Speakers

Conference speakers

Workshop presenters

Speakers bio’s

Photo of Reem Abdelaty

Reem Abdelaty

Local-e Program Director

PRESENTATION: LOCAL-E: FUTURE STEPS

Reem has been running Local-e (formerly Local Online Communications and Linkages) for almost three years. In that time she has managed to travel all over regional NSW, including Broken Hill, Brewarrina, Deniliquin and other parts in between, visiting her clients. Reem has a particular interest in making sure that her clients have access to the latest information in the web world.

Prior to this Reem was involved in setting up Local Government Procurement, and prior to that she was in the wilds of the private sector.

Reem loves cooking and adores spending her spare time writing, and taking pictures for her food blog.

Reem holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and History from the Australian National University, and a Graduate Certificate in Commerce from the University of Sydney.

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Photo of Dmitry Baranovskiy

Dmitry Baranovskiy

WORKSHOP: INTRODUCTION TO JAVASCRIPT

Dmitry has over 8 years experience in creating web applications. Having started as a back end developer, more recently he has changed his orientation to front end development and even pure design. These days he spends his working hours trying to embrace a wide range of front end technologies while working as a JavaScript Developer for Atlassian. He is also the creator of Optimus, the Microformats transformer, as well as Raphaël, a JavaScript Vector Library. At any given moment he is always working on three secret projects, though no one knows where he gets the time for any of this.

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Photo of James Breeze

James Breeze

WORKSHOP: START YOUR USER-CENTRED DESIGN NOW

James is an Organisational Psychologist and user experience evangelist who constantly seeks out better ways of doing things. He enjoys helping people get the most out of technology. He has 10 years experience across a myriad of user-centred design, social networking, web and intranet projects. James has worked with all levels of government in Australia, as well as with small to medium enterprises and the largest corporates.

James believes that your web (re)design strategy must consider more than just your website. It must also include considerations of social media that are relevant to your business and its customers. His company, Objective Digital, focuses on delivering cost effective and timely consulting products that are delivered in a highly motivational context for staff, clients and developers alike.

James is an Honorary Associate, Masters Supervisor and Guest Lecturer at Macquarie University and the University of UNSW. He blogs about user-centred design, social media, usability and eye tracking on his UsableWorld Blog and you can follow him on Twitter @jamesbreeze.

SLIDES – JAMES BREEZE: http://www.slideshare.net/jamesbreeze/objective-digital-u-c-d-process

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Photo of Bernard de Broglio

Bernard de Broglio

PRESENTATION: EXTEND YOUR WEBSITE USING INEXPENSIVE WEB-BASED TOOLS

Presenting with Diana Mounter

Bernard has worked at Mosman Council since 2002, in Local Government since 2001 and free range on the web since the first days of Netscape Navigator.

His interest in the social aspect of network communications was sparked by FidoNet and the Sydney BBS (Bulletin Board System) scene of the late 80s and early 90s.

That early promise – of new forms of participation online – is now being realised.

He thinks it’s an exciting time to be working in government on the web.

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Photo of Bob Crawshaw

Bob Crawshaw

PRESENTATION: ONLINE MARKETING (DETAILS TBC)

Bob Crawshaw began in PR as the Australian Army’s first Director of Public Affairs. He has 15 years public relations experience in the public and private sectors and runs Maine Street Marketing, a company specializing in media relations, new media and marketing. He works with some of Australia’s largest government agencies and a range of not for profit organizations.

Bob is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators, the Australian Marketing Institute and the Public Relations Society of America.

Bob Crawshaw blogs marketing, PR and social media at http://mainestreet1.blogspot.com

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Photo of Cassandra Findlay

Cassandra Findlay

PRESENTATION: KEEPING RECORDS OF YOUR WEBSITE

Cassie Findlay is a Senior Project Officer in the Government Recordkeeping program of State Records New South Wales. In this role she is responsible for State Records’ digital recordkeeping and archiving program. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney and a Master of Information Management – Archives / Records from the University of New South Wales. From 2001-2004 she was the Secretary of the International Council on Archives’ Committee on Appraisal, and in 2003 she was a guest editor of a special issue of Archives and Manuscripts on appraisal. Cassie wrote the chapter on digital recordkeeping for new edition of Keeping Archives, the Australian Society of Archivists’ archival textbook.

