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Facilitator:  

Dr Saana Taylor (Auckland)  

Kia ora, I am an anaesthetist at Te Toka Tumai, Auckland City Hospital. I am a member of the NZ national committee and belong to MANA the Māori Anaesthetist Network Aotearoa. I am co-convenor for the 2026 ELC. 

Panellists:  

Dr Jane Thomas (Auckland) 

Dr Jane Thomas is a paediatric anaesthetist and adult and paediatric pain medicine specialist working at Starship Children’s Hospital and The Auckland Regional Pain Service. She is a member of MANA (Māori Anaesthetists Network of Aōtearoa) and the Indigenous Health Committee of ANZCA. She also worked for Pharmac for 12 years and was the first wahine and Māori Chair of the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC). 

Dr Vik Singh (Auckland) 

Vik is a FANZCA from Auckland City Hospital, New Zealand but currently in London for a year at University College London Hospital! He completed his training in New Zealand and has done fellowships in Neuroanaesthesia, Liver transplant and Cardiac Anaesthesia. His nonclinical interests include research and wellbeing/advocacy. As a Fijian Indian, he is particularly interested in Pacific Island health equity. In addition, he is a member of the ANZCA New Zealand National council.  Outside of the work he enjoys video games, movies, motorsport, collecting houseplants and trying to keep fit in at the gym. An interesting fact about Vik is that he was chief medical officer for the 2024 and 2025 Taupo Supercars race. 

Dr Jack Hill (Auckland) 

Tēnā koutou katoa.  

Ko Tarawera te maunga (Tarawera is the mountain) 

Ko Kaipara te moana (Kaipara is the ocean) 

Ko Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi te waka (Mahuhu-ki-te-rangi is the canoe) 

Ko Ngāti Whātua te iwi (Ngāti Whātua is the tribe) 

I look forward to attending and contributing to the 2026 Emerging Leaders hui/conference. May the kaupapa/purpose for this hui be founded upon the tikanga/principles of manaakitanga/respect, kotahitanga/unity, whanaungatanga/relationships and aroha/compassion. 

Dr Sally Ure (Auckland) 

I’m fortunate to have a career that allows me to make a real difference—for patients, colleagues, and the wider health community. With a clinical background in obstetric and general anaesthesia, I currently serve as Clinical Director of Anaesthesia, ICU, and Perioperative Services for the Capital, Coast, and Hutt Valley District. 

Since joining ANZCA Council in 2020, I’ve enjoyed collaborating with dedicated Councillors and college staff. I served as Chair of the New Zealand National Committee from 2020 to 2022 and continue to contribute through roles on the Training and Accreditation, Safety and Quality, and Indigenous Health Committees, as well as the Dual Training Pathway Working Group. 

My leadership experience across hospital and college settings has deepened my understanding of how clinical and corporate governance intersect—and how we can navigate those tensions to improve care and culture. 

What matters most to me is connection—listening to Fellows and trainees, understanding their challenges, and helping ensure their voices are heard. I’m committed to advancing equity, high-quality healthcare, and practitioner wellbeing, while supporting the people who make it all possible.  

Facilitator:  

Professor Dave Story (Vic) 

Dave Story is Professor of Anaesthesia and Head of the Department of Critical Care at the University of Melbourne. He is President of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and sits on the Board of the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges. His main research interest is clinically and cost-effective approaches to reduce perioperative risk, complications, disability, and mortality. His clinical work covers most procedural specialties including liver transplantation. 

Panellists:  

Dr Dilip Kapur (SA) 

Dr Dilip Kapur is a specialist pain medicine physician working in South Australia. 

Dr Kapur trained in anaesthesia and pain medicine in the UK before moving to Australia in 2002 where he gained fellowships with ANZCA and with the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM). 

Dr Kapur has served in multiple official roles with FPM since 2013.  He is the current Dean of The Faculty. 

Dr Kapur has wide clinical interests within pain medicine.  He has extensive experience of both interventional pain medicine as well as multidisciplinary treatment.  He has a specific interest in delivery of pain medicine services to rural and remote communities, including provision of services to Australian First Nations People. 

