Professor Kim Alexander
Steph Barrett
Professor Paul Cohen
Daniel Johnstone
Professor Mei Krishnasamy
Susan Palmer
Shannon Philp
Clair Scott
Danielle Spence
Destination Sponsor
Destination Sponsor
Steph Barrett is a highly accomplished health professional with over 35 years of experience across the health sector. Steph is a leading advocate for transforming palliative care in rural and remote Western Australia (WA), driving a significant programme of reform in response to the urgent need for improved and equitable access to palliative care across regional WA.
Drawing on her extensive background in clinical nursing, leadership, management, and project development, Steph leads the expansion of palliative care services within the WA Country Health Service (WACHS). Her work focuses on introducing enhanced and innovative models of care, fostering multidisciplinary palliative care hubs, and strengthening specialist palliative care staffing across regional communities to address service gaps.
Steph is also pivotal in establishing a statewide after-hours palliative care telehealth service through the WACHS Command Centre. This initiative is improving access to specialist support, empowering generalist clinicians, and bringing high‑quality care closer to patients and caregivers within their local communities.
Steph’s professional journey continues to be enriched by her collaboration with dedicated and compassionate regional palliative care teams, from whom she gains invaluable insights. Her role as the leader of the Palliative Care Program for WACHS reflects both an honour and her unwavering commitment to improving the lives of people living with life-limiting illness.
Professor Paul Cohen is a gynaecologic oncologist and clinician-scientist at the Western Australian Gynaecological Cancer Service at King Edward Memorial Hospital and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth. His research focuses on biomarkers of chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer, gynaecological cancer epidemiology, cervical cancer prevention, and survivorship.
Paul is the Principal Investigator of two multicentre phase 2 clinical trials. He is the current chair of the Australia and New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG) Research Advisory Committee, and a Board Director of ANZGOG. Paul is the co-chair of the Scientific Program Committee of the 2026 International Gynecological Cancer Society Annual Global Meeting, and a member of the eviQ Cancer Genetics Reference Committee and the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer.
Professor Mei Krishnasamy PhD, FAAN, is Professor of Cancer Nursing at the University of Melbourne, Research and Education Lead for Nursing at the VCCC Alliance and, Honorary Research Fellow in the Centre for Health Services Research at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. She is an internationally recognised cancer nurse-researcher who has built a leading program of consumer-informed cancer supportive care research that has been translated into health policy. Her work is defined by a commitment to addressing equitable access to cancer care, with particular focus on older people and those with poor outcome cancers. In2018, Mei was awarded lifetime membership of the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia (CNSA) for servicesto cancer nursing and in July 2022, was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She hasauthored or co‐authored successful competitive research grants totalling AU$38.3M and has published over 120 peer-reviewed papers. She is past President of the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia and the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia.
Susan, the founder of Gather My Crew, is a registered psychologist and health consultant. She has a Masters in Psychology, a Masters in Public Health, and a PhD in Psychology. Susan has worked in public health and the not-for-profit sector for the past 20 years and has considerable experience working with those suffering illness, trauma and loss. A passion to build healthier and stronger communities has been combined with this clinical, research and consulting experience to create the foundation of this unique project. Susan is a Churchill Fellow and a Westpac Social Change Fellow.
Shannon Philp was named HESTA Nurse of the Year in 2021 for her leadership in nursing education and patient-centred cancer care, and was awarded the Cancer Australia Jeannie Ferris Award in 2019 for improving outcomes for patients. As Australia’s first Nurse Practitioner in gynaecological oncology, she has led the design and implementation of innovative nurse-led models that improve access, streamline referral pathways and enhance outcomes for women with gynaecological cancers.
Her work spans clinical practice, research and postgraduate education, integrating evidence-based innovation with system redesign to elevate cancer nursing practice. With a focus on improving access, continuity and patient experience, she established a nurse practitioner-led colposcopy clinic and enhanced recovery and surveillance programs that demonstrate how advanced practice nurses can innovate, integrate services, educate the workforce and advocate for sustainable, patient-centred models of care.
Clair Scott CAR-T Clinical Nurse Consultant – Fiona Stanley Hospital
Clair has been practicing clinically in Haematology and Oncology for 26 years, gaining experience across Cell and Tissue Therapy, Apheresis Procedures, Haematology, Bone Marrow Transplant, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Palliative Care, Survivorship, and Ambulatory Cancer Care. For the last five years, she has served as the Clinical Nurse Consultant for CAR-T Cell Therapy, embracing the challenge of helping to grow this program in Western Australia.
Outside of work, Clair is mother to four fiercely independent daughters, and her family enjoys many outdoor adventures together, including camping, hiking, and paddling.