SLIDES – CASSANDRA FINDLAY: http://www.slideshare.net/reemski/keeping-web-records

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Photo of Lisa Harvey

Lisa Harvey

PRESENTATION: GOVERNMENT 2.0 TASKFORCE WORKSHOP

Lisa Harvey is an IT specialist working in the not-for-profit sector. She is the Managing Director of Energetica a small business that provides websites and online communities for not-for-profit organisations. Energetica was established in established in 2000.

Lisa has over 25 years experience in the IT industry with17 years working with not-for-profit organisations. Lisa also worked for 7 years for Unisys. Lisa has worked as National IT Coordinator for LHMU.

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Photo of Roger Huson

Roger Hudson

WORKSHOP: WCAG 2.0

Roger Hudson has a post-graduate certificate in Internet Marketing and has provided website usability and accessibility services to corporate, government and not-for-profit organizations.

He has undertaken usability and/or accessibility evaluations for a wide range of clients including, NSW Office of Information Technology, Australian Museum, Qantas, Amnesty International Australia, National Association of Testing Authorities, Westpac Bank, the NSW Guardianship Tribunal and the NSW State Library.

Roger has a detailed understanding of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and has conducted usability and accessibility testing sessions with many different groups of web users including people with disabilities. He has presented workshops and written numerous articles on different aspects of website usability and accessibility.

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Neil King

Vision Australia

PRESENTATION: INTRODUCTION TO WCAG 2.0

Neil is a Senior Accessibility Consultant with Vision Australia. Since joining the team in 2008 he has provided accessibility support to a number of government services, and conducted a research based project to ascertain the true accessibility of PDF documents.

Neil was a lead researcher on the Disability Rights Commission’s first Formal Investigation into website accessibility, which involved evaluating 1000 websites and testing 100 sites with a panel of 50 disabled users. The findings set the agenda for the future development of website accessibility standards in the UK.

Prior to joining Vision Australia Neil was a partner in a London based UX consultancy where he led a number of successful projects that sought to complement the W3C standards with end user involvement.

SLIDES – NEIL KING: http://www.slideshare.net/visionaustralia/introduction-to-wcag-20

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Senator Kate Lundy

OPENING KEYNOTE: GOVERNMENT 2.0 – BUILDING A CITIZEN-CENTRIC APPROACH

Kate Lundy was first elected to the Senate for the ACT in 1996, at the age of 28. She began her career at age 16 as a labourer in the construction industry, becoming involved in the Building Workers Industrial Union (now the CFMEU), and later becoming a workplace delegate and a full-time union organiser. In 1987, she was elected Vice-President of the ACT branch of the BWIU and in 1993 she became the first woman to be elected as President of the ACT Trades and Labour Council. She was a foundation member of Emily’s List, established by Labor women to support the election of more Labor women to Parliament.

An avid sportswoman, she is a member and patron of the Canberra Rowing Club. She lives in Canberra with her husband and children.

Parliamentary Service

Elected to the Senate for the Australian Capital Territory, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007. (Territory Senators serve for the same term as the House of Representatives).

Her responsibilities have included:

  • Deputy Chair Environment, Communications, IT and the Arts Legislation Committee
  • Full member, Environment, Communications IT and the Arts References Committee
  • August 1997 – Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Minister for Sport and Tourism and Assistant to the Shadow Ministers for Science and Information Technology, Youth Affairs and the Arts
  • October 1998 – Shadow Minister for Sport and Youth Affairs and Assisting on Information Technology
  • November 2001 – Shadow Minister for Information Technology and Sport
  • August 2004 – Shadow Minister for Arts, Sport and Information Technology

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Diana Mounter

PRESENTATION: EXTEND YOUR WEBSITE USING INEXPENSIVE WEB-BASED TOOLS

Presenting with Bernard de Broglio

Diana is the Design and Development Coordinator for the Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW (LGSA).

Diana started her professional life working in a graphic design studio in the UK in 1997, from there she moved into the world of the web primarily working in government and the public sector.

In her role at the LGSA Diana designs, builds, coordinates, and supports the LGSA’s many websites, giving her the experience of working with a CMS, custom builds, and Open Source software. Diana has introduced the LGSA to social networking tools such as Twitter and Flickr, and implemented the LGSA’s first corporate blogs and wikis. She’s excited that the LGSA is embracing the social web and is looking forward to seeing how the use of social media in local government grows in the future.

Working in government inspired her to setup the Local Government Web Network with Reem, and run this conference.

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Mark Pesce

CLOSING KEYNOTE – EXPOSURE: TRANSPARENCY, COMMUNITIES AND GOVERNMENT DATA

Known internationally as the man who fused virtual reality with the World Wide Web to invent VRML, Mark Pesce has been exploring the frontiers of media and technology for a quarter of a century.

