World Health Summit: Public Event 

Tegan Taylor (she/her)
Multi-award-winning health and science reporter for the ABC

She hosts shows including Radio National’s Health Report, Quick Smart and What’s That Rash? She’s received a Walkley Award, the Eureka Prize for Science Journalism and her work has appeared in the Best of Australian Science Writing. 

Professor Brett Sutton AO (he/him)
Director of Health & Biosecurity at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. 

Professor Brett Sutton is a qualified public health physician, with extensive experience and clinical expertise in public health and communicable diseases, gained through experience in Government, emergency medicine and field-based international work.

Prior to CSIRO, he held the role of Victoria’s Chief Health Officer together with the role of Victoria’s Chief Human Biosecurity Officer. In this role, Professor Sutton played a leading role in guiding the public health response to COVID-19 in Victoria, including as statutory decision-maker and departmental spokesperson.

Prior to his appointment as Victorian Chief Health Officer, Professor Sutton held several senior positions within the Victorian Department of Health, including as Deputy Chief Health Officer (Communicable Disease) and within their Health Protection Branch.

Professor Sutton has specialist knowledge in tropical medicine and infectious disease, including in lower-middle income countries and complex humanitarian environments, and has worked in various specialised health roles in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Timor-Leste, and Fiji.

Professor Sutton is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, a Fellow of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine, and a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM). He is also a member of the Faculty of Travel Medicine. 

Zara Seidler (she/her)
Journalist and Commentator & co-founder The Daily Aus

Zara is the co-founder of The Daily Aus, a social-first news service that engages over a quarter of a million young Australians a day. Coming from a background in independent politics, Zara has worked as a crossbench political adviser to independent federal crossbencher Dr Kerryn Phelps and campaign manager for an independent Lord Mayoral campaign. She's also worked at Sky News, Research Australia, and did a research stint at Georgetown University. Zara has also been a commentator on prominent television programs such as Q+A, The Drum and The Project. 

Akec Makur Chuot (she/her) 
Former AFLW player and influencer

Akec Makur Chuot is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Business degree with a double major in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Marketing. Before her studying pursuits, Akec has overcome Incredible hurdles to become the first African woman drafted into the Inaugural AFL Women's competition in 2017. Since then, she has played for Hawthorn, Richmond and Fremantle Football Clubs in the AFLW.

Akec's impact extends beyond the football field. She is a business owner at Safari Boutique Australia, a passionate anti-racism advocate, a Helping Hoops ambassador and a mentor to many young Africans.

From spending childhood in Kenyan Refugee Camp to having an impressive AFLW career, Akec’s life exemplifies a legacy of resilience, leadership, and inspiration for future generations.

Dr Brian Li Han Wong (he/him) 
Digital Health Consultant, Global Public Health Adviser, Youth Leadership in Global Health 

Born in Malaysia and raised in Canada, Brian Li Han Wong is an entrepreneur, public health advocate & practitioner, and multidisciplinary researcher interested in ageing and life course, digital health, global health governance, immunisation/vaccination policy, and youth engagement. He currently sits on the Steering Committees for the EUPHA Digital Health Section and the new WHO Youth Council. He also leads the Public Health Erosion and Vaccination subgroups on ASPHER’s COVID-19 Task Force and sits on the Board of Trustees for UK Model WHO and Students for Global Health.

Dr Wong has previously acted as surveillance epidemiologist for Public Health England’s Immunisation and Countermeasures Division as well as Programme Manager of the “Outbreak!” strand of UCL’s annual Global Citizenship Programme. His long-standing passion for meaningful youth engagement through innovation, capacity building, and experiential learning activities has led him to found LonWHO, the world’s largest Model WHO simulation, and UK Model WHO, the first unified structure for Model WHO simulations in the UK which provides global health policy, advocacy, and diplomacy training for students and young professionals. He has written and delivered policy statements at high-level meetings, such as the World Health Assembly and the WHO’s Executive Board Meeting, as part of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) delegation.

Dr Wong is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health and the Royal Society of Arts. He is currently undertaking a social innovation fellowship with Year Here and has been accepted onto the 3rd WHO infodemic manager training. Since concluding his doctoral studies in cardiovascular science at University College London, he went on to pursue an Executive Diploma in the Art of Diplomacy from the European Academy of Diplomacy and the Global Clinical Scholars Research Training program with Harvard Medical School. He holds a Master’s degree in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an Honours Bachelor degree in biomedical science with a minor in music from the University of Ottawa.