Terry Ayling is a creative director, Spirited Communities p/l and Coordinator of the Gold Coast Health Spiritual Care Department in Queensland, Australia.
My inspiration for this adventure has been a vision to 'grow spirited communities of spirited people', creating spaces & places where all people can experience welcome, hospitality & an authentic, life-giving engagement in community.

Mark Crosweller is the Director General of Emergency Management Australia, the Australian Government’s lead agency for disaster and emergency management. He is currently completing a PhD on compassion at the University of Western Australia.

Al Harris is the National Indigenous Advisor to the Australian Compassion Council. He is the patriarch of Wester Creation and is well known for didgeridoo playing. He is equally at home performing the traditional songs of his homelands as he is speaking to the world’s corporate leaders about inclusion, reconciliation and leadership. He has shared a stage with the likes of U2 and performed for the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. With his sons Tristan and Azlan Harris, Western Creation have toured the depth and breadth of this land they call home.

Debbie Ling from Monash University is a common humanity and compassion researcher. She has delivered common humanity training to hundreds of healthcare workers. Debbie sits on the Australian Compassion Council, and is a member of the ACC Scholars Network.
Compassion is one of the great virtues and an essential component of any flourishing society. It has been admirably demonstrated by some of the most famous figures of our times-Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Mandela, Desmond Tutu. Anything we can do to promote and cultivate compassion is worthwhile.

Hugh MacKay, well-respected social scientist, has accepted to become an Australia Compassion Ambassador.  Hugh is the author of many books, his most recent is Australia Reimagined: Towards a More Compassionate Less Anxious Society.

Louise Murphy is the Principal Nurse Educator (Mental Health Services) for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District. With over 30 years as a Registered Nurse, Louise has worked in a variety of Senior Leadership positions including a Drug and Alcohol Nurse Practitioner, Educator and University Lecturer. Louise is also a St John Ambulance Volunteer and has a passion for improving the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities by cultivating compassion and compassionate practices.

Gwen Pinnington is the Director of Gwen Pinnington Consulting & Coaching, and has over 20 years of experience in leadership, coaching, change & transformation, personal and organisational effectiveness. Gwen is a certified facilitator of Compassionate Integrity Training and co-creator of Compassionship – Compassion Based Leadership TM (a framework and practice for conscious shared leadership and effectiveness). Gwen works with individuals and teams across all sectors and industries, and connects people with their highest selves and each other through shared humanity and compassion. Gwen is committed to reducing the suffering in workplaces and increasing wellbeing and consciousness so that individuals, cultures and communities can thrive.

Dr. Lynne Reeder is a Director of Australia21, trained as a meditation teacher with Deepak Chopra and is currently researching in compassion and empathy within policy making settings.
In our global world developing compassion as a motivation is becoming more important – research now shows that compassion meditation can be beneficial in promoting more harmonious relationships.

Dr. Stan Steindl is a clinical psychologist in private practice at Psychology Consultants Pty Ltd and also Adjunct Associate Professor at School of Psychology, University of Queensland. He co-founded The Compassion Initiative.

Dr. Ursula Stephens, Foundation Ambassador. In 2010 the Australian Parliament became the first parliament in the world to sign the Charter. Dr Ursula Stephens, the then Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion, and Danielle Lauren held a historic recognition ceremony of the Charter for Compassion at Parliament House, which included representatives from the Government and Opposition, Indigenous community, diplomats, NGOs, religious and youth leaders.

Dr. Susan Sumskis is Head of Health and Social Wellbeing Programs at the Nan Tien Institute of Higher Education. Sue is a credentialed mental health nurse who focuses on education in compassion, contemplation and ethics for health care professionals. Sue is researching the impact of a contemplative education on the development of student compassion and is also supervising PhD students who are researching the effects of compassion based higher education on student personal development. Sue delivers compassion based continuing professional education for the purpose of reducing burnout and empathic distress in health professionals and for facilitating self-care.

Imagine a more compassionate world, one where we are kind to one another no matter what our differences might be, where we reach out to those in need and help to relieve their suffering, and where we can even treat ourselves with that same love and compassion. That is our vision, our intention.