KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
MENTAL HEALTH NURSING IN A CLIMATE OF CHANGE
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Grace Tame - 2021 Australian of the Year
We are honoured to welcome Grace Tame as a keynote speaker for the 46th International Mental Health Nursing Conference.
Grace Tame 26 of Hobart, Tasmania, was groomed and sexually assaulted at 15 leading her to become an advocate for survivors of child sexual assault and a leader of positive change. Recognising the injustice of Tasmania’s gag order preventing survivors from self-identifying publicly, Grace joined the #LetHerSpeak campaign and in 2019 won the right to speak out under her own name. Grace is now focussed on encouraging survivors to share their stories without shame, education around grooming and helping form a federal system that supports the survivors, not just perpetrators. Grace is the 2021 Australian of the Year.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Shane Fitzsimmons AFSM
We are honoured to welcome Shane Fitzsimmons as a keynote speaker for the conference. Shane Fitzsimmons was appointed as the inaugural Commissioner for Resilience NSW and Deputy Secretary, Emergency Management with the Department of Premier and Cabinet following a distinguished career with the NSW Rural Fire Service of over 35 years, serving as both a volunteer and salaried member.
Commissioner Fitzsimmons joins us to provide his unique and in depth experience of the recent and current challenges the Australian community have experienced from catastrophic bushfire and pandemic response.
Shane Fitzsimmons was appointed as the inaugural Commissioner for Resilience NSW and Deputy Secretary, Emergency Management with the Department of Premier and Cabinet from 1 May 2020. He is currently the chair of the State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC), the State Recovery Committee (SRC), Board of Commissioners (BOC) and the National Emergency Medal Committee (NEMC). This appointment followed a distinguished career with the NSW Rural Fire Service of over 35 years, serving as both a volunteer and salaried member. In 1998 he was appointed an Assistant Commissioner with the RFS and has held portfolio responsibilities for Operations, Strategic Development and Regional Management. In 2004, he was appointed the inaugural Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) Visiting Fellow to the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM) for a period of 12-months, developing and delivering programs in management and leadership. During the period of September 2007 - April 2020 he was the Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service and was also the Chair of the NSW RFS Bushfire Coordinating Committee and the Rural Fire Service Advisory Council. He was also a member of the NSW State Emergency Management Committee and the NSW State Rescue Board (SRB) and was Chair of SRB from 2008 to November 2015. In July 2012, he was appointed a Board Member of the NSW Government Telecommunications Authority. He was appointed a Director of the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) in March 2008 and was the Chair of the NAFC Board from 2009 to 2013. He was a Director on the Bushfire Co-operative Research Centre from 2009 to 2014. He was a member of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authority Council from 2007 and was a member of its Board from November 2016 to November 2019 and held the position of Deputy President upon retirement from the Board. In January 2016 he was appointed as a Councillor of the Royal Humane Society of NSW Inc. Additionally, he is a patron of two charities – Kids Xpress and Coffee 4 Kids. Commissioner Fitzsimmons has been awarded the Rural Fire Service Long-Service Medal for more than 30 years, the National Medal in recognition of more than 35 years, and the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM). He has also been acknowledged with a Paul Harris Fellow and a Paul Harris Fellow Sapphire through Rotary Clubs of Berowra and Sydney. He has most recently been announced as the 2021 NSW Australian of the Year, and the Australian Father of the Year 2020 through The Shepherd Centre
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Alison McMillan - Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer
We are honoured to welcome Alison McMillan, Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer as a keynote speaker for the 46th International Mental Health Nursing Conference.
Professor (Practice) Alison J McMillan PSM commenced as the Australian Government Department of Health’s Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer in November 2019.
Alison is a Registered Nurse with a Critical Care Nursing Certificate, a Bachelor Degree in Education, a Master of Business Administration, she has held senior executive roles in government and health services within Victoria including the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer and Director of Quality, Safety and Patient Experience.
Alison is a member of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee contributing to advice provided to the National Cabinet during the COVID-19 pandemic and, as Co-Chair of the Infection Control Expert Group providing advice and information on best practice on infection prevention and control in the community, hospitals, aged care, schools and community sport.
Alison has been a part of a team providing communication to the community, which is clear, honest, and compassionate. She was awarded a Public Service Medal in June 2021 for outstanding public service to driving the Government's national health response priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly to infection prevention measures
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Professor Kim Foster
We are honoured to welcome Professor Foster as a keynote speaker for the 46th International Mental Health Nursing Conference.
Professor Foster joins us to share her extensive experience as a leading mental health nurse academic and researcher. Kim will share with us the evidence on how mental health nurses can build resilience in their roles in a climate of change.
Kim is Professor of Mental Health Nursing and leads the Mental Health Nursing Research Unit based at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. The unit is a joint research partnership between Australian Catholic University & NorthWestern Mental Health.
Kim is an internationally recognised mental health researcher and is widely published in mental health and nursing. Her work has had a long-standing focus on emotional wellbeing and resilience, and she was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship to explore international resilience-building programs. Kim is a member of the internationally collaborative WorldWide Universities Network (WUN) Resilience Research Group. She currently leads a large nationally funded research project investigating the impacts of a resilience program for nurses at NorthWestern Mental Health.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr Chris Patterson
We are honoured to welcome Dr Chris Patterson as a keynote speaker for the 46th International Mental Health Nursing Conference.
Christopher is Registered Nurse, and a Lecturer at the School of Nursing, University of Wollongong, Australia.
Christopher is a co-founder and director of Recovery Camp - an award winning, internationally recognised social enterprise focused on the better education of mental health students, and the strengths and recovery of people with lived experience of mental illness. He is committed to making a difference in the lives of people who are living with mental illness, and educating future health professionals to lead with non-stigmatising, and recovery-oriented practice.