This symposium gets practical - focusing on the systems and structures that turn EDI commitment into lasting progress.

You'll leave with practical takeaways across three areas: 

Getting leadership buy-in: Practical approaches to engaging decision-makers, building accountability structures, and influencing EDI outcomes at every level of your organisation.

Making the most of your resources: Models and examples for obtaining and managing EDI resourcing, including what's possible with or without dedicated EDI staff.

Doing the work well: Key competencies for EDI practitioners and leaders, evidence-based practice, relationship-building, and actionable guidance to strengthen your EDI strategy, planning, and communication.

Who Should Attend 

EDI practitioners, HR and culture leads, MRI leaders, members of EDI or equivalent committees, and anyone interested in strengthening EDI practice in an MRI. 

Event Details

Date: Thursday 18 June
Time: 9:30 am – 3:00 pm
Location: The Florey, Parkville
Cost:
- Free for SAGE member institutions & partners (apply discount code at checkout)
- $50 per person for non-member institutions
- $25 for students

If you are in a SAGE member institution, use the code PARTNERS-MELBOURNE on checkout to secure your free ticket. Please register for catering purposes.

For more information, contact us at sage@sciencegenderequity.org.au

Event Partners

These events are organised by SAGE in partnership with the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. These events are also supported by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources through the project Science in Australia Gender and Equity Accreditation Framework (SAGE Framework).

Our Speakers

We have a range of speakers across institute types, seniority levels, roles and experience including leadership, EDI practitioners, professional services staff, and researchers.

Keynotes

Bree Gorman (they/them) | DEI Coach, Consultant and Trainer

Dr Bree Gorman is a DEI strategist and educator who works with organisations to understand why their inclusion efforts stall and what structural changes are needed for them to actually work. For the past 10+ years they have partnered with leaders across sectors to embed inclusion into institutional systems, processes, and everyday decision-making. They particularly focus on the intersecting barriers that shape who advances, who belongs, and who gets left out.

Bree has led a SAGE Athena SWAN Bronze application and has since supported universities with Cygnet applications and Bronze plan implementation.

Ella Shellshear (she/her) | Manager, DEI | Burnet Institute

Ella is a senior DEI leader and specialist with deep expertise in health and medical research, recognised for her ability to drive meaningful, organisation-wide inclusion outcomes that are impactful and built to last. She specialises in inclusive research practice, equipping research institutions with the tools, capacity and expertise to embed equity and inclusion into the very design and conduct of research itself — positioning organisations at the forefront of global best practice in health and medical research.

A strategic and commercially-minded professional, Ella brings board-level thinking to DEI — connecting inclusion strategy to organisational performance, research integrity and long-term institutional reputation. She partners with leadership teams and governance bodies to ensure DEI is embedded as an enduring strategic priority, with the structures and capability to sustain momentum.

Additional Speakers

Marguerite Evans-Galea | Deputy Director, Strategy & Planning | Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute
Jennifer Zenker | Group Leader | Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute
Kelly Menzel | Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Initiative | Burnet Institute
Ayan Dasvarma | School and Institute Manager | Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute
Kate Mackin | Strategy & Projects Officer | Hudson Institute
Madison Hartill-Law | Diversity & Inclusion Consultant | Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Lorey Smith Research Fellow, Co-Chair Peter Mac Research Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Saraid Billiards | CEO | Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes

From Our Partners

Saraid Billiards | CEO | Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes
Khaled Chakli | Deputy CEO | Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences

Contact the host of Melbourne | EDI Enablers in MRIs | Governance, Resourcing, and Capability

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