Dougie Herd - Keynote Speaker

Director
Disability Council of New South Wales
 
Born in Glasgow, Mr Herd has used a wheelchair since a swimming accident in 1984. He migrated to Australia in 1999 to take up the position of Executive Officer of the Physical Disability Council of NSW, the state’s peak body for people with a physical disability, before beginning his current role in 2005. Mr Herd is now an Australian citizen after being given Permanent Residency status in 2004 on the basis of being a “distinguished talent,” with an international standing of excellence in the field of social justice and the rights of people with disability.

Tania Campbell-Goossen

Manager  - Employment Options
Spinal Injuries Association

A registered Rehabilitation Counsellor, Ms Campbell-Goossen is the Manager of the Spinal Injuries Association’s Employment Options service, which has more than 150 clients across the south-east Queensland corner. Tania is also a qualified Workplace Assessor and has overseen hundreds of funding submissions to the Workplace Modifications Scheme.

Michelle Davidson

Occupational Therapist
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland

Michelle Davidson is an Occupational Therapist and also holds qualifications in Ergonomics and Disability Studies.  She currently works as a Principal Advisor (Ergonomics) for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) and has also held roles in WHSQ as a Senior Inspector (Ergonomics) and Inspector.  Prior to commencing with WHSQ, Michelle worked as an Occupational Therapist in rehabilitation and community settings, as well as in injury management.  She also spent 10 years working in a variety of positions in the Disability field, including residential and attendant care, sport and recreation, and employment.

Dr Pat Dorsett

(Lecturer) BSW PhD
Program Convenor Master of Human Services
Program Convenor Master of Community Rehabilitation
Griffith Abilities Research Program (GARP)
School of Human Services and Social Work
Griffith University

As a social worker and lecturer at Griffith University’s School of Human Services, Dr Dorsett has extensive practice and research experience in the disability, rehabilitation and health fields. Currently, Dr Dorsett is researching adjusting and coping with severe acquired disability, and she has been instrumental in developing innovative community-based services for young Queenslanders with disabilities.

Patricia Fronek

Senior Social Worker
Rehabilitation and Disability
Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service

Patricia Fronek B SocWk PhD is the Senior Social Worker Rehabilitation and Disability at the Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service (QSCIS). She has worked with people with spinal cord injuries and their families since 1998.  Patricia has published in the areas of health, disability and welfare; and is active in research and academia. Ethical and professional boundaries are the focus of current research.

William (Bill) and Lee Garsden

William (Bill) Garsden

William (Bill) Garsden is a person who acquired a spinal chord injury at the young age of 30, in 1978.

He has variously pursued careers in Chemistry, business, consulting, and teaching. Although now semi-retired, he retains registration as a Chartered Chemist.

His interest in disability issues led him to join the Management Committee of the Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of Qld., in 1984, where he subsequently became Vice-President and President from 1995 to 1999, when he retired from the Committee.

He was fortunate to receive a Centenary Medal in 2003 ‘for distinguished service to the community particularly through disability services’.

Lee Garsden
Being born in a remote area of South Australia, (where everything worth seeing in Australia always seemed somewhere else) it was a logical culture in our family to travel as much as possible.

Because I was a teacher in three different states, I was able to become familiar with some beautiful parts of our country.(e.g. Great Ocean Rd in Victoria, far north west of Queensland, Flinders Ranges in South Australia etc), and it was a natural progression that Bill, (who shares my love of travel in both Australia and overseas) and I, would revisit these places, as well as make opportunities to explore new horizons.

I enjoy driving, and fortunately have the good health to provide care for Bill ‘on the road’.

Mark Henley

CEO
Spinal Injuries Association

As CEO of the Spinal Injuries Association since 1999, Mr Henley works with State and Federal government, business and the community to achieve services, independence, dignity and equitable outcomes for people with a disability. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Queensland NDS Committee and since September 2008, has been a representative on the National Disability Council. He is a strong supporter of the Disability Alliance and a member of the Blue Skies Group, which is establishing a vision for a more responsive disability service sector.

Belinda Kropp

Occupational Therapist
Spinal Injuries Association

An Occupational Therapist with qualifications in human services management, Ms Kropp has worked at the Spinal Injuries Association for almost five years. Previously, she worked at the Independent Living Centre, now known as Lifetec, as an Outreach Therapist throughout Queensland.

