KEY DEADLINES
Early Bird Registration Deadline: Closed
Abstract Submission Deadline: Closed
Accommodation Deadline: Closed
Standard Registration Deadline: Sunday 27 August
Angela Dawson
Theme – Building resilience to inform sexual and reproductive health in future threats
Stakeholder Committee
Executive Committee
Professor Angela Dawson is a public health social scientist. Her research examines the delivery of reproductive health services in humanitarian emergencies, the management and referral of women who have experienced FGM and domestic violence, and access to abortion and emergency contraceptive in Australia and in lower-middle-income countries.
Julia Scott
Stakeholder Committee
Executive Committee
Julia is a sexual health physician at Tū Ora Wellington Sexual Health Service, and a public health physician at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) where she provides clinical oversight for national STI, hepatitis B, C and mpox surveillance. Julia has also worked in sexual health policy and strategy at both a national and international level. She has co-authored and chaired the working group for the development of New Zealand’s first Sexually Transmitted Infection and Blood Borne Virus Strategy in 2021, and consulted for the HIV, Hepatitis and STI Units of the World Health Organization Western Pacific and Southeast Asian Regional Offices. She is past president of the New Zealand Sexual Health Society (NZSHS) and currently represents NZSHS on the executive committee of the Australasian Sexual and Reproductive Health Alliance (ASRHA). Julia is passionate about improving sexual health and eliminating inequities in Aotearoa New Zealand, and across the Asia and Pacific Regions. She received the ASRHA young leader award in 2021.
Peter Aggleton
Theme – What’s hot! New technologies, tools, medicines and commodities
Stakeholder Committee
Peter Aggleton has worked in HIV, sexual and reproductive health for over 30 years. He holds professorial positions at UNSW Sydney, The Australian National University, and UCL in London. His most recent book, edited with Angela Kelly-Hanku and Anne Malcolm, is Sex and Gender in the Pacific (Routledge, 2023)
Kate Alexander
Stakeholder Committee
Kate is the National Coordinator of the Enhanced Syphilis Response Program working closely with Health Workers supporting the uptake of syphilis point of care testing and community engagement activities. Kate has 18 years of experience working in the APS across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy and program areas.
Ian Anderson
Theme Co-Lead – Building resilience to inform sexual and reproductive health in future threats
Stakeholder Committee
Executive Committee
Ian has a fellowship with ACRRM and is a sexual health advanced trainee at Carins Sexual Health Service. He has previously worked at Sydney Sexual Health and Kirketon Road Centre. He has worked in the HIV and Sexual Health sector for the last 15 years in Canada, Malawi, and Australia. He is interested in rural medicine, health equity, health systems, and social justice.
Elloise Barry
Stakeholder Committee
Elloise is the Senior Program Manager of the Enhanced Syphilis Response Program managed by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation. Elly is the Senior Program Manager for the Enhanced Syphilis Response (ESR) program at NACCHO. She is a registered occupational therapist who prior to working in the sexual health sector, was a clinician in the community mental health setting for 13 years.
Eliza Basheer
Theme – SRH for adolescents and young people
Stakeholder Committee
Eliza (She/Her) is the Sexual Health Promotion Program Manager at the NSW STI Programs Unit. Eliza is an early career professional with seven years’ experience in youth sexual and reproductive health policy and promotion. Eliza has an interest in evidence-based comprehensive sexuality education for young people within school and community settings.
Deborah Bateson
Theme Lead – Human rights for sexual and reproductive health
Stakeholder Committee
Executive Committee
Deborah is Professor of Practice in The Faculty of Medicine and Health at The University of Sydney with previous roles as Medical Director at Family Planning NSW and Global Medical Director at MSI International. She has worked for over 20-years as a clinician, researcher, educator and advocate in sexual and reproductive health.
Edan Campbell-O’Brien
Theme – SRH for adolescents and young people
Stakeholder Committee
Edan is a proud Polynesian and Yulluna man from Northwest QLD and is the Indigenous Health Engagement Advisor with the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM).
Rona Carroll
Theme – SRH for adolescents and young people
Stakeholder Committee
Dr Rona Carroll is a senior lecturer at the University of Otago Wellington, New Zealand, and a youth health GP. Rona’s work focuses on supporting transgender people in primary care, particularly with gender affirming hormone therapy prescribing. She is an advocate for improved access to gender affirming healthcare and GP education in this area. Rona is currently the vice president of the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA).