Dr Kapur has extensive experience as a clinician-researcher with original published work in pain-related pharmacology and psychology.  He continues to teach medical students, pain medicine trainees and psychiatrists as part of his academic role as a Senior Lecturer with The University of Adelaide. 

Dr Yee-eot Chee (HK) 

I am an anaesthesiologist with a strong interest in how leadership, innovations, and systems design shape the entire peri-operative patient care. What I find most fascinating is working at the intersection of clinical medicine, education, and policy—where small decisions may have outsized impact on outcomes. 

Dato Dr Yong Chow Yen (Malaysia) 

Over 30 years of experience in anaesthesiology and critical care with subspecialty in cardiothoracic anaesthesiology.  Areas of clinical expertise include perioperative cardiothoracic anaesthesia in adults, cardiovascular perfusion, intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography, one-lung ventilation and cardiothoracic intensive care.   Current professional portfolios:  

• President, College of Anaesthesiologists, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia.   

• Immediate Past -President, Malaysian Society of Anaesthesiologists, Malaysia.  

• Consultant Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiologist, Lam Wah Ee Hospital, Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital, Penang, Malaysia.   

• Member, Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Education Sub-Committee, Malaysian Medical Council.  

• Member, Specialty Committee (Anaesthesiology), Deans Council, Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.   

• Malaysian site examiner, College of Anaesthesiologists, Ireland.  

• Competency Assessor, Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Parallel Pathway Training, College of Anaesthesiologists, Academy of Medicine, Malaysia.   

• Section Editor, Cardiac Anaesthesia, Malaysian Journal of Anaesthesiology.   

• Recent successful nomination into WFSA Workforce Wellbeing Committee 2026-2028.   

Current Career Focus  

• Leadership and working within multidisciplinary teams to optimize surgical outcomes.  

• Promote patient safety and anaesthesiology workforce well-being.  

• Strengthen Anaesthesiology and Critical Care training in Malaysia.    

Professor Simon Mitchell (Auckland) 

Simon works as an anaesthetist at Auckland City Hospital and as a diving physician at North Shore Hospital (Auckland), and is Professor of Anaesthesiology at the University of Auckland. He is widely published, particularly in the field of diving and hyperbaric medicine. From 2022 to 2025 (ongoing) he has been ranked the world’s leading authority on decompression sickness. Simon has a long career in sport, scientific, commercial, and military diving. He has participated in extreme shipwreck and cave diving expeditions – in 2002 he performed the deepest ever dive to a shipwreck at that time, and in February 2023 he was a member of an expedition to the Pearse Resurgence cave in New Zealand where a 230-metre dive was conducted, using hydrogen as a breathing gas for a deep rebreather dive for the first time. He was conferred fellowship of the Explorers’ Club of New York in 2006 and was the Rolex Diver of the Year in 2015. 

Facilitator: Dr Mark Priestley (NSW) 

Dr Mark Priestley is Head of Department, Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, NSW. He has interests in education, communication skills training and more recently in fostering education and networking opportunities in leadership and management in anaesthesia. He has had positions on various ANZCA education and examination committees, including Chair of the ANZCA Final Fellowship Examination Subcommittee. He is recent ex-Chair of the Westmead Medical Staff Council and currently Secretary of the NSW Medical Staff Executive Council. He is Chair of the ANZCA/ASA/NZSA Leadership and Management Special Interest Group. 

Panellists: 

Dr Morgan Edwards (Auckland) 

Morgan Edwards is a Consultant Anaesthetist at North Shore Hospital. Morgan was the President of the Society from 2022 to 2025. She joined the Executive Committee in 2016 as a Trainee Representative and has held the NZSA portfolio for Assistants to the Anaesthetist. She is an NZSA representative on the National Obstetric Anaesthetists network (NOA) and produced online content to provide guidance to women on epidurals. She also hosts the NZSA Podcast and creates and develops a lot of our patient resources. 

Professor Dave Story (Vic) 

Dave Story is Professor of Anaesthesia and Head of the Department of Critical Care at the University of Melbourne. He is President of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and sits on the Board of the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges. His main research interest is clinically and cost-effective approaches to reduce perioperative risk, complications, disability, and mortality. His clinical work covers most procedural specialties including liver transplantation. 

