Taking the Pressure Down - New Approaches to Recruiting Sport Volunteers

Biographies

Leigh Simmonds, Senior Manager Patient Advocacy, Corporate Social Responsibility and Reconciliation Lead, Pfizer Australia

Leigh is a change maker. Rarely satisfied with the status quo, she is an innovator of programs and systems that inspire and activate collaboration. She is an advocate for change that leads to equity and better outcomes for all.

She has a clinical background in palliative care and a Masters of Public Health at University of Western Sydney. Throughout her double-decade career as a health communicator and stakeholder relations manager, Leigh has worked in private and not for profit enterprises including The Cancer Council NSW leading a large team to deliver population cancer control strategies.

In her current role at Pfizer Leigh focuses on engagement with Patient Groups and also leads Pfizer’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program – Pfizer CARES, including Reconciliation Action Plan leadership.

In her spare-time she enjoys cycling with her blended family and walking her two cavoodles.

Michael Hartung OAM, Chief Executive Office, Invictus Australia

Michael was the Chief Delivery Officer for the Invictus Games Sydney 2018, and a member of the 2018 Invictus Games Bid Steering Committee. Prior to his time working on the Invictus Games, Michael spent 10 years with the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC), carrying out roles including Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Sport.

During his decade with the APC, he held management positions on four Paralympic Teams (including Chef de Mission in 2010 and Deputy Chef de Mission in 2012). In 2020, Michael received the Order of Australia Medal for service to sport for people with a disability.

Victor Lee, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Communiteer

Victor is the CEO of Communiteer with an extensive 20-year career in Change Management and Corporate Social Responsibility roles across both the Corporate and Not-for-Profit sectors.

Communiteer began in 2018 with an idea; a one-stop solution to connect not-for-profits with the corporate partners, people and the skills they need to make a difference while providing businesses the opportunity to venture further into the social impact space. Over the past 3 years, Communiteer has cultivated strong organisational and personal relationships with partners throughout the development of social change initiatives, utilising our combined strengths and putting to the test the concept of the ‘sharing economy’.

Nicholas Watkins, Chief Operating Officer, revolutioniseSPORT

As the Chief Operating Officer for SportsGrid, the developer of Australia’s largest sports management platform - revolutioniseSPORT, Nicholas works with, consults for or has visibility over more than 270 governing bodies and 18,000 grassroots clubs across 10 countries. This unique bird’s-eye-view of the sporting industry is further strengthened by practical experience at the coalface of sport where Nicholas is a player, ref, coach, and President of the Cronulla Sutherland Water Polo Club. Nicholas sits on his local Council’s Sports Advisory Group and is a member of the Water Polo Australia Operating Model Working Group & National Tribunal as well as Chair of NSW Goalball, a State Sporting Organisation for people with Disabilities (SSOD).

Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing & HR) and Master of International Business.