His work has kept him on the forefront of emerging developments in science, technology and media. With a unique ability to make abstract concepts clear for lay audiences and to further the knowledge of the technologically savvy, he is a highly sought-after public speaker, lecturing throughout the world on a variety of topics – from the latest trends on the Internet, to current developments in neuroeconomics, to the future of design in an energy-conscious world. Pesce is first and foremost a storyteller, taking everyday examples from the world around us, then using these to illuminate the finer features of world that seems to be changing more rapidly every day.

The author of five books and numerous articles, Pesce is widely respected as a technologist, futurist, philosopher and communicator who can translate abstract concepts into concrete explanations. Mainstream publications such as Forbes ASAP, TIME Digital, WIRED and The New York Times have profiled him and his views on the interactive era. A well-respected journalist, Pesce has written for WIRED, Feed, Salon, PC Magazine, and The Age. For the last three seasons, Pesce has been a panelist on the hit ABC show THE NEW INVENTORS.

Pesce currently holds an appointment as an Honorary Associate in the Digital Cultures programme at the University of Sydney, and in 2006 founded FutureSt, a Sydney media and technology consultancy. Working with clients such as Telstra, Lonely Planet and SanDisk, Pesce brings his encyclopedic knowledge of technology together with a consumer-focused sensibility to refine clients’ products and strategies.

SLIDES – MARK PESCE: http://www.slideshare.net/mpesce/the-new-new

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Jason Ryan

PLENARY SESSION: OPEN SOURCING GOVERNMENT

Jason is the Manager, Communications and Records Management at the State Services Commission. He is also the only head of communications in New Zealand’s public service that compiles from source.

In his time at the Commission, Jason has been an advocate for the use of social media in the public sector. He has written extensively on Govt 2.0 and the social and cultural impact of Internet technologies on public sector organisations on the Network of Public Sector Communicators website. He has overseen the introduction of social software to the Commission’s internal and external communications and continues to provide advice to other government departments about their social media initiatives.

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Donna Spencer

WORKSHOP: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE – JUST THE ESSENTIALS

Donna’s a freelance information architect, interaction designer and writer. That’s a fancy way of saying she plans how to present the things you see on your computer screen, so that they’re easy to understand, engaging and compelling. Things like the navigation, forms, categories and words on intranets, websites, web applications and business systems.

Most of the projects Donna works on are large, messy monsters, like government websites and intranets, internal business applications and web applications. But she still gets to work on something small and funky too. So she’s intimately aware of the challenges of both long-term, ongoing projects and short-burst, agile programming type engagements. She’s also an old hand at sketching screens, drawing wireframes and building prototypes.

But whatever sort of job Donna’s working on, there’s one common requirement. She has to comprehensively understand the needs of the user. Only then can she make the system as usable as possible. Luckily, she’s also quite fond of people, so doing user research and running usability tests is a pleasure, not a pain.

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Russ Weakley

WORKSHOP: REAL-WORLD CSS

Russ Weakley has worked as a web designer for the last 13 years. Russ has a detailed knowledge of web design and development. His expertise covers graphic design, interface design, site architecture and standards based development especially in the area of XHTML/CSS. Russ chairs the Web Standards Group which was set up to assist web developers learn about new technologies and accessibility issues. Russ has produced a series of widely acclaimed CSS-based tutorials as well as a book, “Teach Yourself CSS in Ten Minutes”.

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Oliver Weidlich

Mobile Customer Experience Specialist, Ideal Interfaces

PRESENTATION: MOBILE WEB

Oliver draws on a background in psychology, experience in usability and understanding of mobile technology to identify key issues for client business strategy, and customers, and to recommend & design solutions. He has a wide range of experience evaluating and improving the end-to-end customer experience with mobile devices, portals, applications and content. Oliver has consulted to clients such as; Hutchison, Optus, Telstra, ninemsn, ABC, MySpace and RPO.

As part of the local mobile industry Oliver is playing a key role in the design and project management of the Australian Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index, which looks at mobile content usage in the local market, a project on behalf of the AIMIA Mobile Content Industry Development Group. He also co-hosts Mobile Monday Sydney, a mobile focused networking night.

In addition, Oliver is a judge, author and speaker on the mobile customer experience.

