A Night of Neuroscience

Join us for A Night of Neuroscience, in an evening with AITD award-winning experts exploring how brain science shapes behaviour, learning, and leadership.

Stay for a lively World Café conversation, where you’ll connect with peers to turn insight into action and explore how neuroscience can transform your everyday work.

Key Takeaways

• Understand how the brain learns and leads and explore the science behind memory, focus, and behaviour, and what this means for learning, growth, and performance.
• Translate neuroscience into practice and gain simple, evidence-based tools to improve communication, decision-making, and collaboration.
• Experience collective insight: take part in a World Café conversation that helps you connect ideas, share experiences, and turn theory into action.
• See yourself and others differently: discover how brain insights can strengthen relationships, leadership, and everyday interactions.

Presenters

Michelle Parry-Slater, Learning and Development Director, Kairos Modern Learning 

Michelle is a distinguished people development business strategist, author, and practitioner. Recognised as a leader in her field, she leads Kairos Modern Learning, a boutique consultancy specialising in helping organisations navigate change for more impactful capability and people development.

In the workforce for over 35 years, with over 20 of those in People roles, particularly L&OD, Michelle offers a broad perspective on learning and development, supporting her clients to embrace the best of all forms of learning to support organisational challenges and feed into purpose. Michelle has experience in a wide variety of sectors, including universities, tech and learning vendors, financial services and banking, the aviation industry, global mobility and removals, FMCG, local and central government, veterinary, events, sports associations, membership organisations, youth and charities.

Michelle has contributed significantly to the People Profession. She is the author of the globally popular book The Learning and Development Handbook and hosts the Learning From The Edges podcast, which explores workplace friction. Michelle is a monthly contributor to People Management Magazine. A sought-after speaker, she shares her insights globally at conferences, webinars, podcasts, and on Learning Now TV. Additionally, Michelle serves as an industry awards judge in the UK and Australia.

Paula Johnston, Career Development Leader & Founder of NeuCoach, NeuCoach 

Paula is a leadership development strategist, facilitator and coach with a passion for helping people find purpose and potential in their work. She designs leadership frameworks and career pathways that align with organisational strategy, lifting capability, shifting mindsets and building cultures where people and performance thrive.

With a background in neuroscience, Paula is known for bringing complex theory to life in ways that challenge assumptions and spark transformation. She has worked globally with leaders across the public and private sectors in the UK, and with state and local government in both the UK and Australia. Her client portfolio includes the European Commission in Brussels, Virgin Australia, Tesco UK, Elsevier Science and Goodstart Early Learning. Her programs deliver measurable outcomes in engagement, retention and succession planning, while creating psychologically safe environments where trust and collaboration flourish.

What makes Paula’s approach different is her willingness to disrupt traditional thinking. She blends nature-based learning and equine-assisted experiential programs with evidence-based corporate practice, enabling leaders to experience insight and change in real time. These unique experiences accelerate learning, foster resilience and unlock a deeper connection to self and others - outcomes that standard classroom training rarely achieves.

As workplaces are reshaped by technology and AI, Paula is equally passionate about the future of facilitation. She believes the role of the facilitator must rise to a new standard globally - becoming the discipline that harnesses collective intelligence, human connection and creativity in ways that machines cannot replicate.

“I have a passion for helping people grow, develop, and find purpose in their work - harnessing the wisdom of nature and horses to create transformational shifts, while championing higher standards of facilitation globally so organisations can unlock true collective intelligence in the age of AI.”

Samara Holmes, Leadership Development Partner, City of Gold Coast Council 

Samara is a purposeful Facilitator and Coach committed to personal and professional growth. She specialises in developing leadership capability, behavioural change, and creating change-fit organisations. Samara’s strength is in equipping leaders with strong social leadership skills, fostering people-centric leadership, and building safe, collaborative team cultures that inspire change, growth, and purpose, ultimately enhancing overall well-being.

Known for her calm nature, embodied listening, and ability to ask questions with conscious intent, Samara drives deep reflection and insight. Grounded in neuroscience, her approach is influenced by leading concepts from thought leaders like David Rock, Brené Brown, and Simon Sinek. By focusing on individual strengths with high empathy and a deep understanding of human behaviour, Samara unlocks hidden potential in individuals.

Samara aims to develop leaders with a specific focus on social leadership. Staying attuned to contemporary leadership trends and the unique challenges faced by leaders, she has researched, designed, and delivered several leadership programs. Samara finds great fulfilment in working for purpose-driven organisations and is passionate about giving back to the community.

Georgie Sayers, Career Development Partner, City of Gold Coast Council 

Georgie is a passionate learning and development facilitator, specialising in behavioural change and wellbeing. As a Certified Health Mindset Coach, Georgie focuses on applying key concepts of behaviour change to help people unlock their potential and build the fundamental skills of communication, emotional intelligence and a growth mindset.

Through facilitating workshops on human-centred skills, Georgie leverages her top Gallup strengths as a learner and developer to continually explore and apply insights from human behaviour, neuroscience, and contemporary leadership practices.

Georgie's global experiences, including work and volunteer efforts in remote villages in Fiji, Timor Leste, and Aboriginal communities in NSW have shaped her commitment to empowering individuals and placing human needs at the forefront of professional environments. Her dedication to promoting a safe environment and fostering a human-centred approach in the workplace is at the heart of how she approaches any interaction, whether facilitating a workshop or coaching.

Kyunah Dorr, Leadership Development Partner, City of Gold Coast Council 

Kyunah is passionate about inspiring behavioural change and elevating leadership capabilities. With over 20 years of experience in leadership, she is deeply attuned to contemporary leadership trends, enabling her to design and deliver impactful sessions that ignite growth, purpose, and resilience.

A strong advocate for connection and inclusivity, Kyunah fosters a culture where leaders and teams can thrive. She is accredited in the Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), which emphasises whole-brain thinking, and Gallup Clifton Strengths, which focus on leveraging our unique individual strengths. Her coaching approach is both supportive and quietly challenging, creating a psychologically safe environment where leaders can explore their strengths, identify blind spots, and seize opportunities to maximise their potential.

Kyunah is dedicated to her own continuous learning and is currently expanding her expertise in Neuro leadership as she works toward achieving an Advanced Diploma of Neuroscience. Her academic foundation includes a degree in Business, which she continues to build upon with cutting-edge insights into the neuroscience of leadership.

Light refreshments will be served - please advise dietary requirements when registering. 

By registering for this event, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. 

Event and course cost pricing is quoted GST exclusive.

If you have any questions about AITD local events, we're always happy to help. Please reach out to membership@aitd.com.au