Speakers

Dr Lorraine Finlay is Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner, leading work on modern slavery, asylum seekers, and tech & human rights. A lawyer and academic with a PhD in Law, she’s held roles across government, academia, and international human rights diplomacy.

Sharyn County is Chair Elect of World Commerce & Contracting and GM Procurement & Real Estate at APA. An experienced executive and board member, she’s known for authentic leadership, building high-performing teams, and championing open, honest conversations.

Sarah Clarke is Group GM, Sustainability at Mirvac, where she leads the award-winning ESG strategy 'This Changes Everything'. She also serves as Deputy Chair of Cladding Safety Victoria and formerly chaired Homes Victoria’s $5b+ social housing investment—driving impact across climate, equity, and governance.

Sarah Sheridan is Co-founder and Deputy CEO of Clothing The Gaps. Raised on Wotjobaluk Country in north central Victoria, she’s passionate about connecting with people and using agile, values-driven approaches to spark social change through fashion and advocacy.

Jehan Ratnatunga is co-founder of Who Gives A Crap, a social enterprise tackling global sanitation through purpose-driven business. With a background in engineering, consulting, and tech, he blends innovation and impact to help scale solutions that matter.

Bella Borello is Marketing & Partnerships Lead at The LOTE Agency, a certified social enterprise. With 15+ years in marketing and engagement, she helps organisations connect brand purpose with lived experience to drive inclusion and systemic change.

Megan Barnett-Smith is a purpose-driven strategist & former Head of Social Impact & Sustainability at Cricket Australia. A lawyer & non-executive director, she helps brands embed impact into major sporting events, turning purpose into performance through strategy, measurement & legacy planning.

Alex Corry is Social Impact Manager at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, leading initiatives that embed equity, accessibility and community benefit into major events. She’s passionate about using large-scale platforms to drive meaningful social change.

Michael Lacy is General Manager Environment, Social & Governance at Richmond Football Club, leading ESG strategy & sustainability initiatives. He champions sport’s role in driving social good, climate action & inclusive community impact across the AFL landscape.

Yoan Noguier is CEO & co-founder of Yunus Sports Hub, launched with Nobel Laureate Prof. Yunus to harness sport & social business for global impact. A former elite rugby player & Rio 2016 procurement lead, he also heads Yunus France, bridging sport, entrepreneurship & systems change.

Nicole Donnison oversees social procurement and inclusive employment strategy at Icon across $1.9B in government projects. With 20 years’ experience in social sustainability, she combines commercial insight with impact storytelling to drive change and address inequality.

Sarah Downie is CEO of the Shared Value Project, championing a new kind of capitalism that aligns business success with social progress. A strategic leader across sectors, she drives education, tools and advocacy to embed shared value into business practice.

Anthony MacShane is the founder of Reboot Australia, a social enterprise breaking cycles of incarceration through employment. Drawing on lived experience and a diverse career, he’s a national voice for reintegration, second chances, and systems that back people.

Kevin Robbie is Managing Director at Think Impact, with over 25 years’ experience in social change. He’s led impact-driven work across Australia and the UK, including roles at United Way and Social Ventures Australia, and is recognised for his expertise in social innovation and evaluation.

Catie Shavin is Senior Manager, Business & Human Rights at UN Global Compact Network Australia. With 18 years in the field, she leads programs that strengthen business respect for human rights & support a just transition, drawing on legal, policy & peer learning expertise.

Meg Brodie leads KPMG Banarra & KPMG’s Global Human Rights Network, coordinating experts across sectors. With 20+ years’ experience, she helps clients translate human rights commitments into action across finance, retail, mining & more—driving transformative change.

Nicole Barling-Luke is a strategic designer and systems practitioner. As Director of Earthshots at Regen Melbourne, she develops place-based approaches to systems change. With a background in anthropology and design futures, she’s passionate about participatory innovation.

Ninna Larsen is a circular economy pioneer & founder of Reground, Australia’s largest coffee waste collection service. With 10+ years in sustainable systems design, she’s worked with government & corporates to drive resource-conscious change. A 2023 Westpac Fellow, she champions personal growth as key to lasting impact.

Samantha Peart is Principal and Global Head of Sustainability at Hassell. She leads strategies that embed regenerative design across teams and projects, driven by a passion for creating places that deliver lasting environmental and social value.

Rachel is an Associate Director at Deloitte Access Economics, focused on how economic participation & meaningful work can break cycles of disadvantage. Her expertise spans employment, education, migration & social policy, with deep experience in modelling, evaluation & impact reporting.

Dr Lena Wang is Associate Professor at RMIT and Co-Director of the Centre for Organisations and Social Change. Her research and consulting focus on workplace wellbeing, inclusion, and leadership—bringing evidence-based insights to public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Dr Melissa A. Wheeler is Executive MBA Program Director at RMIT, with expertise in moral psychology and applied ethics. A published researcher and award-winning academic, she leads initiatives in leadership, workplace flexibility, gender equity, and social impact.

Paris Brooke co-founded The Mallacoota Wilderness Collective and serves as Executive Officer, bringing 25+ years in communications, investor relations, and advocacy. Her leadership drives regional innovation and supports long-term development in far east Gippsland.

