Jen Seyderhelm started professionally in radio more than 20 years ago as an announcer and later a producer, journalist, news reader and sports commentator. She is currently the Manager of for Rebus Theatre’s (Theatre For Social Change) Project Alchemy and a writer and editor for BMA Magazine and industry publication RadioInfo.

Jen teaches podcast, broadcast and audio production skills to Federal, State and ACT governments, business and arts organisations, schools and TAFE. She was a member of the judging panel for the 2021 Australian Podcast Awards.

With a Bachelor of Arts from Macquarie University, a Certificate IV in Music Industry Skills, Counselling Diploma and Training and Assessment Certificate IV, Jen loves communication and storytelling. In 2021, she created an Australian first Certificate II in Podcasting Foundations taught nationally through the Academy of Interactive Entertainment.

Jen’s podcasts include TACT, a podcast about sex, sexual health, body image and mental health, being created thanks to a YWCA and Beyond Bank Grant in collaboration with Women’s Health Matters and the University of Canberra, 20/40 (Friendship across Generations) and One Hit Wonderful! which she plans to turn into a book.

She’s been married for 20 years (her love story is epic), has two teenage boys, a healthy caffeine and music trivia addiction, and owns the bestest dog in the world.

Debra Bennet is a ‘Goorie Woman’, a direct descendant of the Kullali Peoples (of South Western QLD) and Wakka Wakka and Gubbi Gubbi Peoples (of South East Queensland).
With 28 years of successful community and cultural development experience, Debra has held various roles in the arts sector, disability sector, correctional centres and adult education arenas. Her work involves the process of creatively drawing from, and working across disciplines and industry sectors to develop and strengthen community, and care for our natural environment.

Debra is currently employed as Director of Indigenous Services with Relationships Australia (Qld), was previously Manager of the Indigenous Arts and Community Cultural Development Program with QLD Community Arts Network (QCAN), a partner in Nuthakine Consultancy, serves as a member of QLD Museums and Regional Galleries Indigenous Advisory Board, chairs the QLD Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency (QIAMEA) within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, and is a founding member and director of the National Foundation for Indigenous Recovery and Development.

Debra has worked in Local Government and has had several years’ involvement coordinating student services in Secondary and Tertiary environments within Queensland, including the establishment of student support services at Griffith University and Central Queensland University.
Debra facilitates arts and cultural workshops including workshops on Cultural Awareness, Cultural Competencies and Alternative Approaches to Leadership. She is also the author of Dynamic Wisdom of the Yarning Circle, and author / inventor of the Yarning Circle Framework and Process, based on her paternal grandfather’s clans (Kullali) stories and ceremonies given to her by Kullali and Wakka Wakka Elders within her clan.

Debra is committed to building communities through maintaining social justice, arts and cultural practices and culturally appropriate processes. She supports the broader aspirations and professional development of Indigenous communities and marginalised young people globally, working to ensure that all people have the right to learn in ways which suit their specific needs – to retrieve, and uphold wisdom to help them develop to their fullest capacity, live a rich spiritual and cultural life, and sustain the natural environment.

Scott brings 24 years’ experience as an Army Officer with highly developed problem-solving, project management, and logistics experience. Career highlights include developing protocols to ensure deploying forces were appropriately trained and equipped, operational deployments to East Timor (1999-2000) and Iraq (2007-2008) and coordinating Defence support to the Sydney Olympics and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

His post-Defence work has included over four years in disaster management roles with Queensland Government and the Local Government Association of Queensland. These roles saw him visit every local government in Queensland and coordinate grant funding to improve community disaster resilience. Scott worked on Manus Island in 2013-2014 as the Supply Manager, managing over $1million in canteen supplies and coordinating the supply of general goods required to run the processing centre. He is also a qualified driving instructor and ran his own driving school for two years.

More recently, Scott’s focus has been on building a bookkeeping business. He currently works with several medical practices in Vic, NSW, and QLD, some school P&Cs, and various not-for-profits. His management experience and technical qualifications provide small business owners and not-for-profits with the support they need to successfully run their business and meet all mandatory reporting requirements.

