Professor John Cairney, PhD, PGDipOL (Oxford), MBA (Sport Management) is a globally recognized leader in sport, health, and higher education. He is Head of School at the University of Queensland and Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Games Engagement, where he co-leads UQ’s strategic involvement in Brisbane 2032. With over 25 years’ experience, he has published 320+ peer-reviewed papers, secured over $55 million in research funding, and built international partnerships across academia, government, and sport. He also directs UQ’s IOC-sanctioned Centre for Olympic and Paralympic Studies. Professor Cairney blends executive leadership with deep research impact, holding advanced qualifications from Oxford and an MBA in Sport Management from the Escuela Universitaria Real Madrid–Universidad Europea.

An ally and champion of equity, diversity and inclusion, Adam has 20 years’ experience working for Local, National and International sporting organisations in Australia and abroad. He is currently the Senior Advisor - Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the Australian Sports Commission leading such initiatives as the implementation of an Intersectionality Roadmap titled, An ALL Inclusive approach to governance and leadership in Australian Sport as well as an education project titled, Dealing with the moment: Anti-Racism in Community Sport. Adam is also the co-host of the Reflect Forward Podcast; a short-format podcast that explores topics related to racism through the lens of sport.

Alexis Cooper is the Director of Education at Sport Integrity Australia, where she is responsible for leading a team to develop innovative education programs on a range of sport integrity threats including doping, match-fixing, child safeguarding and abuse in sport. Alexis has a Masters degree in Bioethics from the University of Sydney, as well as a Bachelor degree in Communications, coupling her passion for communicating complex information in simple and engaging ways, with her interest in understanding why and how people make decisions. Alexis has worked at Australia’s NADO for ten years across the Education, Media, Communications and Science & Medicine Teams. She is also a member of the PBTR Management Committee, a member of the Play Well Culture of Community Sport Squad and a member of the WADA Education Committee and WADA Unintentional Doping Taskforce.

Steve Marquis is the Senior Advisor for Game Plan with the Australian Sports Commission and an experienced leader in sports and recreation. With a deep passion for building and supporting organisations, he helps them deliver high quality sporting experiences that positively impact communities. With extensive experience in strategy, leadership and program development, Steve has worked closely with sports organisations, local government, and community groups to create sustainable and engaging sports and recreation initiatives. His expertise lies in fostering collaboration, enhancing operations and promoting sporting opportunities that are accessible and enjoyable for all.

Meghan is the Sports Partnership Lead at VicReturn (coordinator of Victoria's Container Deposit Scheme). Her role focuses on supporting sport to fundraise through the scheme; and achieves this through building partnerships with peak sporting organisations, SSA and elite teams. As a member of the Project Steering Group, and now part of the Positive Environments Squad, Meghan has been part of the Play Well journey from strategy development to implementation.