Leslie Cannold

Dr Leslie Cannold was recently named Humanist of the Year and has twice been listed - most recently by the Power Index - as one of Australia's most influential thinkers. In 2013 she was named alongside Julia Gillard as among Melbourne's most influential women. Leslie serves on numerous boards and ethics committees, is a founding faculty member at the School of Life and adjunct staff at Monash University's Gender, Leadership and Social Sustainability Unit. She has a high media profile as her articles frequently appear in the Australian press, she works for several radio stations and she’s become a sought-after guest on television shows including Q & A. If that’s not enough, she’s also written three books and is the lead singer in a band. She’s an interesting and inspiring speaker adept at making complex issues accessible and interesting to audiences. Leslie enjoys speaking on topics including life, work, gender, leadership and ethics.

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  One of Australia’s most respected commentators, rights-activists and public speakers.
• Leslie won the Australian Humanist of the Year in 2011 and the EVA award for responsible media reporting.
• In 2012, The Power Index named Leslie as one of the Top 10 most powerful thinkers in Australia and in 2013 she was listed as one of Melbourne's most influential women.
• A regular media commentator for Channel 10's 7PM Project, ABC's Lateline, Q&A, 7.30 Report and Triple J as well as many other national commercial print and TV media.
• Leslie's skill as a speaker is to be able to take complex current affairs and public issues and explain, discuss and comment on them in a way her audiences are able to appreciate and digest.
• A naturally gifted speaker, Leslie's talks are always thought provoking, engaging, entertaining and memorable.
• Leslie has the ability to tailor any of her existing presentation topics or work with a client to develop a presentation specific to a brief.
• Leslie is also a great (and experienced) panel and workshop facilitator.
  

Leslie Cannold, PhD, was born and raised in New York, relocating to Melbourne in her early twenties. She achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and theatre from the Wesleyan University (USA), a Masters Degree in Bioethics from Monash University and a PhD in Education from the University of Melbourne. She began writing for The Age while completing her graduate degree and raising her children. After completing her studies, she began working at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.

Leslie is an adjunct Senior Lecturer at Monash University in the Gender, Leadership & Social Sustainability Research Unit of the Department of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences. She’s also the research or community member on a number of committees, councils and boards, including the Victorian Department of Human Services Human Research Ethics Committee, the Consultative Council for Clinical Trial Research, the Physiotherapists Registration Board and is a member of the ethics panel of the Infertility Treatment Authority, the statutory authority responsible for administering Victoria's Infertility Treatment Act 1995. She’s an Honorary Fellow at the School of Philosophy, Anthropology, & Social Inquiry.

Leslie is prominent in debates about medical ethics. She is President of Reproductive Choice Australia and Spokesperson for Pro Choice Victoria. She is also a Dying with Dignity ambassador and co-founder of the not-for-profit speaker site No Chicks, No Excuses.

In 2011 Leslie was awarded the title Australian Humanist of the Year, and appeared on the Power Index’s Top Ten List of the most influential brains. In 2013 she was listed alongside Prime Minister Julia Gillard as one of Melbourne's most influential women.

Leslie has extensive experience in the media. She discusses ethics on 702 ABC Sydney, 4BC Brisbane and The Project on Network Ten. She also reads the morning papers on ABC News Breakfast, and makes frequent appearances on The Drum and Q&A. She has been a columnist for the Fairfax Press for nearly 20 years, and has contributed to Crikey!, The Herald Sun, The Drum Unleashed, The Courier Mail and The Australian. She has made appearances on television shows including Today Tonight, The 7:30 Report, A Current Affair, The Catch-Up, The Circle, The Einstein Factor, Insight, 9am with David & Kim and Lateline.

Her books include The Abortion Myth: Feminism morality and the hard choices women make and What, No Baby?: Why women are losing the freedom to mother and how they can get it back. The latter was included in the Australian Financial Review’s top 101 books list in 2005. Her novel, The Book of Rachael, was published in 2011. She also contributed chapters to Sperm Wars (2005) and The Australian Book of Atheism (2010).

Her by-words are “Think, Create, Communicate and Change” and is an expert at demystifying complex issues and engaging the interest of audiences. She enjoys public speaking on topics such as life, work, gender and ethics to community groups, professional organisations and secondary students.