While emergency services remain at the frontline of disaster response, effective preparedness relies on a much broader network of organisations, local governments, services and community leaders working together.

This special AIDR webinar will bring together experts from emergency management, government, and community services to explore current seasonal outlooks, preparedness priorities and practical actions organisations can take ahead of the season.

Participants will hear diverse perspectives on supporting communities during emergencies, including considerations for inclusive evacuation centres and shelters, and gain access to tools, resources and knowledge that can strengthen organisational capability and community resilience.

Presenters

Seasonal update by Bureau of Meteorology

Felicity Gamble
Technical Lead, Extended Prediction, Bureau of Meteorology

Felicity Gamble is Technical Lead for Extended Prediction at the Bureau of Meteorology, with more than 20 years' experience in forecasting and climate services. She leads the Bureau's long-range forecasting program, translating climate science into practical information that supports decision-making across government, emergency management, agriculture, national security and local communities.

Her work also focuses on helping Australians prepare for the high-risk weather season by providing climate intelligence that strengthen preparedness, resilience, and response planning. She particularly enjoys leading the development of the annual scenario exercise for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Preparedness Summit, creating plausible future weather extremes to test Australia's preparedness and response capabilities.

Lynette Bettio
Technical Lead Climate Risk, Bureau of Meteorology

Dr Lynette Bettio joined the Bureau of Meteorology in the operational climate section in 2005 doing a variety of roles from seasonal forecasting to historical drought monitoring. Internationally Lynette has represented the South Pacific region on the World Meteorological Organization expert team on drought.

More recently Lynette's role has been more focussed around communicating on climate change risk. As the Technical Lead for Climate Risk, her recent work has been focussed on the Australian Climate Service and the recently released National Climate Risk Assessment. Lynette has also been involved in the biennial CSIRO and Bureau State of the Climate report since 2012 which communicates on trends in Australia's climate.

Perspectives on inclusion and diversity in disasters

Mel Osborne
Business Development Manager, Gender and Disaster Australia

Melesa Osborne is the Business Development Manager at Gender and Disaster Australia, where she has spent the past three years supporting the delivery of disaster resilience, inclusion and capacity-building initiatives across Australia. She has played a leading role in the development of the Creating Safe Shelter Spaces project and the expansion of the organisation's Lessons in Disaster program. With postgraduate qualifications in health psychology, science and management, Melesa brings a strong interest in the human dimensions of disaster, with a focus on equity, wellbeing and practical strategies that improve outcomes for diverse communities.

Rachel O'Reilly
Speaker/Young person, Centre of Excellence: Young People and Disasters

Richard Ogetii
Albury Wodonga Ethnic Communities Council (AWECC); Co-Chair, Multicultural Emergency Management Partnership (MEMP)

Richard leads advocacy and initiatives that strengthen the voice, wellbeing and leadership of multicultural communities across the border region. He is the Co-Chair of the award-winning Multicultural Emergency Management Partnership (MEMP), championing inclusive emergency management and demonstrating how community leadership can influence systems, policy and practice. Richard has also contributed to research examining the emergency preparedness and resilience of migrant communities, helping to shape more equitable, culturally responsive approaches to disaster planning, response and recovery.

As a lawyer and multicultural community leader, he is passionate about systemic change that positions communities not as recipients of decisions, but as co-designers and co-creators of the solutions that affect their safety, preparedness and resilience. He also serves as Chair of the Regional Multicultural Alliance – Victoria.

A graduate of Newcastle University’s law school, and a postgraduate of Western Sydney University, Bastien has enjoyed a career at the intersection of sport and public health in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Bastien’s intervention work, research, her successful advocacy for legislative change, active transport infrastructure, and her lived experience of being raised by someone with disability, led her to her Senior Policy Officer role at People with Disability Australia. She advocates for more inclusive laws and standards in housing, healthcare, emergency management, digital, voting, and across all transport modes including aviation.

It was Bastien’s 20 years of service as a surf life saver, and the evolving role lifesavers are called to perform during emergencies that fueled her determination to progress, more equitable and inclusive approaches during disasters and emergencies. Through conversations like this she wants to see the disaster and emergency system to improve equity, accessibility and inclusion.

Bridget Tehan
Senior Advisor - Humanitarian Diplomacy, Australian Red Cross

Bridget Tehan is Senior Advisor – Humanitarian Diplomacy at Australian Red Cross, working to provide advocacy, sector convening, and thought leadership at a national level. Bridget has more than 15 years’ experience in emergency management and disaster resilience policy and practice. She has significant expertise in community resilience, including in strengths, needs and priorities of people who may be at greater risk before, during and after emergencies as well as their needs in the mitigation, transition and adaptation to climate change. Bridget also has expertise in the role of community, social service and not for profit organisations in emergencies and disasters at local, grass roots and strategic levels.

El Carter
Manager - Emergency Coordination, Australian Red Cross

El Carter is the Manager of Emergency Coordination at Australian Red Cross, working to establish and coordinate incident management arrangements to guide and operationalise the Red Cross response, relief, and early recovery during and after emergencies.

El has more than 20 years’ experience in emergency management, with a specialist focus on Evacuation Centre and Sheltering practice. She has played a leading role in the development and application of preferred sheltering practice in Australia, as well as produces, delivers, and advises on evacuation centre management and operations process and practice. As a seasoned practitioner El has supported many communities displaced by disasters around Australia and is a strong advocate for the suitability of humanitarian assistance and relief solutions.

Karleen Gribble
Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University 

Karleen Gribble is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. She is the author of more than 90 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters on infant feeding, child protection, and child rights and is a world leading researcher and policy maker on infant and young child feeding in emergencies.

Karleen has provided advice to UN organisations, governmental and non-governmental organisations, health and child protection professionals, and emergency responders in many countries on protecting infants and young children in emergencies. She was Project Lead for the Australian Breastfeeding Association’s Community Protection for Infants and Young Children in Bushfires Project which worked to improve emergency preparedness and response in Australian emergencies.

Moderator

John Richardson
Executive Director, Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience

Webinar recording

The webinar recording will be added here.