Dr Amanda Rischbieth AM FAICD PhD

Amanda Rischbieth Advisory | AI, Governance, Sustainability, Cyber
Chair, National Blood Authority |

Chair, Alias Technology | Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Advisory Board |

Impact Intelligence AI ventures

M: +61 417 200 883

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rischbieth/

Amanda is a current Harvard ALI Advisory Board member, a former Harvard Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI) Impact Leader 2024, and Research Fellow 2025. She was a Visiting Scientist at Harvard Chan School of Public Health from 2018-2022 after an earlier Harvard Fellowship in 2017.

She received a Member of the Order of Australia award (AM) or her services to public health and governance, and has over twenty-four years of company directorship experience including an ASX-listed agribusiness.

Amanda chairs the National Blood Authority Australia, chairs Alias Technology, is Vice-President International Women’s Forum Australia, a member of the International Foundation for Valuing Impacts (IFVI) Technical and Research Committee, and an AICD Fellow and Faculty member. She is a former CEO of a leading health organisation and former director of Camp Quality, SA Motor Sport Board (V8 Supercars), Renewal SA, and National Heart Foundation SA.

She won a gold award at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AI Venture Studio 2024 and has since founded Impact Intelligence-AI Advisory, AI Foundry, and Impact Enterprises (2 AI climate-focused platforms). Her bespoke corporate advisory is focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber resilience, Climate and Sustainability, Governance and Health. Amanda is an Associate Clinical Professor at Adelaide University and is a highly contemporary keynote speaker.

Her Intensive Care related PhD included a novel decision-support system that successfully reduced adverse events by 80% in the ICU. In 2018 Amanda travelled to Sri Lanka with the Hands-On humanitarian group fitting 247 prosthetic hands to landmine victims.

Bianca Stawiarski

Bianca Stawiarski is a proud Badimia and Ukrainian woman, recognised nationally and internationally as a decolonising force within the mental health, healing, and social enterprise sectors. As the Founder and Managing Director of Warida Wholistic Wellness and Co-Founder and Chair of BilaEmpower Ltd, Bianca brings a transformative blend of cultural wisdom, trauma-informed practice, and entrepreneurial strategy to her work.

She is a registered PACFA Clinical Counsellor and Mental Health Practitioner with postgraduate qualifications in Counselling, Life Coaching, Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, and Aboriginal Narrative Practice. Currently a PhD candidate through Batchelor Institute, her research explores the impact of community-led circular models on First Nations women’s empowerment through entrepreneurship.

Bianca’s practice is grounded in Indigenous principles of gudu-guduwa (coming together), ngardi guwanda (deep listening, feeling, thinking), and ngalimi yunggudya (giving to each other). Her work disrupts Western deficit-based models and instead invites healing on one’s own terms—reconnecting clients with their inner fire, voice, and sense of agency.

An award-winning social entrepreneur, international author, and speaker, Bianca is also the Convenor of the College of Indigenous Healing Practices within PACFA, where she advocates for the recognition and resourcing of Indigenous knowledges in mental health and wellbeing spaces.

Bree Mankin – Managing Partner | FMCG & Retail Specialist | Customer Engagement | Commercial Excellence

Bree Mankin is an accomplished Managing Partner with over 15 years of experience in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and retail sectors. Renowned for her strategic spirit and operational know-how, she excels in driving customer engagement, optimizing commercial performance, and fostering high-impact partnerships.

Core Competencies & Achievements:

• FMCG & Retail Strategy: Architect of growth-focused strategies for major brands and retailers, leading to consistent gains in market share and profitability.
• Customer Engagement: Creator of loyalty programs, omnichannel campaigns, and personalized experiences, resulting in measurable improvements in customer satisfaction and retention.
• Commercial Excellence: Expert in commercial planning, pricing optimization, trade activation, and P&L management—with a track record of double-digit revenue growth.
• Leadership & Collaboration: A results-driven leader who builds and mentors cross-functional teams, steering and aligning efforts toward shared commercial goals.
• Change Management: Skilled in guiding organizations through transformation—implementing new retail tech, capabilities, and go-to-market models to navigate evolving industry landscapes.

Professional Journey:

• In her current role as Managing Partner, Bree leads a team of commercial strategists and customer experience specialists, partnering with retail and consumer brands to craft and implement transformative growth plans.
• Previously, as Head of Retail Commercial for a leading FMCG company, she developed and activated commercial strategies across diverse channels, delivering uplift in both sales and shopper experience.
• Bree also honed her expertise in retail execution and capability-building at national supermarkets and retail consulting firms, working hand-in-hand with store operations and field teams to bring commercial strategies to life

Diana Butler OAM – GAICD Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Care for Africa – Managing Partner | FMCG & Retail Specialist | Customer Engagement | Commercial Excellence

LinkedIn

Diana Butler is an Australian emergency nurse, humanitarian leader, and social entrepreneur who founded Care for Africa in 2006 after a pivotal experience during her nursing work in Launceston, Tasmania. A chance conversation with a colleague about extreme poverty in Tanzania led Diana to organise the shipment of medical supplies to Tarime. Witnessing dire living conditions firsthand, she was inspired to establish a sustainable aid organisation.

