Keynote speakerS

Maggie Toko is the Deputy Commissioner for the Mental Health Complaints Commission in Victoria. She has been in this position for 4 months and is currently taking 12 months leave without pay from my substantive position which is Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council.

Maggie has spent a number of years working in homelessness, youth, sexual assault, mental health and drug and alcohol.  She has spent 5 years teaching at RMIT University in the Global Studies unit teaching the Diploma of Drug and Alcohol and Mental health – the last 3 years teaching in the Northern Territory to indigenous students. Maggie also spent 3 years as a consumer consultant for Reach out Mental health and thoroughly enjoyed her time in all those position. 

Maggie identifies as someone with a Lived Experience of mental health issues and believes she draw on those first hand experiences to assist her work and life direction.

Dr Carolynne White is a registered occupational therapist and an Adjunct Research Fellow with the Department of Health and Medical Science at Swinburne University of Technology. 

In her current role as Participation and Engagement Advisor at Mind Australia, Carolynne is working to embed a culture of inclusion and participation across the organisation by engaging diverse consumers, family members and carers in activities that influence decision-making.  

Through her clinical, research and personal experiences, Carolynne has developed a deep commitment to promoting health and well-being using person-centred, occupation-based approaches, and by addressing upstream determinants of health, such as stigma and discrimination.  Carolynne is the current president of HAES Australia, an interdisciplinary association that promotes size-inclusive approaches to health care and policy, and the occupational therapy ambassador for Equally Well, a national initiative to improve the physical health and quality of life of people living with mental illness.

Betty Kitchener

In 2000, Betty co-developed the Mental Health First Aid Program with her husband Professor Tony Jorm. At the end of 2016, Betty stepped down as the CEO of the Mental Health First Aid Australia. 

Betty has held qualifications and experience as a school teacher, a counsellor and a registered nurse. She has a Research Masters in Nursing, Bachelor Degree in Psychology and post graduate qualifications in counselling. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Deakin University in Victoria. She brings personal mental health consumer experience to her position. I

n 2015, Betty was awarded as an Order of Australia Member AM for her MHFA work. Betty developed the Older Person Mental Health First Aid (OPMHFA) Program in 2017 and has been a Trainer of Instructors for that program up to August 2018.