Organising the AMA25 conference is driven by my passion for medical gatherings, where knowledge is shared and connections are made. Our theme, "Safeguarding Australia's Healthcare," addresses the challenges facing doctors today. Attendees can expect an inspiring program with valuable discussions and opportunities to network. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone in Adelaide, and providing more updates on the conference over the coming months.

Dr Danielle McMullen is the President of AMA and a GP in Brisbane. She has been involved with AMA at state and federal levels since 2011, including as President of AMA(NSW). She is recognised leader in health systems and reform, is a board member of the Australian Digital Health Agency and was previously a member of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce. Danielle has a strong interest in good governance processes and building member engagement with the AMA. She is determined to see a sustainable future for Australia's healthcare system - both public and private, rewarding careers for doctors, and quality care for patients.

Tim Campbell will be the MC for this year's gala dinner! Renowned for his charisma and versatility, Tim's dynamic stage presence will ensure an unforgettable night for all of entertainment and celebration! Join colleagues on Saturday 2 August, at the AMA25 Gala Dinner - our highlight event to cap off your official conference days, a chance to relax, enjoy and celebrate with each other. Ticket included in your conference registration!

Rosanna Mangiarelli joined the Seven Network in 2004 as a reporter, presenter and producer and started her role as host of Today Tonight in August 2007. After completing her Journalism degree at the University of South Australia, Rosanna cut her teeth at Southern Cross Television in Port Pirie in 1997. 

Rosanna feels privileged to have interviewed a number of international, national and state identities — some of her highlights include: boxing great Muhammed Ali, Anzac hero Alec Campbell and award-winning writer Max Fatchen. Other career highlights for Rosanna include reporting on the 2003 Baxter Detention Centre riots, covering the Kapunda Road Royal Commission, travelling to Los Angeles to read news for Seven’s Sunrise and hosting local magazine program, Adelaide Weekender.

Lara Giddings was born in Papua New Guinea in 1972. Her interest in politics began at the tender age of three, so it is perhaps not surprising that after completing high school, she studied Arts and Law at the University of Tasmania while campaigning for her first state election. 

In 1996, she became the youngest woman ever elected to an Australian parliament, serving as a shadow minister before losing her seat in Lyons in 1998. Never far from politics, she worked as the Whips Clerk in the Senate, overseas for a Scottish member of parliament, and then back in Tasmania in the Premier’s office before being re-elected in the seat of Franklin.

Over the subsequent years, she gained experience in numerous ministerial portfolios, including the health and treasury portfolios, before becoming Tasmania’s first and only female Premier, a role she held from 2011 to 2014.

Michael is a GP in Sydney's inner western suburbs and the immediate past president of AMA NSW. He predominantly uses LinkedIn and Instagram to share health relevant messages and inform the public-on-public health issues. He focuses on using social media professionally and does not have much of a personal presence. Michael's view is that social media needs more doctors bringing evidence to the public as a bulwark against influencers targeting the vulnerable.

 Paul Komesaroff is a physician, medical researcher and philosopher at Monash University in Melbourne, where he is a Professor of Medicine. He is a practising clinician, specialising in the field of endocrinology. 

After decades treating the downstream effects of poverty and heat in remote NT clinics, Simon came to a blazing realisation: it’s not just the patient, it’s the home. This epiphany sparked Wilya Janta, a housing innovation project rooted in Aboriginal knowledge, community design, and the unshakable belief that health begins with culturally safe, climate-proof homes. 

A long-time NT resident with a background in engineering, residential construction, and health policy, Simon now splits his time between writing grants, wrangling funding bodies, and championing a future where doctors don’t just treat illness—they help build the damn houses.

Laura is the Head of the Advisory & Assurance for Fujitsu Cyber APAC. She is the Canberra Cyber Hubs inaugural “Change Maker” award winner, was AISA’s 2021 Cyber Professional of the Year, is Harvard Business School Alumni, was a cofounder of the 25th fastest growing Technology company in Australia and AWSA Australia and Best Place to Work in Security in 2023 and then sold her newly founded cyber business to Fujitsu Australia. Laura’s career to date has been focused on building enduring and diverse cyber security capability within Government and Health Care sectors.

Professor Tony Lawler is the Deputy Secretary of the Health Products Regulation Group. As Chief Medical Officer, Tony is the key medical advisor to the Secretary and Minister of Health.

