Conference Speakers

MC Angela Catterns
Outstanding broadcaster, MC & facilitator Angela Catterns is one of Australia's most popular broadcasters and corporate presenters.

With a diverse media career in film, TV and radio she has broadcast nationally, in Sydney, in country NSW and in Washington DC. Angela’s warmth, humour and intelligence make her one of the country’s most engaging corporate MCs and facilitators.

• Her ability to manage complex schedules ensures events flow seamlessly, and her exceptional capabilities as an interviewer immediately have her guests at ease.

Mark Pesce
Inventor, writer, educator & futurist Mark Pesce has explored the frontiers of media and technology for a quarter of a century.

Dr David Curtis
David is Associate Professor in Educational Research in the School of Education at Flinders University, South Australia. He holds two Masters degrees and two doctorates in education.

David worked in the higher education sector for 25 years. He then spent 10 years as a senior research fellow working for the Australian Council for Educational Research, the National Centre for Vocational Education Research and as a consultant before returning to higher education.

Denise Stevens
Denise is Chief Executive Officer, TDC (Tafe Development Centre) and leads the TDC having developed extensive educational man-agement experience over the past 25 years working in the VET sector.

She has had a variety of management and leadership positions in the VET sector with responsibility for teaching and learning practice.
Highlights throughout this time have included the establishment of teaching departments, establishing an industry liaison centre of excellence, working in the Middle East and developing and implementing vocational degrees in TAFE.

Gwen Moroney
Gwen works as the Assessment Coordinator at First Impressions Resources, a private RTO which operates throughout Australia. Gwen coordinates the assessment system contextualising assessment models and tools to suit particular client groups and meet individual student needs, including those for specific LLN assistance.

Involved in VET for twenty five years, Gwen holds two Adult Education Degrees including one with a focus on adult literacy and language, and has a vocational background and certificates in retail and business.

In 2010 – 11, she worked on the First Impressions Resources WELL funded project that developed resources aimed at Cert IV and Diploma level retail managers.

Dr Stephen Billet
Dr. Stephen Billett is Professor of Adult and Vocational Education in the School of Education and Professional Studies at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

Stephen has worked as a vocational educator, educational administrator, teacher educator, professional development practitioner and policy developer within the Australian vocational education system and as a teacher and researcher at Griffith University.

Since 1992, he has researched learning through and for work and has published widely in the fields of vocational learning, workplace learning and conceptual accounts of learning for vocational purposes.

Dr Cristina Martinez-Fernandez
Dr Cristina Martinez-Fernandez is a Senior Policy Analyst specialised on Employment and Skills, Green Growth, Demographic Change, and Southeast Asia at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) programme.

She works on issues related to the challenges of skills and training systems for SMEs, entrepreneurial and innovation activities; industrial policy, climate change and the transformation of labour markets into the low-carbon economy; the challenges of demographic changes and an ageing society for skills and employment development. Cristina also manages the OECD/LEED Initiative on Employment and Skills Strategies in Southeast Asia (ESSSA).

David O'Dea
David O’Dea is a full time teacher of Commercial Cookery in TAFE NSW, Riverina Institute – Albury Campus. He has worked as a chef both in Australia and overseas and has been teaching for eleven years. David has won two Riverina Institute Awards for staff excellence and in 2007 established his own scholarship program that places deserving and talented regional apprentice chefs in hatted restaurants to develop their skills.

In 2008 David won the National Trades and Skills Teacher of the Year – Cookery awarded by The Institute for Trades Skills Excellence. David is a Co-Author of Cookery for the Hospitality Industry. In 2011 David was a nominee in the Local Hero Australia Day awards in Albury, won the Riverina region VET Trainer / Teacher of the Year and was a State finalist in the NSW Training Awards.

Allison Miller
Allison Miller has been involved in the vocational education and training sector for more than ten years as an educator and as a leader in e-learning.
Allison is currently the E-portfolios Business Manager for the Australian Flexible Learning Framework.

Her previous Framework roles include the South Australian Innovations Coordinator and the Inclusive e-Learning (Youth) Project Manager. She has also been the E-Learning Development Coordinator for TAFE SA.

Allison’s session will highlight how a national standards-based approach to e-portfolios technologies for managing learner information will enable a worthy investment for your business and how this can be achieved...

Dr Samantha Sharpe
Dr Samantha Sharpe is a research associate at the Centre for Business Research, Judge Business School at Cambridge University, UK.

Samantha has held academic posts, most recently the NESTA Innovation and Policy Research Fellowship at Cambridge University, senior policy positions in economic development and environmental management in government, and as an expert for the OECD.

Samantha’s research focuses on innovation, industrial and economic development, specifically the financing and encouragement of industrial innovative activity. Her current research projects are investigating aspects of transitioning to a low carbon economy and renewable energy.

Paul Callaghan
Paul is Institute Director, TAFENSW New England Institute which recently was awarded, Large Training Provider of the Year, 2011 NSW Training Awards and was one of three finalists in the 2011 Australian Training Awards.

In addition to servicing a region of 106,000 square kilometres and 23,000 VET students, Paul is involved in leading a number of TAFENSW state wide activities including a project relating to electronic and virtual learning environments and a Committee responsible for providing high level strategic advice on social inclusion and equity issues to the TAFE Executive.

Craig Knox
Craig Knox is the General Manager of Industry Development at Fitness Australia, overseeing the associations business and professional registration systems, standards development and engagement in government preventative health initiatives.

Craig has an extensive 30 year background in exercise science and fitness including professional practice, business, health promotion, research and most recently association management. Craig currently represents Fitness Australia in several standards forums and is a member of expert reference groups for the development and implementation of quality frameworks for the Commonwealth Governments Healthy Communities Initiative, Healthy Workers Initiative and Healthy Living Network.

Dr Dianne Orr
Dr Dianne Orr is the Commissioner (Compliance), in the Australian Skills Quality Authority. ASQA commenced operations as the national regulator for VET on 1 July 2011 with offices in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Perth. Dianne has an extensive background in vocational education and training, having worked in TAFE administration, workforce capability development, VET policy development and regulation.

Dianne was formerly the Executive Director of Training and International Quality in the Queensland DET and before that worked at the ANTA in the regulatory policy area. She has been a member of the National Quality Council and has worked on a number of national committees contributing to standards development and quality improvement in the VET sector.

Mark Runnalls
Mark Runnalls is Projects Director at the Society for Knowledge Economics and a lecturer in the School of Business and Economics at Macquarie University. In addition he is completing his PhD looking at the relationship between Accounting and Emotionality, he has not found any yet, but is confident there is one somewhere!

Mark has been working with a cross-disciplinary team of researchers from UNSW, ANU and Copenhagen School of Business on a three year project that explores the Leadership, Management and Cultural Practices of High Performing Workplaces in Australia that is funded by Federal Government. The first phase of the project was released in October 2011 at the Julia Gillard Jobs Forum in Canberra.