Queensland Branch

Elizabeth Foster

ACEL QLD Branch President

Liz is an established leader in education and is currently the Executive Principal of Wavell State High School in Brisbane. Over the past 15 years she has served in leadership positions at Ferny Grove State High School, Stretton State College, Kelvin Grove State College and MacGregor State High School. Liz has served as Chair of the Advisory Board for the Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology and is a member of the Principals Advisory Committee for the Department of Education and Executive Member of the Independent Public Schools Alliance. Liz is a member of the Queensland Executive for the Australian Council for Educational Leaders. She continues to advocate for the opportunities and importance of professional organisations. Liz is a facilitator in the Metropolitan Aspiring Leaders Program together with mentoring both cross-sector school and tertiary leaders. She actively engages with the corporate sector, regularly presenting at seminars and conferences.

Liz Foster is a school leader who collaboratively develops, articulates and enacts a vision for the future of not only her school but the broader education community. Her leadership and associated achievements are characterised by her exemplary ability to build a high performing team culture in which all people contribute. In particular, Liz ensures all people have an opportunity to contribute collectively to school decision making. Intentional in design, she creates environments that encourage conversations to consider context, listening for understanding and permission to think beyond conventional school systems, in together finding solutions that enable all people to be involved. Her strength in leadership is her capacity to connect with people whilst creating a strong sense of culture and community.

In understanding that it is the capability of people as the greatest lever for improved student outcomes, she promotes investment in professional learning for all. Liz builds highly functional teams in large, complex metropolitan schools, committed to a shared vision; leadership and faculty structures that promote collective accountability and consistency in the application of agreed learning frameworks; a learning and teaching environment leading to positive progress in learning outcomes for all students as a result of evidence based, high impact strategies contextualised to each school community.

Liz provides an environment for learning to be questioned and therefore to thrive. With an emphasis on student leadership, in multiple contexts, she has led the design of student leadership programs that provide all students with the capability to contribute and the confidence to make a difference. The impact that Liz has as a school leader is remarkable in enabling a learning culture in which everyone contributes to and influences the broader educational landscape. Liz Foster values the importance of being open to learning, leveraging research to inform practice and challenging conventions that stretch possibility in asking the question, ‘How might we prompt people to think beyond the normalised paradigms of teaching and leadership?’

Bruce Addison

Branch Executive Member

After commencing work in the world of commercial banking, thirty years have now passed in the Independent Education sector. Currently I am Deputy Principal (Academic) at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. Along the way it was a privilege to have co-ordinated and taught postgraduate subjects in both curriculum and leadership at the University of Queensland. This experienced helped to further shape my understanding and practice of educational leadership.

Schools to me are the essential bedrock of our civil society. The teaching profession needs strong advocates and this is why peak bodies such as ACEL are so very important.

I enjoy reading and writing and have published in a number of internationally peer reviewed and national editor reviewed journals. One of the core areas of my work revolves around teacher professional growth and practice. When not enmeshed in schools and education, my garden is my quiet place to tend, rest and restore.

Lee Catterall

Branch Executive Member

Lee is a highly dedicated and motivated educational leader who is focussed on achieving the best outcomes for all students, particularly in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. Her vast experience in education across both public and private sectors in NSW and QLD spans almost forty years.

Lee is the current Head of Junior School and Deputy Head of College at Ormiston College. Key achievements in Lee’s almost thirteen years at the College include playing a pivotal role in the development of the College’s award-winning Teaching and Learning Framework, redefining the Student Wellbeing Framework, and expanding Service-Learning programs for students, aligned to the Christian Values of the College.

Aside from her leadership role, Lee also actively engages in the co-curricular life of the College most notably through her love of music, conducting and inspiring a Junior School choir of over 60 Prep to Year 1 students and being heavily involved in College Musicals.

In 2019 Lee was proud to be presented with an ACEL award for Excellence in Educational Leadership and in 2021 she was named on the Educator Hot List. Lee is also the current President of The Independent Schools Heads Association for the QLD Branch. (IPSHA)

Lee believes that ACEL is an incredibly important educational organisation for teachers and leaders and looks forward to continuing to make a positive contribution as part of the Queensland Branch Executive for a second term.

Sarah Gunn

Branch Executive Member

Sarah is currently Director of Studies and Pedagogy at St Peters Lutheran College Springfield. Prior to this, she has held a variety of leadership positions in diverse school systems both nationally and internationally. Sarah’s work has primarily focused on the development of a learning culture through the innovation of pedagogy, curriculum, and teacher professional development frameworks.

Sarah has been an active member of ACEL since being awarded the ACEL-Q prize for the Master of Education in 2020. She is passionate about contributing to the profession across educational sectors, as evidenced through her school board experience and ongoing work in helping to found, develop, and promote ACEL-Q’s Pivotal People Brisbane network. She also works with several schools in Queensland to establish Lean In Circles, places for aspirational female leaders to learn new skills, network and support one another.

Sarah finds fulfilment in professional reading and writing. She has published several articles on educational leadership and plans to commence doctoral studies soon, with a research focus on educator professional learning through collaborative inquiry.

