OT Exchange 2020

Keynote Speakers

Dylan Alcott

Not many people can lay claim to being a Paralympic gold medallist and world champion whilst still being in their teenage years. Then again, there aren’t many people like Dylan Alcott.

Dylan, a dual sport athlete, has represented Australia on the international stage in both wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis since the age of 13.

In 2008, at the age of 17, Dylan was a member of the Australian wheelchair basketball team, The Rollers, won gold medal victory at the 2008 Paralympic games in Beijing. Dylan became the youngest ever wheelchair basketball gold medallist in history. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics Dylan won gold in both the singles and doubles tennis making him one of an elite few to have won Olympic gold in two different sports at two separate Olympics.

Dylan was born with a rare type of tumour wrapped around his spinal cord, which required immediate surgery only weeks after birth. After a three-year battle for his life, Dylan defied the odds and through sheer determination and hard work, he has been able to strive to become one of Australia’s best and widely recognised Paralympians....

One of Dylan’s greatest achievements was being inducted as a member of the Order of Australia in 2009 at the age of 18. From there, Dylan and The Rollers followed up their win in Beijing with victory at the 2010 FIBA World Championships, becoming the first Australian basketball team to ever win the title. At the tournament, he was selected in the World All Star 5, making him the best player in his position in the world. In 2012, he returned from the London Paralympic Games with a silver medal.

In 2013, Dylan re-launched his tennis career, and was granted a wild card into the 2014 Australian Open, reaching the semi-final. After only 18 months into his comeback, Dylan won his first ever grand slam title, The Australian Open, and is currently ranked number one in the world.

Dylan made sports history in 2016, as the first wheelchair athlete to win the Newcombe Medal, the highest individual award in Australian tennis. Dylan won Gold in both the singles and doubles tennis at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, was the winner of the 2016 Australian Open and awarded the winner of the 2016 GQ Sportsman of the Year. In 2019, Dylan won his fifth consecutive Australian Open title, and he has won seven grand slam singles titles to date.

Dylan’s achievements are not only restricted to the sporting field. In 2017, Dylan created the Dylan Alcott Foundation, a foundation to help young people who are struggling to come to terms with their disabilities. The foundation aims to improve quality of life through mentoring, scholarships and grants which assists individuals to be involved in education and sport. Dylan is also an entrepreneur, and is the co-founder of Get Skilled Access, a training provider educating corporates and governments on how to better understand and treat customers with disabilities. He was also nominated for 2017 Young Australian of the Year.

Dylan is a keen philanthropist, and broke the world record playing wheelchair tennis for 24 consecutive hours non-stop, setting the new world record and raising an incredible $100,000 for two charities.

Dylan’s true passion is his work as a motivational speaker, and through his inspirational storytelling, he is continually trying to alter and change the way people with disabilities are perceived in the wider community. He works as a keynote corporate speaker, bringing disability awareness to schools. He also works extensively in the Australian media landscape, currently hosting on Triple J Radio, and he regularly makes appearances on Channel Ten’s The Project and Channel 7 Sports.

In 2018, Dylan published his autobiography, Able - Gold Medals, Grand Slams and Smashing Glass Ceilings.

Emma Gee

Emma Gee is an acclaimed International Inspirational Speaker & Author, offering her thoughts and solutions on person-centred care and resilience through her keynote presentations, workshops and consultancy. With a background in Occupational Therapy and as a Stroke Survivor, Emma is a renowned expert and a living example of what it takes to step in another’s shoes and truly bounce back in life. Through her inspiring presentations, Emma is able to both captivate and challenge her audiences to consider what IS possible in their own lives.

Learning to speak again post-stroke, and realising the importance of sharing her story to help others, were the catalysts for Emma taking on speaking professionally. Today, and thousands of presentations later, Emma as an Inspirational Speaker has incredibly broad client group:from healthcare (associations, hospitals and rehabilitation facilities); businesses & corporate events; community organisations; through to educational facilities. She has also just published her first book entitled Reinventing Emma.

Emma is passionate about enhancing person-centred service delivery and resilience in the lives of all she works with and promises to leave her audiences inspired to bounce back and step up. Emma Gee’s signature phrase is “that it’s not what happens to you that matters,it’s how you choose to deal with it!” will see her audiences moving past life’s hurdles to what’s possible.