Eric Chow
Theme – Reimagining SRH systems, services and care
Stakeholder Committee
Associate Professor Eric Chow is a sexual health epidemiologist at the Central Clinical School, Monash University. He heads the Health Data Management and Biostatistics Unit at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health. He is the President of the Sexual Health Society of Victoria. His research focuses on male HPV vaccination programs and novel interventions for STI prevention and control. He received the Levinia Crooks Emerging Leaders Award in BBV/STI in 2020.
Lauren Coelli
Theme – Reimagining SRH systems, services and care
Stakeholder Committee
Lauren is a Registered Nurse who developed an interest in sexual and reproductive health while working in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. She is particularly passionate about increasing access to sexual health and abortion services in rural Australia through Nurse-led models of care, and championed nurse-led medical abortion models across rural Victoria. Lauren has completed dual Masters in Public Health and Health Management, and Post Graduate studies in sexual health. She is currently working for NSW Health as a Sexual Health Clinical Nurse Consultant across two rural LHDs.
Elizabeth Duck-Chong
Theme – Reimagining SRH systems, services and care
Stakeholder Committee
Liz Duck-Chong is a freelance writer, health researcher, filmmaker and peer worker, whose essays and non-fiction have been published widely. Liz is currently a projects coordinator in the Trans Health Equity team at ACON, and is part of the team that developed TransHub.
Mark Fisher
Theme Co-Lead – Reimagining SRH systems, services and care, What’s hot! New technologies, tools, medicines and commodities
Stakeholder Committee
Executive Committee
Mark Fisher is the Executive Director of Body Positive a national peer support agency in New Zealand. He has been involved in the HIV sector since ‘92, initially in Australia and then in Toronto, Canada. This involvement has been at the Public Health level as well as the NGO level providing research, support and advocacy for people living with HIV.
Courtney Gibbs
Stakeholder Committee
Courtney Gibbs is ASHM’s Sexual Health Program Manager, overseeing ASHM’s training, guidelines and resources for the sexual health workforce on topics including STIs, contraception, and sexual health of trans and gender diverse people. Courtney has been at ASHM for six years, working across both the viral hepatitis and sexual health programs; prior to this Courtney’s academic background was in biomedical science and public health. Courtney is delighted to be a part of the conference committee, and is excited by the integration of reproductive health throughout this year’s program.
Melinda Hassall
Stakeholder Committee
Melinda is the Clinical Nurse Lead at ASHM. Her primary focus is identifying opportunities to advance the role of nurses providing BBV and sexual health care through collaboration, education and identification of policy issues to support knowledge translation and implementation of care within our healthcare system. Melinda is a Registered Nurse, a Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing, Australasian Hepatology Association Board President, holds a Graduate Certificate in Health Promotion and a Masters degree in Public Health.
Catherine Healy
Stakeholder Committee
Dame Catherine Healy is National Co-ordinator of NZPC: Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers’Collective, an organisation which advocates for the rights, safety, health and wellbeing of sex workers. She is a co editor of “ Taking the Crime out of Sex Work, “ The Policy Press Bristol 2010. She is frequently invited to share the experience of law and policy surrounding sex workers in Aotearoa.
Melissa Kang
Theme Lead – SRH for adolescents and young people
Stakeholder Committee
Executive Committee
Melissa Kang (MBBS MCH PhD) is a medical practitioner and academic specialising in adolescent health. She provides preventive and primary healthcare in a Youth Health service for at-risk young people. Melissa is Associate Professor in General Practice at The University of Sydney and Adjunct Associate Professor in Public Health at The University of Technology Sydney. Her research focuses on access to health care and adolescent sexual health. She was the medical consultant for 23 years behind the ‘Dolly Doctor’ column in the Australian teenage girls’ magazine Dolly. She has co-authored four books for adolescents (co-authored with media personality Yumi Stynes): Welcome to Your Period, Welcome to Consent, Welcome to Your Boobs and Welcome to Sex.
