meet our speakers

Professor Fiona Wood - AO, FRCS, FRACS

Keynote Speaker

Fiona Wood is one of Australia’s most innovative and respected surgeons and researchers.  She is Director of the Burns Service of Western Australia (BSWA); a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Fiona Stanley Hospital and Perth Children's Hospital; co-founder of the first skin cell laboratory in WA; Winthrop Professor in the School of Surgery at The University of Western Australia; and co-founder of the Fiona Wood Foundation (formerly The McComb Foundation).

Professor Wood’s greatest contribution and enduring legacy is her work with co-inventor Marie Stoner, pioneering the innovative ‘spray-on skin’ technique (Recell), where today the technique is used worldwide. In October 2002, Fiona was propelled into the media spotlight when the largest proportion of survivors from the 2002 Bali bombings arrived in Perth where Fiona led the medical team at Royal Perth Hospital to save many lives.

Throughout Fiona’s career, she has received prestigious accolades in recognition of her clinical excellence and burns research outputs that have improved the quality-of-life outcomes of burn patients locally and worldwide. Professor Wood was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2003. In 2003 and 2004 she won the Western Australia Citizen of the Year award and was then recognised through Australia’s highest accolade when she was named Australian of the Year for 2005.  In 2024 Professor Fiona Wood was honoured with the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her distinguished service to plastic and reconstructive surgery, to medical research, and as clinician scientist and mentor.

Fiona is a wife, a mother to four boys and two girls and a proud grandmother.

Jana Pittman

Keynote Speaker

Two times world champion, four times Commonwealth champion - in the sport of athletics, Jana Pittman personifies resilience and determination. When continual injuries hampered her athletic career and could have signalled retirement, she swapped the track for the ice, joining the Australian women's bobsled team and becoming the first woman to represent Australia in both a Summer (2000, 2004) and Winter (2014) Olympic Games.

Off the track, Jana completed a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at Western Sydney University in 2019 (graduating with First Class Honours and the university medal) and is now a junior doctor in Women's Health.

She completed a Masters of Reproductive Medicine at the University of New South Wales in 2020 and has initiated her PhD in Obstetrics (focusing on aspects of uterus transplantation).

This busy woman is proud mum to six children:

Cornelis; little sisters Emily and Jemima; Charlie; and most recently, twins Quinlan and Willow.

Having experienced her own personal scare with cervical dysplasia, Jana became an ambassador for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation. In 2021, Jana was a participant in the gruelling television show SAS Australia on Channel 7. She made it to the last day of the course and was the final female standing among the 18 celebrity recruits, despite having given birth only five and a half months previously.

Lacey Filipich

Guest Speaker - Women's Financial Empowerment

Lacey Filipich helps people become financially independent and reclaim their lives. Thousands around the world have used her Money School courses to liberate themselves from debt, start saving and raise financially capable kids.

Money School is also the title of her international award-winning book, out now with Penguin Life.

Lacey graduated as valedictorian from the University of Queensland with an Honours degree in Chemical Engineering (if you want to find out how a chemical engineer ends up teaching people about money, check out her TEDx talk.) She is the winner of a 2019 Business News '40 under 40’ Award and a LinkedIn Top Voice in Finance.

Julia Ewert

Guest Speaker - The Art of Negotiation

Author and renown professional negotiator and sales strategist, Julia Ewert, helps B2B companies around the world establish highly effective and scalable sales functions by equipping them with a truly holistic sales system.

Julia teaches these skills through her repeatable sales process, which is a proven system that helps companies to convert more qualified contracts, increase their margins and win more negotiations. Hence, she has also been commissioned by LinkedIn to be the only Australian Sales Instructor in her category.

Julia is also one of the most sought-after thought leaders on sales and negotiation and regularly contributes to the media and has been featured in major national TV, press and radio, podcasts, and is regularly invited to speak at industry conferences.

Ashley McGrath

Panel Facilitator - Empowering Women in Industry: Building Positive Futures

Ashley McGrath is a gender equity trailblazer on a mission to turn the dial in Western Australia. Ashley leads CEOs for Gender Equity, a for-purpose organisation which seeks to accelerate gender equity by inspiring and supporting CEOs to take action.

Ashley is also working on a PhD project which will increase female inclusion and diversity in the Western Australian mining industry.

Tabetha Beggs

Panel Facilitator - Empowering Women on Boards

Tabetha Beggs brings a wealth of experience in tourism, governance, and leadership to her role as Panel Facilitator for the Empowering Women on Boards session. She currently serves as the Tourism Development Specialist at the City of Armadale and has held notable roles including Manager of Partnerships and Industry for Tourism WA, CEO of the Kalamunda Chamber of Commerce, Marketing Executive at the City of Perth, and Exhibitions Officer at the Royal Society of Arts Examinations Board in the UK.

Tabetha has a robust history in board governance and collaboration, serving on the boards of AGO (Australia’s Golden Outback) and FACET (Forum Advocating Cultural and Eco Tourism), is an Advisory Board member for Trails WA, and a judge for both the WA and National Tourism Awards. Her previous board roles also include Chair of Writing WA and the Katherine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre in the Perth Hills.

Outside of tourism, Tabetha is also a published author and the single mother of two teenagers—a role she compares to being on a "Board of three," juggling the office bearer roles of treasurer, secretary, and Chairperson all at once!

Janelle Marr

Panelist - Empowering Women on Boards

Janelle is an experienced Independent Chair, Non-Executive Director and Strategy Executive, with over 25 years of governance, strategy and business transformation expertise across Australia and global markets.