Tameika Grist

Branch Executive Member

Tameika is a passionate learner, keen to share the joy of improving education with all she works with. She is committed to finding research-based approaches to stimulate practice in schools. Tameika has a long-held interest in developing teachers, and is committed to developing leaders and teachers within her own school and beyond, to be pivotal forces for change in their environment.

Tameika has been working in education for over 25 years, from early childhood education through to senior secondary. She actively seeks ways to collaborate with educators across all sectors in person and online, within her region, State, Nationally and Internationally, building and sharing knowledge that will benefit all students in all schools. Previously based in Tasmania, Tameika also enjoyed serving the educational sector through her involvement with the ACEL Branch Executive, including the role of Tasmania Branch President and National Board Director. Her ongoing focus is to develop the skills and mindset that will enable students of all ages to be effective learners for life.

Tameika is currently the principal of St Mary’s College, Maryborough - a year 7 -12 high school.

Daniel Johnson

Branch Executive Member

Daniel has worked in both private and public education sectors throughout ACT and QLD for more than 20 years. During his career Daniel’s broad leadership experience spans across roles as Principal, Head of School, Deputy Principal, Principal Advisor, Director, Head of Department and Teacher.

Daniel started his career in Prep and Outdoor Education and has successfully taught in all year levels through to and including adult education. Daniel is passionate about developing education leaders in all stages of their career.

Daniel is currently the Director of Education Services in the Metropolitan South Region. Daniel has been a member of ACEL since 2018 and continues to advocate for the opportunities and importance of professional organisations, which enable us to connect and learn from each other through conversations, research, and practice.

Adam Kuss

Branch Executive Member

Adam works nationally and internationally with school leaders and teachers on implementing pedagogical improvement initiatives. Currently, he holds positions with the University of Queensland – Critical Thinking Project and Brisbane Grammar School’s – Learning Organisation Team. Adam is a dual scholarship recipient and is progressing towards completing his PhD on how the cultures of leadership and pedagogy influence school improvement initiatives.

Adam is a member of the organising committee for the ACELQ Pivotal People Middle Leaders network (Brisbane). Through ACEL, Adam hopes to bring educators together, to learn from and with each other, so that all students can benefit from our combined professional wisdom.

Over the past 15 years, Adam has worked as an educator in the United Kingdom as well as working in all three sectors in Queensland schools. He has held several leadership positions including Head of Department for Mathematics, Junior Secondary, Pedagogy and Deputy Principal. Adam has presented to a range of Educational organisations including the University of California, Thinking Schools Initiative India, Australian Curriculum Studies Association and the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales.

Adam led the development and implementation of a pathway for Philosophical Inquiry from Primary School to University across multiple schools. The initiative provided professional development for over 600 teachers and demonstrated significant improvements in student learning. In 2018, the program was awarded the Education Queensland Showcase Award for Excellence in Secondary Years.

Adam has been selected as a finalist for the Queensland College of Teachers – Outstanding Leadership Award as well as being identified by The Courier Mail’s Q Weekender as one of Queensland’s 50 Best and Brightest.

Tania Leach

Branch Executive Member

Dr Tania Leach is an expert in educational leadership at the University of Southern Queensland. Her research focuses on the contemporary challenges of system leaders, and what that this means for how we can better support schools and their leaders to achieve whole of system growth.

She has a particular interest in the interconnection between system and school leadership and the skills and knowledges that are needed to successfully lead systems and schools.

Tania has 18 years of leadership experience across the schooling and university sector, including Associate Dean - LTSS, Principal Education Advisor and Head of School. Her expertise as a system leader was formally acknowledged in 2017 and 2022 through the Australian Council of Educational Leadership’s Queensland Excellence in Leadership Award and Excellence in Educational Leadership Research Award. She now works with current leaders, policy makers, and international researchers to highlight the important and complex work of educational leadership today.

Lynda Wall

Branch Executive Member

Lynda is currently Deputy Principal at Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School including Ipswich Junior Grammar School. She was previously Dean of Studies at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School. During Queensland’s trial of ATAR processes, Lynda was a Project Officer in the assessment branch of QCAA. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Education, and a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration.

Lynda is committed to developing people and organisational culture, and has contributed to professional publications including the Australian Educational Researcher, along with presenting research in the field of Institutional Logics and Curriculum at conferences for the Australian Association for Research in Education, and the Australian Teacher Educator’s Association. She is an assessor of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers, through Independent Schools Queensland, and serves on the events committee for the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia, Queensland branch.

Lynda is committed to serving ACEL to develop education leaders who are forward-looking and innovative. She values ACEL’s considered approaches to collaboration, expertise, and dissemination of best-practice information. .

John O'Sullivan Williams

Branch Executive Member

John has lead across multiple independent contexts and currently leads learning and partnerships across Queensland Anglican schools. Over the course of 23 years, he has served in a number of pastoral and curriculum leadership positions as well as worked further afield in Japan and the United Kingdom. John has a passion for developing leaders. In 2019 he was awarded an ACEL ‘New Voice in School Leadership’ scholarship for his work with emerging leaders across multiple contexts. His recent work has seen him focus on developing leadership in early career teachers and ultimately, challenging attrition rates.

Continuing to develop leaders across online platforms and physical environments remains a priority for John, ensuring that ACEL remains relevant and well represented for our educational leaders.