Daniel Pink is the author of four provocative books about the changing world of work — His long-running New York Times bestseller, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern economies and describes the six abilities individuals and organizations must master in an outsourced, automated age. His articles on business and technology appear in many publications, including the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Wired, and The Sunday Telegraph. Dan has provided analysis of business trends on CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other networks in the U.S. and abroad. And he lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on economic transformation and the new workplace. Click here for more information.

Rev. Tim Costello is one of Australia’s most sought after public speakers and every year addresses tens of thousands of people from the public and private sector, and the wider community. Tim has written several books including Streets of Hope: Finding God in St Kilda; Tips from a Travelling Soul Searcher; Wanna Bet? Winners and Losers in Gambling’s Luck Myth (which was co-written with Royce Millar). Click here for more information.

Lee Crockett is an international authority on teaching students the skills they need to acquire to succeed in the 21st century. He is an international keynote speaker and the director of media for the Info Savvy Group and the managing partner of the 21st Century Fluency Project. Lee is a “just in time learner” who is constantly adapting to the new programs, languages and technologies associated with today’s communications and marketing media. Lee is the author of: Understanding the Digital Generation, The Digital Diet, Living on the Future Edge, Teaching for Tomorrow, Literacy is Not Enough and Teaching the Digital Generation. Click here for more information.

Professor Theo van Leeuwen is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology, Sydney. He worked as a film and television producer in his native Holland and Australia before studying linguistics in Sydney and Paris and teaching film production, media studies and semiotics at Macquarie University, the London College of Printing and Cardiff University. Van Leeuwen has published widely in the areas of social semiotics, critical discourse analysis and multimodality and is a founding editor of the journal Visual Communication, now in its tenth year.

Tony Mackay is Chair of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, Deputy Chair of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority and Executive Director of the Centre for Strategic Education. He is an Honorary Fellow in the Graduate School of Education at The University of Melbourne, Board Director of the Australian Council for Educational Research, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Asia Education Foundation. Tony is President of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, Chair of the Innovation Unit, England and founding member of the Governing Council of the National College for School Leadership in England. Tony is an ACEL Gold Medallist and recipient of the Nganakarrawa Award.

Gabrielle Matters is Principal Research Fellow at ACER, Head of ACER Brisbane, and Executive Secretary of the International Association for Educational Assessment. She is an adjunct professor at QUT, with a doctorate in the field of psychometrics. She has held executive management positions within the Australian education sector and has worked with education systems overseas, most recently in Colombia. Her recent research includes comparative studies of curriculum content and achievement standards across Australia and between the IB Diploma and the Australian States. Gabrielle has reviewed assessment systems including the membership and fellowship process of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists.

Robert Randall is Acting CEO and General Manager, Curriculum with ACARA and has been General Manager of the Interim National Curriculum Board. Prior to this Robert was Director of Curriculum K-12 with the NSW Department of Education and Training. He was responsible for leading and coordinating the development of curriculum policy and the provision of learning and curriculum support materials for NSW public schools for K-12. From 1996 to 2001, Rob was Director, Curriculum, with the NSW Board of Studies, where he was responsible for the management of the Higher School Certificate syllabus review program and K-10 projects.

Mark Campling leads educational reform across 1283 Education Queensland schools as Assistant Director-General, State Schooling Implementation. Mark has almost three decades of principal and executive management experience in a diverse range of Queensland schools and regions. He is currently leading several major initiatives including the Curriculum into the classroom project, an Australian-first set of digital planning materials to support Education Queensland teachers implementing the Australian Curriculum. He has also established innovative Teaching and Learning audits to foster a collaborative and self-reflective approach to school performance improvement. His contribution to leadership and professional development in education has been recognised with life membership of the Queensland Association of State School Principals.

Professor Erica McWilliam works at the Centre for Research into Pedagogy and Practice at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Centre of Excellence in Creative Industries and Innovation at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and an Associate Fellow, Australian Learning and Teaching Council. Erica is an internationally recognised scholar in the field of pedagogy with a focus on workforce preparation of youth in schools and universities. She is known for her contribution to educational reform in the new knowledge economy across the spectrum of environments from early years to doctorate.

Emeritus Professor Frank Crowther is regarded as a leading international advocate for the teaching profession. His constructs of teacher leadership and parallel leadership and school improvement have acquired international recognition and his recent books on these topics are international best sellers. Frank was the original creator of the IDEAS Project and the initial Director of the Leadership Research Institute (LRI) at the University of Southern Queensland. In 2006 Frank was made a member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for services to education.

