A Shared Vision

Psychologist and senior researcher at University Medical Center Groningen/Accare Child Study Center.

Dr Dekkers is an expert coordinator for ADHD at Levvel, Academic Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His research primarily focuses on children and adolescents with ADHD and behavioral issues. His research interests include the effectiveness of psychosocial ADHD interventions, examining the potential negative effects of receiving an ADHD diagnosis, and risk-taking behaviors in adolescents with ADHD. Tycho is also an editor for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and the Journal of Attention Disorders.

Chief Medical Officer for Australia.

Professor Kidd is the Chief Medical Officer for Australia. He also holds appointments as Director of the International Centre for Future Health Systems at the University of New South Wales, and as Professor of Global Primary Care and Future Health Systems at the University of Oxford. He is a past President of both the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the World Organization of Family Doctors.

National Clinical Chief Medical Officer for Health New Zealand / Te Whatu Ora and Specialist General Practitioner (GP).

Professor Stokes-Lampard, has been the National Clinical Chief Medical Officer for Health New Zealand / Te Whatu Ora since November 2024 and also works as a Specialist General Practitioner (GP). Until late 2024 she lived in the UK and was an NHS GP, Professor of GP Education at the University of Birmingham and a Non-Executive Director on the board of NHS England. She has held several prestigious positions in the medical field, most notably serving as the Chair of the UK Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC 2020-2023) and Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (2016-2019). She was the founding Chair of the National Academy for Social Prescribing, founding Chair of the Dames Commander Society and a trustee at Macmillan Cancer. Her personal clinical interests include holistic approaches to health and care, disease prevention, authentic medical leadership and embracing innovation in healthcare in safe responsible ways. Her contributions were recognised by award of DBE (New Year Honours 2022).

Founder and Principal, PK Public Health Advisory; Honorary Enterprise Professor, University of Melbourne.

Professor Kelly is a widely recognized leader in population health with over three decades of experience spanning communicable and non-communicable disease control, public health policy and health emergency management. He was Australia’s Chief Medical Officer (2020–2024) where he was the primary medical advisor to the Australian Government through the COVID-19 pandemic and led major national reforms in environmental health, climate change policy, and communicable disease control.

BSc(Hons) UNSW, MPsychol(Clin) UNSW, PhD Macq, FCCLP.

Professor Baillie is a clinical psychologist, Professor of Allied Health with Sydney Local Health District (SLHD), and Senior Advisor with Sydney Health Partners. He works in SLHD to build Allied Health Research Capacity and with Sydney Health Partners on their Implementation Science Academy and Clinical Academic Groups. He also works with Drug Health Services at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the Psychology Team at Sydney Virtual.

Writer and lawyer; 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award.

Shankari Chandran is an Australian Tamil writer and lawyer. Shankari is the winner of the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award for Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens and has published five novels. Her next book, Daughters of the Red Earth (Ultimo Press, 2027) focuses on religious extremism and its intersection with ethno-nationalism and transcendence. Shankari has previously led the pro bono legal teams for Allen & Overy (globally) and Ashurst (Australia).

University of Sydney and Consultant Paediatrician at the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network.

Professor Elliott leads the NSW fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) assessment service. In 1993, she established the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit and remains its Director. APSU has conducted over 75 studies on rare childhood diseases that have informed policy and practice. She was instrumental with colleagues from the UK and Canada in developing the International Network of Paediatric Surveillance Units and was elected Convenor in 2000. Her research, clinical work and advocacy involve disadvantaged children living with rare diseases, in remote Aboriginal communities, in immigration detention and in South East Asia. FASD has been a major focus and she chairs the Australian Government’s FASD Advisory Group. Elizabeth is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the Royal Society of NSW. She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours.

Director, Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) the Royal Children’s Hospital, and Theme Director, Population Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

Professor Goldfeld has a decade of experience in state government as a senior policymaker in the Victorian health and education departments. Her research program is made up of complementary, synergistic and cross-disciplinary streams of work focused on investigating, testing, and translating sustainable policy relevant solutions that eliminate inequities for children. In 2024 she received an Order of Australia (AM) and was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS).

Paediatrician, population health researcher and Professor of Paediatric Population Health, UNSW Sydney.

Professor Lingam leads the Population Child Health and Health Services Research Group at UNSW and the GenV Intervention Hub, a national platform within Generation Victoria that accelerates the development, testing and implementation of interventions to improve outcomes for children and families at scale. His research focuses on prevention, health-system innovation, integrated care and implementation science, with the goal of improving child health outcomes and reducing inequities. Working across primary care, community, hospital and policy settings, he develops and evaluates models of care that strengthen health systems and support children and young people to thrive.

Director of Community Paediatrics; co-chair, Sydney Institute for Women, Children and their Families, SLHD; Professor of Community Paediatrics, University of Sydney.

Professor Woolfenden is Director of Community Paediatrics and co-chair the Sydney Institute for Women, Children and their Families at Sydney Local Health District and Professor of Community Paediatrics at the University of Sydney. Her clinical, service development and research work addresses child health inequities in Australia and globally through integrated health–social care models, including hubs and social prescribing working in partnership with Priority Populations. She has > 200 publications.

Director- Department of Community Paediatrics, South Western Sydney Local Health District; Senior Clinical Advisor-Child & Family Health, NSW Ministry of Health, Conjoint Professor, University of New South Wales, School of Women’s & Children’s Health.

