I have always considered myself an educator, even though I don’t currently work in a school. Here’s a quick summary of how I got here –

The School Phase – 

In 1996, fresh out of my second University degree, I began teaching at various schools in central London. Talk about a baptism of fire. Incredible stories of survival, hardship, and violence – and that was just me in the classroom. I lasted 9 months. After having travelled most of the UK, Europe, and across America, I ended up back in Melbourne at a Catholic school in Dandenong. This time I lasted 6 months. The pull and power of travelling and learning was too strong. I stuck my finger into a map and ended up heading to Japan. There I worked for two years with Nova Group as an English Teacher, as well as one of their Kids Teachers. They were some incredible times – many of them shaping who I am and what I love today.

Returning to Melbourne in 2000 I secured work with Eltham College as an English and History Teacher (and a hockey coach). Very quickly I found myself working at their Year 9 City Campus, and within 6 months I was running the place as the Campus Coordinator – no kidding:  I looked after staffing, teaching, parent relations, the building facilities, visitors, budgets, and helped shape the philosophy and curriculum. Over nearly 7 years I rode the roller coaster of highs and lows in expanding the program with a great team working with this amazing age group – who were too old to be children, too young to be adults.

The Library & Networks Phase – 

Time took its toll, and I had to bail. I had become a drained, exhausted, and often grumpy teacher – getting called in to deal with building alarms at 2am will do that to you; and having kids of your own. In 2007 I looked to expand beyond mainstream education, and found contracts with Nous Group, Victoria University, and the State Library of Victoria. By 2008, work at the Library had picked up significantly and I felt I had found a niche.

Over nearly 7 years at the State Library of Victoria, with a key role as the Education Manager,  I expanded my experience in developing education and learning initiatives for a wider range of audiences, and a wider range of programs. From video games to films, to conferences, to interviews, to travelling programs, to web resources, to web courses, and social media; and of course working with some of the most amazing collections in the country. Over that time I have grown amazing networks, made new partnerships, and developed plenty of fresh perspectives.

The Design Thinking Phase – 

The next transition began early in 2014, when I joined the team at NoTosh, a small and incredibly talented firm ‘daring us all to design brighter learning futures’. Taking design thinking into education was a wild and eye-opening ride. It offered me the opportunity to take the insights and experiences above and distil them through the lenses of design thinking. I loved helping educators from schools, organisations, and institutions from around Australia and many countries to understand and solve complex problems for learning.

The Intercultural Learning Phase –

The next chapter began in 2018 after I was approached to lead the Asia Education Foundation (AEF), which is part of Asialink at the University of Melbourne. It felt like it was time to lead and create the changes I’d often advised others to do. As Executive Director, bringing the worlds and cultures of our region into focus for education has been a wonderful synergy of my experiences. With an amazing team and exciting prospects, it has been a challenging and creative pursuit to actively link the world into world-class education; connecting across 23 Asia-Pacific nations.

Over the 4 years at AEF I met with leaders at many levels. Foreign Ministers, Ambassadors, Senators, Commissioners, CEO, Directors, and many educators and students. It highlighted just how complex leadership is and the ways in which we craft our words and actions based on expectations and contexts. It was through these intensive experiences I developed a framework to better articulate the mindsets and skillsets of intercultural learning.

The Cool Phase –

The most recent transition started in early 2022 after a range of coffee chats and outreach, resulting in a gig with Cool Australia (now Cool.org) as the General Manager. With a core focus in supporting educators to be the best they can be through a broad emphasis on sustainability (environmental, social, and economic), Cool really do tackle the tough topics in learning. The ongoing challenges of learning design alongside the work of a tight, dedicated team within a charity such as Cool, makes you constantly hungry for meaningful projects and partnerships. Helping to navigate changes in strategy, language, and learning with a group of passionate people who know how to have a laugh is infinitely satisfying. And I don’t think I’ll ever have a better job title than the GM of Cool…

My passion is to improve education of all ages, growing connections between the disengaged and the disconnected through helping networks to work collaboratively. I’m blogging about finding the energy and balance to make life exciting and fulfilling, by taking opportunities for serendipity, humility, sagacity and adventure. This is life’s never ending transition: moving, stepping, and sliding in life. These are my thoughts on movement.