Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM Book as a speaker/entertainer for your next event
Key Points for Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM
- Dr Dinesh Palipana is a doctor, lawyer, and disability advocate who made history as Queensland’s first quadriplegic medical intern and only the second person in Australia with quadriplegia to graduate medical school. His unique journey breaks barriers and inspires people across all industries.
- After sustaining a life-changing spinal cord injury in a car accident during medical school, Dinesh returned to finish his degree and has since become a powerful voice for inclusion, accessibility, and human potential. His lived experience fuels his mission to change perceptions and systems.
- Dinesh balances frontline work in the emergency department with groundbreaking research in spinal cord injury, academic leadership at Griffith University, and advisory roles across health and disability sectors, including with the Disability Royal Commission and Human Rights Commission.
- Honoured as the 2021 Queensland Australian of the Year, a John Monash Scholar, and recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia, Dinesh is a sought-after speaker who brings insight, empathy, and inspiration to audiences ranging from healthcare and business to education and community.
Topics for Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM
- As long as my soul is free, I am free
- Hardship
- Persistence
- Human rights
- Disability
- Medicine
- Law
- Scientific research
- Innovation
- Spinal cord injury
- Diversity and inclusion
- Resilience
- Happiness
- Wellness
Testimonials for Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM
Dinesh was highly engaging and had the audience deeply listening in the session. I had multiple team members compliment me on the quality of the speaker and his ability to engage. Dinesh was very easy to work with and very attentive on email.
Bega Group
Dinesh was fantastic from the time we booked until after our event concluded. He was easy to communicate with, extremely friendly and enthusiastic about our event. He stayed to chat with our employees and our guests, and he was extremely personable and relatable. His talk was engaging, hilarious, heartwarming and, above all, inspiring. I would recommend Dr Palipana to anyone holding an event and in need of a Keynote speaker, not just those in the Health Care or related industries. Thank you for topping off a great event!
Visualcare
Dr Palipana was extremely generous in how he shared his personal story. I had many people speak to me after the event to express their gratitude for bringing him to Maddocks to help launch our first disability inclusion network.
Maddocks
Dr. Dinesh was a very engaging speaker. His presentation was at times light-hearted, funny and witty, and at other times serious, sad and sometimes even dark. He took us through his life story - from Sri Lanka, to Sydney, Byron Bay and finally Brisbane - pre and post his accident. His presentation spoke to so many human challenges and, at the end, he invited us all to support each other as 'humans' and to not limit each other's potential. A quote that really stuck out was at the end, when he said: "We are (more) connected than we are separated … But the only thing necessary for us to descend into something bad, for us to become separated, is to do nothing when we see bad things happening. The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” Our staff described it as the "best" and "the most inspiring" presentation they had ever seen.
Gilchrist Connell
Dinesh is a wonderful human being and a terrific keynote speaker. He heard what we asked for and delivered in spades. His talk was warm, funny, engaging, inspiring, motivating and very helpful. Dinesh is extremely approachable and accommodating. He arrived well before the event (so no panic is the keynote going to be late) was happy to be photographed and chatted to participants afterwards. If there were more stars l would give them.
University of Wollongong
Excellent speaker with an exceptional ability to answer questions succinctly, but with an impactful amount of detail.
Australian Government Leadership Network (AGLN-Q) not for profit)
Dinesh Palipana connected with both audiences and adapted his talk to be made appropriate for each.
Boost Juice