Aunty Robyn Williams is a respected Yugambeh Elder and traditional owner based in Logan City, Queensland, known for her dedication to education, cultural preservation, and advocacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and families. She is a descendant of Bilin Bilin (known as King of the Logan) and a strong voice for her community.

David Burton is a writer based in Brisbane, Queensland. He is the author of over thirty professionally produced plays, two acclaimed books, and has contributed to some of Australia's most innovative theatrical and community arts projects.

David's career spans award-winning theatrical works (including April's Fool, published by Playlab Press), large-scale community commissions for Queensland Music Festival (The Power Within; The Mount Isa Blast), and significant literary accolades, including winning the 2014 Text Prize for How to Be Happy.

His recent work includes co-authoring Icarus (2026) with Maddie Nixon, Merlynn Tong, and Maxine Mellor for Queensland Theatre Company's The Scene Project, and writing Space Cowboy (2025) for QUT, which is set for publication by Playlab in 2026. In 2024 he wrote and co-directed Whitlam: An Australian Fantasy for UniSQ, and was a finalist in the Queensland Premier's Drama Award for The Good Dad. He has also served as Stage Director for QPAC's Spirit of Christmas since 2023, and his long-running collaboration with Grin and Tonic Theatre Troupe continues, with their latest production Persuasive Voices touring in 2026.

David holds a doctorate in community-engaged theatre and regularly works across writing, consulting, and content creation for arts organisations. He also maintains a popular weekly blog with hundreds of loyal readers. Alongside his creative practice, David works as a counsellor and coach, bringing a unique insight into community, creativity, and wellbeing.

Angela Barney-Leitch is a Woppaburra Tali Atha whose Country is the Keppel Islands off the coast of central Queensland, Australia, and a distinguished Griffith University alumna. She holds a Master of Education (Research), Graduate Certificate in Employment Law, and Bachelor of Administration from Griffith University.

Prior to her appointment to Griffith's Executive Leadership Team, she worked for over 25 years in strategic planning and policy with state and federal governments, the tertiary education sector, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-based organisations. Angela’s tenure as the inaugural Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Australians) at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) made her the first Aboriginal Woman to be a DVC in Queensland.

Angela provides strategic leadership in embedding Indigenous knowledges, perspectives, and self-determination across university governance, policy, and practice. Her work is grounded in partnership, impact, and place, supporting Griffith’s commitments to equity, social justice, and delivering meaningful outcomes for communities.

Angela is a Board Member of Queensland Music Festival (and Chair of the Indigenous Australian Advisory Committee), member of the Queensland Public Sector Governance Council, and Chair of the Woppaburra Traditional Use of Marine Resources Aboriginal Corporation, and is a Woppaburra Land Trustee. Her combined experience informs her collaborative approach to leadership and ability to work effectively with staff, students, industry, government, and community partners.

Professor Sandra Gattenhof is a researcher and practitioner in Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice Faculty at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She is currently Academic Lead, Learning and Teaching in QUT School of Creative Arts. Sandra is internationally recognised as expert in the field of arts education and arts & cultural evaluation. Sandra has authored books, book chapters, journal articles, and is sought after speaker board chair and board member. Sandra was chief investigator for Australian Research Council Linkage Project The Role of the Creative Arts in Regional Australia (2019-2023), led Valuing the Arts Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (2020) and was lead researcher for Woven Stories: Engaging the Arts as a resource for resilience in rural communities (2023-4). Sandra's current research is an ARC Discovery Project titled Uncreative Australia: impacts of declining participation in arts education. Sandra has received Drama Queensland’s Life Member Award and Drama Australia President’s Award for her outstanding contribution to drama education.

Katrina Torenbeek is the Director of Creative Learning and Community Engagement at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), and Festival Director of the Out of the Box festival. Katrina has broad executive management and programming experience across festivals, venues and arts organisations including Queensland Music Festival, QPAC and Metro Arts, where she co-managed the Australia Council MAPS for Artists Initiative. She has managed many signature programs and events, with a dedication to delivering engagement and learning activities in urban, regional and remote communities. She has also worked as a Teacher and Business Manager for Drama Queensland, Drama Australia and IDEA.