Prior to joining the Department of Health and Aged Care in June 2023, Tony was Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Secretary – Clinical Quality, Regulation and Accreditation with the Tasmanian Department of Health. This role included providing leadership to health professionals, system-wide clinical governance oversight, and the regulation of private health service establishments. 

Tony studied medicine at the University of Tasmania and is now Professor in Health Services at the university.

Anna Clark is an experienced consultant, coach, and educator with over 17 years’ experience in designing and developing professional development and education programs across universities and business schools, and for the school education and health sectors. Anna holds a PhD in social psychology, has taught organisational behaviour, communication skills and leadership development in MBA and executive education programs. She currently provides leadership coaching and leadership development programs to help leaders at all levels transition to and thrive in their leadership roles. Anna is a Level 1 IECL Certified Coach, with 100s of hours of experience proving tailored leadership coaching and leadership development programs to Doctors. Anna also writes regularly for AMA Victoria, publishing on leadership topics highly relevant to the complex care and collaborative leadership required in healthcare settings. Anna holds a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psych, with Hons) and PhD in social psychology and held academic positions in psychology and organisational behaviour departments in the Netherlands, France, and Australia.

Mardi O’Keefe is a senior career and organisational development specialist with more than 20 years’ experience supporting individuals, teams and organisations to perform at their best. Drawing on deep expertise in leadership development, coaching, and group dynamics, Mardi works with professionals and teams to strengthen capability, navigate complexity and build high-functioning, sustainable workplaces.

As a Level 2 IECL-certified organisational coach, she has coached hundreds of senior professionals and doctors—from interns to senior executives—across all specialties and stages of career. Mardi has spent the past ten years building AMA Victoria’s professional development and careers service, designing targeted leadership, career and high-performance coaching programs for the medical profession. Her work spans individual coaching, team development, program design, and organisational consulting.

Mardi holds a BSc (Psychology) and a Master of Applied Science (Organisation Dynamics). 

Working closely with his clients to better understand their personal and financial circumstances, Stuart's aim is to help clients achieve their goals. Drawing on years of experience, Stuart enjoys explaining and implementing wealth creation strategies such as effective tax structuring and debt reduction whilst not losing sight of the important objective of protecting those hard earned assets. Stuart takes a holistic approach with his clients, allowing him to consider many aspects of clients' finances including their practice/business arrangements, investment strategies and retirement planning (including superannuation) and family considerations. Stuart has been with Cutcher & Neale since 2009 and is a Partner of our Specialist Medical Services division, providing specialised accounting and financial services to both medical and dental professionals, in addition to providing specialist advisory services to private clients and businesses

Dr Sarah Mahoney is a Senior Medical Adviser with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. She has more than 30 years clinical experience in a variety of settings including rural and urban general practice, emergency medicine and early detection of breast cancer. She has an extensive background in clinical education, and was an Associate Professor and Academic Coordinator of the Onkaparinga Clinical Education Program in the Flinders University MD program, followed by Subject Coordinator in Principles of Clinical Practice at the University of Melbourne.

Professor Guy Maddern is the RP Jepson Professor of Surgery at the University of Adelaide.   He is also Director of Research at the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Director, Surgical Research and Evaluation (incorporating ASERNIP-S) of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

The evaluation of new technologies, and in particular surgical technologies, is another area of focus and interest.  Under his supervision, ASERNIP-S has been responsible for assessing these technologies and is recognised as the premier surgical innovation assessment group.

He is currently Chair of the Health Technology Assessment International Asia Policy Forum.

Associate Professor Jeremy Woolley is the director of the Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide. He is approaching 30 years of experience in road safety research across multiple areas including infrastructure, intelligent transport systems, traffic modelling, enforcement, regulation, speed management, heavy vehicles, countermeasure evaluation and public education campaigns.

He is actively engaged in knowledge transfer activities among practitioners, road agencies, local government and other road safety stakeholders. Jeremy has been influential on road safety policy and has been involved with the development of numerous strategies and action plans nationally over the past 20 years.

In 2017, Jeremy co-chaired an inquiry into the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020. The other co-chair to the inquiry was Dr John Crozier from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. The final report was delivered to Federal Parliamentarians in September 2018, a year in which he was also made a Fellow of the Australasian College of Road Safety.