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Photo of Ray Welling

Ray Welling

WORKSHOP: WRITING FOR THE WEB

Ray Welling is Director and Content Guy for Zazoo, a digital content consultancy based in Sydney. Starting out as a journalist and editor, Ray has been involved in planning and creating Internet content since 1995, working with leading government bodies, interactive agencies, financial services companies, healthcare organisations and the Sydney 2000 Olympics to improve their online communication with their customers.

Ray also has specific experience in creating content of interest to regional and rural Australia as the managing editor of OurPatch, a network of community-based websites for regional and rural Australia.

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Panel discussion: Online Community Engagement

Photo of Matthew Crozier

Matthew Crozier

FACILITATOR: ONLINE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Matthew is a co founder of Bang the Table – a groundbreaking company that hosts and independently moderates consultations for Government clients. He also writes a blog on online community engagement www.onlinecommunityconsultation.com.

Prior to founding Bang the Table Matthew was a founder and Director of Duo Consulting which specialised in developing and implementing strategies to engage communities and Government. He has also spent time as the Regional Director for the Department of Planning in the Hunter, worked as the Conservation Director for the NSW Farmers Association been a Senior Policy Advisor in the Premiers Department and was Head of Rural Economy for the UK’s Rural Development Commission.

Matthew lives in Newcastle with his wife and three daughters and has absolutely no time for hobbies but dreams of going fishing.

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Photo of James Dellow

James Dellow

PANEL MEMBER: ONLINE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

James is a Senior Business & Technical Consultant at Headshift, Europe’s leading social media and social computing consultancy. Headshift established a presence in Australasia in 2008 and is now working with a range of local non-profit, government and commercial organisations.

James is responsible for managing the technical and organisational aspects of all social software implementations. His professional background includes experience with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Ernst & Young, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service and Sydney’s New Children’s Hospital. As a senior consultant with CSC, he has worked with blue chip clients such as AMP, BHP Billiton, BlueScope Steel and Rio Tinto.

He was awarded a Master of Business & Technology (MBT) from the University of New South Wales in 2005. However, his under-graduate qualifications are in public sector management and working at Headshift is allowing him to take an active interest in exploring the opportunities for Government 2.0 in Australia.

James is also currently the president of the Illawarra ICT cluster (ICTI) board and a former chair of the NSW Knowledge Management Forum committee.

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Photo of Anne Bransdon

Anne Bransdon

PANEL MEMBER: ONLINE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Anne Bransdon is Broken Hill City Council’s Communications Manager.

She is a an award winning journalist, having worked with Fairfax, Australian Provincial Newspapers and Rural Press.

Anne’s roles have included Media Management positions with NSW Health and prior to joining Council she was the Public Affairs Manager of Greater Western Area Health Service – a service which covers 55 per cent of NSW.

She has extensive experience in government and media relations, public affairs, community consultation and issues management.

Anne currently coordinates Council’s Corporate image, Community Grants Program, promotions, advertising, newsletters, web development and online community consultation. Anne is also involved in the Max Potential Life Coaching program, supporting young people in Broken Hill reach their potential and the Regional Women’s Business Forum.

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Photo of Louise Rose

Louise Rose

PANEL MEMBER: ONLINE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Louise is leading the project to review the Greater Alpine National Parks management plan for Parks Victoria. This project saw the use of web 2.0 in www.wePlan.parks.vic.gov.au a blog site, to enable the public to have their say in the development of the next management plan for the National Heritage Listed Alpine Country. The site features a blog, user generated content, a wiki for drafting the plan, tagging, rating and social networking. wePlan Alpine was the first use of web 2.0 in protected area park planning in the world. Louise has two full time staff assisting her, as well as help from relevant staff through the organisation.

Louise has worked with Parks Victoria for eight years, has a Bachelor of Business Information Systems and a Graduate Diploma of Environmental Science.

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Photo of Julie Williams

Julie Williams

PANEL MEMBER: ONLINE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Julie Williams has over twelve years experience in local government in the corporate planning field. For the past five years Julie has been the Manager of Corporate Strategy at Hornsby Shire Council. Julie has completed a Bachelor of Applied Science and a post graduate diploma in local government management, and completed a Masters in Politics and Public Policy last year. Hornsby Council is one of the largest shires in the Sydney area with people living in both urban centres and rural and remote areas. The challenge is always how to engage, inform and encourage civic participation, particularly in a large shire with both agricultural and urban interests. Hornsby Council has used Bang theTable three times with three very different outcomes, from mild to manic, yet we thought each topic was potentially controversial and were surprised by the responses.

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