Speakers for the 2nd Pandemic Influenza and Workplace Infectious Diseases Summit

Leanne Rich

Leanne Rich is the Program Manager – Standards for general practices for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. She is part of a team that is responsible for developing Standards that GPs use to maintain quality and safety of patient care. She also leads the development of tools and education for GPs and nurses, particularly in the areas of infection control and pandemic response.

Currently the RACGP is seeking to build stronger links with the business community to promote a mutual understanding of effective infection control measures.

Leanne has undergraduate and post graduate qualifications in nursing, midwifery and maternal and child health, with a strong emphasis on community health.’

Dr Colin Johnston
Dr Colin S Johnston is the Chief Medical Adviser for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
He graduated from the University of Sydney MBBS and also has a Grad Dip Eng from the University of New South Wales and ACCAM at Monash University.

He was a Medical Officer for the Australian Health Department Quarantine Service for four years, a Medical Planning Officer at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney for seven years and a Medical Officer in the Royal Australian Medical Corps LT-Col (R.L.) for 22 years.

Beth Bint

Beth has been a registered nurse for 23 years and has been working in the field of infection prevention and control for 15 years.  She completed a Graduate Certificate in Infection Control in 1991 and has been employed as an Infection Control Coordinator in a number of facilities in NSW including tertiary referral hospitals, rehabilitation and aged care facilities, prior to moving to South Australia in 2006. 

In March 2006 Beth moved to South Australia where she has been working in the Department of Health as an Infection Control Project Officer for Pandemic Influenza.  During this time she has coordinated the production of the Department of Health and Ageing DVD: “The Safe Use of Personal Protective Equipment for Pandemic Influenza”, the State-wide respirator fit testing project, developed a number of educational resources, and coordinated the development of the “SA Interim Infection Control Guidelines for the Management of Pandemic Influenza in Healthcare and Community Settings” and the “South Australian Human Disease Hazard Plan for Pandemic Influenza”.

Beth is the Vice-President of the South Australian Infection Control Association (ICASA) and is a Committee member and Publicity Officer for the Australian Infection Control Association (AICA) Executive.

Theo Antonopoulos

Theo Antonopoulos has worked within the pharmaceutical industry for over 8 years.  With a Bachelor in Health Sciences and a Master’s in Business Administration, Theo is well placed to help organisations prepare their businesses for an influenza pandemic. 

He currently works for GlaxoSmithKline as Associate Brand Manager Hospital Brands, in particular, focussing on antivirals and their role during an influenza pandemic.

Bob Hayes

Bob Hayes is Principal of Hayes Risk Management Pty Ltd, a specialist consulting service in the areas of business continuity management, Pandemic planning, risk management, physical security, emergency control and associated training.

During 2007/08, Bob worked with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to completely redevelop its Business Continuity Plan, Pandemic Plan and crisis management arrangements (based on an organisation-wide Business Impact Analysis) and implemented APRA’s practical Pandemic preparations.

Previously, Bob was the Reserve Bank of Australia’s head of security and emergency control for 18 years, responsible for development, coordination and implementation of the Bank’s contingency planning and crisis management arrangements.

From 1997 to 2006, Bob also lectured in Risk Management and Security at the University of Western Sydney (UWS), including units in Business Continuity Management. 

Terry Gorman

Terry Gorman is a Certified Occupational Hygienist, currently employed by 3M Australia. He is involved in the assessment, testing, specification and recommendation of respiratory and hearing protection equipment.

Terry holds a Masters Degree in Safety Science (UNSW) and has worked in the safety field for 20 years. He has held safety related positions with several government organisations (CSIRO, ANSTO, AAEC) and carried out Occupational Hygiene consulting work across a broad range of industries.

He is a current member of the Australian Standard Committee for Respiratory Protection standards AS/NZS1715 &1716. He is also an expert delegate for Standards Australia in the development of the ISO (International Standards Organisation) Respiratory Protection Standards currently being developed.

Lawrence Cox

Lawrence Cox is the current Head of Business Continuity Management Strategy, Group Security for ANZ. Lawrence previously held the position of Head of Business Continuity and Crisis Management at ANZ for 5 years before the role was split in mid 2007 between Strategy and Operations.

Lawrence has been employed by ANZ for over 35 years during which time he has held a wide variety of Senior Management roles across the various Risk Management disciplines including Credit, Fraud, Litigation and Operational Risks, having represented ANZ on a number of specialist Industry and Government working groups and taskforces. During this time Lawrence gained valuable experience in Business Continuity Management, through numerous rural and business reconstructions and asset management workouts, as a Regional Business Continuity Coordinator and as the Business Continuity and Year 2000 Director for ANZ's Centralised Loan Operations across Australia and New Zealand. 

