Professor Jacqueline Bowden is Director of the National Centre for Education and Training on Addition (NCETA), Flinders University. She is a behavioural scientist who has worked at the interface of research and public health policy for more than twenty years (particularly in tobacco and alcohol control, and more recently other drugs). Jacqueline has a background in both psychology (BA (Hons) and PhD) and public health (MPH).

Jacqueline has held roles in academia, the non-government sector and within government. Prior to her role at NCETA, Jacqueline was Deputy Director of the Health Policy Centre at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute for 7 years, and Externally Funded Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide. She has been a key advisor to South Australian Government for 15 years, and she previously managed the implementation of all research and evaluation for all SA Government-funded tobacco control programs (and overarching strategies). She has been a consultant in research and evaluation design, and currently holds an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship to investigate ways to reduce parental supply of alcohol to children.

Jacqueline also currently leads a national evaluation of one of Australia’s largest public health campaigns, which aims to raise awareness of the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Jacqueline has also received 8 awards and prizes for her research in the past 5 years, and is President of the SA Branch of the Public Health Association of Australia. 

Stephen is a Narungga and Ngarrindjeri man from South Australia, and PhD candidate with the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland and Senior Research Fellow with the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. Stephen is an epidemiologist and public health researcher with eight years of experience working with Aboriginal communities and organisations across Australia conducting research across a range of areas including health services research, sexual health, adolescents and young people’s health and wellbeing, men’s health, and Indigenous methodology.

Mary Brushe is a research study manager at Telethon Kids Institute and in her final year of her PhD in Public Health through the University of Adelaide. Mary is experienced in the management of prospective cohort studies, epidemiological research methods, research translation for policy and practice and public health advocacy. In 2020, she was awarded, as CIB, a NHMRC Ideas Grant to investigate the impact of screen time on early childhood developmental outcomes and in 2021 was awarded, as Co-Investigator, a Channel 7 Telethon Trust grant to develop and pilot an intervention to support parents with screen use in early childhood as well as develop a health promotion campaign around screen time. Mary is also the advocacy coordinator for the South Australian (SA) branch of the Public Health Association of Australia where she has recently led the SA Public Health Consortium’s election platform and campaign at the 2022 state election. Her research interests focus on the early home environment, specifically the influence of language and screen exposure on children’s developmental outcomes.

Erin is the National Manager Health, Research & Innovation at the Heart Foundation. Erin is an experienced senior policy specialist in health, social policy and public administration, with over twenty years working at executive levels across both Commonwealth and state governments and over five years as a public policy consultant prior to joining the Heart Foundation in mid-2022. She has provided leadership on whole of health system strategic policy development and integration, health program formulation and implementation, human resources management and people capability development.

Erin has had extensive involvement in stakeholder engagement and consultation, leading diverse teams and strengthening organisational capabilities. She has been integral in delivering several projects for government and non-government organisations, including national strategies and plans, significant Commonwealth/state joint projects, major health reform initiatives, operational and health system analysis and service re-design.

Her career experience includes a range of corporate, strategic and organisational leadership and management roles, at Commonwealth and state government levels in Canberra, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. As a consultant based in Victoria, she has worked in partnership with Commonwealth and state governments, non-government organisations, medical colleges, universities and think tanks.

Terry Slevin has been Chief Executive Office for the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) since May 2018.  He is Adjunct Professor in the School of Psychology at Curtin University an Adjunct Professor in the College of Health and Medicine at the Australian National University.  He is a Fellow of PHAA and was the first Vice President (Development) of the Association.

Adj Prof Slevin is a regular media commentator on all aspects of public health and cancer, ranging from causes and early detection, to broader chronic disease prevention including nutrition, physical activity, weight control, alcohol, sun protection and gun control.  He also has a special interest in Occupational and environmental cancer risks.

Until April 2018 he was Director, Education and Research at Cancer Council WA where he worked since 1994. Mr Slevin holds a Masters in Public Health and an Honours degree in Psychology.

