Stephen Smith AFSM is the Commissioner of Queensland Fire Department, an organisation of approximately 34,000 staff & volunteers. Stephen started his firefighting career in Queensland in 1994 and has served in regional and state roles in a variety of specialist areas before taking on the role of Commissioner in October 2023. He has extensive knowledge, skills and experience in emergency and crisis management, both domestically and internationally, with a particular interest in leadership and capability development including organisational level change, leadership influence, and the human factors that influence organisational behaviour. In 2011 Stephen was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal for distinguished service and success in technical rescue with outstanding commitment and drive in improving the profile and capability of the Queensland Urban Search and Rescue Taskforce.

Grant Stevens APM LEM, Commissioner of Police since 2015, leads South Australia Police, the government agency responsible for the safety and security of 1.8 million South Australians, across an area of over one million square kilometres.

Commissioner Stevens is committed to technological transformation across all aspects of police service delivery, supports legislative reform to improve public safety; and has well established credentials in state and national leadership roles addressing organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime, family and domestic violence, sexual crime (including child exploitation), and road safety. He is a member of national policing boards and is the Chair of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.

Jem Stone is a Bundjalung woman, Wayapa Wuurrk training manager, cultural consultant, and We Al-li lead facilitator specialising in trauma recovery through Earth connection, Indigenous knowledge systems, and culturally informed trauma healing. Jem has supported survivors of Victorian and NSW climate disasters and is a therapist on the first disaster recovery psychedelic-assisted therapy trial at Southern Cross University. She is part of a climate anxiety community of practice with the University of Sydney and has two publications in Explorations Climate Psychology Journal and contributed to research and development for Melbourne University’s climate anxiety and ecological distress project.

Melissa is an experienced registered nurse, academic and researcher focused on older persons, and ageing. She engages with community in translation research that seeks practical solutions to everyday problems. My research focus seeks to improve systems and process that improve care to community through workforce directions, health literacy and policy change. Melissa is proficient in qualitative and mixed methodology. She leads the West Moreton Older Persons Care Collaboratives at UniSQ working with local Councils, health services and organisations to improve translation of preparedness processes in the local community.

Christopher Tylor is the Managing Director of exci pty ltd, an Australian company pioneering AI-driven early wildfire detection. With decades of international business experience, he co-founded exci in 2019 with Gabrielle Tylor to combat the growing threat of wildfires. Under his leadership, exci developed an advanced AI-powered system that detects fires within minutes, helping protect communities and the environment. His commitment to innovation has positioned exci as a leader in wildfire detection, providing real-time alerts that enable rapid response and mitigation. Christopher is dedicated to leveraging technology to enhance fire prevention and disaster management worldwide.

Ms Vina Varsani is a senior executive who has a passion for delivering positive outcomes for Queenslanders. Vina had ten years’ experience in corporate banking before transitioning into the State Government sector 12 years ago. Vina thrives on merging strategy and policy to create exceptional community results.

In the role of General Manager, Resilience and Recovery at QRA, Vina oversees the Policy and Program design unit, the Hazard and Risk unit and the Voluntary Home Buy-Back program. Vina is passionate about developing best practice, evidence-based strategies and policies to help communities become resilient and recover stronger from disaster events.

Stefan Weir is the Chief of Staff at NEMA New Zealand, a role he’s held since 2022. Before this Stefan was based in the Beehive (NZ Parliament) as Private Secretary to the Minister for Emergency Management (2015-2022) and Minister for Youth (2013-15). For the last ten years Stefan has been in the "inner circle" alongside Ministers, Prime Ministers and senior leaders during emergencies including Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle, the Kaikoura earthquake, Port Hills Fires, Christchurch terror attack, Whakaari White Island eruption, COVID and many many other severe weather related events.

Andrew Williams is an Emergency Management Consultant in Victoria and a Professional Doctorate candidate examining emergency management planning for domestic family violence, before, during and after an emergency or disaster.
Andrew has a background in health (nursing) and policing. Andrew has worked for the past decade in Emergency Management areas in local government, health and education. Andrew now manages his own company.

Brenden Winder leads the CDEM team at Christchurch City Council . He has held leadership or specialist roles in many large-scale responses, including floods, fires and earthquakes.

David Youssef AFSM has worked in disaster and emergency management in various roles both in Australia and overseas for over 40 years. On retiring from the MFB Melbourne as Deputy Chief Officer in 2016 David joined the City of Gold Coast as a Disaster Management Coordinator. Confronting TC Debbie in 2017 David quickly realised that providing timely, relevant and tailored flood warnings in a large and complex city with 20 seperate catchments is a significant challenge. The Gold Coast disaster and emergency management team prides itself on community focused innovation and collaboration and believes that this is essential to success.