Speakers

Shelley Ware

Daring Greatly, Striving Valiantly

Shelley Ware is a proud Yankunytjatjara and Wirangu woman from Adelaide, South Australia, who resides in Melbourne. Shelley is an accomplished and well sought-after MC and keynote presenter to corporations and events, espousing her personal journey, perspective on females in sport, racism, Aboriginal issues, and also childhood education. Shelley is an experienced teacher who is passionate about embedding Aboriginal history and culture into classrooms around Australia.

Shelley is a regular corporate speaker to large and small groups. Speaking about the impacts of racism, AFL, diversity in the workplace, females in sport, embedding Aboriginal History and Culture into classrooms and reconciliation, she is a dynamic and powerful presenter.

Since 2012, Shelley has worked in the media as a radio and television presenter on both local and national AFLM and AFLW live football news shows. She is a member of the Outersanctum Podcast Show and Broad Radio and writes an AFL column fortnightly for the Koori Mail.

Shelley is a member of the Carlton FC and her local Council RAP committee and a VIS board member. Shelley has become one of the most respected and recognised female presenters of AFLM and AFLW football in the country. She was announced the 2019 Essendon Women’s Network ‘Football Woman of the Year.’

Shelley has co-written the national curriculum through Culture is Life for teachers and ABC Education for The Australian Wars, The Australian Dream and Archie Roach – Stolen Generation. For the fourth year in a row, she has written the national primary curriculum for NAIDOC week with SBS Learn and in 2022 is writing for both primary and secondary years.

Also an experienced teacher, Shelley is passionate about embedding Aboriginal history and culture into classrooms around Australia. Shelley writes curriculum on the national level and she consults closely with staff and leadership at a school level through professional development days and staff meetings. She also visits schools, running workshops and lessons in Aboriginal art, history and culture in classrooms around Australia. Shelley specialises in literacy programs for primary school children, both publicly and privately.

Dr Todd Fernando

From Inclusion to Belonging

Dr Todd Fernando is a descendant of the Kalarie peoples of the Wiradjuri nation, and identifies as queer with pronouns he/him.

He is the Outgoing Victorian LGBTIQA+ Commissioner, serving in the role since 2021. With a background as an intersectional change consultant and a respected public intellectual, Todd brings a wealth of experience in reforming social policy and enhancing cultural safety in both public and private sectors throughout Australia.

Current Work:

Todd is also an accomplished diversity & inclusion consultant and public intellectual with extensive research experience working with both First Nations and LGBTIQ+ communities. Todd has expertise in reforming social policy and cultural safety frameworks in public and private sectors across Australia. Todd is recognised as a strategic thought leader, with a commitment to improving outcomes and opportunities for all Australians.

Cr. Linda Scott

Forging Future Libraries

Councillor Linda Scott GAICD is an experienced non-executive director and local government leader, currently serving as the President of the Australian Local Government Association. Linda represented Australia’s 537 local governments on the National Reform Federation Council alongside the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers, and now represents local governments on the National Cabinet and the Council of Federal Financial Relations, where required, as well as on a range of intergovernmental bodies including the Joint Council on Closing The Gap and the Meeting of Infrastructure and Transport Ministers.

Linda is an accomplished non-executive Board Director and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is the Chair of CareSuper, an award-winning industry superannuation fund with $20 billion under management, and as a Director of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI). She also serves on a range of Government boards and advisory groups, including the NSW Environmental Trust and CSIRO’s Ending Plastic Waste Mission.

Linda is also a Labor Councillor at the City of Sydney, first elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2016 and 2021. She has served as Deputy Lord Mayor and on the Council’s committees, including the Central Sydney Planning Committee. During her time on the City of Sydney Council, Linda has successfully advocated for more affordable housing and green spaces, increased early education and care centres, new skate parks, and boosted city funding for climate change action.

Linda was the President of Local Government NSW from 2017 to 2021, having served as a board member since 2015. As President, Linda successfully secured $8 billion in local government funding, including the doubling of library funding for NSW local government libraries, led a state-wide campaign to save recycling and successfully advocated for fairer and more transparent electoral funding laws. She was the first women to lead this organisation.

Linda volunteers as a mentor for the University of Sydney Dalyell Program, raises funds for homelessness services in the annual Vinnies CEO Sleepout and is a Justice of the Peace.

Linda graduated from UNSW with the Bachelor of Science (Psychology) (Hons 1) and is an established media commentator, regularly appearing on panel shows such as The Drum (ABC) and the Paul Murray Program (Sky).

Linda lives in inner Sydney with her husband and two sons, and loves live music, art, bushwalking and swimming.

Dr Marie-Louise Ayres

Raising Voices

Dr Marie-Louise Ayres FAHA was appointed Director-General of the National Library Australia in March 2017, having joined the Library in 2002. She has worked in research libraries for nearly 30 years, after completing a PhD in Australian Literature at the Australian National University.

Dr Ayres is a Director of National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA), having previously been a leader and participant in many NSLA projects, including NED, the National eDeposit service that was jointly developed by Australia’s national, state and territory libraries. She is the Chair of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries.

Dr Ayres is an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Ben Bowen

Raising Voices

Wiradjuri man Ben Bowen is the CEO of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. A respected figure in the nonprofit sector and has dedicated his career to advocating for Indigenous literacy and education across Australia.

For the last 15 years, Ben has worked for and with First Nations people in the not-for-profit sector, building programs, developing strategy, sourcing funding, collaborating with partners and shaping thought leadership within the university sector. 

As a former professional athlete, he understands the power of teamwork and believes in leading from within the team, nurturing a sense of circular responsibility and accountability, each person to the other. He believes that we are lifelong learners and is passionate about early childhood education and the power of literacy.  

Under his leadership, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation has made tremendous progress in promoting greater access to books and educational resources for Indigenous Communities to map out their own literacy aspirations.