Dr Robert Stirling is CEO of Network of Alcohol and Other Drugs Agencies (NADA) the NSW NGO AOD peak body. He supports members in AOD and public health policy, planning and funding, sector and workforce development, as well as research and evaluation. Robert has worked in the AOD sector for almost 20 years, and holds qualifications in public health and community management. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer with the Drug Policy Modelling Program at UNSW.

Raechel Wallace is a proud Wandi Wandian, Wodi Wodi woman from the Yuin Nation. Raechel works at NADA as the Aboriginal Program Manager and is a Senior Research Officer at NDARC.

Anke is a medical anthropologist with experience in public health research and evaluation, applying mixed methods to a range of ATOD issues. This has included working in Aboriginal Community-Controlled, academic, and non-government settings, engaging collaboratively with communities experiencing complex health and social disadvantages and marginalisation.

Dr Janni Leung is an NHMRC Development Fellow at National Centre For Youth Substance Use Research (NCYSUR) at The University of Queensland. Their program of research includes investigating the epidemiology of substance use and mental health because they are both major public health issues that commonly occur together.

Andy Biddle is the State Manager, Alcohol, and other Drug services NSW/ACT at The Salvation Army. He has 20 years’ of experience in the AOD sector, in both the UK and Australia, across a wide range of roles and service types. While in the UK, he worked with CGL, the largest provider of AOD services in Europe, for 15 years across London and the South. He has worked in commissioning with a PHN, developing new service models and changing treatment systems.

Tom is the Services Manager for The Salvation Army’s Canberra AOD Services, which incorporates Canberra Recovery Service a 37 Bed Residential Unit as well as the Canberra Recovery Hub Community Day Program. Both services deliver The Salvation Army’s three-phased 12-week AOD Recovery ‘Foundations Program’, providing an integrated stepped-care model in the ACT.

Isabella is a Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer at La Trobe University, Australia. Her research focuses on loneliness and the role of social connections in addiction, health and wellbeing. Her clinical interests include working with families as well as socially disadvantaged populations.

Pia Clinton-Tarestad is CEO and co-founder of Clean Slate Clinic. She is a Health Economist by background and was Lead Partner for Healthcare at Deloitte Australia prior to co-founding Clean Slate Clinic. Pia’s passion for tackling health inequities and her own lived experience of alcohol dependence drives her determination to transform how addiction treatment services are perceived and delivered and to tear down the barriers to access.

Dr Chris Davis is a GP and Addictions Consultant working at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney. He is the Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of Clean Slate Clinic - a Social Enterprise with the mission of reducing health inequality and improving access to alcohol and other drug treatment. The Clean Slate team use a telehealth platform to deliver withdrawal and recovery services to patients in their own homes breaking down both geographical and financial barriers to accessing care

Tony is a research fellow at Turning Point. His work explores client' and clinicians' experiences of treatment and policy change. He aims to provide policy relevant evidence to help to inform health service system design.

Calvert has just completed his PhD with the Lives Lived Well Research Group at UQ. His PhD investigated the effectiveness of residential substance use treatment through administrative data linkage. He has an interest in utilising administrative data to examine health and substance use outcomes among hard-to-reach populations.

Melinda has worked in the AOD field for two decades, across research, education, consulting, and clinical roles. She is currently a Senior Research Officer at the Matilda Centre and the study coordinator for this project. A registered psychologist, she also works as a Dual Diagnosis Practitioner in Victoria.

Dr Deans, alongside lived experience young people and various research and community stakeholders, has worked on a range of qualitative projects exploring the substance use needs of young people experiencing significant marginalisation and disadvantage. Dr Deans continues to build capacity for NGO AOD organisations to conduct research to support strategic planning/service design. Dr Deans is passionate about understanding the social and commercial drivers of health behaviours and how services can better support individuals to stay well.