Speakers

Tony Benbow from South Vermont, Australia, was elected to serve as
international third vice president of Lions Clubs International at the association’s
107th international convention held in Orlando, Florida, July 13 through 17, 2025.

Vice President Benbow is a retired head of operations in banking.

A member of the South Vermont Lions Club since 1985, he has held many offices
within the association, including International Director, Club President, District Governor, Council Chairperson and GMT Area Leader.

In recognition of his service to the association, he has received numerous awards,
including a Membership Advancement Key, Club President Excellence Award,
two International President’s Certificates of Appreciation and nine International
President’s Awards. He is also a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow.

In addition to his Lion activities, Vice President Benbow has been active in
numerous professional and community organisations, including an associate
member of the Institute of Community Directors, chairman of Lions House
Foundation and chairman of the Australian Lions Foundation.

Professor Jordan R. Hansford is a mid-career clinician specialising in the treatment of paediatric brain tumours. He is the lead of Paediatric Neuro-Oncology at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, lead of the Paediatric Neuro-Oncology Research Group at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and has honorary affiliation with the South Australian ImmunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI) at the University of Adelaide.

He has collaborative preclinical and clinical projects nationally and internationally and has published widely in paediatric neuro-oncology with over 120 papers cited >10,000 times. He is Chief Investigator on several national and international brain tumour studies including early phase studies. He currently runs the Paediatric Brain Cancer Biobank in South Australia. He is a director of Australian & New Zealand Children’s Haematology/Oncology Group (ANZCHOG) and is the chair of the Neuro-Oncology group. He has led or contributed to many paediatric brain tumour trials leading to disease specific improvements to clinical care and outcomes in many disease types.

Most recently his ANZCHOG team has been focused on the translation of methylation profiling to the upfront diagnostics of paediatric brain tumours that is now offered nationally as a NATA approved pathology test. This has led to changes in clinical practice across the country.

Chris Burns CSC is the Chief Executive Officer of Hutt St Centre, a leading homelessness service in Adelaide providing essential support, care, and pathways to rebuild lives.

After a distinguished military career spanning over 30 years, Chris transitioned into advisory roles across government and private sectors, specialising in defence and international relations.

Chris was later appointed as the inaugural South Australian Mental Health Commissioner. In this role, he led the co-design and co-production of the state’s first mental health strategic plan. The plan focussed on prevention and early intervention while ensuring the voices and needs of people with lived experience were embedded at every level.

Chris is deeply committed to ensuring that every person impacted by homelessness is treated with dignity and respect, and has access to the support needed to find safety, stability, and independence. His leadership at Hutt St Centre focuses on strengthening partnerships, improving service delivery, and advocating for systemic change to end homelessness in South Australia.

Supporting People on their Journey from Homelessness to Homefulness
Chris will discuss how the Hutt St Centre supports people at risk of or experiencing homelessness on their journey toward ‘homefulness’. He will emphasise how the broader community is essential to achieving ‘homefulness’ and the key role Lions can play in these journeys.

Amy Grantham is a South Australian business leader with more than two decades of experience in the medical technology sector, working alongside clinicians, hospitals, and healthcare providers to deliver solutions that improve patient care and strengthen Australia’s healthcare capability.

Throughout her career, Amy has focused on connecting innovation with practical healthcare delivery. She is particularly passionate about the future of health and the transformative role of artificial intelligence in supporting clinicians, improving diagnostics, and helping healthcare systems operate more efficiently while keeping patients at the centre of care.

Beyond business, Amy is deeply committed to community leadership. She is an active member of the City of Adelaide Lions Club, serving on the executive committee and working with fellow volunteers to support initiatives that strengthen and uplift local communities.

Amy has also stepped forward to represent her community nationally, standing as a Federal candidate for the seat of Adelaide in the 2022 and 2025 elections, advocating for strong communities, innovative industries, and better health outcomes for Australians.

Lions Changing with the Future
Amy will share how service organisations can embrace change, harness emerging technologies, and inspire the next generation of leaders ensuring Lions continues to grow, adapt, and make a meaningful difference in communities for decades to come.

Jarrod was born and raised in New Zealand, before moving across the Tasman to Australia in 2006. Alongside his career in enterprise software sales with Adobe, Jarrod is a devoted husband and the proud dad of two young daughters; a role he describes as his most important job of all.