Dr. Ling Lan

Staff Specialist (Rehabilitation Physician)
The Prince Charles Hospital

After having completed 4 years specialist training in rehabilitation medicine in Brisbane in 2007, I have been working as a staff specialist in Rehabilitation Medicine in Redcliffe hospital initially in early 2008 for 8 months and subsequently in The Price Charles Hospital  since Aug 2008. My special interests in rehabilitation medicine are broad such as  chronic neurological conditions including post polio syndrome, Botox injections to manage spasticity, cardiac and respiratory rehabilitation and amputation etc.
 
Prior to my specialist training in Brisbane, I worked as a Research Fellow in Medical School of Melbourne University from 1993. From 1994 to 1998, I completed my PhD degree in medical biochemistry in the Flinders university of South Australia and worked as a scientist for cancer research till returned to medical work force again in 2001. I obtained my medical degree in China and worked as a cardiologist briefly following the completion of my Cardiologist training in Beijing in 1992.

Professor Alan Mackay-Sim

Director, National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research
Deputy Director, Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies
Professor, School of Biomolecular and Physical Science
Griffith University

Professor Mackay-Sim was educated at Macquarie University and the University of Pennsylvania and had faculty positions at the University of Sydney, the University of Wyoming and the University of Adelaide before moving to Griffith University in 1987. He is Australia’s leading expert on the sense of smell and its repair and regeneration from the adult neural stem cell in the nose. He recently directed a Phase I clinical trial of autologous olfactory ensheathing cell transplantation into the injured spinal cord in human paraplegia. In 2002 Professor Mackay-Sim was awarded $12M by the Queensland Government Smart State Fund to establish the Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies. In 2003 he was named Queenslander of the Year for research on neural development and regeneration. In 2006 he was awarded $22M by the Department of Health and Ageing to establish the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research.

Bianca Nielsen

Orthotist / Director
Orthotic Solutions Queensland

Co-Director of Orthotic Solutions Queensland, Ms Nielsen is a Clinical Orthotist specialising in spinal cord injuries, Post Polio Syndrome, spina bifida, peripheral nerve injuries, stroke and cerebral palsy. Ms Nielsen will highlight the influence of orthoses on mobility and comfort and speak about the benefits that modern materials and components can offer to the users of orthoses.

Dr Peter Nolan

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
Rural Clinical School
University of Queensland

A Toowoomba-based physician and surgeon with more than 30 years experience, Dr Nolan has extensive knowledge about the respiratory complications of people with Post Polio Syndrome. Currently, Dr Nolan is the Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland’s Rural Clinical School in Toowoomba and the Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of New England’s Joint Rural Medical Program. He has delivered many medical papers at conferences both nationally and internationally.

Ann Rahmann

Physiotherapist and Clinical Educator
Neurological Ageing and Balance Clinic, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
University of Queensland

A physiotherapist with a particular clinical interest in the use of aquatic physiotherapy for older people and for those in chronic pain, Ms Rahmann is a lecturer and clinical educator for final year physiotherapy students at the University of Queensland. Ms Rahmann also works in a private domiciliary physiotherapy practice and assists people at home and in residential aged care.

Valmae Rose

Valmae has worked in the disability sector for 25 years.  Starting as an Occupational Therapist, she has worked in a range of government and non-government agencies, primarily supporting children with disability.

When working in a private training and consultancy agency, she helped develop and deliver a range of service evaluation and organisational development projects, and helped establish competency-based wage systems.

Valmae has worked for the Queensland division of National Disability Services since June 2003 with a focus on creating a public policy environment that supports quality disability service provision.  Valmae has also asked community organisations to look critically at top-down leadership and explore community-driven change.

Dr Sean Tweedy

School of Human Movement Studies
University of Queensland

An exercise physiologist who has held the MAIC Research Fellowship in Physical Activity and Disability in the School of Human Movement Studies at the University of Queensland since 1997, Dr Tweedy is currently focusing on assisting people with disabilities to achieve sustainable improvement in their health and functioning through participation in physical activity that is client-centred, safe and effective.