Stan Grant

Official Diego de Leo Address
Stan Grant is the International Affairs Editor for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a multi-award-winning current affairs host, an author and an adventurer. Stan’s Aboriginal heritage has shaped his dynamic, resilient personality. Born in Griffith in south-west New South Wales, in 1963, Stan Grant’s mother is from the Kamilaroi people and his father is of the Wiradjuri.

In 2022, Stan became the solo full-time host of the ABC’s weekly flagship discussion program Q+A. Stan has won many major awards including an Australian T.V Logie, a Columbia University Du-Pont Award (the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize), and the prestigious U.S Peabody Award. He is a four-time winner of the highly prized Asia TV Awards including reporter of the year.

Stan Grant is passionate about justice and humanity. His years of international reporting has given him a deep understanding of how the world works. He can link the importance of leadership and the impact of history and above all believes in the power and resilience of people.

Dr Sally Spencer Thomas

Co-Founder & President, United Suicide Survivors International
“Dr. Sally” is a clinical psychologist and award-winning mental health advocate with her own personal experience of losing her beloved brother to suicide. Her mission of giving voice to people who’ve lived through suicide thoughts, attempts, and loss and to help those in despair rekindle a passion for living. 

In addition to helping leaders and communities implement innovative approaches to suicide prevention, Sally is the lead author on the National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention, President of United Suicide Survivors International, and co-founder of “Man Therapy” (www.ManTherapy.org). She also co-edits the Guts, Grit & the Grind book series that provides men and the people who love them with tools to help them better understand and cope with life’s challenges. 

Sally has a TEDx talk and gave an invited address at the White House in 2016. Her impressive list of partners includes the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the FBI, Chubb Insurance, and Southwest Airlines. She has also spoken and consulted internationally including Australia, Ireland, Singapore, Taiwan, Denmark and Belgium.  

Dr Sarah Hetrick

Dr Sarah Hetrick is a clinical psychologist and has worked with young people in primary mental health services while undertaking evidence synthesis and primary research focusing on suicide and self-harm prevention across the age span. Her research has had a real-world focus on knowledge transfer to facilitate practice and health service improvement as well as policy change and included both clinical and public health approaches to suicide prevention.

She is currently the Associate Professor of Youth Mental Health in the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Co-ordinating Editor for the Cochrane Common Mental Disorders Group and the Principal Clinical Advisor for the Suicide Prevention Office of Manatū Hauora New Zealand Ministry of Health.

Joe Williams

Joe Williams is a Wiradjuri, 1st Nations Aboriginal man born in Cowra, raised in Wagga NSW having lived a 15 year span as a professional sports person. Joe played in the National Rugby League for South Sydney Rabbitohs, Penrith Panthers and Canterbury Bulldogs before switching to professional Boxing in 2009. As a boxer Joe was a 2x WBF World Jnr Welterweight champion and also won the WBC Asia Continental Title.

Although forging a successful professional sporting career, Joe battled the majority of his life with suicidal ideation and Bi Polar Disorder. After a suicide attempt in 2012, Joe felt his purpose was to help people who struggle with mental health & wellbeing.

Joe is also an author having contributed to multiple books as well as his very own autobiography titled Defying The Enemy Within.

Joe was also named as finalist for the courage award in the 2017 National Indigenous Human Rights Awards & 2018 was awarded the Suicide Prevention Australia Life Award for his work in communities across the country.

In 2019 Joe was awarded Australia’s highest honour in the Mental Health field, announced as a co winner of the National Mental Health Prize presented by the Australian Prime Minister.

Since founding the organisation The Enemy Within in 2014, Joe has delivered wellbeing programs to over 200 communities across Australia, & multiple countries around the globe; which aims to alleviate the mental & traumatic distress of individuals from all pockets of the community. Joe is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland.

Professor Maree Teesson AC

Professor Maree Teesson AC is Director of the Matilda Centre, Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Prevention and Early Intervention in Mental Illness and Substance Use (PREMISE), and an NHMRC Leadership Fellow at the University of Sydney. Maree is Chair of Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank and Chair of the Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission Expert Advisory Panel. Maree is a Former National Mental Health Commissioner (2018-2021), an Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Fellow, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences.

Maree was announced as a Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day 2018 Honours List, awarded a Westpac/Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence (Innovation), and awarded an Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers. Maree has made a major contribution to Australia’s health and medical research effort in the field of mental health and substance use. In particular, she is known nationally and internationally for her research on the comorbidity between mental health and substance use disorders.

Professor Maree Toombs

Professor Toombs expertise is Indigenous mixed methods and RCT research with a focus on models of care to reduce the rates of suicide and trauma. In the past 10 years Professor Toombs has published a number articles and book and book chapters relating to Indigenous health. She is regularly invited to present at International and National conferences. Her work on aspects of social and emotional wellbeing has improved health outcomes for Indigenous people. Also, through her book, lectures, research and appointments, Professor Toombs has improved the way people culturally work with Indigenous Australians in regional and remote areas. She has also provided/is providing leadership in cultural and ethical guidelines and expertise in qualitative data collection and dissemination. As the Chair of a large Aboriginal Medical Services, Carbal, Professor Toombs provides leadership and feedback to the community and is directed by community into what areas of research are important to the participating communities. In 2011, she received a Churchill Fellowship: ‘Will the development of resilience and self-esteem training program increase retention rates of Aboriginal students at university?

Dr Michelle Lim

Dr Michelle Lim is the Chief Scientific Advisor and Chairperson for Ending Loneliness Together a national Australia network made up of universities and industry partners. Dr Lim is the Director of the Social Health and Wellbeing Laboratory at Swinburne University of Technology where she designs, delivers, and evaluates evidence based digital interventions that reduces loneliness.

Dr Lim is the chief investigator of the Australian Loneliness Report (2018) and the Young Australian Loneliness Survey (2019). Her work informs the Australian government, not-for-profit, and corporate sector. Her findings notes that one in four Australians aged 12 to 89 report problematic levels of loneliness. Dr Lim also cofounded the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection, an international coalition of organisations across 12 countries committed to ending the pressing global issue of loneliness and social isolation.