Lawrence is currently the Joint Chair (BCP & CM) of the Allfinance Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Forum, is a founding member of the Banking & Finance Infrastructure Assurance Advisory Group (BFAG), the Australian Bankers Association (ABA) Avian Influenza Working Group and the Continuity Forum Special Interest User Forum.
Lawrence also represents ANZ and the Banking & Finance Sector on the Government’s National Organisational Resilience Working Group, Pandemic Community of Interest and the tasking prioritisation subgroup for the Critical Infrastructure Protection Modelling and Analysis (CIPMA) Program. 

Dr Reg Butler

Reg Butler was born and raised in North/Central Queensland. He graduated as a veterinarian in 1982, working in veterinary practices in Queensland, NSW and overseas. In 1987 he joined the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, in what is now the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and moved to Canberra in 1991.

Since 2002 he has worked in the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department, including on prevention, preparedness and response to emergency animal diseases. He currently manages the Veterinary Public Health Program, providing policy and scientific advice on zoonotic diseases. Reg is married to Jean and has 4 children.

Jason Thomas

Director Jason Thomas is a corporate communications consultant and government relations specialist.   A former campaign strategist and advisor to senior political figures in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, until recently Jason was the communications manager for one of Australia’s largest healthcare companies.  Prior to that Jason managed group public affairs for a major Australian-based pharmaceutical group.

Jason has undertaken complex issues management and consultancy for clients in the health, primary products, energy and financial services sectors.  He also provides government relations consultancy services at the Federal and State levels across Australia and maintains high level relationships with both sides of politics.

Jason was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship in 2005 for his efforts in initiating a Sri Lankan post-tsunami relief effort, and since 2005 he has delivered more than $2.5 million in donated medical equipment to Sri Lanka.  He holds a Masters degree in political philosophy and he was a nominee for Australian Citizen of the Year in 2006.

Michelle Whitehead

Michelle Whitehead (B Occ Thy, MBA) is a member of Comcare’s Leadership Team and co Director of Prevention and Injury Management Services within the Prevention and Rehabilitation Branch of Comcare.

Michelle has been with Comcare for 18 months having come from a background of Occupational Health and Rehabilitation in both the Government and private sectors.

In her role, Michelle is committed to achieving Comcare’s vision of “Australia’s Safest Workplaces”, with a particular focus on working in partnership with employers and employees as they create safe and healthy workplaces. The Comcare scheme covers 400,000 employees across a range of industries and has achieved the lowest injury incidence rate in Australia for the last five reported years.

Sue Powell

Sue has worked for CPSU as an Industrial Officer for nearly 20 years mainly negotiating wages and conditions of employment for members.
She currently has responsibility for Occupational Health and Safety issues for CPSU members and her primary function is to provide expert advice on OHS issues. 

Sue maintains an understanding of current OHS and Workers Compensation legislation and prepares CPSU submissions to Senate Committees and Enquiries on OHS, compensation, rehabilitation and the Equine Influenza Enquiry.  She assists in the development of training material for CPSU staff and members and participates in the ACTU OHS and Workers Compensation Committees. 

From May, Sue will be a Commissioner on the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission representing the ACTU.

Patricia Coward

Patricia is Principal Adviser (Occupational Health) and Workplace Health and Safety Inspector with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, Department of Employment & Industrial Relations. 

Patricia specialises in the management of occupational infectious disease risks across all industry sectors.  She is a contributing author to the CCH publications Australian Maser OHS & Environment Guide (2nd edn) and Guide to Managing OHS Risks in the Health Care Industry.  She is a member of the Australian Infection Control Association Inc. and sits on various infectious disease committees.

Val Smyth

Val has over 30 years of experience in the health industry much of this in acute areas of nursing.  Her qualifications include adult and paediatric nursing, emergency management, adult education and management.  Following her migration with her husband and 3 children from the UK in 1989 Val worked for 10 years at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital where she held the position of Nursing Unit Head of the Paediatric Emergency Department.

Since 1999 Val has been working in the Department of Health and her portfolios have continued to include emergency services.  In October 2005, Val moved into the Emergency Management Unit as the Manager of the Pandemic Influenza preparedness planning section a role she continued until April 2007 when the role was expanded to include Emergency Management and she is now the Manager of the overall unit.

Christine Andrews

Christine has had a varied and interesting career in South Australia, initially graduating as a high school home economics teacher, and currently working as Senior Project Officer in Emergency Management/Pandemic Influenza with the South Australian Department of Health.

In the interim, she has lectured at the tertiary level in fashion, clothing and textiles, and in resource management; worked as a community educator at the National Heart Foundation establishing branches of the Foundation in country areas; as Education Programs Manager with the AIDS Council, and as State Manager with the Migrant Resource Centre.  Whilst holding these positions she also returned to university, gaining further qualifications in education and social administration.

In late 1997 Christine commenced work with the Department of Health.  Her portfolio areas included 3 years in Intergovernment Relations and 5 years in maternity services planning which included the development of the Statewide GP Obstetric Shared Care Program, review of the SA Pregnancy Record and developing policies for ‘Labour and Birth in Water’ and ‘Planned Birth at Home’. 