Silvano has been Director of Wilurarra Creative for over 10 years, living and working in Mirlirrtjarra (Warburton Community) in the very remote Ngaanyatjarra Lands of Western Australia. Silvano has a background in commercial printing, contemporary and community arts and sound engineering. With the belief that arts, access to technologies and appropriate self-directed learning opportunities are fundamental to self-determination, Silvano works alongside (particularly younger) Ngaanyatjarra people to create exciting and relevant creative opportunities.

Since 2004, Wilurarra Creative has facilitated a diverse range of community driven activities and creative programs, co-created with 16-30 year old Ngaanyatjarra people. Project areas include music (recording, practice and performance), concerts, tours, community evens, fashion, social change hairdressing salon, screen printing, design, cultural maintenance, mental work, photography, digital inclusion, videos, publications – including the Alanya project. Foundational to Wilurarra’s success is working ‘Malparara-way’ – Ngaanyatjarra and non-Ngaanyatjarra colleagues working alongside each other.

Amanda cares about people and nature and is passionate about supporting others to reconnect and remember our relationship with our environment. She is experienced in working in disaster contexts through strategic and imaginative thinking, planning and acting to support people and environments impacted by disasters. She is a storytelling, world explorer, writer, photographer and public speaker.

A qualified lawyer, Amanda has over 25 years of experience in roles spanning executive leadership, corporate partnerships, international humanitarian and community development, disaster management and climate action. She has held senior roles in government, INGOs, not-for-profits and corporate enterprises. She is a Red Cross volunteer, volunteer firefighter and also co-founder of the Australasian Women in Emergencies Network. She is deployed nationally to advise on strategies and support people before, during and after disasters.

On the frontline of an escalating disaster landscape and biodiversity crisis exacerbated by climate change, Amanda’s professional and personal experiences has led her to establish Nature Based Resilience, acting as an environmental advocate in disaster planning and igniting a movement in reconnection to nature to build collective human and ecological resilience.

Jamie is a Singaporean-Australian artist, curator, dramaturg and facilitator. She creates and curates site-responsive, participatory performances that engage audiences as participants, and communities as artists; and often through autobiographical stories, conversation and food

Committed to diversifying practice, Jamie seeks alternative models in her work and a re-imagining of leadership, governance, and structures.

Jamie’s practice also shapes her experience in arts management and audience development – focusing on strategies that are underpinned by mutuality, conversation and conviviality. She is a passionate sector member with a broad understanding of national narratives in the arts, especially the performing arts sector. Her breadth of relationship management and communication strategies with specific communities is reflected in her strong networks across the sector. She has excellent communication and interpersonal skills, is a connector and is known for gathering people. Her dramaturgical eye transposes across the various streams of her practice, threading what already exists to reveal new stories and new ways of being and working.

Mike is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE) and Research Co-ordinator at the Collaboration on Energy and Environmental Markets (CEEM)

Mike is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE) and Research Co-ordinator at the Collaboration on Energy and Environmental Markets (CEEM) at UNSW Sydney. His research across engineering, social science and energy policy aims to support a just transition to a user centred and resilient energy system, with particular focus on deployment and integration of distributed solar photovoltaics and batteries, engagement of households and businesses in demand flexibility, and collective approaches to energy governance including embedded networks, microgrids and community renewable energy. In a former life, Mike ran an outdoor arts company creating large-scale shows with fire, fireworks and performance.

Scotia is Executive Officer of the Creative Recovery Network, advocating and supporting the role of culture and the arts in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

Scotia has a broad range of professional experiences in the community arts and cultural development sector, specialising in training, mentoring, strategic planning, project management, research and facilitation of community cultural development programs and strategies.

Scotia has a performance background spanning 25 years in theatre, devised performance, and coordination of projects and theatrical productions, installation performance, film, live-art and online exchanges. She established the Australian chapter of the Magdalena International Project which gives voice and recognition to women in theatre.

