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Guests of Honour

Summit Speakers

Summit attendees will hear from and engage with the below speakers: 

Christopher Jones, Independent Licensee (MC) – Crucial Cognition Consulting & Chair of the National MHFA Instructor Reference Group

Chris is a highly experienced mental health professional with over 20 years of experience, including national-level policy, strategic thinking and planning, as well as leadership of high-performing teams across primary health, social services and mental health sectors.

Chris’s passion is driven by being part of many of Australia’s major mental health reforms over the past 15 years, including Partners in Recovery, PHN stepped care mental health approaches and, more recently, Head to Health. Chris has considerable policy knowledge and expertise having worked with the National Mental Health Commission on system reform approaches, including some of the early scoping of the National Suicide Prevention office.

Chris is a Master MHFA Instructor with 16 years’ experience in delivering this course. He has worked extensively with people with disabilities, carers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and organisations, and CALD individuals and organisations.

Chris is licensed to deliver Standard MHFA and Youth MHFA.

Angus Clelland, Chief Executive Officer, Mental Health First Aid International

BEc (ANU), BSc (Monash), Grad Dip AppCorpGov (GIA), Grad Dip Legal Studies (UC), MBA (ANU), MDefStud (ADFA-UNSW)

Angus is an experienced CEO with diverse senior executive experience across the federal government, health, family violence, community and disability sectors. His strength lies in using his strong stakeholder and change management skills to bring together diverse and often competing groups within complex organisations and across sectors to achieve better service outcomes.

In his most recent role as CEO of On the Line Australia, the clinical service provider of Mensline, National Suicide Service, and Suicide Line Victoria, Angus initiated and facilitated the merger between the organisation with community crisis support leader Lifeline Australia. He previously served as CEO of sector peak body Mental Health Victoria, where he successfully advocated for a Royal Commission in Victoria’s mental health system that has so far seen $6 billion invested into reform initiatives.

Angus has held numerous governance and advisory roles. He is currently a director of the Mental Health Legal Centre and the Victorian Government Regional Mental Health & Wellbeing Board member. He is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia, Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute UK, and Member and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ebony Whitehouse, Executive Director of Australian Operations, Mental Health First Aid International

Ebony Whitehouse as the Executive Director, Australia Operations at Mental Health First Aid International, provides leadership to each of the teams that are responsible for developing, maintaining, and supporting quality standards for the delivery of the Mental Health First Aid Australia Program.  

With over 15 years’ experience in leading both face to face and remote teams, Ebony uses clear and effective communication to build positive relationships and produce strong results. Passionate about education, Ebony is skilled in using feedback to innovate, coach staff, engage stakeholders and develop capacity within teams to ensure best practice delivery to meet learning outcomes. As a natural problem solver, Ebony thinks strategically, with empathy to ensure there is a key purpose behind all decision making.

Before commencing in her role at Mental Health First Aid in January 2022, Ebony led and directed the overall management, development, and direction of the National Education Portfolio at Swinburne Online, a partner for Online Education Services.

Ebony is passionate about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, to bridge the gaps in life outcomes, and more specifically mental health awareness and support. 

Rebecca Max, Instructor Reference Group

Rebecca has been a Licensed MHFA Instructor since 2019. She works exclusively with workplaces. 

Rebecca’s passion is to support workplaces in becoming more mentally healthy and MHFA is one of her offerings. Rebecca is a meditation teacher, neurodiversity instructor and runs programs around psychological and psychosocial safety, as well as leadership and stress management. 

Rebecca has completed a Graduate Certificate in Leading Mental Health & Wellbeing and is starting a Master’s in Mental Health & Wellbeing this month. 

With the first chapter of her career being in the corporate world, Rebecca wants to support cultures in being as safe and supportive as they can be. 

Dr Claire Kelly, Research Translation & Impact, Mental Health First Aid International 

Dr Claire Kelly is a researcher, curriculum developer and educator who values evidence, relationships and centering the voices of lived experience in all aspects of all work in the mental health sphere.

She is an author of the manuals and handbooks used in Mental Health First Aid courses and her work has informed the Mental Health First Aid Guidelines. She mentors international partners to adapt MHFA programs and disseminate them effectively in their own countries. 

Claire’s main passion is the mental health of young people and minimising the impacts that mental health problems can have on development, educational outcomes and long-term functioning. She has worked on research and curriculum development designed to meet the needs of specific groups in the community, such as culturally and linguistically diverse groups, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and LGBTIQA+ groups.  

Claire has lived experience of depression, anxiety and non-suicidal self-injury dating back from adolescence, which has been a driver for a lot of her work. 

Lynette Anderson, Instructor Delivery & Quality Manager, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs, Mental Health First Aid International

Lynette Anderson is of Aboriginal background, a proud Waanyi woman whose ancestorial lands are on the lower Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland through to Barkly Tablelands in the Northern Territory.

Lynette works for Mental Health First Aid International within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs Team as the Manager, Instructor Delivery and Quality.

She has worked in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health for 30 years as a First Nations Health Worker and Manager.

Many of those years have included working in the Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Services space.

Caillin Moore, Program Relationships Lead, Mental Health First Aid International

Leonard Puglia, General Manager, Systems & Delivery, Mental Health First Aid International

As the General Manager of Delivery and Systems, Leonard leads and manages cross-functional teams contributing to a high-quality user experience. These functions include support services, instructor quality and delivery, and systems in the Australian Operations portfolio. 

