Tammy Coggan will be the facilitator of the Brave Leadership & Daring Conversations: A Dare to Lead seminar, to be held online on 5 December. Photo: Supplied.
ACT Women in Leadership Summit 2025
Date: 1 – 5 December
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Rydges Canberra
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Championing bold leadership, shared purpose, and a future shaped by women across the ACT.
- Learn practical strategies to lead through change and complexity.
- Be inspired by real stories from trailblazing women driving impact.
- Develop your leadership identity and grow your confidence.
- Connect with a community of women who are leading with intent.
Speakers include:
- Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay
- Deputy Secretary, Families & Communities, Department of Social Services, Letitia Hope
- Deputy Commissioner, Policy, Analysis & Legislation, Australian Taxation Office, Louise Clarke
- Chief Data Officer, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Jennifer Humphrys
- Chief Executive Officer, Canberra Institute of Technology, Margot McNeill
- Chief Operating Officer, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Donelle Claudianos
- Chief of Space Division, Geoscience Australia, Alison Rose.
Session 5: Trust Beyond Borders: Building Resilient and Transparent Supply Chains
Date: 2 December
Time: 11 am – noon
Location: Webinar
Email: [email protected]
Complex digital supply chains underpin modern government — but third-party risk is now a key cyber threat vector. With SOCI legislation, data sovereignty rules and Zero Trust expectations tightening, this session will explore how to secure trust at every tier of your supplier ecosystem.
Key topics include:
- The importance of supply chain trust in national infrastructure resilience.
- Security and compliance in third-party risk management (SOCI, IRAP).
- Using the Unity of Trust model to govern data, access and accountability.
- Examples of agencies improving transparency and control in procurement.
Designed for ICT strategists, procurement leaders, and compliance professionals, this session offers actionable guidance for building defensible and trusted ecosystems.
Public Sector EL2-SES Women in Leadership
Date: 2 – 3 December
Time: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Hyatt Hotel Canberra
Email: [email protected]
A compelling and comprehensive program to consolidate your strengths and grow as a leader. Upgrade your leadership skills for the Senior Executive Service (SES). Leadership in the upper echelons of the APS involves much more responsibility, higher cognitive capacity, and a deeper alignment between your characteristics and the role’s requirements.
You have made it this far because you have a high potential to fulfil these requirements. As you step up to SES, it’s time to recognise that “what got you here won’t get you there”. What are the skills, capabilities, and even habits that might be standing between you and your career progression to the next level?
Compelling, engaging, and hands-on, this unique learning experience will cultivate your professional and personal development to optimise your performance and prepare your leadership at higher levels of the public sector.
You will craft your leadership identity, strengthen your emotional intelligence, confidently communicate with greater influence, and develop key skills for leaders who are setting themselves up to join the upper ranks of the APS.
A facilitator with a global career of more than 20 years as a management consultant and learning leader, Kathryn Thomas specialises in unlocking performance for people and their organisations. Kathryn is the director of her own business, which focuses on people and performance within the government and private sectors.
Lunch and Learn – Session 16: Using AI Tools for Better User Guidance and Product Operations
Date: 3 December
Time: 12:30 pm – 1 pm
Duration: One 30-minute face-to-screen session
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
This session will showcase IP Australia’s IP First Response platform, a pilot initiative designed to help users navigate the complexities of intellectual property enforcement. Josh Maher will share how his team is developing interactive, AI-supported tools that guide users through enforcement options.
The discussion will also explore broader AI opportunities emerging from this work, including chatbots, open access to authoritative content, and backend automation. Josh will reflect on how the platform has evolved, the lessons learned along the way, and how user feedback is shaping AI’s future.
This content is suitable for all staff.
Operational AI for Government
Date: 4 December
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Streamline workflows, automate routine tasks, and optimise your productivity.
- Understand the key tools that can enhance productivity.
- Automate meeting minutes, emails, and data entry.
- Structure clear prompts for tools to improve your workflow.
- Manage privacy risks and identify bias when using AI tools.
