Governance

Diane Joseph is a public policy expert with significant experience in the education and training sectors. Diane’s expertise in policy and strategy is based on a background of more than 35 years working in public service, including as Director-General of Education and Training in the Australian Capital Territory, a breadth of senior executive positions in the ACT and Victoria, as well as a secondary school principal and teacher.

Malcolm Wells is a former Deputy Secretary in the Tasmanian Department of Education, with responsibility for further education and training. Prior to this he was General Manager, responsible for public education in the state’s north-west. He has extensive experience in the school sector and more recently in vocational education and training.

Mark Lamont has knowledge, experience and networks in education, enterprise and technology innovation. Mark has engaged in transformational school and further education initiatives at local, system and international levels, and with education technology services providers across Australia and worldwide.

Kathe Kirby is an experienced education professional with a career spanning teaching, teacher education, policy development and leading innovation in schools and education systems. Kathe was Executive Director of Asialink and the Asia Education Foundation from 1995.

Anne-Marie Lansdown is Chief of Staff to Australia’s Chief Scientist. She has a track record in a breadth of policy and planning as a senior public servant in the national science, research and education sectors, and extensive international education and collaboration experience. As Deputy CEO of Universities Australia she built on her knowledge and networks nationally and internationally in the education, science and research sector.

John Mula is the Director of Tasmanian Catholic Education. Prior to this appointment John was Director of Schools for the Diocese of Armidale. John is a teacher and educational leader with 35 years of experience in a diverse range of educational settings including private training colleges and schools.

Sam Spadavecchia has extensive experience in general management, finance, management consulting, risk, auditing and information technology. Sam has been the independent expert (non-Director) member of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee for six years.

Gabrielle Phillips is the Branch Manager of the National Data Reform Branch, Schools and Youth Cluster, Australian Department of Education and Training. Gabrielle’s responsibilities have included providing strategic policy advice and leading programs on improving national data and evidence. Previously, Gabrielle has held roles in the Commonwealth in Child Care, Early Childhood Education and Family policy.

Andrew Vann is the Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University. Previously he held various senior academic and administrative roles at Central Queensland University and James Cook University. He lectured in structural engineering at University of Bristol prior to coming to Australia in 1996.

Rick Persse is the Chief Executive of the South Australian Department for Education and Child Development. He has held senior executive positions at a variety of South Australian central government agencies, including Chief Executive of the Attorney-General’s Department. Rick has extensive expertise in policy and strategy development, change management, public sector reform and project delivery.

Andrew Smith has qualifications in education, science and business and brings to the role of CEO extensive experience and expertise in strategic leadership in the education, training and not-for-profit sectors. Previously Andrew has been the CEO of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training and Vice President (Engagement) at Swinburne University.

Nick Weideman has over 25 years’ experience in delivering education technology solutions. This includes elearning, online assessment and student data systems, as well as product marketing and delivery across all stages of the software development lifecycle. Prior to joining ESA, he oversaw the development of learning management systems, elearning content, online video and simulation-based courses for Australian and international customers in the financial services, health and telecommunications sector. Nick began his IT career in marketing, training and support of PC-based computer-aided design, 3D animation, virtual reality and multimedia systems across Australia for Autodesk Inc.

Rachel Elliott has extensive experience in management, service delivery, and publishing educational content. She has worked on a diverse range of projects and services in both the not-for-profit and commercial sectors. Rachel has qualifications in English literature and is currently completing her Masters in business. Prior to joining ESA, she was a Primary Publisher at Pearson Education Australia.

Stuart Mitchell has extensive experience in general management as well as in the theory, application, and development of global online educational software systems. Stuart has qualifications in English literature and applied media and is the co-inventor of an internationally patented formative assessment system.

Mary Munro has extensive experience in Human Resources across a variety of industries including NFP, Information Technology , Finance, and global matrix organizations. Mary has held roles covering all facets of People and Capability functions including mergers and acquisitions, start up organizations through to leading and coaching high performance human resources teams who have undertaken a diverse range of role through Australia and Asia.

Libby Tuckerman has extensive experience in online education and learning design. She has worked on a diverse range of successful projects and services in the NFP, tertiary and corporate sectors. Libby has qualifications in education and before joining ESA, she was the Manager of elearning at the NAB.

Patrik is a chartered accountant with extensive experience managing finance and corporate services functions. After starting his career with a large international accounting firm he has been a Director, COO and CFO in a range of businesses in the information technology and services industries. Before joining ESA, Patrik has more recently held CFO positions in the education sector.