With over 20 years of experience in learning and organisational development, Leonard’s purpose and passion is to make every learning moment count. With a background in facilitation, learning design, coaching and mentoring, Leonard employs a human-centred approach and acknowledges that all learners are different.  

Leonard is a highly accomplished, results-driven professional passionate about collaboration and building relationships. With a proven track record of streamlining operations, increasing productivity, and delivering exceptional customer service, Leonard fosters a positive work environment and builds strong stakeholder relationships. 

We are pleased to share with you our program for the 2025 Instructor Summit:

Monday 1 September

Join us in The Plaza for a warm welcome, registration, and your Summit pack. This is a great time to grab a coffee, meet fellow Instructors, and ease into the day ahead.

This Smoking Ceremony, led by Aaron Ruska, offers a moment of grounding and connection to place, acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather.

 A formal Welcome to Country by Traditional Custodian Aaron Ruska, recognising the rich and continuing connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to Country.

Presented by MHFAI CEO Angus Clelland, Executive Director of Australian Operations Ebony Whitehouse and National Instructor Reference Group Chair Christopher Jones, the opening remarks will set the tone for the day, reflect on 25 years of MHFA, and outline our shared vision for the future.

Jordan is a lived/living experience representative with personal experiences of distress and institutional care. Over the past six years they have worked collaboratively across government and not-for-profit agencies to enshrine the voices of people with lived experience in system design and governance. 

Jordan is a Board Director of Suicide Prevention Australia, and has partnered extensively across the mental health, primary care, disability and suicide prevention sectors with organisations such as AHPRA, the AMC, IHACPA, the National Suicide Prevention Office and the National Mental Health Commission. They bring particular expertise advocating in the youth, psychosocial disability and LGBTQI+ spaces.

Bernard Galbally, CEO of Victorian community-based charity Youth Live4Life, will share how their sustainable, whole-of-community approach integrates MHFA into regional communities, highlighting its broader impact within community-wide mental health strategies, and why empowering young people to lead the conversation is critical for long-term change.

He will also reflect on the mental health landscape – past and present – and explore how health promotion charities can continue to lead and adapt in the decades ahead.

Enjoy a morning tea break with opportunities for informal networking and connection. Online attendees will have a short break for coffee, tea — or however you choose to spend your break!  

Hosted by the Instructor Reference Group, this session is a dedicated space for Instructors to come together to:

• Reflect on shared experiences
• Surface key priorities and challenges
• Discuss ideas for strengthening our community of practice
• Build connections with fellow Instructors across the country

Through both small-group conversations and a collective debrief, this is your opportunity to help shape the future direction of our work and ensure Instructor voices are heard.

New Edition (MHFA Edition 5)

The launch of Edition 5 is on the horizon, and it’s an exciting update. After an extensive consultation with instructors and stakeholders in Australia and around the world, we have taken the time to reimagine the structure of the manual and the course.

In this presentation, Dr Claire Kelly will present on the manual, which is currently under review. Major changes include:

• a transdiagnostic approach right from the beginning
• an increased focus on the Action Plan, which now forms the largest part of the manual
• chapters about specific illnesses reduced in length and scope
• simpler language and less repetition.

The curriculum redesign is well under way, reflecting these changes, and we are creating new learning activities in both fully face-to-face and blended offerings. New films are in development.

We will share some timelines, though these are necessarily tentative, due to our plans for piloting the course locally and overseas.

Youth Yarns 

Lynette Anderson, a proud Waanyi woman who leads Instructor Delivery & Quality in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA Programs directorate, will provide an overview of the new Youth Yarns course, highlighting key development phases of the exciting strengths-based and activity focused course that has been developed by and reviewed in consultation with First Nations people.

The course looks at the role of culture, Country and community in healing, connection and emotional regulation and provides culturally specific resources – to support young people toward the wellbeing of the body, mind and spirit.

Connect and recharge over lunch. Join the optional virtual Lunch & Learn for an informal peer-led knowledge share.

Presented by General Manager of Delivery & Systems Leonard Puglia and Program Relationships Lead Caillin Moore, this session introduces the development of a new engagement platform for MHFAiders – a dedicated space that promotes retention of knowledge and skills and fosters a passionate community.

You’ll also hear about our evolving systems journey at MHFAI – including key improvements to the Instructor Portal, resource management, and data systems that aim to better support your delivery, streamline admin processes, and improve access to information.

Join us to explore how these initiatives will help strengthen the experience of being part of our national MHFAider and Instructor communities. 

Presented by the Instructor Reference Group, this reflective session builds on earlier conversations to:

• Consolidate shared insights and themes
• Identify next steps for Instructor engagement and support with MHFA and the Instructor Reference Group
• Create space for community voice and vision.

An afternoon refresh with space to catch up and share ideas. Online attendees will have a short break for coffee, tea — or however you choose to spend your break!  

Presented by Ebony Whitehouse & the Instructor Reference Group, this is a moment to recognise the incredible impact of our Instructor community – celebrating milestones, contributions and moments of change.

Ebony Whitehouse and Christopher Jones will close the day’s official program with a thank you and final reflection on the day’s conversations, and an invitation to continue the journey together.

An opportunity to connect with fellow Instructors, exchange ideas, and continue the discussions sparked throughout the day. Share your reflections, build new connections, and explore ways to collaborate as we work together towards our shared goal of 3 million trained by 2030.

Please note this program is subject to change.