When Christine was approached in late 2005 by a close colleague, the Manager of the newly established Pandemic Influenza Unit, Christine was eager to take up the opportunity to work with her in the challenging area of pandemic influenza planning and preparation, one that has been both professionally and personally stimulating and rewarding.

Rodney Mackintosh

Rodney is the Manager of the Practice Support Team with the Melbourne General Practice Network, coordinating programs and services aimed at supporting GPs and practice staff address and improve the health outcomes of patients in their local community.

The Melbourne General Practice Network delivers services to over 150 practices and 450 GPs across the CBD / inner city suburbs of Melbourne and collaborates with 5 major hospitals, 3 primary care partnerships (area health services) and 6 community health services in coordinating and integrating local initiatives.

Rodney has previously worked with Sports Medicine Australia – Victoria as the Safer Sport Program Manager and with the Victorian AIDS Council as the Operations / Activities Coordinator of the Positive Living Centre.

Theresa Ly

Theresa is currently a third year medical student at the University of Sydney, after previously graduating from from B Sci (Adv). Theresa recently returned from an internship Geneva, Switzerland with the World Health Organisation with the Ethics, Trade and Human Rights department. Her interests include bioethics, international and public health policy and the developing world. She looks forward to completing her studies and further travel!

Melanie Taylor

Mel Taylor is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist (UK). Her main research experience is in the areas of human factors and public health. Mel joined the Science of Mental Health and Adversity Unit (SciMHA) at UWS as a Senior Research Fellow in February 2007.

Since joining SciMHA, she has worked in the areas of population response to potential future threats (pandemic influenza, terrorism, and global warming) and the psycho-social response of first responders and the public to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism or accident.

More recently she conducted a national survey on the impacts of equine influenza on the social, emotional, and well-being of horse owners and those involved in the horse-industry.

Dr Ian Barr

Dr Ian Barr is the Deputy Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza located in Melbourne, Australia.  The Centre is one of 4 WHO Influenza Collaborating Centres for Influenza in the world, the others are located at NIMR in London, CDC in Atlanta and the NIID in Tokyo.  These Centres are supported by the WHO Animal Influenza Centre at St Judes Childrens Hospital in Memphis. 

The Centre is also one of the 9 WHO H5 Reference Laboratories which are used to confirm human infections and to monitor H5N1 outbreaks that have occurred  in wild bird and poultry since 2003.  It will shortly relocate to new premises at VIDRL in North Melbourne.

The Centre plays an active role in regional influenza surveillance and performs detailed analysis of influenza viruses including full genome sequencing.  The Centre currently analyses over 2500 influenza virus isolates annually and performs sequencing on over 1000 individual influenza genes from these isolates.

In addition the Centre performs antiviral drug sensitivity testing to ensure drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza are still effective against influenza viruses. Other activities include participation in WHO influenza vaccine formulation selection decisions (2/year), testing of influenza vaccines and pandemic planning with various state and federal bodies.

The Centre also has an active research program which includes collaborative studies on migratory birds coming into Australia to monitor them for avian influenza including H5N1, siRNA studies and work on improving influenza vaccines

Dr Barr has had over 30 years experience in Research and Development both in academic institutes and at CSL Limited on various topics such as vaccine development, mucosal immunology, adjuvants, cancer therapeutics, immune system development and diagnostics. Over the past 8 years he has been working solely on influenza at the WHO Centre. Dr Barr is also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Science, School of Applied Science, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.

Chairs for the 2nd Pandemic Influenza and Workplace Infectious Diseases Summit

Athol Yates

Athol Yates specialises in analysing policy and programs related to domestic national security, principally critical infrastructure protection, the protection of the built environment, and harnessing industry and research communities to enhance the security of Australia .

His current research areas of interest include:

• capability development in domestic security agencies and in a whole-of nation context
• the nexus between security, business continuity, emergency management and safety
• non-traditional threats - influenza pandemic, climate change and
• whole-of government and whole-of nation coordination
• critical infrastructure protection policy
• mass gathering and precinct security policy
• domestic national security arrangements and coordination
• public-private partnerships in security
• the role played by the private sector in enhancing national security

Athol's qualifications include a Bachelor of Engineering, GradDip Soviet Studies, and Masters of Public Policy. He is the editor of the National Security Practice Notes , and editor of the 3 volume pandemic influenza history series.

His recent publications include:

• National security capability development for non-traditional security threats
• Labor's Flagged National and Homeland Security Principles, Policies and Initiatives
• 2007 E-Security Agenda
• The Future of Private Security January 2007
• Business survival and the influenza pandemic: Essential preparations for critical infrastructure & businesses
• The beginning of the end for risk management?
• Community involvement in national security: An essential but difficult task

He is also the author of the 180 page report Engineering a Safer Australia: Protecting Critical Infrastructure and the Built Environment , which is the only public report on Australia 's critical infrastructure protection efforts.

Leanne Rich

Rita Parker

Lawrence Cox

Dr Keith Horsley

Dr Colin Johnston