Leigh Anderson deeply understands the challenges we face when placed under high-stress, high-consequence environments. His career includes a diverse portfolio of paramedic operations in urban, rural, remote, marine, and austere environments. He has a Bachelor in Paramedic Science, a Graduate Certificate in Critical Care Paramedicine, and 14 years of operational experience.

He is the author of The Paramedic Mindset, set to be released next year by Pan Macmillan Publishing. Along with this, he hosts The Paramedic Mindset Podcast. He is an accomplished paramedic with a keen desire to improve the well-being of the human experience to stress, and for setting people up to flourish.

I am an intern paramedic with the ACT Ambulance Service. Having served in the Australian Army for 10 years as a rifleman I made the transition to health care in 2019. I am particularly interested in healthcare in complex environments. In April-May 2023 I deployed to the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine with the NGO Frontline Medics.

Stuart has over 30 years’ services in the full-time Army. A highlight being his time as the Commanding Officer / Chief Instructor at the Army School of Health. In his current position at the Directorate of Army Health he is responsible for Health Capability, Workforce and Training.

Jimmy Dale, Specialist Nurse with specialization ambulance/ rescue. MSG (Retired).

Jimmy completed his first deployment overseas 30 years ago in Mogadishu, Somalia. He has since completed numerous deployments within the regular Swedish military including Afghanistan and the Balkans. He has over 15 years of active service within the Special Operations community and was instrumental in the laying the foundation for how Special Operations medics are equipped, trained and educated in order to become the “multitool” their trade requires of them.

Jimmy has also worked for the International war Crime Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) where he was responsible for collecting evidence of war crimes committed during the conflict in the Balkans. This work and the collected evidence has since been used in several trials in order to prosecute and incarcerate those responsible. His other NGO related work includes setting up a medical training program in Southern Iraq while working as the medical coordinator for the Danish Church Aid. 

MSG Dale was the Non-commissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of creating and continuously developing multinational training, testing and certification of Special Operations medics on a global level. The legacy of this program is validated to have saved lives and increased capabilities within several countries ongoing operations, deployments and conflicts.

Jimmy is now the CEO of Adcuris, a Swedish Company who specialize in equipment and capability driven programs within defence programs who are striving to meet the ongoing demand in primarily Europe. Adcuris is staffed ad run by a similar team that created and developed the military program mentioned above, thus having a unique and sought after profile.

Jack is a Team Medic who deployed to Ukraine in 2022, lead medical evacuation missions from liberated regions of western Ukraine and is a founding member if Frontlinemedics.org, a humanitarian organisation focused on providing medical assistance to the civilian population.

MSG (Ret) John Dominguez is the Executive Director of Strategic Development and Innovation for North American Rescue, a company dedicated to providing lifesaving products and supplies to first responders and military. He is currently the President of the Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA), Military Liaison for the International Board of Specialty Certifications (IBSC), and a retired Army Special Operations Medic. His military assignments included, Senior Enlisted Medical Advisor (SEMA) for Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH), 95th Civil Affairs, Special Warfare Medical Group (SWMG), and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). John conducted Humanitarian/Disaster Relief Operations, Special Reconnaissance, WMD Counter Proliferation, Direct Action, Foreign Internal Defense, and medical operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Ethiopia, Yemen, Kenya, Bangladesh, Thailand, Philippines, Haiti, Surname, Honduras, Peru, and Belize. His experience spans from point of injury through extended care in austere locations and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive (CBRNE) casualty care.

During the course of his military career MSG (Ret) Dominguez individually deployed to support Civil Reconnaissance and augment Engagement forces to understand and influence the human component of the land domain to advance the nation's global priorities.

John’s professional certifications include the Paramedic Certification (Malta), Tactical Paramedic Certification (TP-C), Flight Paramedic Certification (FP-C), Georgia State Paramedic, Special Operations Advanced Tactical Practitioner License (SO-ATP), National Registry EMT, Pre- Hospital Trauma Life Support, Pediatric Trauma Life Support, Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Certification. His military training includes the Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation Course Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties Course, Joint Trauma Training Course, Advance Burn Life Support ISR, Special Operations Combat Medic Course, Special Operations Civil Affairs Medic Course, Survival Escape Resistance and Evasion (SERE) Level-C, and Special Operations Medical Skills Sustainment Course. He has also attended Trauma rotations at University of Virginia Commonwealth, Ben Taub, and Vanderbilt University.

