Fantastic Fungi – Gold Coast

John Hannan is a registered psychologist and also holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration. He is a lover of the outdoors and when not surfing or mountain bike riding, he is working on a PhD in evolutionary psychology, focussing on validation in communication. Prior to this he worked as a manager and clinician with the Royal Flying Doctor Service operating out of Cairns in Far North Queensland. John spent over a decade flying weekly to remote Indigenous communities where he provided clinical service to some of the world’s most traumatised individuals. During this time, he managed a series of Wellbeing Centres as an adjunct to the Cape York Welfare Reform Trial and worked with communities in the development of Community Suicide Response Plans. He was the first mental health responder to a number of critical incidents such as cyclone Yasi, and the 2019 western Queensland flood disaster.

John has over twenty years’ experience as a manager. In a prior work iteration he worked as a whitewater rafting guide and managed operations in Australia and Indonesia and also spent time working in Japan. His passion is communication training and working with clients with Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT). He has a long-standing interest in capacity building and improving the health literacy of the community with regards to mental health and regularly conducts Mental Health First Aid Training for organisations. For the past eighteen months he has been the co-chair of Mind Medicine Australia’s Brisbane Chapter and retains this interest as a member of the newly formed board.

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!

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.