoman of the Year Nominee, her purpose is to improve the health, happiness and resilience of society by changing how people feel at work.

She is on a mission to support purpose-driven board members in using their influence to maximise organizational performance and lead a culture where people feel cared for and valued.

Session: Partnering to develop a top tier safety culture

Nina Younes is a results driven, highly motivated procurement professional with over 20 years’ experience in diverse procurement roles working in Corporate and Government administration industry. Nina joined Western Sydney Airport in February 2018. Western Sydney Airport is a government-owned business that is responsible for to develop and operate the $5.3B Western Sydney Airport.

Nina has a track record of program delivery, significantly reducing costs and improving organisational processes and procurement functions.  Nina chairs Mind Pilots WSA’s Mental health First aid working group. Nina is passionate about safety, both physical and mental wellbeing.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Addressing systemic influences to promote safer working conditions for women

As HSEQ Manager, Annie bring over 20 years of experience in workplace health safety, environment, and quality management in procurement, construction, engineering, mining, facilities management, and telecommunications. She continues to lead diverse teams and believe in continuously building positive relationships with people, coaching, mentoring, and training to achieve and maintain a safe workplace.

By promoting a strong safety ethos, Annie aims to influence and enhance the organisation’s safety culture thereby making safety a core value embraced by top-bottom and sideways stakeholders.

Session: ROUNDTABLE 2: How to respond more positively to safety incidents using intelligence, data and insights

Session: Think big, but start small: overcoming analysis paralysis

Mel Pollock is Abergeldie's General Manager Health & Safety. Since joining Abergeldie in late 2021, she has raised the bar of HSE expectation and delivery, challenged and supported our operational teams to be better, reeducated the business on contemporary safety practices, developed effective relationships with our clients, developed our first Safety Strategy; and supported the HSE team to develop and grow rapidly in line with successfully delivering on the new strategy.

Session: Partnering to develop a top tier safety culture

Peter Rolfe is a Manager, HSE Systems & Reporting at Western Sydney Airport. In his words, he likes to keep things simple, and enjoys engaging with people from all over organisations to deliver better health, safety and environmental outcomes.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: How can we empower women in health & safety to drive progress, strengthen organisations and foster career growth?

Session: Creating a plan: knowing your options, identifying pathways & being open to change

Jo is first and foremost a mining industry supervisor, a trusted advisor, speaker, published best-selling author of the book “High Heels to Hi Vis”, magazine contributor, award winning business owner, host of the “Kickass Radio” show & podcast and founder of the Kickass Women network who support women who want to achieve their biggest career transition and visions. Jo has been making waves as an enforcer in advocating for women working in non-traditional roles within varied male-dominated industries.

Jo has over 30 years of combined service in Administration, HR, WH&S, Project Management and Leadership in the Private Sector, Heavy Equipment, Civil Earthmoving, Rail and Mining Industries. Jo hit the track running so to speak 11 years’ ago working as a Coal Train Driver and successfully transitioning to Coal Mining Supervisor. 

Jo is the founder of Kickass Women and encourages women of all ages to lift up their feet and kick off their heels, find their kickass attitude and get their Glo On and become a Glo Getter. “Everyone is capable of doing the job, what are you waiting for Go On…Get Your Glo On” she shouts out!.

Jo has contributed to conferences and events all around the country and around the globe in order to gain new inspiration on her advocacy, thought leadership and inspire others to dig deeper, motivating women to overthrow the status quo and think differently about their capabilities, their possibilities and opportunities, what it takes to drive change and what action is needed to find their glo-getter attitude and succeed in various male-dominated industries.

If Jo is not on shift, she is probably writing or advocating Kickass Women – Glo Getters. To get a glimpse into her life and career, checkout her social media pages. This is the best way to learn more about her.

Session: Proactive leadership to create a physically and psychologically safe workplace

Over a decade working in the construction industry, Phillippa is a prominent female leader in a male dominated industry and has been influential in changing the industry's approach to health and wellbeing. She is the Operations Manager (ACT) with Kane Construction and is regularly asked to address industry groups through her flagship organisation, the Healthy Tradie Project.

Phillippa brings her lived experience to the Healthy Tradie Project to give blue collar workers the tools they need to thrive in construction. As a Health and Nutrition Coach, Breathwork and Yoga Practitioner she believes a healthier construction industry will have a positive influence on safety and suicide prevention amongst blue collar workers.

Session: Navigating psychosocial hazards: challenges and solutions in creating safer workplaces

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Supporting the person and psyche through authentic policy and practice in safety

Josephine Taylor is a trailblazing safety leader at Icon, and she holds a bold vision for revolutionising construction safety. By challenging the status quo and embracing innovation, she believes we can create a safer, more engaged workforce.

Session: PANEL DISCUSSION: Addressing systemic influences to promote safer working conditions for women

Suzanne is GM of Land, Property & Approvals at Transgrid, and is an enthusiastic, passionate leader with over 20 years’ experience in the energy and utilities sectors, specialising in property, land & approvals, workplace accommodation, and real estate strategy. A recognised expert in energy, planning, and environmental law, Suzanne has led teams across a range of property-based disciplines, with responsibility for delivering land access and acquisition strategies, environmental approvals, biodiversity strategies, workplace projects, facilities services and real estate strategies across gas, solar, wind, power station and transmission sectors.