Matt Pfahlert is Co-founder & CEO of the Australian Centre for Rural Entrepreneurship (ACRE), a social enterprise reigniting rural Australia by sparking entrepreneurial thinking in young people and communities. He’s driven by a passion for social innovation and place-based change.

James Gauci is founder & CEO of Cadent, a Social Traders Certified Social Enterprise. With 15 years in tech & a decade in AI governance, he leads a team of experts—including the author of Australia’s AI Ethics Principles—to build safer, high-impact AI systems.

Sarah Parker is Social Enterprise Manager at The Freedom Hub, leading ethical ventures across hospitality, retail, and advisory services. She draws on a background in marketing and business growth to support the organisation so they can continue to provide long-term care and recovery to survivors of modern slavery.

Javier Casanova is COO of the Business For Good Network, where he helps purpose-led communities thrive. Drawing on his background in tech and human-centred design, he focuses on collaboration, strategy, and systems that support changemakers across Australia.

Craig Fairweather is CEO of The Mill House Ventures, supporting purpose-driven businesses across Canberra and beyond. His experience across tourism, hospitality, sport, and consulting informs a strategic, community-focused approach to building social enterprise ecosystems.

Jessica Mendoza-Roth is the Founder & CEO of the Social Impact Hub, supporting changemakers through advisory, education, and ecosystem building. A Harvard-educated impact strategist and former solicitor, she brings deep expertise in social entrepreneurship and philanthropy.

Amy Orange is Co-founder and Managing Director of Collab4Good, and a recognised leader in South Australia’s social enterprise sector. A Women in Innovation Award winner and Top 40 Under 40 honouree, she drives systemic change through policy, education, and procurement.

Steph Shorter is Executive Director – Impact at Impact Seed, with 20+ years’ experience in strategy, policy & social performance. She’s worked across sectors to embed impact, leading initiatives in government, NFPs & corporates to drive social, cultural & economic value.

Julia Keady is CEO & founder of Benefolk, a social enterprise where changemakers access support from a network of vetted experts. With 25+ years in impact networks, philanthropy & social enterprise, she leads efforts to strengthen the social purpose sector nationwide.

Annette Herschtal is Foundation Manager at Benefolk, leading The Community Well initiative. With 30 years in the NFP sector, she delivers practical tools to support wellbeing & resilience. She also leads Benefolk’s Grantmaker Solutions & philanthropy-funded capacity-building programs.

Miranda Campbell is CEO of For Change Co., a social enterprise tackling youth homelessness. With a background in hospitality, entrepreneurship & impact organisations, she brings expertise in social innovation & holds a Master of Social Impact from CSI-Swinburne.

Hello! I'm George. I am a 21 year old working alongside For Change Co to incorporate lived experience in every aspect of our work. And to celebrate the importance of youth voices

Kate Russell is CEO of Supply Nation and a proud Awabakal woman. With deep experience across government and community sectors, she’s committed to advancing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, employment and intersectional policy reform.

Binusha Pathirana is a writer, youth advocate & YLab Associate. She’s contributed to projects with Our Watch & Good News Melton, creating content that amplifies young voices & community action. She’s passionate about changemaking across sectors & inclusive storytelling.

Darcy Stockdale is Marketing & Communications Associate at YLab, working across youth engagement, co-design & inclusive storytelling. He supports young people in Gippsland through CMY & creates content for campaigns, podcasts & workshops across media platforms.

Mel Greblo is founder & CEO at Humans of Purpose and its Academy where her driving purpose is to support the full social & economic participation of women facing barriers to employment. She’s a social innovator with 25+ years’ experience creating impact & catalytic communities.

Andrea Comastri is CEO & co-founder of Hotel Etico, Australia’s first social enterprise hotel employing young people with disability. With 25+ years in the NFP sector, he’s an expert changemaker driving inclusive tourism, social impact & systems change across industries.

Saraya O'Connell is COO of Hotel Etico Australia, leading inclusive employment & training for people with disabilities. With 16+ years in the disability sector & a hospitality background, she drives systemic change, industry partnerships & open employment pathways. She also co-hosts Room for All, Hotel Etico’s podcast on inclusive leadership & social impact.

Tara Anderson is CEO of Social Traders, the national body for social enterprise and social performance in Australia. Her international career spans strategy, innovation, and cross-sector leadership, supporting businesses to trade with purpose and deliver measurable impact.

Alex Hooke brings years of experience in social enterprise—including founding his own—to his role as Executive Director of Innovation and Impact at Social Traders. He leads certification, impact, and partnerships to scale social procurement and drive systemic change.

Monique Ward is Executive Director, Services at Social Traders, where she brings 20+ years of procurement leadership across tech, consulting, outsourcing and public sector roles. She’s passionate about embedding social value into strategy and leads inclusive teams that thrive at the intersection of strengths and purpose.

Michael Stuart is Head of Impact, Data, and Digital at Social Traders. He uses data to drive strategic decisions and measure impact—guided by a deep commitment to social good and a belief in data’s power to support meaningful change.

Alex Kerr is a proud Wurundjeri man and cultural artist whose work blends tradition with contemporary design. After a decade in construction, he launched a business integrating cultural storytelling into built environments, collaborating with major organisations.