Speakers

Speaker	Date	Topic
Siva Prasad Pillai (Administrator - ITHF)	Jul 16, 2026 7:50 AM	Rotary International Travelling & Hosting Fellowship Summary of Rotary Activities, Career and life of Rotn.Sivaprasad S Pillai Roles in Rotary Administrator of Rotary’s International Travel and Hosting Fellowship (ITHF) since July 2023. This is a Fellowship with 900 members from 80 countries. ITHF Member for the last 4 years. Addressed clubs in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and the Netherland Rotarian for the last 9 years. Served as one of the Directors on the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Trivandrum South in 2018, 2019 and 2020 Member of ‘Uday Kiran’ a major construction project launched during the Golden Jubilee year of our club. Guest Speaker at Various clubs in Australia, New Zealand and Europe MPHF Addressing Papanui Club, Christchurch, New Zealand. Professional Sivaprasad S Pillai, a native of Trivandrum, the capital city of the South Indian state of Kerala. Graduated in Electronics and Communication Engineering Retired software consultant with 30 years of experience in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Extensive experience in the design, development, and implementation of software systems for banks, hospitals, airports, and other businesses. Currently active in Rotary, in addition to engaging in farming activities in our farm. Personal Married to Prasanna for the last 40 years. Elder daughter, Preeti, and her husband work as software consultants in the Netherlands. Younger daughter, Prasidhi, works for the University of Queensland in Brisbane, and her husband works for Ecolab. Two grandchildren.
No Speaker - Meeting to be held with Board Meeting	Jul 23, 2026	Meeting to be held with Board Meeting, simultaneously
Catherine Baxter - BCC Transport (Group Executive)	Jul 30, 2026 7:50 AM	Overview of the bus and ferry operations at Brisbane City Council
Donelle Whiteley - Chair of Rotary Health D9620	Aug 06, 2026 7:50 AM	Lift the Lid on Mental Health
Dr Tristan Wallis - Qld Brain Institute	Aug 13, 2026 7:50 AM	Memory, Learning and Ageing Talk title: Memory, Learning and Ageing I will give a brief overview of the Queensland Brain Institute and its overall activities, followed by a gentle introduction to the brain and neuronal function/connection; how this is impacted in ageing and neurodegeneration; dietary and lifestyle choices investigated by QBI that can impact positively on cognitive health during ageing; and finally a brief look at emerging technologies.
Craig Carson - Rotary Club of Brisbane Centenary	Aug 20, 2026 7:50 AM	Beef Bank - Feeding the Community
Dr Peter Ellerton	Aug 27, 2026 7:50 AM	Critical Thinking and Agency Against the Erosion of Professional Judgment and Public Disengagement. Talk AI increasingly impacts professional and public practice, eroding trust, agency and meaning making. This talk explores the necessity of cultivating both critical thinking and agency against the erosion of professional judgment and public disengagement. Agency is the capacity to act reflectively, responsibly and effectively, guided by knowledgeable and principled reasoning. The challenge of AI is not only that machines can perform tasks once reserved for experts, but that professionals and institutions themselves risk outsourcing epistemic responsibility for their judgements; hence losing the agency and accountability at the core of public trust. By focusing on the intellectual and ethical dimensions of professional judgment, we can better understand what it means to think well in context: to explain, analyse, evaluate and justify with regard for the truth. Against the scalability and replicability of AI, professionalism and agency become a form of principled rebellion, a refusal to surrender human reasoning to the siren call of technological convenience. Bio Peter Ellerton is Curriculum Director of the University of Queensland Critical Thinking Project, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy in the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry. Peter’s areas of focus include Public Reasoning, Science Communication, Argumentation and Critical Thinking in education. His passion is working with educators to enable a critical thinking teaching focus across all levels and subject areas. He has consulted and produced papers for a variety of organisations including the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the International Baccalaureate Organisation, The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, and the New South Wales and Queensland Departments of Education. He has designed and delivered professional learning in Teaching for Thinking throughout Australia and internationally. He also works in developing critical thinking leadership, including with the Queensland Police Force, the Australian Defence Force, the Australian Institute of Police Management and a range of government and business groups. https://critical-thinking.project.uq.edu.au
Valerie Simons	Sep 03, 2026 7:50 AM	ShelterBox Australia ShelterBox Australia For over 25 years, ShelterBox Australia has been deploying in many countries around the globe to support families that have been struck by a sudden disaster or had to flee their homes due to conflicts in their region. Rotary International and ShelterBox are partners in disaster relief and Rotary clubs around the world have been incredibly generous in supporting ShelterBox through the years. I will give you an update on where we are at with ShelterBox in Australia, what are the current appeals and latest deployments and how you can support ShelterBox Australia.