John is a contributing author for the Journal of Special Operations Medicine Training Supplement, Advanced Tactical Paramedic Protocols (ATP-P), Editions 4 through 11.

In addition to his involvement with the Special Operations Medical Association and the San Antonio Chapter of the Special Forces Association, John also volunteers his time as Vice President of the Holy Cross Alumni Association and volunteers coaching the Holy Cross High School Men’s Soccer Team.

Leigh has over 30 years’ experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry and is Head of Health Security Systems Australia, a Division of DMTC Limited.

Dr Farrell is a non-executive director of Pro Medicus Ltd, Axelia Therapeutics Pty Ltd, Ena Respiratory Pty Ltd, a member of the Medicines Australia’s Independent Advisory Council, a member of the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute Commercialisation Committee, Chairs the Scientific Advisory Board of Island Pharmaceutical Ltd, is a member of the Scientific and Industry Advisory Committee of the Australian Research Council Centre for Cryo-electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins and is a member of the National Measurement Institute Mask Testing Forum.

Leigh’s past appointments include: Senior Vice President, Commercial at Certara USA, Inc where he was responsible for Asia Pacific Commercial and global government engagement for the preparedness, planning and response to major health emergencies; Chairman & COO of d3 Medicine, LLC;  Vice President of Business Development at Biota Pharmaceuticals, Associate Director GBS Venture Partners, Research Manager Johnson & Johnson Research and CEO of Gene Shears Pty Ltd. Dr Farrell is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Martin Graves is an anaesthetist with a special interest in trauma and austere medicine. After joining the Army Reserves as an idealistic 17 year old he served as a general duties Medical Officer for 14 years in the Regular Army, deploying to East Timor and Afghanistan on multiple rotations in both Prehospital and Anaesthetic roles. He now runs a surgical development course for NATO that involves the raising of small surgical teams to operate in the Austere environment. His other interests include Medical Military History and he has written and presented on anaesthesia and resuscitation during The Great War and World War Two. Outside of medicine he is an avid kayaker who combines this with his medical training in the provision of medical support for Ocean and Whitewater kayak expeditions. 

Martin has over 30 years’ experience in engineering design and management, with 10 years specifically within the Maritime Defence sector and currently involved in the delivery of a Deployable Health Capability for the Land Defence sector. He has 15 years’ experience as an Executive Engineering Manager and is a discipline specialist in Systems Integration Engineering, Maritime and Mechanical Engineering, RAM Analysis, Safety Cases, and Risk and Issue Management. Martin is experienced in the successful delivery of complex engineering systems and services within Technical Regulatory Frameworks in the defense sector.
Martin has worked in project management capacities as well as engineering management, and has led organizational change initiatives to maximize the effectiveness of delivery. Through the 2009 Defense Strategic Reform Program, he molded a functionally based engineering group into a LEAN project delivery team operating across individually tailored Systems Engineering upgrades, to halve the cost base of the organization. More recently, he has managed the successful establishment of a data integration search engine within the Defence Secret network utilising Agile delivery frameworks.

Dr. Johan Gustafson is a marine ecologist specialising in shark behaviour, movement and environmental interactions. He is an expert on shark ecology and leads Shark Ecology Australia (SEA) with projects running in remote and developed areas along the Australian coast.

Johan  & Sunny have spent several years working together on remote shoots for Discovery+ and Nat Geo filming megafauna interaction.

Ros was a member of the NZ defence force serving on operational tours to East Timor prior to joining NZ Police. Over the last 16 years held various positions including, Field Intelligence Officer, Armed Offender Squad member and currently holding a coaching roll in the newly formed Frontline Skills Enhancement Team.

Dave is a Qld Police Officer of 19 years 17 of those as a member of the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT).  In this role Dave has undertaken most roles as an operator within SERT becoming particularly involved with Search and Rescue and the Police Medic role.  He has since gained a Diploma of Paramedicine and number of courses in Tactical Emergency Casualty Care.  Now as the SERT Medic Portfolio manager Dave also assists as a coordinator for QAS and Police Specialist Response Group program.  Dave was also a founding committee member with ATMA.

Dr Simon Hendel is a specialist anaesthetist and trauma consultant. He divides his time at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne as the deputy director of the trauma service, and the head of trauma anaesthesia. He has been a member of the army reserve since 2006 and has deployed several times as both a general duties medical officer and as an anaesthetist.  Simon is also the tactical trauma advisor to both Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police. He was recently fortunate to complete a Churchill Fellowship investigating Tactical Emergency Medical Support in comparable overseas jurisdictions.