Trainer Rabia Khan is a public health and data specialist with more than 20 years’ experience in the global health sector, spanning Australia, New Zealand and Europe. She excels in leveraging data and evidence to enhance health outcomes and reduce disparities. Rabia empowers individuals to drive positive change, make informed decisions, and amplify their impact through effective leadership, data utilisation, and evidence-based strategies.
How to Have Accidental Counsellor Conversations
Date: 4 December
Time: 10 am – 1 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Support someone in emotional crisis with confidence, empathy, and capability. How to Have Accidental Counsellor Conversations is practical and supportive training designed for those who may find themselves in conversations with someone experiencing distress, without being a qualified counsellor.
In today’s workplaces, being able to listen with care and respond calmly can make a vital difference. This course empowers participants to approach such moments with confidence, ensuring they feel prepared rather than overwhelmed, while still protecting their own wellbeing and professional boundaries.
Participants will leave with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to respond with empathy, have mental health conversations, apply trauma-informed strategies, and connect individuals to appropriate help.
Facilitator Naomi Halpern is a consultant and trainer for the United Nations and law firms on mental health and wellbeing. She provides clinical consultation and training for mental health professionals around complex post-traumatic stress.
Next-Generation AI Tools & Practices for Government
Date: 4 – 5 December
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Boost productivity and support smarter decision-making through the effective use of AI.
- Use AI to streamline workflows, reduce manual tasks, and automate routine communications.
- Boost meeting productivity by generating clear summaries, action items, and reports automatically.
- Leverage AI to support strategic decision-making.
- Apply best-practice strategies to manage privacy, ensure accuracy, and mitigate bias.
Data and AI specialist with over 20 years’ experience, spanning Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, trainer Rabia Khan excels in leveraging data and evidence to enhance health outcomes and reduce disparities. She empowers individuals to drive positive change, make informed decisions, and amplify their impact through effective leadership, data utilisation, and evidence-based strategies.
EL1 & EL2 Strategy Execution for Improved Outcomes
Date: 4 – 5 December
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Transform strategic goals into measurable results.
- Develop agency plans that align with strategies and broader government objectives.
- Understand the critical components involved in successful strategy implementation.
- Demonstrate effective leadership during the execution phase.
- Streamline processes and promote a results-oriented approach to achieve better outcomes.
Trainer Melinda Varley, the founder and principal of Moxxie Business Services and Moxxie Training Academy, is a sought-after facilitator with more than 25 years’ experience as a leader and manager in the public service, private, and not-for-profit arenas. Melinda is a qualified trainer and developer, accountant, and business coach with extensive experience in facilitation, business, human resources, and financial management.
APS 5-6 Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving
Date: 4 – 5 December
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Cliftons Canberra
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Practical, outcome-driven models for critical thinking and problem-solving.
- Unpack critical thinking to address everyday problems.
- Apply a structured systems thinking approach for problem analysis and solution design.
- Use creative and lateral thinking to solve complex problems.
- Overcome common roadblocks to critical thinking and problem-solving.
Trainer Karen Whittingham is one of Australia’s leading executive management development specialists, having worked with thousands of executives to transition them into senior leadership roles quickly and effectively. Dr Whittingham teaches organisational psychology at UNSW and works with ASX-listed companies and large public sector organisations to drive engagement, inclusion, and performance.
Brave Leadership & Daring Conversations: A Dare to Lead Seminar
Date: 5 December
Time: 9:30 am – 1 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Based on the research of Dr Brené Brown, Dare to Lead is an empirically based courage-building program designed to be run by certified facilitators exclusively. Dr Brown has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy, and most recently completed a seven-year study on courageous leadership.
Brown is also the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers, including her blockbuster book Dare to Lead. This seminar is designed as a shortcut to Dr Brown’s extended Dare to Lead curriculum and will explore its key concepts in a compact timeframe to optimise your professional development.
Facilitator Tammy Coggan travelled to San Antonio, Texas, in 2019 to be certified as a Dare to Lead facilitator in a cohort led by Dr Brown. This program focuses on humanising the workplace by exploring who we are and how we lead.
Tammy’s expertise lies in helping leaders unlock their courage, engage in tough conversations, and build high-value work teams. So far, more than 2500 leaders have discovered how brave leaders build courageous cultures in Dare to Lead programs facilitated by Tammy.