Our network is founded on a spirit of cooperation, grounded in the knowledge that disaster resilience is a collective responsibility across all sectors. We have hundreds of members across Australia working to support their communities in challenging times and collaborating with us on projects and advocacy. Our members represent a broad cross-section of the community and include artists, arts workers, community development practitioners as well as people who specialise in health, education, community engagement and all levels of government. If you would like to join us, find out more.

Jacqui has extensive Australian Public Service experience leading complex whole-of-Government work programs and a solid track record of successfully applying insight to deliver improvements to experiences, service delivery, decision making and business outcomes. Her experience includes managing strategic research programs and projects, oversight of a comprehensive agency complaints system, and developing domestic and international policy. 

Currently she leads Crisis Planning and Response for the National Emergency Management Agency. Jacqui grew up in rural Victoria and has had firsthand experience with floods, droughts and fires. Jacqui holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ballarat University.

Pippa Bailey is an independent producer/director/consultant who grew up and works on Wangal Land in Sydney. She is committed to connecting artistic practice to plans for a fairer future where Climate Justice leads.

Pippa started her career as an actor and reporter/producer with SBSTV. She held leading roles in the UK including The Museum Of on London’s South Bank, oh!art at Oxford House in Bethnal Green, The World Famous – company of pyrotechnicians and Total Theatre Awards at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Since 2013 Pippa has worked as Senior Producer with Performing Lines, Sydney Festival and in the First Nations team at Carriageworks. As Director/Producer for ChangeFest 2019-21, she worked in collaboration with Elders and communities to create events that imagine systems change and rehearse fairer futures. She is currently working with First Nations artists Henrietta Baird and Jacob Boehme, led by First Nations protocols.

Pippa co-convenes the Cultural Gardeners – Australian Cultural Alliance for Climate Justice, is a coordinator with Culture Declares Emergency UK, member of Collaborative Futures and a board Director of Theatre Network NSW and IETM – International Network for the Performing Arts.

As Research Fellow and Manager Christen conducts and facilitates research to support the Australian arts sector, to advocate for the value of arts and culture, and to advise the Australian government on arts and cultural policy.

Before working at the Australia Council, Christen was a lecturer in the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney, conducting research in cultural studies, cultural policy, Inter-Asia cultural studies, and urban and housing studies. Christen is also a Chinese speaker, living in China intermittently between 2001-2011 and writing about the contemporary Chinese arts scene in those years.

Natalie Egleton is the Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR). With a 25-year career in the non-profit and philanthropic sector in consulting, fundraising and partnerships, and organisation development roles, she is passionate about facilitating effective and enduring responses to issues facing rural communities. Since becoming CEO of FRRR in 2015 she has led the organisation through a period of significant growth and impact, facilitating over $80m in funding to remote, rural, and regional communities through hundreds of partnerships and collaborations. 

Before joining FRRR, Natalie consulted with Matrix on Board, working with numerous not-for-profit organisations in program evaluation, undertaking research analysis and developing business plans. Natalie has also held in-house roles at Evolve (Typo Station) and at ANZ Banking Group, implementing projects that made a tangible difference to the lives of people living in rural, regional and remote Australia. Natalie holds a B. Social Science (Public Policy/Research/Public Relations), Grad Dip Applied Science (Organisation Dynamics), and is a Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors.

Matt has more than 25 years’ experience in law enforcement, emergency management, enterprise risk, and business continuity.  He has held senior leadership roles with the WA Police specialising in emergency management, counter terrorism, and covert operations. After spending 16 years with the WA Police, Matt has held executive risk, emergency management and governance positions across the public sector and not for profit organisations. 

As the Director of Communities Emergency Relief and Support Directorate, Matt is responsible for the State’s Emergency Relief and Support function which provides human services to impacted individuals and communities during and after emergency events. In this role, Matt works closely with government and non-government agencies across the Community Services sector to ensure a coordinated multi-agency approach to the provision of emergency relief and support services across the State.

