Assoc Professor Michael Buckland
The Australian Sports Brain Bank
Assoc Prof Michael Buckland is one of the founders of the Australian Sports Brain Bank, The Australian Sports Brain Bank was established in 2018 by the Neuropathology department at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, in partnership with the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney, and the Concussion Legacy Foundation in the USA.
The driving aim of this collaborative effort is to better understand the long term effects of concussion in Australian sports people and to contribute to world-class research on the topic.
Michael Buckland is also a senior neuropathologist and the Head of the Department of Neuropathology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Head of the Molecular Neuropathology Program at the Brain & Mind Centre, University of Sydney, and Co-Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia Brain Bank.
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Kerry McCabe
CEO - The Players Voice
The PlayersVoice vision is to enrich the soul of Australia’s great obsession – sport – and deepen the connection between sportspeople and fans. Kerry is very passionate about athlete wellbeing and the athlete being able to voice their own stories, in their own words.
Kerry is renowned for developing winning cultures and high-performance sales, marketing and corporate strategy operations. Kerry was the Global President for RadiumOne and previously was Director of Consumer and Online at Microsoft Asia Pacific and also ran his own leadership coaching and consultancy business working alongside marketing and technology CEOs and entrepreneurs on business strategy and leadership.
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Dr Chris Mordue
Counsellor and Psychotherapist
Chris is a Counsellor & Psychotherapist, specialising in the treatment of addiction, mood disorders and relationships. In his current role as Program Manager, he works in a dynamic and creative way with both the clinical staff and clients at SPP to develop a recovery focussed environment.
Through Sporting Chance Clinic and South Pacific Private, Chris has extensive UK and Australian experience as an interventionist, counsellor and key-note speaker regarding addiction and mental health issues within professional sport. Chris is passionate and enthusiastic about residential treatment, group therapy and individual counselling and loves empowering clients to make the vital step from crisis and unmanageability in to sustainable recovery and effective lifestyle change.
Over 11 years of personal recovery teamed with professional experience working with sports people has given Chris a unique insight into the stress and challenges facing this often misunderstood and vulnerable population. He believes that a combined approach of education and treatment is needed if athletes are to recalibrate and reposition themselves effectively through the process of transition.
Dr Kelley Bowers
Psychologist and National Manager of Education, Training and Research at the Optimisation Hub, Griffiths University
Kelly has completed a dual degree in Exercise Science and Psychological Science with Honors, and a post-graduate Doctorate of Psychology (Clinical). During these studies Kelly completed research which focussed on improving health-related behaviours for young adults and adolescents. Research continues to be an interest area for Kelly, who more recently has focussed his research on the benefits of sport on society, particularly in regards to youth development.
Kelly has experience as a clinical psychologist working with youth and families in relation to mental health, lifespan development, child abuse, trauma and neglect, chronic health conditions, persistent pain, injury recovery and sports psychology.
Kelly’s interest lies in understanding how experience can shape young minds, while simultaneously developing resilience to prepare for and combat unexpected challenges. Kelly achieves this by employing evidence-based practices and a holistic approach to the people that he works with.
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Donnie Singe
Head Of Performance, Sea Eagles NRL. Head Sports Program at Cadence Health College of Nutrition and Health Coaching. Motivational Speaker
Donny is one of the most successful S&C coaches in Australia and NZ. He currently is the Head of Performance at the Manly Sea Eagles.
Don regularly presents and speaks for international sporting companies, including the Australian Strength & Conditioning Association, commercial business/corporate and government law enforcement agencies for both general duty officers and the nation’s elite units.
Don has joined the team at Cadence Health as the Principal Conveyor for the newly built course, Health & Well Being Coaching for Sports People, and is lending his expertise to forging strong partnerships for Cadence Health in the health and well-being sector.
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Dr Mandy Ruddock-Hudson
AFL Coaches Association Wellbeing Manager
Mandy is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Public Health in the College of Science, Health and Engineering. Mandy is a member of La Trobe Centre for Sport and Social Impact and La Trobe University Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Research Focus Area.
Mandy is an accomplished Early Career Research (ECR) who has been successful in attracting research grants and conducting research with La Trobe University partners. She has an outstanding reputation in the elite sporting domain and strongly promotes the goal of La Trobe University becoming the leading Sport University in the nation.
Mandy's academic training has focused on the area of Public Health and Health Psychology. Mandy has a wide range of research interests and is most passionate about athlete and coach wellbeing in sport, the physical and psychological aspects of sport rehabilitation and participation, psychosocial factors that influence sport, mood disturbances, social support and the health benefits of sport participation.
Other areas of interest relate to health, physical activity and alternate therapies. Mandy has expertise in project development, research design, participant recruitment and qualitative methodologies.
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Andrew McDermott
Former Professional Footballer & Successful Businessman
Andrew made a successful transition from Professional Football Player to Real Estate Agent 15 years ago where he has established himself as a premier Real Estate Agent winning many Business Awards. This has given him a great insight into the pitfalls and joys of retirement from Professional sport brings.
He was fortunate enough to have played Professionally at Premier League Clubs in the English Premier League in England and the Scottish Premier League in Scotland as part of a 9 year professional career.
Andrew is in the process of writing a book about athletes for athletes to help give an understanding of what challenges they might face when they retire.
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Leanne Hall
Integrative Psychologist, Mind, body expert and TV Presenter
Leanne is a psychologist with over 20 years of clinical experience working with young people, adults and families. She is passionate about working with athletes, having worked clinically with a number of elite and endurance athletes, and athletes who have experienced career ending injury.
She is also a published author, and is currently completing her PhD at Sydney University in Clinical Psychology, and is working towards developing a new and embodied approach to injury adaptation and recovery for ultra-runners.
Leanne has extensive clinical experience working in the area of body image and eating disorders, especially for athletes. Her approach to therapy uniquely applies a sociocultural and embodied framework to a number of best practice treatment methods.
Leanne is also a TV presenter, and appears as an expert in a number of print and online publications. In her down time, Leanne enjoys running, competing in her second ultra-marathon this year and also enjoys racing in short course triathlons.
Shantelle Thompson
3 times Jiu-Jitsu World Champion
Shantelle is a proud Barkindji/European woman, she is a Daughter, Sister, Friend, Mother, Warrior, Mentor, Activist, Ambassador and Leader.
Shantelle is a mother of three (including twins), three-time Jiu-Jitsu World Champion, community leader, Oceania Wrestling Champion, post-natal depression survivor, 2018 Commonwealth Games Wrestling Ambassador and Shadow Team, small business founder, eldest of 17 children, mentor, and storyteller.
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