Peter Hunt AM
B.Com, LL.B
Chair
As an investment banker Peter Hunt AM advised local and multi-national companies and governments in Australia for nearly 35 years. He co-founded one of Australia’s leading investment banking advisory firms, Caliburn Partnership and was Executive Chairman of Greenhill Australia. Peter was a member of the Advisory Panel of ASIC and chaired the Vincent Fairfax Family Office.
Peter is an active philanthropist involved in funding, developing and scaling social sector organisations which seek to create a better and fairer world. He is Chairman of Mind Medicine Australia which he established with his wife, Tania de Jong, in 2018. He regularly presents to Governments, regulators, clinicians, philanthropists and the general public on psychedelic-assisted therapies and the legal and ethical frameworks needed to ensure these treatments can be made accessible and affordable.
He founded Women’s Community Shelters in 2011. Peter is a Director of The Umbrella Foundation. Peter also acts as a pro bono adviser to Creativity Australia. He was formerly Chairman of So They Can, Grameen Australia and Grameen Australia Philippines.
Peter was made a member of the General Division of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2010 for services to the philanthropic sector.
Tania de Jong AM
LL.B (Hons), GradDipMus
Deputy Chair and Executive Director
Tania de Jong AM is a trail-blazing Australian soprano, award-winning social entrepreneur, creative innovation catalyst, spiritual journey woman, storyteller and global speaker. Tania is one of Australia’s most successful female entrepreneurs and innovators developing 6 businesses and 4 charities including Creative Universe, Creativity Australia and With One Voice, Creative Innovation Global, Mind Medicine Australia, Umbrella Foundation and The Song Room.
She works across the public, private, creative and community sectors. Tania speaks and sings around the world as a soloist and with her group Pot-Pourri releasing ten albums. She is Founder and Executive Producer of future-shaping events series, Creative Innovation Global. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2008 and named one of the 100 Women of Influence and the 100 Australian Most Influential Entrepreneurs and in the 100 Most Influential People in Psychedelics globally.
She regularly presents on psychedelic-assisted therapies, mental health and wellbeing at major conferences and events around the world and to Governments, regulators, clinicians, philanthropists and the general public.
Tania’s TED Talk How Singing Together Changes The Brain has sparked international interest. Tania’s mission is to change the world, one voice at a time!
Prof Jane Burns
BA (Hons), Ph.D
Director
Professor Jane Burns is a health strategist, advising the government, university and social enterprise sector. She is Chair of Open Arms, Chair of STREAT and Chair of the Centre for Mental Health at Swinburne University. She has over twenty years’ experience as a C-Suite Executive with high profile organisations, beyondblue: the national depression initiative and reachout.com and was the founder and CEO of the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre raising over $100M in capital.
She is the Founder and Non-Executive Director of InnoWell and a Non-Executive Director with APPLI. She was a Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy, a VicHealth Fellow in Health Promotion and an NHMRC Fellow in Suicide Prevention. In recognition for her achievements in entrepreneurship she won the category of Social Enterprise for 2015’s Australian Financial Review and Westpac Group 100 Women of Influence, and was a Victorian Finalist in the 2017 Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
Dr Eli Kotler
MBBS MPM FRANZCP Cert. Old Age Psych. AFRACMA
Director
Eli is a consultant psychiatrist and psychodynamic psychotherapist. He is the Medical Director of Malvern Private Hospital, an addiction and trauma hospital in Melbourne. Eli completed the inaugural CPAT course, and has since been on its faculty. He was appointed as the course’s Australian Course Director in 2023.
As a psychiatric trainee, Eli was awarded the Royal College of Psychiatrists Trainee Prize for his Scholarly Project on Depression, as well as a Research Committee Trainee award for his work on Philosophy of Mind. As an adjunct lecturer at Monash University, he oversees medical students on their addiction medicine rotation. He has been invited as a key-note speaker to several conferences and meetings to discuss addictions, trauma and psychedelics. Eli sits on the Committee of the ANZMHA to help organise their yearly addiction conference. He also sits on the inaugural Clinical Advisory Group for the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. Eli is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, and is a member of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs. He also has extensive research experience with novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.
