Public Sector EA/PA Summit 2025

Pre-Conference Workshops

09:00 Your Balance Blueprint: Achieving Sustainable Success and Life Balance in Leadership

In an era of relentless ambition and unprecedented challenges, the quest for leadership success has never been more demanding. The journey to the top is fraught with obstacles, not least of which is maintaining a harmonious balance between professional achievements and personal fulfillment. As we navigate through the complexities of the modern world, the significance of sustaining equilibrium in our lives and careers cannot be overstated.

Your Balance Blueprint is an innovative half-day masterclass designed to empower women with the strategies, tools, and insights necessary to achieve a sustainable blend of professional success and personal well-being. This workshop is more than a learning experience; it’s a transformational journey tailored to help you craft a life of equilibrium, where leadership excellence and personal satisfaction coexist harmoniously.

Key Course Takeaways:

• Master the Art of Equilibrium: Learn how to seamlessly integrate career aspirations with personal well-being to foster a fulfilling life of leadership.
• Strategies for Sustainable Success: Uncover the secrets to long-lasting achievement in your career, without sacrificing your health, relationships, or personal goals.
• Overcoming the Obstacles to Balance: Identify the common pitfalls that disrupt life balance and discover practical steps to navigate around them.
• The Blueprint to Your Best Self: Craft a personalized plan that harmonizes your professional ambitions with your personal life, ensuring you thrive in both realms.
• Mindset for Mastery: Shift your perspective to embrace a holistic approach to success, equipping you with the mindset needed to excel as a leader and individual.
• Building Resilience and Adaptability: Strengthen your capacity to handle stress, adapt to change, and recover from setbacks, all while keeping your sights set on your goals.
• Network of Empowerment: Engage in a supportive, collaborative environment with fellow women leaders, fostering connections that inspire growth and resilience.
• By the conclusion of this workshop, you will leave with a comprehensive blueprint for achieving leadership success that does not compromise your personal happiness or well-being. This session promises to be a dynamic and interactive experience, providing a safe space for women to explore, learn, and grow together, free from the constraints of judgement or organizational politics.

oin us on this enlightening journey to redefine what success looks like for women in leadership. Together, we will discover how to create a life of impact and fulfillment, proving that it is indeed possible to have it all.

12:30 Lunch

13:30 Communicate with confidence and get your voice heard

No matter your role, it’s important that you speak your truth and learn how to communicate so that your voice is heard.

All too often we find ourselves leaving conversations frustrated that we haven’t been heard or understood clearly. There are times when we haven’t been able to find the space in a meeting to share our perspectives at all!

This half day masterclass will give you the opportunity to build your gravitas in all contexts, communicate with confidence and clarity, and make the practical mindset changes needed to remove roadblocks to expressing yourself.

You will Learn:

• Limit inner conflicts which might limit workplace performance
• Project more authority and communicate with gravity
• Master sustainable control of stress and stressors in the work environment
• Improve positive-attitude maintenance in challenging situations
• Assess and adjust personal leadership style quickly, accurately and privately

By the end of the workshop you will have:

• Uncovered what is in the way of you finding and expressing your voice with confidence and clarity
• Understood how to build capacity in your communication style and how to listen for and respond to other people’s styles of communication
• Built the confidence and know how to show up and have your voice heard

Conference Day One

09:05 Welcome to country + Opening Remarks from Chair

09:20 Harnessing AI and New Technologies to Enhance EA Efficiency

10:10 Networking

10:30 Morning Tea

11:00 Progressing from Your Role as an EA without a Roadmap

Join Ruth Kilah, a renowned career strategist, founder of Hoxton Hyde and EA career specalist, for an empowering session on navigating your career progression as an EA without a predefined roadmap. With extensive experience in career development and a passion for helping EAs reach their full potential, Ruth will share her insights on how to chart your unique career path, even when the journey ahead is uncertain.

11:50 Still Laughing, Still Relevant: Jean Kittson Reflects on Comedy, Change, and Longevity

With decades in the spotlight, Jean Kittson has seen the comedy world shift dramatically—but has it

changed enough? In this session, she reflects on her experiences navigating gender bias in a male- dominated industry, the progress (and setbacks) she’s witnessed, and what still needs to be done.

With humor and insight, Jean also shares the secret to staying relevant across generations, adapting to new media landscapes, and why comedic storytelling remains a powerful tool for change.

13:00 Lunch

13:50 Harnessing AI and New Technologies to Enhance EA Efficiency

In this cutting-edge session, explore how the latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and technology can revolutionize your role as an Executive Assistant (EA). Discover practical ways to integrate these tools into your daily workflow to boost productivity, streamline tasks, and elevate your professional impact.

