Keynote Presenters

Professor Jennie Hudson

As a fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences (2018), Professor Hudson has made distinguished contributions to the scientific understanding and clinical treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. 

She has delivered sustained and influential insights into the complex aetiology of anxiety, as well as developed and validated innovative, accessible interventions. She is recognised as a world leader for her work on parent-child interactions and the development and treatment of anxiety. Before her current position as Director of Research at the Black Dog Institute, Professor Hudson was the Director of the Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie University. 

She was also previously awarded an ARC Future Fellowship (2013-2016), and a Visiting Fellowship, University of Oxford (2015-20).

Professor Donna Cross

Donna Cross is a Professor with the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Western Australia and the Head of the Health Promotion and Education Research team and Director of the Early Childhood Development and Learning Collaboration at the Telethon Kids Institute.

Since 1999 Donna has been awarded over $60m in research funding to conduct research to improve child and adolescent, and their parents’ and school executives’ health and wellbeing. Over the past 25 years she has led 70+ applied school and community-based research projects investigating ways to enhance wellbeing and social and emotional development and reduce anti-social behaviour in schools and families.

In 2012, Donna was awarded the WA ‘Australian of the Year’ for her services to children’s health and wellbeing. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and in 2017 a finalist for WA Scientist of the Year. Donna’s 2017 Churchill Fellowship investigated ways children’s wellbeing, development and learning is influenced by their use of technology.

Julie Inman Grant

Julie Inman Grant leads the world’s first government regulatory agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online.  

As Commissioner, Julie plays an important global role as Chair of the Child Dignity Alliance’s Technical Working Group and as a Board Member of the WePROTECT Global Alliance. The Commissioner also serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety and on their XR Ecosystem Governance Steering Committee on Building and Defining the Metaverse.

In 2021, Julie oversaw significant increases in the eSafety office’s budget, increased staffing levels and launched the global Safety by Design initiative. As Commissioner, she has led work to stand up novel and world-first regulatory regimes under the new Online Safety Act 2021, with implementation of a sweeping new set of reforms beginning on 23 January 2022. The Commissioner was recently named one of Australia’s most influential women by the Australian Financial Review and a leading Australian in Foreign Affairs by the Sydney Morning Herald.