Andrew Short

Assistant Commissioner, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Andrew Short was appointed Assistant Commissioner (AC), State Emergency Service (SES) in July 2019. Previously Andrew operated as the AC, Human Capital Management, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES), for the period 2016-2019. Andrew's career in emergency management within Queensland spans over 35 years. Following the period between 1986 and 1995 where he operated as a frontline firefighter, he commenced his first senior role in 1996 at Inspector level within the then QFRA, where he was responsible for regional operational planning within South Eastern Region. In 2000 he was promoted to Superintendent within Strategic Policy and Planning - heading up the organisation's strategic performance and assessment capability. His promotion to Chief Superintendent then occurred in 2009, as the Director of the School of Fire and Emergency Services, with this role accountabilities including operating as the CEO of the QFRS then QFES Registered Training Organisation. Andrew's interest in how people best function in support of organisational objectives is central to his motivation and focus in undertaking the role of an AC. Andrew has a Master of Leadership and Management tertiary qualification, as well as post graduate qualifications in applied management and executive leadership, and in 2017 completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course. For his organisational commitment and efforts, in 2007 Andrew was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) for a wide range of operational and business improvements. In 2019, Andrew was awarded the Commissioner’s Distinguished Service Medal for his work in reforming organisational culture and workplace conduct, as part of creating a contemporary human capital lifecycle within QFES. He is also an active Police-Citizens Youth Club volunteer, having a strong interest in youth development. Andrew is humbled by the generosity and commitment of QFES volunteers who consistently seek to ‘give back’ to their community. As the AC for SES, Andrew sees his responsibility as enabling and supporting the volunteers in the important contribution they make to Queensland communities. To this end, Andrew is seeking to help build on the exceptional work that is already being performed in QFES and the SES. Andrew is married with two adult children, and he and his wife Julianne enjoy travelling the world in pursuit of new scuba diving experiences. Andrew uses his diving as a means of gaining respite from those work occasions where people walk in and ask, “have you got a minute to discuss a tricky issue”? He also enjoys the fact that iPhones don’t do too well 20 metres underwater.

Chief Superintendent Kenneth Murphy

NSW State Emergency Services Experienced Executive, broad understanding of the emergency management sector. Extensive crisis leadership experience leading through large scale high visibility emergencies and other organisational challenges. Strong advocate for sharing the knowledge and experience gained in the management of large organisations that deal with firefighting, emergencies and disaster events,  helping to improve the performance and results for other emergency organisations.
Leadership  of FRNSW NSW COVID-19 Incident Management Team, providing leadership and guidance throughout the  pandemic. Accountable for determining  FRNSW prevention, preparation , respondence and recover from COVID-19. Ensuring continuity of service, meeting government and community expectations, ensuring business continuity and the delivery of emergency services.

Mr Des Hosie

National Operations Advisor at Fire and Emergency New Zealand (NZ)

Des Hosie is a career firefighter and 40-year veteran of the NZ Fire Service and Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Currently the National Operations Advisor for Safety, Continuous Improvement and Lessons Management based in Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s National Headquarters - Des has extensive operational firefighting and rescue experience.

Through the AFAC partnership, Des has contributed as a lessons management practitioner on a number of major reviews in both New Zealand and Australia.

He leads a Lessons Management Community of Practice in New Zealand called LessoNZ. Its function is to share lessons from incidents and exercises across the All of Government, Emergency Services, Defence, and key infrastructure sectors.

Collin Sivalingum

State Emergency Services Manager, Red Cross

Bio coming soon.

Mark Layson

Doctoral researcher, Chaplain, Charles Sturt University, NSW CWHS, NSW Ambulance

Mark is a former police officer and firefighter, who has been serving as an ambulance chaplain for 10 years, now alongside his therapy dog Wallace. He also brings 20 years of pastoral experience with children, families and the elderly as an ordained pastor and aged care chaplain. His lived experience as a first responderd, along with past research interests in how moral frameworks are made, manipulated and broken sits behind his current doctoral research. Whilst continuing as an ambulance chaplain at an Aeromedical Unit, he is completing doctoral research at Charles Sturt University in partnership with the NSW Centre for WHS. The research is developing a holistic biopsychosocial-spiritual framework that enables primary preventative strategies to address moral suffering. Mark also serves on the Human Ethics Committee for the Australian Institute of Family Studies, and in his spare time Mark enjoys triathlon, exploring the moral ambiguities of parenting three teenagers and the violence of middle-aged water polo.

Samantha Hodges

Military Psychologist, Australian Army

Bio coming soon.

Associate Professor Michelle Villeneuve

Deputy Director, Centre for Disability Research & Policy. University of Sydney

Associate Professor Michelle Villeneuve is the Deputy Director at The University of Sydney Impact Centre for Disability Research and Policy. Michelle leads the Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DIDRR) research program (www.collaborating4inclusion.org).

Michelle has over 20 years of experience working in regions of conflict and natural hazard disaster to develop community-led services and re-build opportunities for people with disability, including those acquired by human conflict and natural disasters. Michelle’s international program of research brings together health, community, disability, government and emergency services to establish cross-sector DIDRR policy, tools, and practice through co-production. Her partnership research keeps people with disability and their support needs at the centre of development and change.

Dr Claire Cooper

Director, Policy and Planning, Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority ESTA 000

Bio coming soon.

Sarah Boniface

Emergency Management Specialist, Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group

My name is Sarah Boniface. I am a former Detective of the New Zealand Police having spent 17 years in this role. I had an interesting and varied Police career which ultimately encompassed people and the communities they lived in. I am now an Civil Defence Emergency Management Specialist based in the Far North of New Zealand, otherwise referred to as the winterless North. The core part of my current role again encompasses working with communities and partnering with Iwi to improve their resilience pre and post disasters. I have been in this role for 3 years and during this time New Zealand has faced many adverse events which has highlighted that the community really is the basis for the response. I have recently completed the Response and Recovery Leadership Development Programme and I am passionate about identifying practical ideas to break through existing silos using my strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Doug Caulfield FAIES

National Director and Vice President, AIES Victoria

Doug has been involved in human resource management and, for the past 35 years, emergency management in the Gippsland region of Victoria. His experience covers operational, theoretical and training aspects across all dimensions of emergency management practice.

He is passionate about Emergency Management and was recognized in the Australia Day Honours list in 2010 with the award of the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community of Gippsland through a range of ex-service, sporting and local government organizations