Michael Nolan leads the Climate Change Risk and Resilience practice at Aurecon. He works with private and public sector organisations advising on climate change risk, resilience and disaster management.
He recently led the development of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRRs) Principles for Resilience Infrastructure Scorecard focused on helping organisations reveal resilience gaps and priorities for investment.
Previously Michael was the Director of the International Secretariat for the United Nations Global Compact – Cities Programme – which supported city governments and states to formulate partnerships with private sector to progress the Sustainable Development Goals. He also advised the Executive Office of the President of the United States (Obama Administration) on the climate adaptation investment prioritisation for recovery after Hurricane Sandy. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-nolan-b8ba244/

Ben Norris is the former Manager of the Mental Health Drought and Disaster Team in Queensland Health where he managed the mental health response to such disasters as STC Debbie, 2018 and 2019 Bushfires, 2019 NQ Monsoon trough as well as the 2020/21 Bushfires before retiring to commence a PhD on 'Mental Health Services to address climate change impacts on Australian communities' in 2023. This presentation and workshop will showcase the latest global research on mental health services and interventions in response to various climate risk events.

Natasha Odgers
Through Natasha’s work in community development across Glasshouse Country (Sunshine Coast) over the last 14 years, her breadth of knowledge, skills and relationships has co-created positive changes in organisational and individual growth. Natasha’s work has ranged from forming structures and community connectivity across 6 townships, to localised collective action, to the establishment of the Glasshouse Country Disaster Management Network.
Natasha works strategically to strengthen community connection and collaboration locally (horizontally) and to work towards structural change with authorities and stakeholders (vertically).
Natasha is also the Disaster Resilience Lead with Neighbourhood Centres Queensland and takes a developmental approach.

Isaac works as the Community Resilience Advisor in the Civil Defence Emergency Management Team at Tauranga City Council. He recently completed his masters degree in Disaster Risk Management and Development, focusing using emerging technology, such as XR, to increase communities' disaster preparedness and knowledge of natural hazards. He has lived and worked in Tauranga, a small coastal town with exposure to several natural and man-made hazards for the last 3 years. Isaac is also an Intelligence Manager in the local emergency operations center and has been deployed to respond to Cyclone Gabriel.

Kate Retzki is a communications and engagement specialist, with international experience in research-based citizen science and behaviour change programs. Kate has worked across infrastructure, public health, biosecurity, and Queensland’s disaster management sector. Until recently, Kate had been leading the strategic delivery of the state’s primary community preparedness initiative, applying a locally led, state coordinated approach to household resilience building. As Director, Communications and Research at the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management, Kate is now helping to strengthen and connect the disaster management sector, with an emphasis on evidence-based decision making and collaboration.

Caroline has returned to research after a career in communication and stakeholder engagement, most of which has been spent in the health and local government sectors. During that time, she has supported several emergency responses to natural disasters, including the Canterbury and Kaikoura earthquakes. She is researching the impact of communication and engagement of an Alpine Fault earthquake science and preparedness program. Caroline is researching how effective the communication and engagement has been with emergency management agencies as they seek to prepare themselves and support their communities to build resilience ahead of an Alpine Fault earthquake.

Liam Scott manages the technology portfolio at New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). With a background in Defence and over a decade of experience in operational systems, Liam has led key projects enhancing operational and emergency response capabilities across the public sector. His expertise includes finding practical, resourceful solutions using available tools and ingenuity to improve situational awareness, communication, and coordination during critical incidents. Passionate about building resilient communities, Liam brings a strategic, people-focused approach to emergency management. He is committed to leveraging technology to empower the emergency management sector to ensure the most vulnerable are supported on their worst day.

Jane joined QFD in 2022 after 20 years with the Australian Government delivering scientific products and advice to support the government’s policies in disaster resilience, national security and science and innovation. Jane was responsible for delivering national natural hazard assessments, providing advice to national committees and forums, and collaborating with local and state government to translate national data for local application. Since joining QFD, Jane has been involved in a range of disaster risk management activities including local, state and national exercises, state-wide hazard and risk assessments and impact forecasting tools across multiple hazards.

Matt Shaw (MBCI) has worked as Business Continuity and Emergency Management professional for over 17 years in some of New Zealand's largest central government departments. In addition to his day job building BC and resilience at MBIE, he is the Chair of the Government Continuity Reference Group and is leading system continuity level work across NZ's central government. This is all in aid of helping the NZ government continue to function and deliver critical services in disruptions and particularly in a catastrophic-level event.

Chiana Sherwood is the Emergency Planning Manager for Auckland Airport. Across this environment and previous roles, Chiana has supported emergency response for:
• Cyclone event, April 2018 (Auckland Emergency Management Welfare desk)
• Bomb threat, 2019 (EOC)
• Covid Response 2020-2022 (Recovery team)
• Flood event, January 2023 (Crisis management team & Recovery team)
Chiana contributed to the temporary redesign of Auckland Airport in 2020 to establish a ‘red zone’. This initiative assisted border agencies in managing wider community risk for New Zealand during the Pandemic.
Chiana’s passion is design and delivery of emergency training and exercises to the wider Airport precinct to ensure that everyone is “match fit”.