Donna Adams has been a police officer for 35 years and commenced in the role as Commissioner of Police and Secretary of the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management on the 11 October 2022.

Most recently, Donna was Deputy Commissioner of Police for 15 months and prior to that, Deputy Secretary of the Department for 6 years.

Donna has also been recognised with an Australian Police Medal for Distinguished Service and the Tasmania Police Service Medal for diligent and ethical service. Donna received a Commissioner's Commendation for her work in the aftermath of the devastating 1996 Port Arthur massacre, and has been recognised by the Australasian Council of Women in Policing as an outstanding investigator.

In the Australia Day 2023 Honours list, Donna has been awarded with The Public Service Medal for outstanding public service through leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2014, Donna was the Tasmanian Telstra Business Woman of the Year and went on to become a joint National winner of the Telstra Business Women Innovation Award.

Donna in her role as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management played a key role in leading the integration of separate policing and fire business and corporate services into a combined business department. In 2019, Donna was appointed by the Head of the State Service as the Lead Negotiator to resolve a long-standing pay dispute involving ten unions.

In 2020, Donna was seconded to the Department of Health as the Emergency Operations Commander for Tasmania Health Services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Donna has a Graduate Certificate in Police Studies (2002), Graduate Certificate in Applied Management (2007) and a Master in Policing (2011).

Dr Mark Armstrong, CSC was appointed as the Chief Officer, Queensland State Emergency Service (SES) in February 2024. He led the transition of the SES to the Queensland Police Service in June 2024 and the SES response to the North Queensland Floods in February 2025. Previously, as senior Australian Army Reserve officer he commanded the Queensland component of the ADF support to the 2022 South-East Queensland floods and Operation COVID-19 Assist. Dr Armstrong holds Master’s Degrees in Business, HR, Arts and Security Studies. He recently completed a PhD examining the contribution and reform of the Australian Army Reserve since 2000.

Illya Azaroff, FAIA, is an architect, geographer, and professor at New York City College of Technology (CUNY). As founding principal of +lab Architect, he champions underserved communities and specializes in disaster mitigation, resilience, and regenerative design. A co-founding advisor of the Kalinago Institute for Global Resilience and Regeneration (KIGRR) in Dominica. In 2023 he earned the Star of Oceana award for his work in the Pacific and Caribbean. Azaroff has contributed to critical initiatives, including the New York State Climate Impact Assessment and NYC’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. With over 30 years of experience, he will serve as AIA National President in 2026.

Loriana Bethune serves as the Research and Innovation Manager at Gender and Disaster Australia (GADAus). With nearly twenty years of experience in research related to emergency management and the public sector, she was a Senior Board Member for Women and Firefighting Australia and contributing winner of the state and national Resilience Australia award. Loriana is deeply committed to enhancing disaster responses for individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Michael is a highly experienced cyber security professional, and as the SA Government’s Deputy Director, Cyber Threat Intelligence and Incident Management, he plays a crucial role in leading and supporting the collaborative effort across SA Government to safeguard and enhance the state's community and economy against the growing threats of cyber-attacks under the emergency management arrangements. Michael is responsible for overseeing the direction and management of a range of cyber security for SA Government, including the establishment of a comprehensive government-wide approach and coordination of large-scale incident and emergency response efforts

Adam is a well-regarded international resilience specialist with experience across business continuity, emergency and crisis management, organisational resilience and cyber resilience.

Adam has led the response to and recovery from a range of incidents including, severe weather, disease outbreaks and pandemics, cyber-attacks, business continuity disruptions and terrorist incidents.

Having worked in emergency management for organisations, been a key player in multi-agency resilience forums and supported leaders in local and national government, Adam is passionate about identifying and sharing lessons that can build greater resilience for teams and communities, helping individuals, responders and organisations be better prepared for the next incident.

[co-presenter bio emailed]
Felicity Bradford currently works as an interdisciplinary research assistant and project officer at Griffith University as part of the Disaster Management Network. Since her first engagement as a research assistant with Griffith University in 2019, Felicity has also completed research in climate change mitigation and adaptation, equitable funding models, gender equality and inclusive urban design and tourism. With a unique multidisciplinary background, Felicity brings a fresh perspective to disaster management, combining insights from various fields to approach complex challenges with innovative and local-based solutions.

With over 25 years dedicated to building partnerships that advance resilience and sustainability, I work across sectors and regions to create practical solutions for island communities facing environmental challenges. As Executive Director of the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) and Co-Chair of the Local2030 Islands Network, I bring together governments, NGOs, and local communities to address climate adaptation, biodiversity protection, and sustainable development. My work spans the Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean, where I collaborate closely with local leaders to create positive, lasting change.

In addition to strategic leadership, I am committed to mentoring emerging professionals and strengthening networks that tackle critical sustainability issues. I believe in the power of partnerships to drive meaningful impact and am always keen to explore new ways to collaborate on solutions that resonate on both local and global scales.

Scott Campbell is an award-winning strategic advisor with expertise in crisis and reputation management. He is often called on to manage high-profile and challenging situations. In 2019, he played an important role in the response to the eruption of Whakaari / White Island.
Scott’s company NXUS, provides a fully immersive training experience putting leaders at the heart of a crisis. An Executive MBA with 1st Class Honours, his thesis focused on decision-making under pressure and how to train people to be ready for a crisis.
In 2024, Scott was invited to attend the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University.

Dr David Cole has been actively involved in the uncrewed systems industry for over 10 years. Starting in 2013 with the founding a commercial drone services company in Northern Australia, before pivoting the company to focus on developing the FlyFreely Drone Management Platform in 2018 to support organisations operating RPAS at scale.

Dr Cole remains at the forefront of industry developments by being an active member of several international working groups including JARUS, EUROCAE and ASTM. His current focus is on enabling complex operations through the automation of regulatory compliance and implementation of uncrewed traffic management (UTM) systems.