Tim is currently the Technical Manager at Empire Theatre. He is a dedicated and passionate arts manager, acknowledged for creativity, strategic thinking and an innate ability to distil complexity. He guides clients and directs staff to reach their potential whilst maintaining high production and presentation values.

Sam is an award winning performer and theatre maker who has worked across live performance, film and TV as an Actor, Director, Writer, Producer, Stunt Performer, Stunt Rigger, Physical Theatre Performer, Movement Director and workshop facilitator. He has worked internationally for a number of companies and productions and is the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Gold Coast based arts organisation Shock Therapy Arts.

Luke is a creative and strategic leader in regional arts and culture based in Gympie, with nearly 30 years’ experience across international, national, state, and local contexts.

In his current role, Luke oversees the delivery of RASN services supporting artists, arts workers, communities, and local government across regional and remote Queensland. His work focuses on fostering sustainable practice, cross-sector collaboration, and vibrant arts ecosystems. He is deeply committed to the advancement of regional arts and culture through people-centred exchange, genuine engagement, and service excellence.

Alongside extensive freelance consulting, governance, and not-for-profit board work, Luke has held senior roles including General Manager at PAC Australia, Manager of Venues and Events at Gympie Regional Council, and Creative Broker with arTour, a Queensland Government initiative supporting touring opportunities for Queensland artists and audiences.

Kim Tran is the Director, Policy and Governance at Live Performance Australia (LPA). LPA is the peak body for Australia's live arts and entertainment industry, representing the interests of its 400+ members. LPA's membership covers all art forms and includes producers, promoters, festivals, venues, and service providers such as ticketing companies. In this role, Kim is an industry advocate for public policy changes that support the sustainability and growth of the industry. She also develops best practice guidance and provides policy and regulatory advice to members to assist with their day-to-day business operations.

Michelle Ryan is the Artistic Director of Restless Dance Theatre and one of Australia’s leading voices in inclusive contemporary performance. A former performer with Australian Dance Theatre under Meryl Tankard, Michelle toured internationally before acquiring disability and shifting her focus to leadership, advocacy, and creating pathways for disabled and neurodivergent artists.

Since joining Restless in 2013, she has led the company onto major national and international stages, with acclaimed works including Seeing Through Darkness, Intimate Space, Private View, and Guttered. Under her direction, Restless has received multiple Ruby Awards, Helpmann nominations, and the 2025 Green Room Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

Michelle is an advocate for equity in the arts, known for challenging conventional ideas of excellence, representation, and access in contemporary performance.

Kieran Swann is CEO of Metro Arts, Brisbane’s home for contemporary and experimental practice and artist development. As a curator and producer, he has spent nearly twenty years working across and between artforms; gallery-based exhibitions, public art, performance, social practice, co-creation – dedicated to art that creates spaces for relief and resilience; provokes change and exchange; and demonstrates care, generosity, and beauty.

Brett Howe is a creative leader and arts executive with extensive experience across performing arts, festivals, and cultural organisations. Currently Programming Manager at Redland Performing Arts Centre, Brett has held senior leadership roles at Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Circa Contemporary Circus, and State Library of Queensland. He is known for delivering ambitious, community‑focused programs that combine artistic excellence with strong stakeholder engagement, financial stewardship, and sector leadership. Offstage, Brett plays D&D, owns 300+ Star Wars T‑shirts, and commits fully to the dad joke—without hesitation.