15:00 Best Practices for Increased Productivity: Mindset & Practical Insights

In this dynamic session, Jacqueline Delarue will blend mindset shifts and practical strategies to enhance productivity. Drawing from her extensive experience, Jacqueline will guide you through overcoming overwhelm and fostering empowering work habits. She will reveal automatic thoughts and actions that impede effectiveness and replace them with habits that provide peace of mind.
Discover the ‘getting things done’ workflow to manage workloads efficiently. Learn to transfer tasks from your mind into a structured system, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Understand why stress occurs and how to mitigate its impact on your productivity.
Jacqueline will also share best practices for handling emails effectively, moving beyond traditional task lists, and conducting smarter meetings. Gain insights into managing calendars to boost productivity and leave work with a sense of accomplishment.
Join this session to transform your work habits and enhance your professional efficiency.

15:30 Cutting Through in a Cut-throat World From Journalism to Bestselling Fiction: Jane Harper on Life Transitions, Complex Characters, and the Craft of Writing

Jane Harper’s journey from journalism to bestselling fiction is a masterclass in storytelling, blending investigative precision with deep emotional insight.
In this session, she shares how her background in reporting shaped her writing, the pivotal moments that led to her literary success, and how she crafts characters with rich psychological depth. With a keen eye for human emotions and the complexities of motivation, Jane reveals the secrets behind creating gripping narratives that resonate with readers worldwide.

Conference Day Two

09:00 Day 1 Recap & Opening Remarks

09:10 From Support to Strategic Partner: Expanding Your Leadership Impact as an EA

The role of an Executive Assistant has evolved far beyond traditional boundaries. Today’s EAs often find themselves contributing to key decisions, managing complex projects, and influencing organisational outcomes. But how do you transition from a purely support role to a trusted strategic partner within your team?
This session is designed to empower EAs who want to step into a broader, more impactful role in their organisation. Gain insights into developing leadership qualities while staying grounded in the vital responsibilities of your position. Learn practical strategies to maximise your contributions, elevate your influence, and make a lasting impact. This session will leave you inspired and equipped to take the next step in your EA career, moving beyond the title and into a role of greater leadership and impact.

10:00 Getting Sh*t Done as an Executive Assistant

EAs are the ultimate multitaskers, jugglers, and problem solvers who keep the wheels turning in organisations. But in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, how do you stay on top of competing priorities, maintain focus, and achieve the impossible daily? This session dives into practical strategies, real-life tips, and mindset shifts to help EAs get things done like pros—every single time.

• Learn practical tools and systems to organise workflows, manage competing deadlines, and prioritise tasks effectively.
• Discover techniques to stay calm and focused when chaos hits, ensuring you remain the person your team can count on.
• Understand how to communicate assertively and set boundaries to ensure productivity doesn’t come at the cost of burnout.
• Explore methods to anticipate needs, solve problems proactively, and deliver results before anyone even asks.

10:50 MORNING TEA

23:20 The Executive Perspective – What Makes an Exceptional EA/PA

12:10 Cutting Through in a Cut-throat World

Navigating a shrinking and fiercely competitive media landscape is no easy feat, but Sarah Abo has forged a path to success while breaking barriers in an industry that has historically lacked diverse representation. As the child of migrants, she shares her journey of resilience, determination, and the challenges of carving out a space in Australian television. From tackling bias and industry gatekeeping to achieving commercial success, Sarah provides a candid look at what it takes to thrive in media today and why diverse voices are more important than ever.

13:10 Lunch

14:10 Learning to Embrace Change, Cultivate Resilience, Prioritise Self-care as Your Career Grows

15:00 Afternoon Tea

15:30 Developing Your Leadership Toolkit: Strategies For Self-awareness And Growth

Post-Conference Workshop

09:00 Mindful Leadership for Women Masterclass

This one-day workshop for aspiring and current female leaders will provide progressive approaches to boost self-confidence, gain influence at multiple organizational levels, live a more balanced life, and inspire other women to do the same. This program will take an “inside-out” approach to introduce the relevance and benefits of mindfulness and compassion in leadership. The facilitator will utilize practical activities, exercises, and tools, and will incorporate case studies on how mindfulness can make a measurable impact on organisational effectiveness.

Key Benefits Of Attending:

• Lead with authenticity
• Unlock your highest potential
• Cultivate greater influence
• Build a courage mindset
• Create greater joy and meaning

By the end of the day you will have a personalised plan to build your gravitas that will have you seen as a serious contender for major role advancement/promotion/project lead/overseas secondment/board appointments. This is a collaborative and highly interactive experience for women, in a safe environment free from judgement, censure, politics or organisational power plays.