Expo Speakers
Mrs Nina Schrinner
Lady Mayoress
Tim Connolly
Director, Newhaven Funerals
Growing up around funerals since the age of six allows Tim a unique understanding of how a family owned funeral business should be. He has seen his Mum and Dad, Denise and Phil Connolly grow from a small commercial unit at West End in Brisbane to witnessing the company grow to a well known national public company. The business has since reverted to a smaller business under the name Newhaven Funerals which provides more personal and meaningful funeral services. Since leaving school in 1992 Tim has been deeply involved in all aspects of operating their family owned business, including operating crematoriums, memorial gardens and pet cremation business. Tim is more than competent to assist all clients with any request. Now married with two children, Tim’s personal time is spent with family, friends and the community.
Phillip Good
St Vincent’s Hospital
John Haberecht
President, Palliative Care Queensland
John is President of Palliative Care Queensland, and a past President of Palliative Care Nurses Australia. Amongst other duties, John’s work at the Centre involves maintaining the website. He is particularly interested in the use of new technologies to augment traditional educational methods in palliative care.
John has been involved in palliative care since working in the early 1990s on Ward 4B at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane – an oncology ward with a palliative care philosophy. It was at this time that his involvement with Karuna Hospice Service started, being involved from the first public meeting held to discuss the setting up of a Buddhist hospice home care service. He was an academic at Australian Catholic University, working with colleagues to develop and teach a post graduate palliative care program. John has worked in a clinical capacity with Cittamani and Karuna Hospice Services, Mt Olivet (St Vincent’s) Home Care, and Brisbane South Palliative Care at Princess Alexandra and Mater Hospitals.
Shyla Mills
CEO, Palliative Care Queensland
Shyla is a palliative care nurse with over 16 years’ experience, working in most jurisdictions of Australia, as well as internationally in India, Nepal, Mongolia and the UK. Shyla has worked as a DON of an aged care facility and in paediatric palliative care, as well as the National Programme Manager for the National Standards Assessment Program (NSAP), with Palliative Care Australia.
Shyla holds a Master of Palliative Care and a Master of Public Health and has a particular interest in public health palliative care, continuous quality improvement, arts in healthcare and service excellence.
Rianne Uijttewaal
Program Manager, Ambulance Wish Queensland
Originally from The Netherlands, Rianne is a Registered Nurse who developed a special interest in palliative care when she and her siblings cared for their terminally ill father.
Rianne, with her husband and their two children, spent four years living in Ethiopia and Singapore where she worked for a number of NGO’s. After a period back in the Netherlands where Rianne worked as an RN in a hospice, the family moved to Queensland in 2005. They absolutely love it and intend to spend the rest of their lives here.
In Australia, Rianne has worked in aged care as an ADON and as a Breast Care Nurse.
She now combines her work as Program Manager for Palliative Care Queensland with working as an RN in palliative care.
Rianne is inspired by the success of Ambulance Wish in The Netherlands and her wish is that AWQld will help create more awareness about palliative care and the need for all Queenslanders’ to have access to this specialist service.