SPEAKERS

Deanne is a sought-after expert in Human-Centred Leadership, Change, and Safety; after starting her career as a police officer, which sparked her fascination with human behaviour, she now has over 20 years of experience spanning corporate leadership, consulting, and regulatory roles. As the Founder & Chief Enabling Officer of Insync Workplace Solutions & The Centre for Human-Centred Leadership, Deanne is on a mission to rehumansie workplaces worldwide. Her strategies have consistently delivered results, and she continues to educate, enable and empower individuals and organisations to build high, thriving, inclusive, physically and psychologically safe work environments where diversity in all forms, including diversity of thought, is embraced, where everyone can be their authentic selves at work, feel valued, have a sense of purpose and belonging, thrive and go home safe and well each day. 

Melissa Green is an experienced volunteer leadership professional with formal qualifications in Volunteer Program Coordination, Training & Assessment, and HR Management. With a passion for empowering both staff and volunteers, Melissa specialises in developing training programs that foster adaptability, engagement, and leadership in the nonprofit sector. 

Jemma Hirst is a seasoned leader in technology education, with over 17 years of experience shaping the future of digital learning. As the Head of Tech Training at Grant Thornton Australia, she has a proven track record of driving digital transformation initiatives within professional services.At the heart of Jemma’s work is her commitment to enhancing digital literacy, ensuring that individuals are equipped with the skills needed to thrive in today’s dynamic environment. Jemma’s forward-thinking approach has led to the successful integration of generative AI technologies at Grant Thornton, resulting in significant time savings and efficiency gains across the firm. A champion of generative AI, Jemma views this technology as a key driver of workplace transformation. Her goal is to not only advance the use of AI but to ensure its adoption is conducted with the utmost attention to safety and security, empowering staff to leverage AI responsibly and effectively. As an L&D professional, Jemma has been exploring ways AI can support the adult learning journey, enhancing personalised education experiences and leveraging data-driven insights for continuous improvement in training programs.

Sarah is co-founder and CEO of two companies - LawCPD and GenLearn. She’s passionate about the power of technology to level the playing field when it comes to learning and has spent her professional career working towards this goal. Sarah co-founded LawCPD in 2008 as the first company to offer online professional development training to Australian lawyers. Since then, the company has continuously innovated in both technology and instructional design to remain on the cutting edge of learning. In 2023, Sarah spearheaded the creation of the first AI-led micro-lessons in the online learning industry globally, overseeing the rollout into multiple online courses. This technology has been recognised at the 2024 LearnX Awards (Best EdTech AI Integrated) and 2024 Brandon Hall Group Awards (Gold in EdTech Excellence and Bronze in Technology Excellence). Building on this success, Sarah led development of the GenLearn app which enables anyone to create AI-led micro-lessons embeddable in any online content. Sarah has been recognised as a leader in AI and learning. She was recognised with the 2024 AI Female Leader of the Year (SME) at the Australian AI Awards, the Women in Technology WA 2024 Shining Star for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, and 2024 LearnTech Trailblazer Award.

Sonia McDonald is the unapologetically bold force behind leadership transformations worldwide. Known for her fearless approach and a heart bigger than her inbox, Sonia takes leadership beyond the boardroom into real, raw, and impactful conversations. She’s not your average coach; she’s the kind of leader who kicks imposter syndrome to the curb and empowers others to lead with courage, kindness, and a dash of sass. Founder of LeadershipHQ, author, keynote speaker, and all-around leadership badass, Sonia has spent decades helping women and men step into their power, own their authenticity, and shake up the status quo. Whether she’s mentoring future CEOs or challenging outdated corporate mindsets, Sonia brings energy, insight, and a no-nonsense attitude that gets results. When she’s not transforming leaders, you can find her spreading courage like wildfire and reminding the world that the best leaders don’t just talk—they show up, speak up, and lead like they mean it.

Kathryn is an experienced learning and development professional with a passion for making learning engaging and effective. She has dedicated her career to exploring innovative approaches and is currently focused on the exciting potential of artificial intelligence in L&D. In this session, she will share her expertise and practical insights to help you leverage AI tools, regardless of your current skill level. She believes in making complex topics accessible so you can confidently integrate these powerful technologies into your own work practices. Kathryn is Google for Education and Google Gemini Academy Certified and is a Certified Management Technology Consultant. She has presented at local and international conferences to participate in global discussions and exploration of the impact of AI on learning and development and education environments. 

Loretta helps organisations to understand and apply the latest findings from the field of neuroscience to enhance learning, leadership, and performance. Combining brain-based techniques with her 25+ years’ experience developing teams across Asia Pacific, the UK, and US, Loretta focuses on the creation of environments where employees can best learn, perform, and thrive. Prior to founding her learning business, Neu Perspectives, Loretta held senior leadership roles in People & Culture and L&D for leading organisations, along with consulting to Government, SMEs, Not-for-Profit and Start-Ups. Further to uses her expertise in program design and facilitation, Loretta extends participant learning and behavioural change through coaching and assessment tools.Loretta is also committed to playing the L&D 'long game', volunteering for the past 9 years to teach critical thinking and reasoning skills to primary school students through the Primary Ethics program. ‘In time, it will be the decisions of the children we teach today that will shape the world' (Dr Simon Longstaff).

Vaughan has been at KPMG for 12 years, including 9 years in the employee engagement space with Global Clients and Markets at KPMG International. Prior to KPMG, he worked in the aged care and energy industries. Vaughan manages a couple of workstreams, has a footprint in more than 90 countries, all with one focus - to help improve the client experience.

Joanna Smith is the Managing Director of Pukeko Learning Solutions, a Learning and Development agency serving clients across New Zealand and Australia. She has an MA in Linguistics and began her career as an English teacher and language teacher trainer before transitioning to corporate training in 2012. Joanna initially worked as an in-house Training Manager before founding her own business. She and her team enjoy supporting a diverse range of clients, and they love exploring new ways to be efficient, including using AI wherever appropriate. Joanna is the immediate past president of the New Zealand Association for Training and Development.

Will Thalheimer, PhD, MBA, Consultant, Speaker, Researcher at Work-Learning Research. Will is a world-renowned thought leader focused on research-based practices for learning, work performance, presentations, and evaluation—and an advocate for learning professionals. Through Work-Learning Research (https://www.worklearning.com/), Will empowers organizations to build maximally effective learning-and-performance solutions and strategies. Will wrote the award-winning book Performance-Focused Learner Surveys (second edition) and the CEO’s Guide to Training, eLearning & Work: Empowering Learning for a Competitive Advantage (2024). Will created LTEM, the Learning-Transfer Evaluation Model and conducts popular workshops like the LTEM Boot Camp. He co-created The Learning Development Accelerator and the eLearning Manifesto.

Naomi Waldron is a Strategic Solutions Consultant at BSI Digital Learning, where she leads innovation initiatives, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence. With over 20 years of experience in corporate learning and development, Naomi is passionate about helping individuals and organisations adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape of modern work. She is committed to finding innovative ways to upskill the BSI team in AI and future-focused technologies.Naomi is a seasoned consultant, senior account manager, learning designer, and facilitator, holding qualifications in Adult Education and Information Technology. Her broad expertise allows her to effectively support organisations through both the challenges and opportunities presented by new technologies and ways of working.A little-known fact about Naomi is that she is also a trained wilderness survival guide! Whether navigating the complexities of modern work or leading teams through the bush, Naomi excels at guiding people through uncertainty, helping them build the skills and resilience to succeed.