Kim Howland is a policy navigator and solution broker providing leadership, advocacy, representation and capacity building across the Victorian local government community services sector.

Margaret leads the work of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) to enhance community resilience to natural hazards across Australia and beyond.  She is committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion of all voices to inform disaster risk reduction and resilience research, policy, and practice. 

Margaret’s first career was with the federal government, working in a range of social policy and program areas and preparing advice for successive governments for more than 33 years.  Motivated by her own experiences during the 2003 Canberra fires, and the 2009 Black Saturday fires in Victoria, Margaret undertook original community-based research focussed on the key factors that contribute to disaster recovery and resilience.  She gathered and compared the views of national leaders of recovery, and community leaders who had been directly affected by emergency events across Eastern Australia.  Margaret’s work leading AIDR now builds on strong relationships and partnerships with researchers, community leaders, NGOs, all levels of government, emergency services and the business and philanthropy sectors. 

Dr Jen Rae is an award-winning artist-researcher of Canadian Métis descent living and creating on Djaara Country in Central Victoria. Her research-creation expertise is in the discursive field of contemporary environmental art and arts-based environmental communication. It is centered around cultural responses to climate change/emergency, specifically the role of artists. Her work is engaged in discourses around food justice, disaster resilience and speculative futures predominantly articulated through transdisciplinary collaborative methodologies and community alliances.

Jen creates and contributes to experimental multi-platform collaborative projects, including being a core artist of Arts House’s multi-year REFUGE project (2016-2021) – where artists, emergency service providers and communities work together to rehearse climate-related emergencies and explore the impact of creativity in disaster preparedness. She is a co-founder of the Centre For Reworlding (C∞R), a collective of diverse Indigenous, people of colour, settler, LGBTIQA2S+ thinkers and doers working at the intersections of art, climate futures and disaster resilience. Through their Creative Resilience Lab, events, workshops and projects the C∞R aims to bolster inclusive collaboration and creative leadership in climate emergency response and action.

During her PhD, she worked for the Australian Collaboration synthesising International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and later the Climate Action Network, further noting the absence of creatives in the fields of climate change communication and advocacy. She is also Director of Fair Share Fare and was a Co-founder of Fawkner Commons – creative and research-informed projects that centre food justice, land remediation and social cohesion in the climate emergency context. Jen has lectured at the post-graduate level in socially-engaged art and performance at the University of Melbourne and Deakin University.

Briony is a leader and expert at catalysing transformations to address the challenges of climate change. As a CEO, Director and Professor, she is skilled at bringing together people with diverse expertise and lived experience to develop visions and advance solutions that have real-world impact for communities, cities and regions. This includes strategic guidance for creating pathways toward sustainable and resilient futures.

As the CEO of Fire to Flourish at MSDI (Monash Sustainable Development Institute), Briony leads a groundbreaking initiative to rethink our approach in the aftermath of disaster. Working closely in partnership with communities affected by the 2019/20 Summer bushfires, they are trialing and scaling innovations in community-led recovery, supporting communities to co-create foundations for long-term resilience and wellbeing. The five-year program is a partnership between the Paul Ramsay Foundation and Metal Manufactures Pty Ltd.

Sam is a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man who respects, practices, and promotes his diverse cultures within his family and broader communities throughout Australia. Born and raised in Townsville and having cultural ties to the Townsville region as a descendant of the Birrigubba Nation, Sam respects and acknowledges his connection to country and also acknowledging and respecting his father’s Torres Strait Islander connection to country on Maurar (Rennel Island) in the Torres Straits. 

Sam has more than 30 years experience across government and community sectors including education, housing, employment, natural resource management, youth justice and child protection. His current role is Northern Queensland Emergency Services Regional Coordinator where he works in the Emergency Services sector with Australian Red Cross at a regional, state & national level. Sam assists in the coordination of community resilience, response, and recovery programs to care for communities with a focus on psychosocial support.