Jeremy currently leads a group of around 20 talented and capable transdisciplinary researchers at CASR and is keen to conduct work that fills knowledge gaps and provides capability in relation to the virtual elimination of serious harm from use of the road transport system. CASR possesses unique insights on road safety from its crash investigation, vehicle testing and data analysis activities and is privileged to work with a great diversity of organisations and individuals seeking better road safety responses and outcomes.

Joined SAPOL in 1998 after serving in the Navy as a Submariner for 12 years.

Have worked in a variety of areas during my SAPOL career which include Uniform Patrols, Highway Patrol, Media Unit, Aircraft Services, Communications Shift Manager and District Duty Officer.

I have been the Officer in Charge of the Traffic Services Branch Investigation Section for two years.  The Investigation Section includes: Major Crash Investigation Section; Heavy Vehicle and Escort Section; Road Safety Section.

Originally from Daylesford in Victoria, I have lived in several country towns in Victoria due to my father’s job with the Forestry Commission. Completed by secondary schooling at Assumption College Kilmore.

Nicole Sykes is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Medical Association (South Australia), bringing over 30 years of experience in the health sector. Since stepping into the role in 2023, Nicole has applied her background in executive leadership and clinical care to the advocacy space, demonstrating how strong stakeholder relationships, clear objectives, and practical strategy can drive meaningful progress.

Her recent advocacy efforts have included leading AMA(SA)’s engagement with the South Australian Government on the complex issue of medical payroll tax, as well as convening the Access to Care Round Table—a collaborative forum aimed at improving primary care access and reducing pressure on the hospital system.

Nicole’s professional career spans senior executive roles across private health and government sectors, underpinned by a commitment to people-centred, purpose-driven organisations. She brings operational and strategic expertise, with a proven record of aligning clinical excellence and business performance to achieve measurable impact.

She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and contributes to broader sector governance through her roles with the Lifetime Support Authority, Return to Work SA and the Bedford Group.

With a strong belief in collaborative, solutions-focused advocacy, Nicole brings a practical and strategic perspective to the national panel discussions on advocating for health system reform.

Dr Sarah Whitelaw is an Emergency Medicine Physician working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, one of the 2 major trauma centers in Melbourne. Her interest in public and preventative health advocacy started with role as Australian Medical Student Association President and has continued over the last 30 years through participation at local, state and federal health department levels and state and federal branches of the AMA. She currently sits on AMA Federal council as the Emergency Medicine Representative craft group representative and chairs the federal AMA EIDC. She is the AMA representative to the Commonwealth Medical Workforce Advisory Collaborative and to the Advancing Women in Healthcare Leadership national partnership forum. She is a board member of the Victorian Doctors Health Program and a member of AMAV council and ACEM Health System Reform Committee.

Her interest in preventing road trauma was sparked by her experiences as a primary retrieval doctor with Careflight (now Lifeflight QLD), and she became concerned about e-scooter injuries when the Royal Melbourne Hospital experienced a huge surge in injuries associated with the introduction of shared e-scooter hire schemes in Melbourne in Feb. 2022. She has since been active in facilitating RMH, AMA Victoria and AMA federal advocacy on this issue, and has presented at the ANZ Trauma Society annual meeting and RACS trauma symposium.

Steve is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, and health economist based in Canberra. He is Chief Medical Officer of Avant Mutual. Steve also is Professor at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health and a member of the NHMRC. He is a VMO at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children. 

Dr Marisa Magiros is a GP in Canberra, Medical Director ACT Drs4Drs and Director of Education and Training for International Medical Graduates (DET IMG) at Canberra Hospital. She is also an ACT AMA Board Member, ACT representative for RACGP NSW/ACT Faculty, teaches clinical skills to ANU medical students, RACGP CCE examiner and provides standard of care advice to MDAN. Marisa is passionate about doctor’s health and wellbeing, changing medical culture, women’s health, clinical reasoning and reducing diagnostic errors. Marisa has worked in many different settings including as an international cruise ship doctor for 2.5 years.

