Speakers

Sharan Burrow is a global advocate for human rights, climate action and Just Transition. She is the Former General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (2010-2022. Previously she was President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (2000–2010.) Sharan is well known for her international advocacy on employment, human rights, industrial relations, corporate responsibility and climate action with green industrialisation and just transition solutions. Sharan is currently a Visiting Professor in Practice to the LSE-Grantham Institute and chair of its Just Transitiin Finance Lab’s Advisory Council, a Vice-Chair of the European Climate Foundation, a board member of the Green Hydrogen Association, Co-Chair of the IEA Labour Council, an adviser on Temasek’s Sustainability Advisory Panel, and Chair of the Curtain University Institute for Energy Transition Advisory Council.

Associate Professor Jo-An Occhipinti is an esteemed epidemiologist and systems scientist whose pioneering work has established her as a leader in addressing public health and social policy issues and safeguarding the future of work amidst complex global challenges that threaten the Mental Wealth of nations. As a Principal Research Fellow, she holds the roles of Head of Systems Modelling, Simulation & Data Science and Co- Director of the Mental Wealth Initiative at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre, where her thought leadership, her development of new metrics, her application of advanced analytic methods, and commitment to community participation intersect to benefit science and society. A/Prof. Occhipinti’s research breaks down conventional barriers by integrating mental health, economic, and social frameworks, and metrics to pave the way towards wellbeing-orientated economies that foster social cohesion, resilience, and inclusive prosperity. Over the last 10 years, A/Professor Occhipinti has spearheaded the development of more than 50 complex systems models aiding decision makers nationally and internationally to make strategic investments to address challenges such as youth suicide, mental health system strengthening, alcohol related harms, tobacco control, childhood overweight and obesity, chronic disease prevention, child protection, and homelessness. With publications in elite journals such as Nature, Nature Mental Health, The Lancet, Lancet Psychiatry, Science, BMC Medicine, Addiction Journal, and Tobacco Control, A/Prof. Occhipinti is acknowledged as a prominent voice in her discipline with invited addresses given at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit and the National Press Club of Australia. In her most recent research, A/Prof. Occhipinti has identified the potential recessionary pressures of generative AI, and calls for governments, unions, and civic organizations to work collaboratively to shape a new social contract; one that augments rather than replaces labour, upholds work justice and human rights, while fostering economic productivity and business innovation. As the Managing Director of Computer Simulation & Advanced Research Technologies (CSART), and through active participation on various advisory boards and councils, A/Professor Occhipinti fosters an international alliance of academics, business leaders, economists, and change makers, working to shape inclusive and coherent health, economic, and social policy across borders. This role exemplifies her commitment to science diplomacy, fostering cross-border cooperation, knowledge mobilization and capacity building to tackle complex and systemic global challenges.

Gloria Mark is Chancellor’s Professor Emerita at the University of California, Irvine, and has spent ten years as a visiting senior researcher at Microsoft Research. For over two decades she has researched the impact of digital media on people's lives, studying how using our devices affect our multitasking, distractions, mood and behavior. Her work has been widely recognized outside of academia: she has appeared on The Ezra Klein show, NPR’s Hidden Brain, Sanjay Gupta’s CNN Chasing Life, CBS Sunday Morning, Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert, among many others. Her recent book is Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, was named by The Globe and Mail as the #1 Best Business and Management book of 2023, and chosen as the Season 20 selection of the Next Big Idea Book Club.

Kay is the Global Director of Workplace Thought Leadership for HOK. With a passion for using design to transform how and where people work, she spends her days (and many nights) working with clients on workplace strategy and design. Based in Washington, D.C., Kay leads project teams that solve clients’ business and organizational challenges related to real estate business process, strategic planning, workplace strategy and change management. She collaborates with organizations ranging from tech startups to Fortune 500 companies to optimize their real estate portfolios and create the most innovative work experiences. She was recently selected from her field of peers to provide Congressional Subject Matter Expert Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on “Federal Real Estate Post-COVID-19: A View from The Private Sector” and has since been called her shared her expertise with Congressional Committees multiple times. Kay is a member of both American Society of Interior Designers’ College of Fellows and the International Interior Design Association’s College of Fellows, a select body of designers whose work has significantly influenced the profession. The American Society of Interior Designers also has honored Kay with its highest award, naming her a “Designer of Distinction” whose body of work represents excellence in interior design. Outside of HOK, Kay serves on the prestigious Delos Advisory Board alongside wellness and sustainability advocates such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Deepak Chopra. She also serves on the Advisory for CoRETech / Real Comm and Co-chaired the 2023 events. She has also served on the international board of directors for AVIXA, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association; CoreNet Global; IFI, the International Federation of Interior Designers/Architects; IIDA; ASID; and NCQLP. Kay is co-chair for the ASID Foundation research task force and on the leadership team of IFMA’s WE Workplace Evolutionaries and the advisory board of Work Design Magazine. Kay has authored numerous reports and articles on the workplace and has spoken at CoreNet, IFMA and other industry events. CoreNet and Tradeline, Inc. both have honored her as a top-rated speaker. A mentor to many, she is a founding member of the D.C. chapter of UPWARD, which accelerates career advancement for executive women.