Keynote Speaking & Panels

Gendered violence doesn’t always look the way organisations expect - and LGBTQIA+ employees are disproportionately impacted.

Often, harm is not intentional. It can stem from gaps in understanding, outdated assumptions, or a lack of clarity around what safety and inclusion look like in practice.

This keynote takes a systems-focused approach to understanding how gendered violence shows up in workplaces - through culture, policies and everyday practices - particularly for women and trans and gender diverse people.

Drawing on delsi’s work co-designing and authoring WorkSafe Victoria’s LGBTQIA+ Gendered Violence Prevention Toolkit (Being Valued), this session unpacks how organisations can identify risk, strengthen prevention strategies, and build safer, more accountable workplace systems.

This talk is ideal for teams looking to move beyond awareness and take practical, preventative action.

In this talk, audiences will explore:

• How gendered violence shows up for LGBTQIA+ workers

• Where risk is embedded within workplace culture, systems and policies

• What LGBTQIA+ Victorians need to feel safer and more affirmed at work

• Practical actions all team members can take to prevent harm and strengthen safety

We all know inclusion is more than a poster on the wall or a rainbow logo during Pride Month.

Visibility matters - but how do we move from visibility alone and create real safety?

In recent years, sadly fewer LGBTQIA+ people feel comfortable being open about their identities in Australian workplaces. While many organisations have taken steps toward inclusion, there is often a gap between intention and everyday experience.

This keynote explores how organisations can move beyond surface-level inclusion to embed meaningful, sustainable LGBTQIA+ inclusion across culture, leadership and everyday workplace practice.

Rather than focusing on risk alone, this session centres what good inclusion looks like in practice - and how organisations can create environments where LGBTQIA+ people feel safe, valued and able to fully participate.

Grounded in lived experience and over 15 years of community leadership, delsi offers a practical, systems-based framework to support lasting cultural change.

This talk is ideal for organisations looking to strengthen culture, build capability, and move from intention to implementation.

In this talk, audiences will explore:

• Why visibility alone does not guarantee safety at work

• Common gaps between inclusive intention and everyday workplace reality

• What meaningful LGBTQIA+ inclusion looks like in practice

• Practical strategies for embedding inclusion across teams, culture and systems

Inclusion work often focuses on harm - but sustainable change also requires joy.

Based on delsi’s TEDx talk, this keynote explores how queer joy, visibility and celebration can exist alongside structural reform.

Through storytelling and systems thinking, delsi highlights how safety, belonging and collective resilience are not “soft” outcomes, but essential foundations for meaningful organisational change.

This keynote is ideal for conferences, leadership events and organisations seeking an uplifting, reflective and impactful session.

In this talk, audiences will explore:

• What queer joy looks like in practice

• How to support LGBTQIA+ people through both practical strategies and strengths-based storytelling

• Why joy and safety must exist together

• The role of community in building resilience

• How celebration can drive cultural and organisational transformation

What happens when standing up for inclusion comes at a personal cost?

In this keynote, delsi shares their experience of publicly challenging anti-LGBTQIA+ vilification and navigating a defamation court case in 2019.

This session explores the intersection of LGBTQIA+ leadership, visibility and vilification - offering insight into what it means to be a visible LGBTQIA+ advocate, and the complexities of fighting for a safer world for all LGBTQIA+ people.

Blending personal storytelling with broader cultural analysis, this keynote invites audiences to reflect on the responsibilities and risks of visible leadership.

In this talk, audiences will consider:

• The realities of public advocacy

• How to navigate backlash and resistance

• What it means to lead with courage and integrity under pressure

• The role of visibility in driving cultural change

Small shifts in language can have a profound impact.

In this keynote, delsi explores how the words we choose can shape safety, belonging and access for LGBTQIA+ people. Moving beyond surface-level understanding, this session highlights how inclusive language is not just about correctness - but about care, respect and creating environments where people feel safe to be themselves.

Drawing on lived experience, workplace practice and real-world examples, delsi demonstrates how even small changes in language can transform someone’s experience of a space, service or organisation. Through storytelling - this talk shows how inclusive language can change, and sometimes even save, lives.

This talk is ideal for organisations looking to build confidence, deepen understanding around the importance of LGBTQIA+ inclusion work, reduce harm and embed inclusion into everyday interactions.

In this talk, audiences will explore:

• Why language matters - and how it shapes safety and belonging

• Common language challenges and how to navigate them with confidence

• How small shifts in language can have a big impact

• Practical strategies for using inclusive language in everyday settings