She currently serves as Commissioner of Tourism WA and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee; and Non-Executive Director of Foundation Housing Ltd.

She is also Founding Director of StepBeyond, an award-winning, impact-driven corporate advisory supporting organisations to create long term value and fairer, more equitable and sustainable communities.

Her past directorships are diverse – from commerce, infrastructure, health, disabilities, creative industries, regional development, higher education – and include private, government, statutory authorities and NFPs.

She is a Fellow of Australian Institute of Company Directors and Governance Institute of Australia; a Global Competent Board’s Sustainability & ESG Designation graduate; holds an MBA from UQ; and is certifying INSEAD’s International Directors Program.

Suzanne Ardagh

Panelist - Empowering Women on Boards

Suzanne Ardagh AM is a Chair and Non-Executive Director having served on a wide variety of boards over the past 20 years. These have included sporting boards (the West Coast Fever & WA Cricket Foundation), Arts boards (Perth Festival & Musica Viva), international development, philanthropy, fundraising and international education.

She is currently the Deputy Chair of WA Ballet and Chair of Stanley College an international dual sector College. She is on the board of the WA Cricket Foundation, and Patron of the WA Vietnam Business Council and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.  She is a Mentor with Minerva which matches elite female athletes with professional female executives.

In 2024, Suzanne was awarded an AM for distinguished services to business, arts and the community which reflected her volunteering roles in the community for over 20 years.

Alicia Curtis

Panelist - Empowering Women on Boards

Alicia Curtis is an award-winning speaker, leadership facilitator and inspiring community change maker with a dynamic purpose - to ignite leaders to positively transform the world.  Her impact continues to grow; Alicia founded Alyceum in 2002 developing and facilitating transformational programs impacting the personal leadership journeys of thousands of people. She currently facilitates online programs such as the Espresso Club and the Greater Good Collective, and face to face programs such as the Emerging Leaders in Governance program as well as leadership workshops with clients.  

In 2013, Alicia co-founded 100 Women, a collective giving circle which has granted over 1.2 million dollars and improved the lives of 36,400 women and girls in nine countries across the globe. She is also the co-author of Difference Makers: A Leader's Guide to Championing Diversity on Boards. With a Masters in Business Leadership, Alicia has also been awarded several accolades including Business News 40under40 List (top 4), EY Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Westpac's 200 Businesses of Tomorrow and the Westpac & Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence List.

Emma Fraser

Panel Facilitator - The Power of Mentoring

Emma Fraser, founder of Fraser Marketing International, launched the agency in 2016 after a 20-year career in hotel marketing across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. She has worked with top brands such as Jumeirah, IHG, Marriott, Armani Hotels, and TFE Hotels. 

Emma is a strategic marketer and PR advocate, specialising in interpreting guest behaviour, driving brand growth, and embracing innovation. Her guest-centric approach ensures impactful brand and marketing strategies that go beyond traditional models. Fraser Marketing International offers comprehensive services, from brand creation to market campaign rollouts, helping businesses grow through multi-channel strategies. 

Emma is passionate about building meaningful connections in tourism and hospitality, and works with clients globally.


Alison Terry

Panelist - The Power of Mentoring

Alison is an experienced non-executive director and senior executive and currently serves on the Boards of ASX listed companies Johns Lyng Group Limited, Bannerman Energy Limited and Matrix Composites & Engineering Limited, as well as not-for-profit organisations UN Women Australia and Black Swan State Theatre of Western Australia. 

 Her prior executive and Board positions span the mining and resources, automotive, telecommunications and superannuation sectors across the areas of sustainability, corporate affairs, legal, company secretarial and general management.

Alison holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Bachelor of Economics and Graduate Diploma Business (Accounting), and she is a member of Chief Executive Women and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

She is a passionate supporter of mentoring for women, having introduced the National Mentor Walks program to Western Australia in 2019 and serving as Co-Leader in WA since the launch of the program.

Professor Julia Richardson

Panelist - The Power of Mentoring

Professor Julia Richardson is an internationally recognised expert in Careers and Human Resources Management and Head of the School of Management and Marketing at Curtin University. She has pursued a global career in Asia, North America and Europe and has won multiple awards for her research and teaching. 

A former Chair of the Careers Division of the Academy of Management, member of Curtin University Council and Journal Editor, Professor Richardson is a regular media commentator and speaker at national and international events. Her book ‘An Intelligent Career: Taking Ownership of Your Work and Your Life’ (published in English and Mandarin) is a top resource for business executives. She also sits on the Business Performance Panel for the Ministry of Innovation, Business and Employment, New Zealand.


Claire Seeber

Panelist - The Power of Mentoring

Claire Seeber is a globally accredited Trainer, Speaker, and Author of the book ‘Less Hustle, More Happy’. She is an expert in career development and leadership, and blends her experience in business, HR and communications to ensure that people are better able to show up and have the impact on themselves, their teams, and their organisations that they can feel proud of, AND that get results. Claire is also the Co-Founder of the Future Female Leaders Organisation, which is equipping our next generation of female leaders with the tools and opportunities to lead more with purpose and passion. 

Claire is a regular contributor to the media, having featured on Channel 9, SMART Company, Business News, Women's Agenda and more. Claire believes that we can do serious work, but not take ourselves too seriously, and she aims to bring that attitude into everything she does.

Di Darmondy

Master of Ceremonies

ABC radio presenter, journalist, MC/facilitator and interviewer.  Di is an engaging, polished and extremely professional MC, conference host, interviewer and facilitator.

Her poise, professionalism and bubbly personality makes her a favourite with audiences.