Angie Dunbavan is the founding Company Director of Red Chair, an independent Queensland performing arts company based on Kabi Kabi Country on the Sunshine Coast. With a background in community development and social work, Angie has spent over 24 years building Red Chair into a leading producing and touring company for Queensland's independent arts sector. Her producing credits span regional touring, community-engaged live art, festival production and arts management, including the COMPASS Project, The Keeper Project, The Playlist, Flamenco Fire, The People's Orchestra, Dawn Awakening and Storyplace. She has produced work for QPAC, Brisbane Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, Horizon Festival and numerous regional Queensland venues and councils. Angie is a passionate advocate for sustainable independent artistic careers and for the genuine inclusion of First Nations voices in the creative sector. She has maintained a long and deep collaborative relationship with Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi traditional custodians, embedding cultural knowledge and protocol into all of Red Chair's work.

Jess is a creative producer and playwright based on Darumbal country, coastal Central Queensland. Working remotely with Cairns Gimuy-based JUTE Theatre Company, she oversees DARTS: a multi-year, statewide initiative to Drive and Activate the Regional Theatre Sector. In this role, Jess has been instrumental in shaping peer-to-peer collaboration and touring pathways that empower regional producers and meaningfully contribute to local arts ecologies. In addition to this substantive role, Jess advises regional theatre artists and artsworkers through the Regional Arts Services Network (RASN), and as a regular contributor to peer grant assessment panels with Creative Australia and RADF.

Timothy Wynn is the founding and current Artistic Director of THAT Production Company, an independent theatre company based in Ipswich, Queensland. Theatre: THAT Production Company: Dance Nation (with Metro Arts), Head Over Heels (with Ipswich Civic Centre), Duck Duck Goose (with Theatreworks), Every Brilliant Thing, I Love You Bro, Sea Wall, Kill Climate Deniers (with Metro Arts), Yielding, When the Rain Stops Falling (with Ipswich Festival), God of Carnage (with Ipswich Festival), A Lie of the Mind, Romeo & Juliet, Pains of Youth, Seven Jewish Children (with Anywhere Theatre Festival), Fastest Clock in the Universe, Saved, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Spring Awakening; Queensland Theatre: Neighbourhood Watch (2023 Young Artist Program); La Boite Theatre Company: Thread (La Boite HWY Festival 2019); QUT: Blood Wedding; Griffith University Queensland Conservatorium: Welcome To Thebes; JMC Academies: The Trial. Awards and Nominations: 2021 Matilda Award Best Director for Sea Wall (nominated), 2023 Matilda Award for Best Director for Every Brilliant Thing (nominated).

Ainslee Palmer is an Actor, Theatre Maker, Producer and Movement Director with a passion for play and artistic curiosity. After graduating from the University of Southern Queensland with a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Theatre/Acting) in 2013, Ainslee moved to New York City where she worked with Tectonic Theatre Project as a teaching artist and performer with various theatre companies. In 2017 Ainslee moved to Brisbane and worked in Arts Health in several aged care facilities around Southeast Queensland: facilitating workshops with people living with dementia. In 2018, Ainslee formed a strong collaboration with White Rabbit Theatre as a performer, producer and facilitator and in 2019 joined the company as Associate Director. Ainslee is debuted her one-woman show ‘Ready or Not’ at HOTA Home of the Arts in April 2024. Ainslee describes her practice as a feminist-based, inclusive environment to break rules, give a voice to the voiceless.

Jeanette Wedmaier leads programming and community engagement at The Empire in Toowoomba, Queensland. With a strong background in arts management, she curates diverse performances and initiatives that connect audiences with the arts. Jeanette works closely with artists and community groups to ensure the theatre remains a vibrant cultural hub for the region.

Felix Preval is an internationally recognised arts leader with over a decade’s experience in festival direction, programming and management, with a track record for presenting diverse and dynamic international performing arts programs that successfully connect with local audiences. He is experienced in working with artists across theatre, dance, music, cabaret, circus, comedy and live arts, including commissioning new works of scale by local and national artists. Felix held the position of Artistic Director of Darwin Festival from 2017 - 2022, and was previously Festival Producer of Melbourne Fringe from 2012-2016.