Ellen is an early career researcher undertaking her PhD at Flinders University. She is a Disability Developmental Educator (allied health) and has lived experience of disability. She passionate about advocacy and leadership of people with disability within research and policy settings. Her focus is on recognising and preventing discrimination, violence, harm and neglect. Ellen has worked in a range of different roles in the disability sector as a support coordinator, Developmental Educator, therapy assistant and family support worker.

Elizabeth is Program Director of the Disability and Rehabilitation Alliance Menzies Health Institute and Director of Griffith Inclusive Futures. She is also Director of The Hopkins Centre, in partnership with Metro South Health and other key organisations. Elizabeth has built a research agenda in rehabilitation and service systems for people who are managing the consequences of serious injuries, disabilities or chronic conditions. She has attracted over $50 million in research grants and consultancies, including 9 large Australian Research Council grants and has supervised 18 PhD students to completion. She has personal experience of disability in her family and has been a long-term advocate for better services.

Gordon has more than 25 years’ experience in human services policy research, evaluation, organisational development and human rights advocacy. Gordon supported the development of the NDIS as a member of the Federal Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Sector and Workforce Capacity. As General Manager for National Disability Services, the provider peak body, he had oversight of national functions for policy development, research and sector development, and led the establishment of the Centre for Applied Disability Research.

Gwynnyth is Professor Emerita of Family and Disability Studies at the University of Sydney. Her research aims to develop health and social policy and practice solutions to the inequities experienced by parents with disability and their children and families with children with disability. Gwynnyth brings lived experience of family life with disability to her research and policy work.

Helen is Professor of Public Service Research at University of New South Wales, Canberra.  Her expertise is in public services, with particular interest in areas that require different parts of government and other partners to work together in achieving aims. The policy and practice of disability policy and services has long been a research interest for her.  Helen has a particular interest in thinking about how we can get other forms of voices heard in policy and research to those that typically dominate conversations.  

Dr Ian J Watt AC has had a long career as one of Australia’s most distinguished public servants, with nearly 20 years at the highest levels of the public service. His most recent and most senior appointment was as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and head of the Australian Public Service, a position he held from 2011 until the end of 2014. Prior to that, he was Secretary of the Departments of Defence; Finance; and Communications, Information Technology and the Arts between 2001 and 2011. Before that, he was Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Jackie is Professor of Bioethics and Director of the Disability Innovation Institute at the University of New South Wales. Originally a molecular biologist, she spent many years at the University of Basel, Switzerland and at Newcastle University, UK before she moved to Sydney in 2019. Her work in bioethics focuses on the implications of biomedical and life science developments for people with disability. Jackie has been Deaf since childhood, is married to a musician, and has been active in disability rights for over 30 years.

Keran is a social worker who has worked as a leader in the fields of health and disability over many years. As both a practitioner and a person with a disability she has been involved in advising government on policy reform representing issues related to community health, women’s health, violence prevention and the rights of people with disabilities.  

Lesley was the inaugural Professor of Social Work and former ProVice Chancellor of Logan Campus at Griffith University.  She has more than 35 years’ experience as a social work and human service practitioner, academic and activist chiefly in the disability area. In 2015 Lesley was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her distinguished service to higher education, particularly in the area of social work as an academic and administrator, and as a leading supporter of people living with disabilities. 

Scott is a Senior Lecturer in Indigenous Disability at Western Sydney University and the research partner of First Peoples Disability Network (Australia). His is descendant from the Worimi people and is profoundly deaf. His research area on the intersection of Indigeneity and disability in rights and social policy. He has authored the research monograph Culture is Inclusion: A narrative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with disability, and is the lead investigator in the ‘Living our ways’ research program that established a community-based disability research agenda from Australia’s Indigenous people.