Daile Kelleher
Theme – Reimagining SRH systems, services and care
Stakeholder Committee
Daile is the CEO of Children by Choice, Queensland’s state-wide counselling, information and education service on all pregnancy options, including abortion, adoption, kinship and alternative care and parenting. Children by Choice are leaders in advocacy for advancing reproductive autonomy and access to compassionate abortion nationally.
Penny Kenchington
Theme – What’s hot! New technologies, tools, medicines and commodities
Stakeholder Committee
Penny has been a nurse in the specialty of sexual and reproductive health since about 1995. Since becoming a Nurse Practitioner in 2008 Penny has continued to increase her scope of practice to include HIV and other BBV management, reproductive health and complex women’s health issues. Penny is one of the Vice Presidents on the ASHM Board and supports other National, State and local expert advisory committees advocating for nursing, and sexual health issues in general.
Tilly Mahoney
Theme – SRH for adolescents and young people
Stakeholder Committee
Tilly Mahoney MPH (she/her) is a cisgender bisexual queer woman working as Coordinator, Sexual and Reproductive Health at Women’s Health In the North, the women’s health promotion and advocacy organisation for the northern metropolitan region of Melbourne. Tilly is a passionate advocate for gender equity, freedom of choice, LGBTIQA+ rights, and centring pleasure in sexual and reproductive health to combat gendered narratives that delegitimise feminine sexuality. Tilly tutors in the Master of Public Health at the University of Melbourne, and has also been a Director of the Board of Family Planning Alliance Australia serving as Youth Representative for three years.
Fabiola Martin
Theme Co-Lead – Building resilience to inform sexual and reproductive health in future threats
Stakeholder Committee
Executive Committee
Fabiola trained in Vienna and London and lives and works in Brisbane and North Coast NSW. She is a sexual, reproductive health, HIV, viral hepatitis and HTLV specialist, a clinical academic, a medical educator and a passionate advocate for her patients. In her clinical role she provides gender affirming therapy, STI screening and treatment, management of sexual function and long-term care for people living with HIV, HTLV and HBV/HCV. Fabiola is deeply engaged in this sector as the President of the Sexual Health Association QLD and the President of International Retrovirology Association and member of the executive committee member of the Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine and ASHRA. She is the Medical Director of North Coast NSW HIV, Sexual Health and Related Programs and she is affiliated with the School of Public Health at UQ. She is also the editor of the BMJ STI Podcasts which you can listen to on your favourite app.
Catriona Melville
Theme Co-Lead – Reimagining SRH systems, services and care
Stakeholder Committee
Executive Committee
Dr Catriona Melville, is a specialist in Sexual and Reproductive Health and the Director of Clinical Excellence, MSI Australia. Catriona has provided SRH care for over 20 years, initially in NHS Scotland where she trained, and since 2016 from Brisbane. Her interests include abortion care and advocacy, integrating SRH services, medical education and clinical research. Catriona is an Associate Editor for ANZJOG, Deputy Chair of RANZCOG’s SRH Committee, and the author of Sexual & Reproductive Health at a Glance (Wiley-Blackwell).
Amy Moten
Theme – Building resilience to inform sexual and reproductive health in future threats
Stakeholder Committee
Dr Amy Moten is the Coordinator: Medical Education at SHINE SA where she provides clinical education to doctors, registered nurses and midwives and other health professionals in South Australia. She is the chair of the RACGP Specific interest Group in Sexual Health Medicine Network. She also works as a GP in private practice in Adelaide. Amy believes in sexual health and wellbeing for all and is a passionate advocate for access to reproductive health care.
Riki Nofoâ’akifolau
Theme – Human rights for sexual and reproductive health
Stakeholder Committee
Manuariki (Riki) Nofo’akifolau is a proud daughter of Oceania navigating life as a sister, mother and aunty to many ‘minions’. She hails from the villages of Holopeka, Koulo (Ha’apai), Ha’asini, Hamula (Tongatapu) with ties to Lakeba, Lau (Fiji). As a Pasifika Youth Specialist, Riki has developed, designed and delivered RSE activations anchored in culture and identity using creative mediums in Health Promotion approaches to initiate meaningful talanoa with Pasifika youth and their families in Aotearoa.