Ms Clea Hincks (Vic) 

Ms Clea Hincks is the executive director of ANZCA’s Policy and Communications unit. She joined ANZCA as the media manager in 2009 before being made the general manager of Communications in 2011. In 2018, ANZCA’s Communications and Policy units merged and Clea was appointed executive director, overseeing ANZCA’s roles in communications, safety and quality (including professional documents), government relations/advocacy, global development and Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori health. She is also the editor of the ANZCA Bulletin. Before joining ANZCA, Clea had a career in journalism, working at The West Australian in Perth, The Examiner in Tasmania, where she was the medical reporter, and at The Age in Melbourne where she held several editor roles, include sports editor. 

Facilitator 

Dr Tanya Selak (NSW)
Dr Tanya Selak is Vice-President ANZCA and President-Elect. She works in public and private practice largely in Wollongong, NSW. She was born and educated in Auckland and is so proud to be attending the ASM in her home town. Tanya trained in NZ, London and Australia, has been a head of department, and has held a number of college roles. 

Panellists 

Professor Dave Story (Vic) 

Dave Story is Professor of Anaesthesia and Head of the Department of Critical Care at the University of Melbourne. He is President of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and sits on the Board of the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges. His main research interest is clinically and cost-effective approaches to reduce perioperative risk, complications, disability, and mortality. His clinical work covers most procedural specialties including liver transplantation. 

Dr Dilip Kapur (SA) 

Dr Dilip Kapur is a specialist pain medicine physician working in South Australia. 

Dr Kapur trained in anaesthesia and pain medicine in the UK before moving to Australia in 2002 where he gained fellowships with ANZCA and with the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM). 

Dr Kapur has served in multiple official roles with FPM since 2013.  He is the current Dean of The Faculty. 

Dr Kapur has wide clinical interests within pain medicine.  He has extensive experience of both interventional pain medicine as well as multidisciplinary treatment.  He has a specific interest in delivery of pain medicine services to rural and remote communities, including provision of services to Australian First Nations People. 

Dr Kapur has extensive experience as a clinician-researcher with original published work in pain-related pharmacology and psychology.  He continues to teach medical students, pain medicine trainees and psychiatrists as part of his academic role as a Senior Lecturer with The University of Adelaide. 

Dr Sally Ure (Auckland) 

I’m fortunate to have a career that allows me to make a real difference—for patients, colleagues, and the wider health community. With a clinical background in obstetric and general anaesthesia, I currently serve as Clinical Director of Anaesthesia, ICU, and Perioperative Services for the Capital, Coast, and Hutt Valley District. 

Since joining ANZCA Council in 2020, I’ve enjoyed collaborating with dedicated Councillors and college staff. I served as Chair of the New Zealand National Committee from 2020 to 2022 and continue to contribute through roles on the Training and Accreditation, Safety and Quality, and Indigenous Health Committees, as well as the Dual Training Pathway Working Group. 

My leadership experience across hospital and college settings has deepened my understanding of how clinical and corporate governance intersect—and how we can navigate those tensions to improve care and culture. 

What matters most to me is connection—listening to Fellows and trainees, understanding their challenges, and helping ensure their voices are heard. I’m committed to advancing equity, high-quality healthcare, and practitioner wellbeing, while supporting the people who make it all possible.  

Dr Irina Hollington (SA) 

Dr Irina Hollington is the FPM Support in Residence for the 2025 ANZCA Leadership Conference. Born in Germany and trained across Europe before moving to Australia, she holds dual Fellowships with ANZCA and FPM, receiving the FPM Merit Award. Now Head of South Australia’s largest pain unit, she leads interdisciplinary teams caring for over a million people. A Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Adelaide, FPM examiner, and board member of FPM and Peri operative Medicine, Irina is passionate about education, advocacy, peri-operative and interventional pain management, and advancing equitable, evidence based multidisciplinary pain care. 

Dr Adam Levin (Vic) 

I’m an anaesthetist in Geelong, Victoria. I currently sit on the ANZCA Council as the New Fellow Councillor. 

Dr Jonathan Ramachendran (WA) 

I work in Pain Medicine as a Specialist and Palliative Care as GP. I work in the city and country. I used to be a GP Anaesthetist. I like to run and am obsessed with American football (the NFL). I write and I also have done a TED talk.