Under her leadership, Care for Africa has grown into a pioneering NGO registered with ACFID and the ACNC, dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty in rural Tanzanian communities. The organisation operates across five strategic pillars: access to clean water, rural health, quality education, empowerment of women and girls, and social enterprise. To date, notable achievements include installing over a dozen deep water bores, building multiple sanitation blocks, launching a school breakfast initiative benefiting thousands of children, and supporting women’s small businesses in soap, uniform production, beekeeping, and crop growing.

Committed to embedding global best practices, Diana has positioned Care for Africa’s model alongside the UN Sustainable Development Goals and is in the process of developing a replicable template for sustainable development, with plans to expand into other African regions.

Her exceptional contributions to community health and development have earned significant recognition:

• Member of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2016 for humanitarian service
• Tasmanian Telstra Business Women’s Community and Government Award, 2012 (national finalist)
• Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow, 2016
• University of Tasmania International Alumni Award, 2021; inaugural inductee into Tasmanian Nurses Honour Roll
• Uhuru Torch recipient from the Tanzanian Government.

In addition to her leadership at Care for Africa, Diana continues practicing as an After-Hours Nurse Manager at Launceston General Hospital, where her clinical experience informs her empathetic, community-focused leadership approach.

Diana’s vision: a world in which rural communities in Tanzania—and eventually beyond—achieve self-reliance and dignity through sustainable water, health, education, and economic systems that they drive themselves. https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-butler-oam-gaicd-785b9868/

Catherine Curry-Hyde – Construction Project Manager | Operations | Business & Property Management

+61 417 396 105

catherine@curry-hyde.com 

Catherine Curry-Hyde is an experienced project manager, business operations and property manager with over 40 years of experience in the property and construction industry.

After working in South Africa and the USA for several years managing architectural practices, Catherine came to Melbourne, Australia in 1996 and worked for Architect/Developer, Nonda Katsalidis until 2009. This diverse role, in a boutique architectural firm, evolved from financial controller, practice operations manager to project development manager and included bespoke residential projects – namely, Eureka Tower, HMAS Beach Apartments, 51 Spring Street, Hero Apartments and Republic Tower.

After wrapping up the Eureka Tower project, Catherine has provided financial management services for bespoke clients with residential and commercial/retail property portfolios.

In October 2024 Catherine completed the $33m redevelopment project for Guide Dogs Victoria over 5 1/2 years. The project included a 1000 square metre veterinary hospital for Advanced Vetcare, a large carpark, warehouse, administration building, and client services and residential building. The role involved all aspects of project management, including planning, council approvals, budgeting, procurement, quality control, risk mitigation, safety management, and board reporting.

In March 2025 Catherine was appointed by Advanced Vetcare as Construction Project Manager to deliver a new 2000 square metre veterinary hospital in Kensington, Victoria. Advanced Vetcare is an independent specialist and emergency veterinary hospital with 200 staff across 3 hospitals in Victoria.

From 2014 to 2019 Catherine served as a founding board member and Treasurer for International Women’s Forum Australia (IWFA) assisting with the start-up of the Australian IWF Chapter and sub-chaired the Melbourne Global Cornerstone Conference in 2018.

Catherine has held volunteer roles swimming coaching, served on the swimming club committee and as the rowing club athlete team manager. Catherine is a competitive pool and open water swimmer and single scull rower.

Catherine has a Diploma and Certificate IV in Business & Workplace Coaching.

Heidi Victoria – Photographer | Strategic Advisor | Former Minister | Media Commentator

+61 418110104

hvp@mail.com

www.heidivictoria.com.au

Heidi Victoria is a seasoned leader and strategist with a career that spans politics, the arts, advocacy, and media. A former Victorian Minister for the Arts, Women’s Affairs and Consumer Affairs, she is known for her ability to build genuine relationships, influence change, and lead with compassion and clarity.

Currently serving as Government Relations Advisor to the Stroke Foundation, Heidi leads national and state-level advocacy, stakeholder engagement and public affairs. She designs impactful campaigns to drive awareness and action.

She continues her photography career of over 40 years, specialising in personal branding portraits—primarily for women—with a focus on capturing each subject’s unique strength, presence and confidence. Her goal: that every client not only looks fabulous but feels it too.

Heidi’s leadership has extended to the national cultural stage as a Board Director of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia (2021–2024), where she contributed to the development and preservation of the national collection.

She is a regular media commentator on 3AW, a confident voice on political, cultural and social issues, and a sought-after advisor for organisations navigating strategy, sustainability and communications.

Heidi’s 12-year parliamentary career saw her lead transformative policy reforms—securing funding for women in leadership, improving housing conditions for vulnerable Victorians, and modernising arts funding. Her leadership was always rooted in listening deeply, engaging broadly and delivering meaningful outcomes.

With experience that spans healthcare, consulting, photography and grassroots activism, Heidi brings unmatched versatility and perspective to every role. She continues to support a wide range of causes through board roles, community service and global forums.

She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, holds a BA in Fine Art (Photography), and has completed executive studies in brand experience through RMIT Online.

Kristen Hansen

Sandra D’Souza – CEO/Founder – Ellect

Ellect is dedicated to promoting gender equality and diversity in leadership.

Sandra is an Amazon No. 1 Bestselling author of “From Bias to Equality,” she holds an MBA, a Masters in Accounting and a Bachelor of Management. Sandra was recognised on the NASDAQ Tower for their Milestone Makers Program 2021 and named Most Influential CEO 2023 by CEO Monthly.