Events

This presentation will highlight the work of Steps Outreach Service, success stories about the recipients of the Scholarship program, and the support we have received from Rotary Central Melbourne for over 24 years.

Anne Mitchell is the manager of Steps Outreach Service. She has working for Steps for the last 24 years, providing outreach and support to young people and families experiencing homelessness. Prior to this, Anne was a primary school teacher and Welfare Coordinator at a primary school. She has postgraduate qualifications in Student Welfare and Alcohol and Other Drugs.

Anne is passionate about supporting young people and families experiencing homelessness and disadvantage and helping them to have positive futures.

Steps Outreach Service is the youth homelessness program of Concern Australia. Since 1985, a Steps’ team of workers and volunteers has provided street outreach in the city at night-time to young people and families with children who are experiencing, have experienced, or are at risk of homelessness. This support is followed up during the daytime with holistic outreach and support. Steps’ workers and volunteers demonstrate to the young people that they believe in them and have hope for their future. They empower the young people to develop and work towards their goals and dreams.

Acting Inspector Briony Jones is a 2026 mentee in the Victoria Police Mentoring Program (LMP), a longstanding partnership between Victoria Police, Rotary and the Victorian business community for police members who are considered to be high performing leaders within their field. Hello Neighbour is the community initiative she is developing as part of the LMP.

Hello Neighbour is a grassroots initiative to strengthen social cohesion and improve community safety by supporting vulnerable people early. It aims to complement existing efforts like Neighbourhood Watch to reduce isolation, build trust, and create informal support networks within communities. Hello Neighbour highlights the belief that resilience starts with connection and small acts of neighbourly support can have a lasting impact before, during and after emergencies.

At its core, Hello Neighbour encourages small, everyday interactions between neighbours and strangers by applying the LARA framework:

• Look out
• Ask
• Reconnect
• Assist

Hello Neighbour seeks to partner with community organisations including Rotary, Neighbourhood Watch, The Big Issue and local councils to strengthen community resilience, improve perceptions of safety, and contribute to early intervention and crime prevention.

With more than two decades of public safety and emergency management experience, Briony Jones has dedicated her career to serving and protecting Victorian communities. Her career spans the Victorian Sheriff's Office, as the second-in-charge of Northeast Victoria, before transitioning to Corrections then joining Victoria Police.

During her Policing career, she has held a diverse range of operational and leadership roles, including General Duties, Air Wing, Public Order Response Team, and the State Emergency Response Coordination Division, where she is currently performing duties as an Acting Inspector. Throughout her policing career, she has been deployed to numerous major emergencies and natural disasters across Victoria, coordinating multi-agency responses in some of the state's most challenging environments.

A highlight of her operational experience was serving as the Aviation Capability Officer for Operation Genesis during the 2019-20 Mallacoota bushfires, where she coordinated aviation resources in one of Australia's largest emergency response operations.

Beyond her professional career, Briony is a volunteer firefighter and Road Crash Rescue operator with the Country Fire Authority.

An advocate for lifelong learning, she has completed postgraduate studies in Public Sector Leadership and Management and Police Management, alongside qualifications in Project Management, Emergency Management and Mental Health.

Her dedication to service has been recognised through numerous awards, including the Victoria Police Service Medal, National Emergency Medal, Victoria Police Command Commendations, and community service awards.

Passionate about leadership, emergency management and building resilient communities, she is committed to developing innovative approaches that strengthen collaboration between emergency services and the community.

This presentation will link RI President Olayinka Babalola’s message to District priorities for the year ahead. It will include looking at opportunities to connect with the next generation to grow Rotary.

Graeme joined Rotary Camberwell in December 2003 through a personal introduction and was attracted by the success of the club’s Art Show as an iconic annual community event, now in its 61^st year.

He has served as Club President, Chair of the Art Show, Chair Hawthorn Makers Market, Assistant Governor for three years, District Chair of Club Service. Graeme trained as a Chartered Accountant and worked for 35 years as a financial and investment adviser.

He is passionate about the power of The Rotary Foundation, is a member of the Paul Harris Society and a Major Donor.

Graeme and Sue have three children and eight grandchildren. He is also a Life Member of an amateur football club.

The Rotary Foundation exists to support Rotarians to deliver educational and humanitarian services to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace, the key shared mission of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation and our shared priority to eradicate Polio. It does this and much more. In so many ways our Foundation is the DNA that makes Rotary uniquely different to other service organisations. This talk is a Trustee’s insight into how The Rotary Foundation is creating lasting impact.

Dennis joined Rotary in 1980 and is a Trustee of The Rotary Foundation from 2023 to 2027. He is also vice chair of Rotary Foundation Australia. In D9800 Dennis was District Governor in 2012-13 and has been District Foundation Chair and twice District Council on Legislation Representative. He has also served as District Secretary, Vice-Governor and Finance Committee Chair (twice), and many other district and club roles. He is honoured to be a recipient of The Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award and the Royce Abbey Award.

Dennis Shore is a chartered chemical engineer with degrees from the University of New South Wales and postgraduate qualifications from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and INSEAD (France). After a career in paper manufacturing, culminating in international business development and management in the USA, Europe, and Asia, he established his own consulting business. These days Rotary is his main focus.

Dennis has been married to Lynda for many years and they are proud parents to 2 wonderful adult daughters and grandparents to four treasured grandchildren.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being perceived as an amplifier of efficiency, and of human bias. As artificial intelligence reshapes how we work, lead and connect, several questions emerge: what does responsible AI adoption actually look like? Is this an oxymoron? What happens to human wellbeing along the way, and for future generations?

If you enjoyed Ruhee's last Rotary presentation on climate, wellbeing & our responsibility, you don't want to miss this. In this session, she unpacks the future of digital wellbeing through a practical, thought-provoking lens, exploring why emotional intelligence, critical thinking and empathy may be the most future-proof skills we have in an increasingly automated world. Expect real case studies, prompting questions, and conversation starters to spark curiosity and a nuanced perspective to AI beyond 'for or against'.

Ruhee Meghani is the founder of Allied Collective and one of Australia's most distinctive voices at the intersection of inclusive leadership, wellbeing, and facilitation. With 14 years of practice spanning Yoga philosophy and training and development, Ruhee works with leaders to decrease psychosocial hazards.

Described as a "firecracker with purpose", Ruhee has partnered with over 65 organisations including Nike and Arup, to drive measurable outcomes in retention, leadership capability, and workplace wellbeing. Ruhee advocates for multicultural communities and is also a university lecturer - all while championing for equitable wellbeing and inclusive design.

Ruhee is based in Melbourne and works with teams and leaders across Australia and internationally.