2025 SA one-day conference speakers

Speaker bios will be added and updated as they are made available.

As Chief Digital Officer of the Australian Digital Health Agency, Peter is responsible for stewarding the national digital health ecosystem, products and standards. Peter represents Australia as the Australian Delegate to the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) and as the Australian Delegate to the SNOMED International General Assembly. Peter is also the Co-Chair of the GDHP Evidence and Evaluation Work Stream.
Peter has been a Chief Information/Digital Officer in the healthcare portfolio in the public service since 2009 and has held senior roles with the National Health & Medical Research Council, the National Blood Authority and ACT Health. Peter was named as Technology Leader of the Year 2024 by itnews.
A Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, a Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders, a Senior Member & Certified Professional of the Australian Computer Society and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Peter is never bored and is always up to something.

Sarah McRae is the Chief Executive Officer at Amplar Health Home Hospital, where she has overseen the full accreditation of their Virtual Hospital, against NSQHS Standards as one of the first in Australia.
Sarah is an known Executive in Health, and was the Executive of Strategy at the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network and Chief Operating Officer at Women’s and Children’s Health Network, prior to moving into the private sector.
Sarah has demonstrated strong leadership and management skills in healthcare settings. Sarah is known as a change champion and has successfully led large-scale strategic, operational and financial improvements to deliver new and innovative initiatives. Sarah’s experience working in both public and private healthcare sectors enables her to successfully navigate the current eco-system of health care.

A former recruiter turned LinkedIn strategist, Karen Tisdell has built her network from scratch – multiple times – having lived in Perth, the UK, Melbourne, and Sydney. She knows that success isn’t just about what you know but who remembers you when it matters most.
As a profile writer and positioning expert, Karen enjoys helping people lift their voices and visibility. A big fan of human-to-human connection, she enjoys teaching teams how to get maximum value out of the platform – without spending hours online. Karen has been a LinkedIn TopVoice and recognised as a Top 8 LinkedIn trainer. She doesn’t work for LinkedIn; she makes LinkedIn work for you.

Silverchain is a leading not for profit provider of comprehensive in-home health and aged care services. In home care is a well-established industry and providers play an important role in keeping people in the community and out of acute settings. In the long term the industry is poised to play an increasingly important role as our ageing population increases demand and technology increases what is possible in the home. In the short-term providers are challenged with preparing for the most significant reforms in decades with the introduction of Support at Home from 1 July 2025.
As Chief Commercial Officer, James is focused on ensuring Silverchain remains sustainable and able to reinvest in providing more care to the community. Additionally, he works closely with Silverchain’s clinical leadership to develop new, innovative, and virtually enabled models of care that provide great value for our consumers and funders.

Ben Okonjo is the Digital Health Manager at Adelaide PHN, where he leads the strategic integration of digital technologies across primary health care in Adelaide. Over the years, he has collaborated closely with clinicians, healthcare providers, technology vendors, and policymakers to bridge the gap between technology and patient care. Ben is an associate fellow of ACHSM, holds a Master of Health Service Management, and is a Certified Health Informatician Australasia (CHIA). He believes that digital health is not just about technology—it’s about people, change, and improving healthcare for everyone.

Cliffys Kaurna name is Tangku which means the Brown Snake
His second Kaurna name Munaitya which is his birth order name, meaning he is the fourth child born but male.
Cliffy Wilson is a Cultural Educator with Kuma Kaaru Cultural Services that has spent many years showcasing and sharing his culture, locally, nationally and internationally. He is a Kaurna Narungga, Ngarrindjeri, Arrente and Ngadjuri man.
Cliffy has a passion to share his culture with the world so people know and embrace his people and culture.

Robyn is responsible to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing for the governance, leadership and management of the South Australian health system. This includes being the direct employer of more than 45,000 staff and managing a budget of $7.4 billion.
Robyn has more than 16 years’ experience as a senior health care executive in predominantly change roles. She has led many transition projects, including capital developments and commissioning, cultural reform and governance changes.
She led the WA COVID-19 response as Deputy Chief Health Officer and Incident Controller and has a medical background and a strong focus on clinical governance and excellence in her most recent roles as Assistant Director General with the WA Department of Health.