Varo is a queer non-binary health and social policy leader in South Australia. They are the Chief Executive Officer at the South Australian Rainbow Advocacy Alliance, the peak body representing the interests of LGBTIQA+ communities in South Australia. They’re also the Peer Advisor supporting Southern Adelaide Local Health Network’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit to develop the State’s gender affirming surgical service. Varo has extensive experience leading complex policy reforms in health and human services, including the implementation of voluntary assisted dying in South Australia. They are currently Chair of the State LGBTIQA+ Minister’s Advisory Council and a member of the South Australian Suicide Prevention Council.

Associate Professor Nicola Dean is an academic plastic surgeon at Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia. Her early medical and surgical training was in the UK . On migrating to Australia in 1998, she completed a PhD in the field of post-mastectomy breast reconstruction.

Following completion of the RACS training program in plastic surgery in Adelaide, she set up a dedicated breast reconstruction service in Flinders Medical Centre (a public teaching hospital). Her research focus is on PROMs-measured outcomes from surgery and clinical efficacy. She has supervised six PhDs on this theme over the areas of breast reconstruction, breast reduction, hand surgery and abdominoplasty for rectus diastasis of parity.

Dr Dean’s organisational roles include being immediate past president of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons at a time when there were significant changes in regulation of cosmetic surgery and international representative on the American Board of Plastic Surgeons. She has served on the editorial boards of a number of peer-reviewed journals and the Oxford Textbook of Plastic Surgery.

Understanding access issues for those seeking functional plastic surgery procedures with established clinical efficacy is a key theme of Dr Dean’s clinical, academic and organisational work.  She chaired the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinical Committee for the MBS review and serves on the Continuous Improvement Committee of ASPS/Commonwealth Department of Health Medical Specialist Services Branch. Areas examined include breast reduction surgery services for women with macromastia, post-mastectomy breast reconstruction, plastic surgery services in Darwin and abdominoplasty for women with rectus diastasis of parity.  Her current focus is on access for individuals with gender incongruence seeking surgical procedures.

Melody Ahfock (she/her) is a penultimate year medical student at the University of Queensland  and the current President of the Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA) — the peak representative body for Australia’s 18,500 medical students, committed to informing, connecting, and representing its members.

Melody is deeply passionate about equitable access to high-quality medical education, and works to ensure that all students, regardless of background, are supported to thrive. AMSA advocates for systemic change, empowering the medical student voice, and fosters collaboration across the medical education landscape, and beyond.

Adelaide born and raised Dr.Monika Moy has thirty years of experience in general practice. Her interest in road safety was piqued at an early age by her safety conscious father. Since 2021 she has been the chair of the AMA SA Road Safety Committee which is the only committee solely dedicated to road safety within the AMA in Australia. Her particular passion is promoting a safe environment for pedestrians and cyclists.

Outside of general practice, she worked for 14 years on the after-hours roster of Yarrow Place Rape and Sexual Assault service, spent time raising her 2 now adult children and currently sits as a sessional panel member on the SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal for medical disciplinary cases.

Dr Aashray Gupta is a surgical registrar based in NSW. He is completing a PhD funded by the NHMRC. Aashray has an interest in health systems research outcomes including digital health, and has been praised in the national media for improving hospital bedflow and reducing access block. He is part of the team who developed the Adelaide Score, an artificial intelligence-backed system which supports clinical decision making, demonstrating reduced length of stay, hospital readmissions and a projected $10 million dollar annual cost saving at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.

Professor Kidd is a highly respected medical leader known for his significant contributions to public health and primary health care, in Australia and internationally.

He has extensive experience as a general practitioner, primary care researcher, educator and academic and has served as president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the World Organization of Family Doctors.

Most recently, Professor Kidd has been the Professor of Global Primary Care and Future Health Systems at the University of Oxford, and Director of the International Centre for Future Health Systems at the University of New South Wales.

Professor Kidd served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Principal Medical Advisor with the Department of Health and Aged Care during the COVID-19 pandemic making a significant contribution to the national primary care response.

Dr. Chris Moy is a General Practitioner from Adelaide with long-standing involvement in advocacy and policy development in the areas of digital health, aged care, and end-of-life care.

He previously served as Chair of the Federal AMA Ethics and Medico-legal Committee, AMA South Australia President, and Federal AMA Vice President – the latter during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, his knowledge of health systems, ethics, and the intersection of health policy and politics were put to use when he was placed in notable political advocacy and media roles.