Shanti Raman is a Consultant Paediatrician, with training in epidemiology and public health. As the Director of Community Paediatrics - South Western Sydney, she is responsible for clinical services in Child Development and Child Protection across the region, providing leadership and directing research and training. In her Ministry of Health role, she supports the quality, safety, and integration of child and family health services through the development of statewide healthcare policy. Her research and teaching interests include health of migrants and refugees, indigenous child health, child rights and child maltreatment, quality and safety in health, global maternal, newborn and child health. She is involved with policy development at State, national and international levels promoting a rights-based perspective to child health and child rights. She is the Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Paediatrics Open; over the past two years the journal has pioneered several specialised collections that explore critical issues impacting child and youth health globally. On the community engagement front, Dr Raman has been involved with a range of civil society organisations, responding to social justice, gender issues, human rights and support to refugee and migrant groups.

Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist at the Disability Specialist Unit, Sydney Local Health District and a Board Member of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Health.

Dr Amelia Lewis holds a Doctorate of Clinical Neuropsychology and a Master of Philosophy (Psychology) from Macquarie University as well as a Master of Health Policy from the University of Sydney. She is also a traditionally-published children’s picture book author. With over a decade of experience supporting children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental differences and disabilities, she brings expertise in clinical neuropsychology, clinical research, and health policy alongside a deep commitment to child and family-centred care. Her work is guided by a passion for storytelling that fosters connection, identity, and joy.

Principal, Cairnsfoot Special School, Brighton Le Sands.

During her forty working years with the Department of Education, she has gained vast experience in the following fields of education – Early Childhood, Primary and Special Education. As Principal of Cairnsfoot, she is committed to supporting students with complex needs and their families by working through an interagency model. Her knowledge in working with students with disability and their families, is regularly sought by her mainstream colleagues.

Chair of Neonatology Mater Research/University of Queensland

Editor in Chief Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health

Research interests - neonatal resuscitation, prenatal drug exposure.

Manjekah is an advanced metabolic and clinical genetics trainee and PhD candidate researching accessible and inclusive genomic testing for people with intellectual disability. Her work bridges research and clinical practice, co-producing practical resources with people with intellectual disability and health professionals to drive equitable genomic healthcare for all Australians. Manjekah has helped create world-first co-produced resources to support shared decision making for genomic consent for people with intellectual disability.

Dr Felicity Wright is the Director of Pharmacy at Sydney Children’s Hospital. She trained as a paediatric cellular therapy and oncology pharmacist, is a Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist (USA), has a Master of Public Health Policy and a PhD in pharmacogenetics. Felicity leads a team of pharmacists, technicians and support staff practising at top of scope across clinical, production, and leadership domains. She has driven innovation in pharmacy-led models of care, integrating decentralised clinical pharmacy services, specialised pharmacy production, and the adoption of automation and robotics within pharmacy services to improve efficiency, quality, and workforce sustainability.

Felicity also plays the Trombone in the Sydney Children’s Hospital band, The Night Shift.

Dr Karl Pobre is a Paediatric Emergency Physician and Co-Director of Emergency Medical training at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. He has a strong interest in medical education, simulation, and improving emergency care for children with neurodevelopmental disability. He leads Motivated for Change, a multidisciplinary, co-designed program focused on improving the experience, safety and quality of emergency care for children with disability and their families.

Medical Director and Co-Head, Grace Centre at Westmead; Cerebral Palsy Alliance Chair of Research, University of Sydney.

Professor Nadia Badawi AM is a world leader in neonatal care whose work has helped transform outcomes for Australia’s most vulnerable infants. As Medical Director and Co-Head of the Grace Centre at Westmead and Cerebral Palsy Alliance Chair of Research at the University of Sydney, she has led research and clinical initiatives contributing to a 40% reduction in the incidence and severity of cerebral palsy in Australia. Her work continues to shape care, policy and outcomes for children worldwide.

Paediatric neurologist with a special interest in neuroimmunology; Head of the Children’s Hospital at Westmead clinical school, University of Sydney.

Russell is a paediatric neurologist with special interest in neuroimmunology. He is a Clarivate highly cited researcher, has an H factor of 101, has published 410 peer reviewed papers, and has led consensus definitions of immune mediated brain disease and therapeutic guidelines. He uses biomarkers, such as autoantibodies and transcriptomics, to understand disease mechanisms and improve therapeutics. He is Head of the Children’s Hospital at Westmead clinical school, the academic department of the University of Sydney.

Senior Neonatal Staff Specialist, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney; Clinical Professor in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Neonatology, University of Sydney.

Professor Adrienne Gordon is a Senior Neonatal Staff Specialist in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and a Clinical Professor in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Neonatology at the University of Sydney. Adrienne is recognised as a unique neonatal clinician-researcher whose research focuses on the upstream determinants of a healthy baby and includes pregnancy and maternal as well as neonatal health interventions. She is co-chair of the Sydney Institute for Women, Children and Families and President of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ). She holds other key leadership roles nationally and internationally including Deputy Secretary General-Oceania for Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, Board Director of International Stillbirth Alliance and Co-Chair of the Interdisciplinary Maternal Perinatal Australasian Collaborative Trials (IMPACT) Network. Prof Gordon is currently co-leading a Wellcome Trust funded study on the impact of heat exposure and pregnancy outcomes that includes a 2 country cohort study in India and Bangladesh and a climate chamber study at the University of Sydney.