Catherine O’Connor
Theme – Reimagining SRH systems, services and care
Stakeholder Committee
Sexual Health Physician
Visiting Senior Fellow, The Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia from 2018
HIV/STI Medical Specialist for 11 Pacific Island Nations, UNDP Western Pacific 2019-2023
Director, Sexual Health, Sydney Local Health District, 1996-2019
Former President AChSHM of RACP June 2017-May 2020
Jason Ong
Theme – What’s hot! New technologies, tools, medicines and commodities
Stakeholder Committee
A/Prof Dr. Jason Ong is an academic sexual health specialist and health economist based at Melbourne Sexual Health Centre. His research focuses on economic evaluations and demand creation strategies to improve the uptake of HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and management services.
Jennifer Power
Theme – SRH for adolescents and young people
Stakeholder Committee
Jennifer Power is an Associate Professor and Principal Fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University. Her research focuses on sexuality, sexual health and HIV. She is currently lead investigator on the Secondary Students and Sexual Health Survey.
Rebecca Reynolds
Theme – Human rights for sexual and reproductive health
Stakeholder Committee
Rebecca Reynolds (she/her) is the Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Council for LGBTI Health (QC). She sits on a number of Government and non-Government committees and her experience over the past 20 years has been within LGBTIQ+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy communities with networks that include, and champion Peer led approaches to sexual and mental health, education and community engagement. Her work is driven by the desire to ensure that LGBTIQ+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy people and their families including in regional and remote areas of Queensland anre heard, understood, and included in the creation of stories, services, policies and practices that impact their lives.. The work of QC includes advancing LGBTIQ+ Queenslanders to have autonomy in their decision making through an increased knowledge of the systems and services that exist and are funded to support them and their lives; and the support to access those systems in a way that is not causing further harm to their health and wellbeing.
Darren Russell
Theme – Human rights for sexual and reproductive health
Stakeholder Committee
Darren is the Director of Sexual Health at Cairns Sexual Health Service and is an Adjunct Professor at James Cook University and Clinical Associate Professor and Melbourne University. He has interests in broad sexual health, Indigenous sexual health, and in the elimination of viral hepatitis and HIV infections. He has worked with sex workers for over 30 years.
Peter Saxton
Theme – What’s hot! New technologies, tools, medicines and commodities
Stakeholder Committee
Peter is an Associate Professor and Burnett Foundation Aotearoa Fellow at the School of Population Health, University of Auckland. He sits on the NZ Sexual Health Society Executive and leads studies on HIV prevention and sexual health to guide Aotearoa’s public health response, working closely with policymakers, community organisations and media.
Ella Shannon
Theme – Human rights for sexual and reproductive health
Stakeholder Committee
Ella Shannon (she / her) is the National Chair of the Society of Australian Sexologists. She has a private counselling practice in Cairns Far North Queensland specialising in sex and relationship counselling, and offers EMDR for a range of issues and concerns, including sexual challenges. With a passion for ensuring that the right to sexual pleasure is included in any discussions about sexual and reproductive health, Ella has really enjoyed being part of the ASRH23 Committee
Michael Thomson
Theme – Human rights for sexual and reproductive health
Michael is Professor of Health Law at the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Leeds. His research spans Health Law, the regulation of reproduction, and children’s rights. At UTS he is the Director of Law Health Justice and also convenes the Women & Children’s Health Collaborative in the University’s new Health Institute.
Frances Turner
Theme – Reimagining SRH systems, services and care
Stakeholder Committee
I am the Nurse Unit Manager at Sydney Sexual Health Centre and the Vice President of the Australasian Sexual Health and HIV Nurses Association (ASHHNA). I have worked in sexual health for over 10 years and believe that providing the right support and encouragement leads to highly skilled, knowledgeable clinicians who can make a real difference to the field of sexual health and HIV. I hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology with the University of Hull, a postgraduate diploma in nursing with King’s College London, and a master’s in Education, Learning and Leadership with UTS.
Jessica Wilms
Theme – Human rights for sexual and reproductive health
Stakeholder Committee
Jess (she/her) is a Wiradjuri woman, who Co-Leads the state-wide Aboriginal sexual health portfolio for NSW Health and sits on the working groups for Take Blaktion and Playsafe. Jess works alongside community creating safe inclusive environments. She’s passionate about safe and equitable healthcare for all and tackling stigma and discrimination faced by Aboriginal and LGBTIQA+ communities.