Dr Grace Maano	Sep 10, 2026 7:50 AM	Rural Generalist Obstetrician \| Global Maternal Health Advocate \| Training Emergency Obstetric Care Across Africa & Asia \| Rotary Leader
Gary Lindsay	Sep 17, 2026 7:50 AM	Bloodbikes Australia
Dr Cassie Oxenford - Neurologist	Oct 08, 2026 7:50 AM	Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - aka Motor Neuron Disease Introduction to the disease logistics and dilemmas of diagnosis and management frontiers of treatment and research Dr. Cassie Oxenford is a neurologist with a further subspecialty fellowship in neuromuscular neurology. She also has an additional fellowship in general internal medicine. Dr. Oxenford currently divides her time between public, private and research appointments in the area of neuromuscular and general neurology. She has completed her neuromuscular neurology fellowship at Vancouver General Hospital, a tertiary referral centre in the largest city in Canada’s West Coast province of British Columbia. She has previously completed fellowships in general neurology and general medicine in Queensland and has worked as a neurologist and general medicine physician in public hospitals throughout Queensland and as a principal and sub-principal investigator recruiting patients to international trials for rare neuromuscular conditions such as ALS-MND. By completing an international neuromuscular fellowship in a world class centre Dr. Oxenford aims to utilise her diverse skillsets to further education and research opportunities for neurology trainees in Queensland and ultimately advance the care for patients with these conditions in Queensland and Australia.
Judy Smith	Oct 29, 2026 7:50 AM	War Widows Qld (State President) Judith Smith Australian War Widows Qld State President & War Widow Director Judy Smith began her professional career as a registered nurse and midwife, holding postgraduate qualifications in maternal and child health. Her nursing career spanned New South Wales, Tasmania, and Papua New Guinea. After relocating to Katherine in the Northern Territory, Judy served as Director of a community-based child care service and later as a Senior Officer with the Department of Health. In 1986, she was appointed Children’s Services Development Officer with the Katherine Town Council, undertaking a comprehensive assessment of childcare needs in preparation for the reopening of RAAF Base Tindal. A lifelong community volunteer, Judy has held numerous leadership roles since the 1970s, including President, Treasurer, and Board Member of a wide range of sporting, civic, and health organisations in Katherine and on the Sunshine Coast. Judy joined Australian War Widows Queensland (AWWQ) in 2013 following the passing of her husband, a World War II veteran. Since then, she has served as President of the Maroochydore Sub-Branch (2015–2020), Director on the AWWQ Board (2019–2022), and was elected State President in 2022. AS state president, Judy is a member of the National Council of Australian War Widows Inc. She advocates on behalf of AWWQ at Commonwealth and State forums and represents war widows at ceremonial occasions, ensuring the service and sacrifice of veterans and their families are honoured and remembered. A shorter version. Judy Smith began her professional career as a registered nurse and midwife, holding postgraduate qualifications in maternal and child health. A lifelong community volunteer, Judy has held numerous leadership roles since the 1970s, in a wide range of sporting, civic, and health organisations in Katherine, N.T. and on the Sunshine Coast She joined Australian War Widows Qld (AWWQ) in 2013 following the passing of her husband, a World War II veteran. Since then, she has served as President of the Maroochydore Sub-Branch (2015–2020), Director on the AWWQ Board (2019–2022), and was elected State President in 2022. Judy is a member of the National Council of Australian War Widows Inc. She advocates on behalf of AWWQ at Commonwealth and State forums and represents war widows at ceremonial occasions, ensuring the service and sacrifice of veterans and their families are honoured and remembered.