Ben Green MNZM is the Group Manager and Controller for Tairawhiti Emergency Management based in Gisborne NZ. He has managed several regional emergency responses for severe weather, floods and natural hazard events.
Previous experience includes 20 years as Army Officer and 14 years in the private sector. Military service included overseas deployments into Bosnia, Bougainville and Afghanistan.
In recognition of operational leadership and contribution to the international forces mission in Afghanistan, Ben was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in the 2004 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Dianne is a Director at the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. She has deep expertise in planning and stakeholder engagement. She holds advanced leadership qualifications and experience domestically and internationally in crisis management. As the lead on several Queensland State Recovery and Resilience Plans, Dianne is committed to integrating recovery efforts across government and improving connection between contributors in the sector such as industry, not-for-profit, community, academia and non-government for the benefit of all.

Eddie Hebert has extensive experience in risk and emergency management across military, private, and public sectors. A Canadian Armed Forces veteran, he served 12 years, including a 2009 deployment to Afghanistan. Afterward, he worked in oil and gas as a geospatial analyst before moving to NZ. He has held key roles at NEMA, DOC, Christchurch City Council, and Maritime NZ. Now, as Lead for Building Emergency Management at MBIE, he develops training for rapid building assessors. His diverse background and dedication to resilience make him a trusted leader in emergency management.

Kate Cotter founded the Resilient Building Council (RBC) in 2014 to help people make their homes and communities safer. She leads multi-disciplinary teams to solve complex risk challenges, apply science through equitable resilience tools, and drive adaptation investment.

RBC developed the Resilience Ratings Scheme, which assesses buildings against bushfire, flood, cyclone, storm, and heatwave risks. In a world-first, insurers and banks now offer premium discounts and mortgage benefits for certified resilient homes.

Kate and the RBC team are on a mission to empower every Australian to make their home safer and insurable—shifting our national story from vulnerability to resilience.

Des Hosie is a career firefighter and 40-year veteran of the NZ Fire Service and Fire and Emergency New Zealand. Currently the National Operations Advisor for Safety, Continuous Improvement and Lessons Management based in Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s National Headquarters - Des has extensive operational firefighting and rescue experience. Through the AFAC partnership, Des has contributed as a lessons management practitioner on a number of major reviews in both New Zealand and Australia. He leads a Lessons Management Community of Practice in New Zealand called LessoNZ. Its function is to share lessons from incidents and exercises across the All of Government, Emergency Services, Defence, and key infrastructure sectors.

Des Hosie is a career firefighter and 40-year veteran of the NZ Fire Service and Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Currently the National Operations Advisor for Safety, Continuous Improvement and Lessons Management based in Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s National Headquarters - Des has extensive operational firefighting and rescue experience.

Through the AFAC partnership, Des has contributed as a lessons management practitioner on a number of major reviews in both New Zealand and Australia.

He leads a Lessons Management Community of Practice in New Zealand called LessoNZ. Its function is to share lessons from incidents and exercises across the All of Government, Emergency Services, Defence, and key infrastructure sectors.

Dr Rachel Chay, Chief Biosecurity Officer
As Queensland’s Deputy Director-General and Chief Biosecurity Officer, Dr Rachel Chay leads Biosecurity Queensland’s efforts in preventing and responding to plant and animal pest and disease outbreaks.
Rachel is dedicated to ensuring Biosecurity Queensland continues to protect the ecosystems, industries and way of life in Queensland. She is committed to maintaining the State’s reputation for product safety and integrity, while securing ongoing market access for its commodities. Rachel continues to focus on building the understanding of the unique nature and impacts of biosecurity incidents across the emergency management system to enhance an all-hazard approach.

Madi Keay brings a multidisciplinary background in economics, Indigenous studies, and psychology to disaster resilience. Her academic work explores the community benefits of involving young people in disaster preparedness and response, with a particular focus on climate resilience.

As the former Head of Impact for the Student Volunteer Army, Madi coordinated thousands of volunteers in large-scale emergency response efforts.

Currently completing a Master's of Child and Family Psychology, Madi’s research examines how we best support young people and families to recover from disasters. Passionate about future-proofing disaster response, Madi is committed to preparing the next generation to build climate-resilient communities.

Raelene Wilding is a Professor of Sociology at La Trobe University. She conducts qualitative research exploring the digital technology and social media experiences of people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, older adults and young people. Her research contributes to understandings of digital inequality, technology and social inclusion in transnational and Australian contexts.
Emma Koster is an international and community development practitioner, technologist, and adjunct research fellow at La Trobe University. She has worked throughout Australia, the Pacific, and with displaced communities across Europe, utilising a practice of co-design, applied research methodologies, and trauma-informed design principles to develop social impact initiatives.

My current role is the Head of Emergency Management for the Selwyn District Council and Project Lead for an Emergency Services campus. My role includes being a Response Manager, Controller and Recovery Manager as well as an Alternate Controller for the West Coast of the South Island. My background is in Policing (20yrs), volunteer fire fighting (15yrs) and I was a Licensing Commissioner for 5 years. I’ve been involved in a number of emergency responses including earthquakes, floods, a biosecurity incursion (Mbovis), Covid 19, Wildfires and adverse weather events. I live on a farm and farm sheep, cattle and truffles.

Mark is a former police officer and firefighter, who has been serving as an ambulance chaplain providing staff support since 2012. He is the Director of the NSW/ACT Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network. His interdisciplinary PhD explored moral injury in Australian first responders. He developed a holistic bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework for changing organisational culture and leadership practices in a way that prevent poor staff outcomes. The research applied findings at the intersection of workplace psychosocial risk mitigation, staff wellbeing, and spirituality. His lived experience of frontline trauma work, emergency management, and research in moral frameworks inform his ongoing research and program development. Mark is a Certified as an Emergency Service Manager with the Australasian Institute of Emergency Services and speaks regularly at conferences across Australia and internationally. In his spare time Mark enjoys triathlon, exploring the moral ambiguities of parenting young adults and middle-aged water polo violence.