Community service runs in his blood. His grandfather dedicated over 40 years to Lions in New Zealand, and in 2018 Jarrod decided to honour that legacy by joining the Lions Club of Manly. Since then, his commitment has been extraordinary. Among many roles for Club and District, he has led as Club President for three years, been recognised as a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow, and has served as District IT Chairperson for 6 years (for which he has earned an International Presidents Medal). His leadership also extends to the wider Lions family, where he contributes as a Director of the Lions NSW/ACT Nurses Scholarship Foundation and the Australian Lions Wellbeing Foundation.

What sets Jarrod apart is how he bridges two worlds: technology and service. In his professional life with Adobe, he helps some of Australia’s most recognised organisations embrace digital transformation. In his volunteer life, he is equally passionate about helping Lions embrace new tools and ideas to expand their impact in the community.

AI Serving with Purpose
He now brings those worlds together in his keynote presentation. Jarrod will challenge us to see artificial intelligence not as something distant or intimidating, but as a practical, everyday tool that can help volunteers, professionals, and entire communities achieve more.

David Horne serves as CEO of Lions Assistance Dogs, leading the organisation in its mission to transform lives through highly trained assistance dogs. With extensive experience in leadership and community service, David is dedicated to developing programs that enhance independence, confidence, and wellbeing for individuals facing physical, emotional, or social challenges. Under his guidance, Lions Assistance Dogs has expanded its reach, strengthened partnerships with Lions clubs across the country, and innovated training and support programs that ensure each dog and recipient achieves their full potential. David is passionate about fostering collaboration, promoting best practice in assistance dog training, and inspiring a new generation of volunteers and supporters to make a meaningful difference in their communities.

Psychiatric Assistance Dog Demonstration
David will provide an update on Lions Assistance Dogs, highlight progress on the National Training Centre redevelopment and showcase the impact of Psychiatric Assistance Dogs through a live task demonstration and presentation.

Lion Sheryl Keppler has dedicated over 12 years as a proud member of Lions, though her connection to the organisation began much earlier with the Whitford Lions Club in Western Australia, where she volunteered at weekly Bingo nights. In recognition of her early commitment, she was sponsored on a leadership voyage aboard the Sail Training Ship Leeuwin, an experience that helped shape her lifelong passion for service and adventure.

A qualified radiographer and mother of two adult children, Sheryl has always placed volunteering at the heart of her life. From her years as a Guide and Scout Leader to her ongoing Lions involvement, giving back to the community has been a constant thread.

Sheryl officially joined the Cooma Lions Club in 2014, inspired by the opportunities Lions had provided her children, including a Scout Jamboree and the Lions Yamaga Sister City Exchange. Following the loss of her husband, Sheryl embraced a new chapter, selling her home and taking to the road in a caravan. Missing her Lions connection, she transferred to the Australian Online and Travellers Lions Club in 2019, where she served as President for three years and now holds the role of Membership Chairperson. She is also an Affiliate member of the Emerald Lions Club.

Living a truly unique lifestyle, Sheryl resides in Tasmania, works in Emerald in Central Queensland, and belongs to a club based in New South Wales. Constantly on the move, she regularly visits Lions clubs across Australia and around the world, building connections wherever she goes.

Sheryl’s three great passions, Lions, travelling, and hiking, have combined to create extraordinary opportunities. In 2023, she joined the Lions Kili4Kids Project, climbing Mt Kenya and raising funds to build a safe haven for children with albinism in Tanzania. She returned to the team in 2025, trekking to Everest Base Camp to support the construction of a school in Nepal.

To mark her 50th birthday in July 2025, Sheryl undertook an incredible 366km solo hike along the Heysen Trail, raising funds for Lions Diabetes Alert Dogs. A passionate advocate for diabetes awareness, she encourages others to stay active to reduce their risk of Type 2 Diabetes. That same year, she walked an astonishing 1100km as part of Lap the Map and now serves as Diabetes Chairperson for District N1.

Sheryl is also a founding member of the International Lions Adventure Challenge Team and, in 2025, completed the UK’s 3 Peaks Challenge in support of Special Olympics.

Driven by resilience, compassion, and a spirit of adventure, Lion Sheryl continues to inspire others through her commitment to service, health, and exploration.