William King-Lewis, MD, is a Lieutenant Commander currently serving as the Role 2 Acute Care Ward Physician with the Marine Rotational Force Darwin. He graduated medical school from the Uniformed Services University 2016. He completed his Family Medicine Residency at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, and is Board Certified with the American Board of Family Medicine.

As a performance and survival specialist, Ben’s ultimate passion is working with teams and organisations teaching resilience, survival training and high performance strategies then transferring those skill sets into their chosen profession and operational roles.

Ben spent 15 years racing as a professional triathlete for NZ where he acquired a wealth of knowledge on human performance which acted as a foundation for his future career development. Throughout the last 7 years, Ben has designed and architected survival, resilience and high performance programmes and expeditions combining science-based principles with real-world experience and field testing.

Throughout this career he has worked with and trained professional sports teams and athletes, medical, law enforcement and military personnel and a wide range of teams and organisations providing them with the skill sets needed to be more efficient, capable and resilient.

DR Mackie currently holds adjunct/honorary appointments at the University of the Sunshine Coast, is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Griffith University, Queensland, and is Editor-In-Chief for the Journal of High Threat and Austere Medicine. In 2019, Dr Mackie was appointed as a Fellow of the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses to recognise his service and leadership in critical care. His research focuses on team decision making, tactical care of the combat casualty, disaster preparedness, and promoting patient and family participation. DR Mackie is currently the Principle investigator for several tri-service studies that are endorsed by Defence. In July 2021, DR Mackie was appointed to Sub-unit Command as the Officer Commanding, Health Specialist Wing, Army School of Health (ASH). DR Mackie is married to Jodie (20 yrs!), and they reside on the Sunshine Coast with their two young daughters, and cavoodle ‘Molly.’  He is a life member of the Maroochydore RSL, enjoys trail running, mountain biking, and supports local community events as a bagpiper within the Albury-Wodonga Pipes and Drums.

Colonel Martin is the current Director of Army Health. Her service includes: instructor at Army’s Officer Training Wing, Senior Health Officer at HQ 1st Division and Military Assistant to the Chief of Army. Recent appointments include: Director of Logistics Plans at HQ Joint Operations Command and Chief of Staff at Joint Health Command.

I spent close to 20 years in the Australian Army, both full time and as a reservist where I spent most of my time working in Special Operations Command as a medic, where I deployed to the Middle East and Timor Leste. Since leaving the full time army, Scott has pursued a career with NSW Ambulance, currently working in Special Operations and Rescue as a Specialist Training Officer focusing on Urban Search and Rescue and Tactical.

Matt is the current Officer in Charge of Kedron Park Station with the QLD Ambulance Service and looks after the single officer response and High Acuity Response Unit that operate out of that location. He has a special interest in tactical and trauma medicine and is the current Medic Program Coordinator with QAS for the SERT Police Medic Program. Matt has also undertaken additional post graduate study in trauma care and is also a current disaster assistance response team paramedic for AUS1/QLD1. Matt is currently on the CTECC Evacuation Care Working Group as a member and has also previously spent time as a combat paramedic with the Australia Army Reserves.

Having spent the last 15 years in the emergency services, commencing in policing before transitioning to fire rescue, Sam has developed a strong passion for improving multi-agency response to terrorism and hostile events after he was awarded a 2017 research scholarship. This research saw him travel to the United States to research warm zone operations and the integration between services. This led to further study completing a Graduate Certificate in Tactical Medicine and Masters in Terrorism and Security Studies. Sam has since gone on to publish a number of papers on warm zone operations, fire service and CT intelligence, and fire as a weapon attacks. Aside from his current commitments within his firefighting role Sam has recently produced content on the topic of Fire as a Weapon attacks for the Central Queensland University Tactical Medicine postgraduate program. When not working Sam is kept busy with a young family at home.

Megan is a GP registrar currently based between the Snowy Mountains and Canberra. She holds a special interest in critical care, remote and expeditionary medicine. A self-professed science nerd she completed a master of forensic science in Europe and has continued her involvement in clinical and forensic pathology back home in Australia. Megan served a number of years as a Military Police Officer in the Australian Army and has recently transferred to Medical Corps. Outside of practicing medicine Megan is happiest exploring beaches and mountains in far flung corners of the globe accompanied by boards, skis and a backpack.