As well as serving as Chair of Cancer Council Australia’s Occupational and Environmental Cancer Risk Committee, Mr Slevin has previously chaired Cancer Council's Skin Cancer Committee and was founding Chair of Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee, where he served for 10 years.  He has contributed to the planning of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) World Cancer Congress from 2012 to 2016 and was Co Chair of the Scientific Committee for the World Cancer Congress in Kuala Lumpur in 2018.

He is the editor of a book on skin cancer Sun, Skin and Health, released by CSIRO Publishing in 2014 and has published over 70 papers in the peer reviewed literature and a series of 15 articles on cancer myths.  

His current focus is on promoting evidence based public health policy in Australia with a focus on equity and improved health outcomes for the most disadvantaged Australians.

Stephanie Kilpatrick is the Manager of Policy and Government Relations at the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth). Stephanie joined VicHealth after working in the heart of the Victorian Government in positions including Adviser (Parliament and Strategic Relations) in the Premier’s Private Office and Senior Policy Adviser to the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services. During her time in the Minister for Health’s Office, Stephanie’s responsibilities included the portfolios of: Public Health, Preventative Health, Cancer and Cemeteries. In 2020, Stephanie was the Lead Adviser to the Minister for Health regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since joining VicHealth, Stephanie has worked to develop VicHealth’s flagship VicHealth Local Government Partnership, managed key strategic relationships, including a partnership with Tonga Health, and driven VicHealth’s broad policy agenda including pursuing the integration of wellbeing into the business of governments. 

Stephanie has a Masters of Social Policy and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne with majors in Politics & International Studies, and Creative Writing along with a Diploma of Modern Languages (French).

Laurianne Reinsborough is the Director of Health Promotion at Wellbeing SA. Laurianne has had over 20 years working in prevention and health promotion in New Zealand and now Australia. Laurianne has held senior positions in the health, injury prevention and volunteer sectors. Laurianne has extensive experience in the planning and implementation of health-related policies, programs and campaigns and brings experience in capacity building and developing stakeholder relationships. Laurianne sits on the Executive Committee, Global Network Health in All Policies and is also a board member of the e-Mental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC).

Christine (MPH, FPHAA, CF) is a Public Health practitioner who has worked in public health advocacy across a range of settings including tobacco control, oral health, advocacy, consumer engagement and LGBTIQ+.  
She is the Manager Prevention and Advocacy at Cancer Council SA with a strong passion for reducing inequities. The team is currently working on reducing tobacco use in vulnerable communities, advocating for changes to e-cigarette regulations, raising awareness on the importance of screening and SunSmart initiatives and reducing junk food advertising.

Prior to returning to work at the Cancer Council in 2022, she was Director of Health Promotion at SA Dental Service and worked as the Rainbow Tick Coordinator at Eldercare leading the organisational change, which enabled them to receive Rainbow Tick accreditation in 2019 and 2022. She is a Fellow of the Public Health Association of Australia and a Churchill Fellow. 

Professor James Smith is the Deputy Dean of Rural and Remote Health - NT, and Matthew Flinders Professor (Health and Social Equity) at Flinders University. He is an applied social health researcher with 20+ years experience working in rural and remote health policy, practice, and research contexts in SA and the NT, with a particular focus on improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and education outcomes. Prior to commencing at Flinders he held Professorial roles at both Menzies School of Health Research and Charles Darwin University in areas relating to alcohol and other drugs, men's health and Indigenous higer education. Professor Smith is recognised nationally and globally for his his expertise in both health promotion and men's health. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of the Health Promotion Journal of Australia and is a Fellow of the Australian Health Promotion Association. He is the Deputy Chair Association for Alcohol and Other Drugs Agencies NT and Board Member of FCD Health Ltd. He holds academic status at Menzies, Curtin University, Deakin University, University of Michigan and the University of Saskatchewan.