Events

Debra Elsaadi has been in Rotary for about 18 years, first at Fortitude Valley and then with the Rotary Club of Kippa Ring-North Lakes.

She has been involved in many roles during that time, including on the District Youth Exchange Committee for 10 years. Debra is also a member of the Rotary Action Group for Peace and Rotary Safe Families.

Debra’s background is in nursing and she has worked in many areas over the years and holds a Master's and PhD degrees in community nursing and public health. She has recently stepped down as the State Director of Nursing for Public Health after 20 years. Debra’s greatest love in nursing is community nursing and she spent many years working in the Redcliffe Community Health Centre establishing programs such as carer support programs and teenage pregnancy support program. Since stepping down from her senior role Debra has been doing some private community nursing, providing nursing services to support the frail and aged allowing them continue to live safely in the community.

It is with both her Rotary and community nursing hat that Debra has become a member of the Moreton Bay Elder Abuse Prevention Network and the Moreton Bay Dementia Alliance. It is through engagement with these networks that Debra recognised the need for greater community awareness of elder abuse and she is pleased to have the opportunity to present on this to us today.

Nieve Evans is a local solicitor on the Redcliffe Peninsula.

She helps members of our community prepare Enduring Powers of Attorney and Advance Health Directives. Through herwork, she's found that many of our community members are aware of and have Wills, but don't really understand these other important documents, or even know they exist, until there's unfortunately a health crisis in the family.

She will visit the Rotary Club of Redcliffe Sunrise and offer members and interested parties a free 20–30 minute community information session explaining Enduring Powers of Attorney and Advance Health Directives in relaxed, practical and plain English.

The session covers:

• what each document does;
• why planning ahead is important;
• when it is a good time to put the documents in place; and
• common questions and misconceptions.

It is an educational community session rather than a sales presentation, with plenty of time for general questions.

Hi, I’m Nieve.

Since 1983, Ian has been a member of five Rotary Clubs, starting with Ross River, then Cairns West in 1985, and later the Rotary Club of Mackay from 1986 to 2012, where he served as President in 2002/03. His dedication to the cause continued as he joined the Rotary Club of Glasshouse Country in 2012, serving as President in 2014/15. Ian joined the Rotary Club of Nundah in 2022, where he is the Treasurer for the 2024/25 Rotary Year. 

Before 1983, his ten-year involvement with Mount Gravatt Rotaract and Ross River Rotaract (including being District 9550 Rotaract Representative in 1981/82) and Interact at Mackay State High School (1970/72) for two years showcases his long-standing commitment to the Rotary movement.

With District 9600, he was District Administrator and Company Secretary (2013/14 and 2017-21) and then Assistant Governor for three years for the Hinterland Cluster (2014-17). Following the merger in 2021, he was Company Secretary for District 9620 until 2024.

Born in Mackay, Ian began working as a Teacher of the Hearing Impaired, teaching in Brisbane, Townsville, and Cairns. In 1986, he managed the family fishing tackle and ships chandlery business for several years.  Ian later joined the Department of Communities as the Regional Business Manager, based in Mackay, until his retirement in 2012.  Ian currently volunteers two days a week at The Community Place (Kalinga), co-ordinating the NILS program.

Ian enjoys travelling, sailing and gardening. He is married to Margaret and they have two daughters.

Dr Daniel Blackmore is a senior post-doctoral research fellow in the Bartlett Laboratory at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI). His research is focused on the ageing brain and developing approaches to slow or even reverse cognitive decline.

Dr Blackmore was one of the first to discover the age-associated decrease in neural stem cells. These stem cells are critical as they are able to generate new neurons which are essential for the formation of new memories. Daniel uses mice to study the exact mechanisms involved in these processes. He has shown that physical exercise is very effective at increasing neuron number and improving memory in very old animals. This research formed the basis for a recent human exercise study that demonstrated a significant improvement in the cognitive function of elderly Australians. The University of Queensland.

QUEENSLAND ROTARY ENDOWED CHAIR IN NEUROSCIENCE:

Rotary Queensland launched a major "Breakthrough Project" to raise $5 million to fund a perpetual, endowed chair position at QBI. This initiative unites multiple Rotary districts across Queensland to support leading neuroscientists researching brain disorders like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and dementia.