Tom Patterson is a doctor and an army reservist who is completing a trauma surgery fellowship program in Western Sydney. His professional interests include military and civilian education, responses to injury and mass casualty preparedness. He has a longstanding interest in history and has previously presented on Prisoner of War Surgery on the Thai-Burma Railway and has travelled to sites such as Kanchanaburi, the Kokoda Track, Milne Bay and Sandakan.  

Felicia is the General Manager for Health Security Systems Australia, a division of DMTC Ltd and is currently on secondment from the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG). At DSTG she leads the National Medical Countermeasures Initiative and is Australia’s National and Science and Technology lead to the international quadrilateral Medical Countermeasures Consortium. Dr Pradera is responsible for the collaborative development of new platform technology and sovereign industrial capability to support Defence and National Security requirements against chemical, biological and radiological threats, emerging infectious disease and pandemics. Felicia has expertise in academic research (immunology), preclinical & clinical trials, intellectual property and complex program management. She specializes in medical countermeasures and health security strategy on behalf of the Government in addition to providing advice and guidance. Felicia is a non-executive director of M:M Bio Pty Ltd and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ekaterina (Kat) Puzanova is an ACP 2 Paramedic with the Queensland Ambulance Service, based out of the Wide Bay Region. Participating in two vacation research experience schemes (VRES) during university gave Kat the passion for research which has now become an important part of her professional life. She is currently finalising her honours and working towards undertaking her PhD.

Kat has a history of medic work in both the private and public sectors, this has formed her understanding of working in complex, unpredictable and challenging environments. Her experiences exposed her to the dilemma that is burnout. This dilemma is something Kat intends to conduct extensive research in, aiming to increase the sustainability of work in the medical professions.

One of Kat’s strongest beliefs is “being the change you want to see in the world”, this has been a key motivator for her research. Being Kat’s first official conference presentation, she is very grateful for the opportunity, and hopes to continue sharing further research at future conferences.

Doctor Fabien RAMON is a general practitioner, with aeronautics and emergency skills. He worked for 7 years in the GIGN, the French military counter-terrorism unit, then directed the military flight surgeon repatriation unit. In parallel, he developed his skills in NLP, solution-oriented coaching, and cognitive neuroscience, and coached more than 30 hospital and pre-hospital medical teams in mental preparation for crisis situations. In collaboration with ATMA, he has developed an online training module on mental preparation for caregivers. He is currently in charge of the military medical training unit for desert conditions in the United Arab Emirates. He is married and has two children.

As a specialist medical officer with domestic and overseas deployment experience. Maj Richman is assigned to the R2F, a forward surgical element designed for tomorrow’s tactical environment.

As a civilian, Dr Richman is an ED staff specialist with a past career as an inner city paramedic in California.

Col Shackelford is Professor of Surgery at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and Trauma Medical Director for the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Colorado Springs Market. She is responsible for coordinating trauma skill sustainment rotations with the Colorado Springs Level 1 trauma center and advising readiness training for the region.

View Colonel Stacy's Full Bio 

Kane Stevenson is a Master of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy student at Flinders University. He has a special interest in mental health issues that are developed in the occupational setting. He has previously completed research in the sphere of paramedic burnout and would like to undertake his PhD in the future focusing on mental illnesses developed in the workplace setting and how they can be mitigated.

Director of Navy Health 

Former operator from special Unit GROM.
Currently, the president of the REkonwersja SOF foundation.

In 2019, his efforts and professionalism were recognized by the Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA). The Association awarded him the International SOF Medic of the Year Award.
He was recognized for his courage on the battlefield and contribution to the training of SOF medics in various units.
Awarded and decorated many times, including Bronze medal for merits for national defense, three times the star of Afghanistan, Bronze medal for the Armed Forces in the service of the homeland, Bronze medal for long-term military service, Silver medal for merits for national defense, NATO medal for participating in the ISAF mission, GROM Gold Badge.
For helping a colleague during a combat mission in which he demonstrated bravery, in 2013 he was awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland a Knight's Cross of the Order of the Military Cross.

Steve “Sunny” Whitfield is a paramedic, academic, adventurer and writer who specialises in remote and expeditionary health care. He has personally led over 40 expeditions across five continents and heads up Explora Risk Medical and the expedition medicine series.

Sunny & Johan have spent several years working together on remote shoots for Discovery+ and Nat Geo filming megafauna interaction.