Dr Andrew Bisits

Dr. Andrew Bisits has a distinguished and extensive career in obstetrics and has contributed significantly to research and education. Dr Bisits was the Medical Co Director of Maternity at the Royal Hospital for Women Sydney from 2012-2025 overseeing 3300-4000 births per year at the tertiary academic hospital. Prior to this Sydney position, he was based in Newcastle working as a Director of Obstetrics for eight years at John Hunter Hospital. Currently Dr Bisits is having a break from active clinical practice and pursuing various teaching and research interests. In the clinical field he has participated in several initiatives to promote and establish primary midwifery care programs for pregnant women. His research interests include epidemiology, biostatistics and preterm birth. Dr Bisits has had conjoint associate professorial position with University of NSW and University of Newcastle. He was a previous chair of the Advanced Maternal and Reproductive Education group (AMaRE) which runs maternity care courses on emergencies, maternity care basics and a breech course.

Karel Williams

Karel Williams is a First Nations midwife based on Ngunnawal Country. Her family connections are to the Palawa and Western Arrernte Nations. Karel is a strong advocate for Birthing on Country models of care, culturally safe and anti-racist care, and for growing and sustaining the First Nations midwifery workforce. She is a previous Board member of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) and represented it on the working group that revised the Code of Conduct for Midwives, successfully advocating for the inclusion of cultural safety. She was also CATSINaM’s representative on the National Birthing on Country Strategic Committee convened by the Australian College of Midwives. Karel is a Director of the Rhodanthe Lipsett Indigenous Midwifery Trust, a member of the ACT Department of Health’s Maternity in Focus Advisory Group, Co-Chair of the Birthing with Country Working Group and a member of the First Nations Health Workforce Collaborative. She is a sessional academic at the University of Canberra (UC) in the fields of First Nations health, First Nations perinatal mental health, First Nations Knowledges in midwifery, and Birthing on Country. Karel was the inaugural recipient of the University of Canberra Tom Calma Medal, and in 2019, she received a Distinguished Alumni Award for Excellence in Health from UC. She is currently completing her PhD, provisionally titled "Birthing Truths, envisioning change: First Nations women’s and families’ experiences of maternity care in the ACT, and their vision for a restorative future.