Heather Macdonald
Heather has more than 20 years' experience in international aid, development and project management specialising in health promotion, non-communicable disease, maternal and child health, and primary health care. She has previously worked for 7 years with the WHO and as Health Adviser to AusAID for 8 years. She now works as a health consultant and visiting guest lecturer with several major Australian universities.

Jane Hearn
Jane has more than 12 years experience in international human rights law. Most of this time has been spent in the International Human Rights Section of the Office of International Law, Attorney General’s Department. She has also worked for ACFID and for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia. Jane is a founding editor of the Human Rights Defender, a joint publication of the UNSW Human Rights Centre and Diplomacy Training Program and a member of the Australian New Zealand Society for International Lawyers.

Jim Redden
Jim is the Senior Program Director for the Institute of International Business, Economics and Law at the University of Adelaide. From 1998 – 2004 he held the position of Policy Director for the Australia Council for International Development in Canberra and before that, he worked with Oxfam for 10 years on strategic management and advocacy issues.  Jim currently manages trade related training and capacity building programs in developing countries.

Allison Diacono
Allison Diacono is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a registered tax agent.  She began her career in Sydney with Pricewaterhouse
Coopers (PwC) and continued to work for PwC in London and Canberra.  Since leaving the chartered environment Allison has broadened the depth of her experience and financial management skills by working with Commonwealth Departments such as Attorney General’s and within the non-profit sector for organisations such as the Mental Health Council of Australia.

Beverley Aitkin
Beverley is a former Registered Nurse, enjoying the pleasures of a busy retirement.  Whilst working at John James Hospital, Beverley was a Clinical Nurse Consultant in three wards, established the Medical Ward, and was a member of senior management for many years. She is a committee member of Canberra & District Association of Eurobodalla Ratepayers, and a Board member of Pro-Musica Inc, a not-for profit organization which facilitates the Canberra International Chamber Music Festival each year.

Amanda Lopez
Amanda has managed her own successful Canberra based firm for the past six years.  She lived for 22 years in Mexico, where she completed a Masters degree in History of Art in Spanish.  Subsequently she established a tourism business and ran an import/export business of Mexican handicrafts. She brings a wealth of experience in marketing and fundraising having been involved in raising money for charities in  both Mexico and Australia.

Claire Hewat
Claire is Executive Director of the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA), representing almost 3000 dietitians in Australia. She has had many years of experience as a practicing dietitian and in various aspects of health service management. She previously directed the Division of Community and Allied Health at Wingecarribee Health Service with over 100 staff and 17 different departments. Prior to that Claire was in rural practice and managed the nutrition and dietetic departments at Bowral, Shoalhaven Hospitals Group, Macarthur Area Health Service and the NSW Central Western Region.

Hon Dr Meredith Burgmann
After being active in the Vietnam and apartheid protest movements at Sydney University, Meredith gained her PhD at Macquarie University and taught industrial relations and politics there for 18 years.

She entered State Parliament in 1991 and became President of the NSW Legislative Council in 1999, a position she held until retirement in 2007. Dr Burgmann has had a long interest in aid and development issues and has visited refugee camps and aid projects around the world especially in Rwanda, Western Sahara, Palestine, East Timor and Vietnam.

Wendy McCarthy AO
Wendy has made an outstanding contribution to Australian public life, education and women’s issues. In 1995, she was named Deputy Chancellor of the University of Canberra and the following year, she was appointed Chancellor. She has also served as Deputy Chair of Plan International and was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the National Trust of Australia. In addition to her work in Australia, she also has represented her country at international conferences on health promotion, broadcasting, media, women’s issues and family planning.

Emeritus Prof. John C Caldwell AO FASSA
Jack Caldwell obtained his PhD (Demography) at the Australian National University. He was head of the Department of Demography, Research School of Social Sciences, ANU 1970-1988; Associate Director, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU 1988-1993; University Fellow ANU 1994-1997; Visiting Fellow, NCEPH and Demography and Sociology Program, ANU 1998 - present. He is an Adjunct Professor at Harvard University. He was Foundation President of the Australian Population Association, 1980-82; Vice President, 1989-93 and President 1993-97 of the International Union of the Scientific Study of Population.

Dr Harry Cohen AM
Dr Cohen was educated at Perth Modern School, University of Adelaide Medical School, obtaining MB, BS in 1955. He is a Foundation Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (1979). He has held consultant posts at Royal Perth Hospital (Head of Dept of Gynaecology) and at King Edward Memorial Hospital. Dr Cohen has been on the staff of the King Edward memorial Hospital for 45 years and will be retiring at the end of this year.  More recently he has been the head of Department of Gynaecology, and Director of Postgraduate Studies.  He has been a long time environmental activist, being recently President of the Conservation Council of WA, and President of The Medical Association for the Prevention of War. He was formerly the national president of Sustainable Population Australia and currently the WA branch president. He received the award of AM in 1995.  Dr Cohen was born in 1932, he is married with 3 children and 4 grandchildren.

Marie Coleman
Marie was the first woman to head a Commonwealth Government statutory agency, and the first woman to hold the powers of Permanent Head under the Public Service Act. She was founding Secretary of the National Foundation for Australian Women, one of the NFAW Board of Directors who worked to establish the Australian Women’s Archives Project She was awarded the Public Service Medal in 1989 and recently awarded the Women's Award for a significant and sustained contribution in advocating for women’s rights.