Raising Girls

Madeleine Morris is a Melbourne-based reporter for ABC television’s 7.30. She was formerly a presenter for the BBC in London and reported from dozens of countries before returning to her native Australia. She is the author of Guilt-Free Bottle-Feeding: Why Your Formula-Fed Baby Can Grow Up To Be Happy, Healthy and Smart, published by Finch. 

Nelly Thomas has been described as one of Australia’s most natural comedians. An award-winning performer, she was listed as one of Australia’s 'most innovative thinkers' in the Age's The Zone and was featured on the ABC’s Big Ideas: The Smartest Stuff on TV, Radio and Online. 

Nelly is a regular guest on ABC Local Radio and Radio National and writes extensively in the print and online media, including as a columnist for New Matilda. 

She has published a memoir, What Women Want (Random House, 2012) and has just released her first children’s book Some Girls (Piccolo Nero, 2018). Some Girls is an early childhood book aimed at fulfilling one of Nelly’s life-long passions – instilling confidence in little girls through challenging gender and other stereotypes. An accompanying book for boys is due out in mid-2018.

Nelly has been a stand-up comedian for 16 years. She stumbled into comedy after winning the Triple J Raw Comedy competition in 2003. Since then she’s done all the things comedians normally do – toured Australia and overseas, established a Melbourne Comedy room and performed at hundreds of gigs and a couple of dozen festivals. She’s also directed shows by some incredible comedians including Maria Bamford, Candy Bowers and Stella Young.

But alongside her normal comedy work, Nelly has forged a specialist career in comedic health promotion and is highly sought after as a health promotion speaker and MC. It is here that she can combine her comedic and communication skills with her passion for health and well-being; as understood in a whole-of-society context. 

In 2016 Nelly was very proud to be named an Ambassador for Jean Hailes for Women’s Health – Australia’s leading women’s health organisation.

Nelly lives in Melbourne with her partner Lachlan, their two daughters, a grumpy poodle, a stupid labradoodle and one very resilient goldfish. She is a devotee of terrible reality television and was once an under-13s Girl’s BMX Champion.

Dr Chi Watts is commissioner of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, lecturer at the College of Health and Biomedicine, and leads the Bachelor of Health Science at Victoria University. Dr Watts is a public health expert. Her expertise includes: migrant and refugee health, women’s health, social inclusion, chronic disease prevention and management, health promotion, strategic planning and health policy.  Mimmie has published in international journals and is a reviewer and editor in public health related journals.

Improving health needs for women, providing better education for girls and disadvantaged persons and increasing opportunities amongst disadvantaged groups are key areas of interest for Mimmie.

Mimmie is currently a Director Women’s Health West, AMES Australia and the Patron for the Women Federation for World Peace in Australia and Oceania. She is also a Peace Ambassador for the Universal Peace Federation for World Peace.

Anna Barnes is an award-winning playwright and author. Her book Girl! The Ultimate Guide To Being You (Penguin, 2012) was named one of the 2013 Eva Pownall Notable Books by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. She regularly speaks to girls at schools about various topics, from how to make your own media to self esteem. She was host to Tavi Gevinson (USA) for the 2013 Melbourne Writers Festival's Rookie Day.

In 2013, she was awarded Sydney Theatre Company’s Patrick White Playwrighting Award. Her plays and monologues have been performed around Australia. In 2015, her play MinusOneSister opened at Griffin Theatre, produced by Stories Like These.