▌Plenary Session Speakers

 

Claudia Gold MD

Claudia Gold MD

Paediatrician, Author, Infant-Parent Mental Health Specialist

Claudia M. Gold, MD is a paediatrician and writer who practiced paediatrics for 20 years and now specializes in early relational health. She has over three decades of clinical experience in a wide variety of communities and currently works in a volunteer clinic for uninsured families and as a consultant to a program for pregnant and parenting women struggling with substance use. She was on the faculty of the UMass fellowship in Early Relational Health for ten years.

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Dinah Thomasset

Dinah Thomasset

Villagehood Australia Founder & CEO | Maternal Mental Health Advocate & Speaker

Dinah Thomasset is a passionate advocate and expert in maternal mental health, peer support, and early childhood development, with a career spanning over two decades across Australia, France, and the UK. Her extensive experience in the not-for-profit, government, and corporate sectors has equipped her with a unique ability to navigate and influence diverse environments.

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Professor Rhonda Marriot

Professor Rhonda Marriot

AM., PhD., RN., Midwife, Fellow CATSINaM

Inaugural Pro Vice Chancellor, Ngangk Yira Institute for Change, and Director of the Yorga, Maaman and Koolanga Research and Advocacy Centre, Murdoch University. AM., PhD., RN., Midwife, Fellow CATSINaM. Matrilineally descended from the Nyikina people of the Kimberley, Prof Marriott, AM has extensive senior University leadership experience, and maintains her professional connection with nursing and midwifery. She champions the translation of codesigned maternal, early childhood and youth research outcomes into national policy and practice to emphasise the strengthening of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family futures through transformational research. As PVC for the Ngangk Yira Institute for Change, she has drawn together a passionate team of Aboriginal and non-indigenous researchers for meaningful research partnerships with Elders and members from Aboriginal communities across Western Australia. Rhonda’s Birthing on Noongar Boodjar project was voted ’10 of the Best’ by NHMRC and she has very recently been presented with the Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue Leadership Award at the 2024 CATSINaM Conference which she was honored to receive.

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Chelsea Luker

Chelsea Luker

Registered Psychologist, Connect Us Psychology

Chelsea Luker (she/her) is an Autistic ADHDer psychologist, author, and advocate based on Bundjalung Country. She is the founder of Connect Us Psychology and is passionate about working with Neurodivergent individuals across the lifespan, with a particular interest in identity, burnout, and perinatal mental health. Chelsea brings a unique blend of clinical expertise and lived experience to her work and is passionate about building systems that affirm rather than pathologise neurodivergence. She is the author of Square Me, Round World and the creator of the ‘Building Your Neurodivergent Identity’ program. Chelsea is also a parent to two Neurodivergent children and draws from both personal and professional experience when speaking about the complexity of early parenthood.

Dr Melanie Sauer

Dr Melanie Sauer

Clinical Neuropsychologist, PhD, MAPS

Dr Melanie Sauer is a Clinical Neuropsychologist living on Bundjalung Country in Northern NSW. She is a neurodiversity-affirming psychologist who has spent most of her career supporting people in acute mental health settings, including the Lavender Mother and Baby Unit at Gold Coast University Hospital. Melanie currently works in private practice where she provides integrative care and assessment for adults with developmental and/or acquired cognitive and psychological challenges, including neurodivergent individuals. Melanie’s passion in this area is furthered by her personal experience in mothering her neurodivergent son.