Joshua leads the Data, Analytics, and Insights (DAI) Branch in the Division of Commissioning and Performance, Department for Health and Wellbeing, SA Health. Joshua is focused on establishing a Data Strategy, alongside developing a contemporary and comprehensive analytics capability, to help ensure the best data-driven and evidence-based decisions are made throughout SA Health. As Executive Director of DAI, Joshua fulfils the duties of Chief Data Officer for SA Health. Previously, Joshua was Professor of Applied Mathematics. In the period 2007-2024 he conducted research and lectured in Mathematics and Statistics, including as a Junior Research Fellow at King’s College, University of Cambridge, and also as an ARC Future Fellow. His research contributions (in collaboration with colleagues) earned him the 2016 JH Michell Medal of the Australian Mathematics Society (ANZIAM), and the 2017 Moran Medal of the Australian Academy of Science. Joshua had the privilege of assisting in the training of a number of gifted post-graduate students throughout this period, who have gone on to make significant contributions in academia and industry.

Elena holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Hospital Administration. Elena relocated from Salt Lake City Utah to join SA Health as the Executive Director for Strategy and Digital at the Central Adelaide Local Health Network in late 2023, where she is responsible for leading digital, analytics, EMR optimization, and ICT. Prior to this, Elena was the Executive Director of Intermountain Health’s Paediatric Network and Founder of the Paediatric Innovation program where she led Intermountain’s paediatric value-based care, population health, and clinical best-practice improvement initiatives. Elena has worked in health technology and innovation for over 10 years and is motivated by the opportunities to use technology to improve outcomes for patients and support clinical teams in doing their best work, as well as developing innovative models of care. In her spare time, Elena can be found chasing after her two young boys, trying to keep up with health tech innovations, and trail running.

Dr Kathryn Zeitz commenced as Australian College of Nursing’s (ACN) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in September 2024, and is an accomplished and respected health executive, academic, researcher, and nursing leader committed to improving healthcare delivery and outcomes through patient-centred care.
Prior to this Kathryn was Deputy CEO, Central Adelaide Local Health Network with the portfolio of Clinical Governance, that saw the successful achievements of two accreditations. She has worked at St Vincent’s in Sydney and held operational leadership roles in mental health, diagnostics and medicine.
Dr Zeitz successfully completed her PhD thesis in clinical nursing at the University of Adelaide in 2003. She has contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed publications from her research interests. Dr Zeitz is an Adjunct Professor at The University of Adelaide and an Adjunct Associate Professor with Flinders University.
Outside of her professional roles, Dr Zeitz’s community service includes a Life Membership of Variety SA and a long-standing volunteer and leader within St John Ambulance Australia, where she is currently a Board Director.

Professor Saravana Kumar is a leader in allied health research and education at the University of South Australia. With over two decades of academic and professional experience, Professor Kumar has made a significant impact through his teaching and research in evidence-based healthcare, focusing on enhancing the quality, safety, and effectiveness of allied health services.
Professor Kumar’s work is widely regarded for bridging the gap between research and practice, influencing both policy and clinical outcomes. His international standing is reflected in his ranking in the top 1% worldwide as an expert in allied health and evidence-based practice. While his research metrics are impressive—over 200 publications, 125+ presentations, ~AUD $8 million in funding, an H-index of 50, 9,128 citations, and numerous awards —what sets him apart is his solutions-focussed, industry-informed approach.
Professor Kumar’s research responds to real-world challenges from the frontline of allied health practice and policy, making it highly relevant, actionable, and translatable. He has supervised 19 higher degree research students to timely completion and helped grow supervisory capacity by involving novice researchers and providing training to develop their skills. Through these, he has helped shape the next generation of allied health research leaders.

Facilitators of Sessions:

Welcome and opening
Session Three

Session One

Session Two

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2025 SA one-day conference speakers

Speaker bios will be added and updated as they are made available.

Peter O’Halloran

Sarah McRae

Karen Tisdell

James Wagg

Ben Okonjo

Cliffy Tangku Munaitya Wilson

Dr Robyn Lawerence

Dr Joshua Ross

Elena Dicus

Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz

Debate Master Professor Saravana Kumar

Facilitators of Sessions:

Joanne Glover

Mark Brommeyer

Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz

Katherine Winton

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