Due to his interest in trauma, Eli has been appointed an Independent Medical Examiner by WorkSafe Victoria. He has been appointed by the Minister for Workplace Safety to sit on the Victorian Medical Panels, and is an expert witness in historical abuse cases.
Clinically, Eli works in a psychodynamic framework, and attempts to help his patients find freedom from their addictions and trauma through relational experiences, and experiential self-awareness. He is part of the AFL Player’s Association referral network for addiction issues, and his interests in depth-psychology and neuroscience led him to found the Melbourne Neuropsychoanalytic Group.
Dr Simon Longstaff AO
B.Ed., Ph.D
Director
Dr Simon Longstaff commenced his work as the first Executive Director of The Ethics Centre in 1991. He undertook postgraduate studies in Philosophy as a Member of Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Simon is a Fellow of CPA Australia and in June 2016, was appointed an Honorary Professor at the Australian National University – based at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies. Formerly serving as the inaugural President of The Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics, Simon serves on a number of boards and committees across a broad spectrum of activities. He was formerly a Fellow of the World Economic Forum.
Simon’s distinguished career includes being named as one of AFR Boss’ True Leaders for the 21st century. In 2013 Dr Longstaff was made an officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished service to the community through the promotion of ethical standards in governance and business, to improving corporate responsibility, and to philosophy.”
Monojit (Mono) Ray
B.Sc., LL.B, LL.M, GradDipLP, GradDipEnt
Director
Mono Ray is a corporate advisor and former PwC Tax and Legal Partner turned Change Agent. He has advised national and global companies across industries for 30 years on innovations including the privatisation of energy, establishing electronic and foreign banking and many significant deals. With a love of helping people achieve difficult things, he’s also the Managing Director and co-founder of ConnectAlex, a platform that gives people ways to build savings faster, and a non-executive director of Kidney Health Australia.
Mono served on industry bodies including the Financial Services Council, Property Council of Australia and the Australian Financial Centre Forum Reference Group. He consulted with state and federal regulators to design policy and legislation.
He has a B.Sc. (Neuropsychology), LL.B, LL.M (Investor Protection & Tax), and postgraduate qualifications in business and is a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia and the NSW Supreme Court. Mono has a passion for driving change for the better in business and society through technology, evolutionary approaches and resetting boundaries.
Hon Andrew Robb AO
B.Sc., LL.B, LL.M, GradDipLP, GradDipEnt
Director
Until his recent retirement from politics, Andrew Robb was Australia’s Minister for Trade, Investment and Tourism.
In this role Mr Robb negotiated Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Japan and China, as well as the 12 country Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Singapore.
Mr Robb is currently Executive Chairman of The Robb Group (A corporate and investment advisory company), a Board Member of the Kidman cattle enterprise, Chair of Asialink and pharmacogenetics company, CNSDose, and strategic advisor to Seafarms Ltd as well as a range of national and international businesses.
In 2003, Mr Robb was awarded the office of the Order of Australia (AO) for his service to agriculture, politics and the community. As well, Mr Robb is the author of “Black Dog Daze: Public Life, Private Demons” (Melbourne University Publishing).
Mr Robb has qualifications in Agricultural Science and a first-class Honours Degree in Economics, and lives in Sydney with his wife Maureen and has three adult children Tom, Joe and Pip.
Nicholas Smedley
Director
Nicholas Smedley is an experienced Investment Banker and M&A Advisor, with 14 years’ experience at UBS and KPMG. He has worked on M&A transactions in the UK, Hong Kong, China, and Australia with transactions ranging from the A$9bn defence of WMC Resources through to the investment of $65m into Catch.com.au. Has previously supported Mental Health charities with 6 years on the Haven Foundation Board. During Nicholas’ time at the Haven Foundation he helped deliver its first on balance sheet housing project in Frankston with a strong financial benefit to the Foundation. Nicholas currently oversees investments in the Property, Aged care, Technology and Medical Technology space and is Chairman of Respiri Limited (ASX: RSH). Key areas of expertise include M&A, Debt structuring, Corporate governance and innovation. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Monash University.