Speakers
We are excited to bring together some of the brightest minds in the field of nutrition and dietetics for DA2024. Our keynote speakers and invited speakers are experts in their respective areas and are here to share their insights with you. Join us for an engaging conference, filled with thought-provoking discussions and networking opportunities.
Laureate Professor Clare Collins
Clare Collins AO is a Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics in the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle, Co-Director of the Food and Nutrition Research Program at the Hunter Medical Research Institute and a Life member of Dietitians Australia. She is an internationally distinguished leader in nutrition and dietetics, with a track record in research leadership and whose research performance places her in the top 1% of the world’s most cited scientists in her field of research.
Laureate Professor Collins was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in January 2023 for distinguished service to nutritional health and dietetics research, scientific organisations and science communication. Her research includes developing and evaluating the impact of nutrition interventions based on life stage and risk of nutrition-related conditions including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The personalised nutrition eHealth tools, including the Healthy Eating Quiz, have a broad reach and impact on improving eating patterns, diet-related health and wellbeing.
Career outputs include over AUS $33 million in research funding, publication of >550 journal articles, and supervision of over 50 Research Higher Degree candidates to date, with 40 completed. A trailblazer in her field, Professor Collins was awarded the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Elizabeth Blackburn Investigator Grant Award for Leadership in Clinical Medicine and Science in 2021, as the highest ranked female applicant for her research in Personalised Nutrition.
Yas Grigaliunas
Yas Grigaliunas is the Founder and Chief Evangelist of Circonomy, a TEDx Speaker and named as one of the Global 100 Inspirational Leaders. Yas is also the current President of the Queensland Social Enterprise Council and was appointed the inaugural Chief Circular Entrepreneur at Circular Australia.
Yas is that girl that sat in the front row in class, a firstborn child with energy to burn, having worn many career hats, including being an early adopter and innovator in the ICT sector, when in her early 20’s, she grew a multimillion-dollar department from the ground up as an entrepreneur for a Queensland technology leader.
Her why? It's simple! To make a difference and create meaningful impact daily.
An entrepreneur of impact, with a focus on designing and executing solutions for the circular economy, through the activation of dormant goods (excess stuff). Yas led her company to scale stage, following a successful capital raise, where Officeworks (a Wesfarmers company) lead the successful Seed round.
With a focus on team, tools and tech, Circonomy is leading the charge with some of the largest corporates in our country, partnering and engaging Circonomy for their circular products, services and software solutions.
Positive, energising and occasionally exhausting. Yas loves people and has an innate passion to give and help others.
Yas believes in the importance of authentic leadership and is unafraid to share the scars and the depths of her REAL REEL (not the show reel) of leadership, business, life and love.
Tracy Hardy
Tracy Hardy is a Gamilaroi woman, Accredited Nutritionist/Practising Dietitian and founder of Wattleseed Nutrition, Health and Wellbeing. Wattleseed Nutrition, a 100% First Nations owned business based on Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi Country, Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Tracy enjoyed a Board Director tenure with Dietitians Australia between 2020 – 2023. She continually works to deepen her knowledge and understanding of health, wellbeing and Indigenous Healing Practices and is excited to embarking on a PhD that relates to her work this year. Tracy has completed the Dulwich Centre’s intensive training in Narrative Therapy for Aboriginal Workers; Griffith University’s “Trauma Integrated Practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples”; University of Wollongong’s Grad Cert in Indigenous Trauma and Recovery Practice and We Al-Li’s “Recreating Song lines from Trauma Trails: The Ceremony of Indigenous Facilitation Practice”.
Tracy strongly advocates for food and health systems reform, to grow collective leadership that drives antiracist, culturally grounded, trauma responsive and healing centred systems, care, practice and engagement so that current and future generations of First Nations Peoples can enjoy the same fundamental right to self-determined and thriving health and wellbeing as other Australians. Tracy applies a strengths-based, holistic and cultural lens, focusing on sustainable and healing connections, conversations and actions. She recognises the value of understanding the past and ongoing impacts of trauma and the power of revalorising Indigenous healing approaches and connections to cultural foods, lands, and practices. Tracy believes through two-way sharing of knowledge we foster understanding and grow collective healing.
Tracy Sheen
Dive into the world of digital enlightenment with Tracy Sheen, your very own Digital Guide. Tracy doesn’t just talk tech, she brings it to life with a unique blend of humor and wisdom, making the daunting world of digital tools a piece of cake for small businesses.
Having sailed through storms of technological change, Tracy’s charted courses for over 20,000 business owners, transforming overwhelm into confidence. With a treasure trove of tales from her 2,000+ workshops and keynotes, Tracy’s insights are as valuable as gold. She’s not only a speaker; she’s a storyteller, a tech whisperer, and, occasionally, a digital wizard.
With Tracy as your guide, you're set for a journey where mastering the digital world becomes part of your business's success story. Let's navigate this digital era with smarts, strategy, and a sprinkle of fun.
Professor Clair Sullivan
Professor Clair Sullivan is an internationally recognised leading practising and academic clinical informatician, and is helping drive digital health transformation to deliver better health outcomes. She has generated over $60M in funding and is ranked in the top 1% of medical informatics researchers globally.
Clair is Director of the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC), managing a globally significant program of digital health research. She is a Consultant Endocrinologist at Metro North Hospital and Health Service. Clair serves on several national advisory boards for digital health, including the Australian Digital Health Agency Clinical and Technical Advisory Committee, and chairs the RACP Digital Health Working group and the National Health Strategy Steering Committee. In addition, she is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Australian College of Health Informatics and the Australasian Institute of Digital Health.
After achieving Honours in Medicine from UQ and a Research Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Leeds, Clair began her career as a specialist endocrinologist. She has worked clinically in the NHS UK and Australia.
In 2014, Clair began a parallel career in the emerging field of digital health and has held leadership roles in digital health practice and governance. In 2024, Clair was appointed as the inaugural Professor of Digital Health at the University of Queensland. Clair’s work has been recognised with multiple honours including a national innovation award from the Australian Information Industry Association and a 2022 Telstra Brilliant Women in Digital Award.