Dr Jim Watterston is Deputy Secretary of School Education in the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. He became ACEL President at the end of 2010 while Chief Executive of the ACT Department of Education and Training. Jim has worked closely with the government on a reform agenda for school improvement that allows stakeholders to develop a sustainable lifelong learning approach. A founding Director of the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership, Jim has been Regional Director of the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Eastern Metropolitan Region; superintendent of Education in WA and has 14 years’ experience as a Principal.

Professor Neil Dempster’s research interests are in leadership for learning, school governance, school improvement and the role professional development plays in leadership, policy implementation and institutional change. Professor Dempster was formerly Dean of Griffith University Faculty of Education. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders and Fellow of the Australian College of Educators, where he also held the post of National President 2006-2007. Neil has written articles on the national curriculum in Education Review and is a member of the Curriculum Standing Committee of National Education Professional Associations. He is involved in the Principals as Literacy Leaders 3 project.

Peter Adams is General Manager, Assessment and Reporting at ACARA. Peter has responsibility for the National Assessment Program which includes NAPLAN and the Sample Assessments in Science Literacy, ICT Literacy and Civics and Citizenship. Peter is also responsible for ACARA’s performance data reporting including the My School website, the Australian National Report on Schooling and the provision of data for key performance measurement programs such as the COAG Reform Council reporting. Peter project directed the introduction of NAPLAN and was responsible for the scope and specification of the Schools Data and Reporting System, which became the My School website.

Aasha Murthy is Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders. She has been Director of Programs at the Academy for Collaborative Futures and CEO of AFS Intercultural Programs in Australia. Aasha’s senior corporate roles include Managing Director of Starbucks Coffee - Australia and New Zealand, Head of Operations for Weight Watchers Asia Pacific, Director Meal Solutions for the Woolworths Group NZ and Marketing Director for Genetco and National Training Institute in the lower Persian Gulf. Aasha is visiting faculty at the Waikato Management School, Waikato University NZ and has been the Executive in Residence at the Business School at the University of Auckland NZ. She lectures on Leadership, Strategic Planning, Strategic Innovation, Leveraging Diversity, Managing Change and Reaching Global Markets.

John Bush was Program Director for High Resolves for three years, where he created the elements of the High Resolves modules, developed relationships and delivered the modules in partner schools in Sydney and Melbourne. John has worked for nearly eight years as a high school English teacher in the United States and Australia. He earned a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, with majors in Secondary Education, English, and Cognitive Studies from Vanderbilt University in 1998, and in 2005, he followed with a Master of Liberal Arts and Sciences. John has been Teacher of the Year at Ravenswood High School and Chair of Ravenswood High School’s English Department.

Michael Avery is Director of Catholic Education NT. The Diocese of Darwin covers a vast area from Bathurst Island in the north, to Alice Springs and Santa Teresa in the south. Comprising seventeen schools, five of which are Indigenous Catholic Community Schools, Catholic Education in the NT ranges from early learning centres and pre-schools to senior secondary education. Michael considers it a privilege to be the Director of this diverse community of schools in what is an unprecedented historic period of change, challenge and opportunity in education in the Territory. Michael’s
qualifications include a BA, Dip Ed, Grad Dip (RE), MEd (RE) and his interests lie in Indigenous education, educational leadership, school improvement, and student leadership. Michael is an ACEL Fellow.

CIRCLE founder Dr Phil Cummins is an educator by trade and conviction who knows and understands schools and leadership. Dr Cummins has developed a values-based, responsive approach to school leadership, characterised by a focus on relationships and values, with high expectations of staff performance and accountability. The need to encourage staff to embrace new ideas and practices, improve traditional approaches, and share their thinking whilst taking risks and accepting responsibility is critical. He has led pastoral care and curriculum teams and implemented significant change processes in a broad range of schools.

Dr Jenny Stanley is Senior Policy Advisor, Policy Development and Review and Executive Officer of the Audit and Risk Committee at the South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services. She is Chair of the ACEL Audit and Risk Committee and president of the SA Branch Executive. Jenny has a strong interest in corporate and site governance and has worked in school, preschool and corporate governance. Jenny has worked as a preschool director in early literacy and numeracy, early childhood training, School Quality Improvement and lectured TAFE Early Childhood and Community Services.

Ann McIntyre is the Director, Professional Learning and Leadership Development at the NSW Department of Education and Communities. Ann has designed and led systems, policies and programs that have had a powerful impact on the quality and capacity of teachers, leaders and schools. The significant innovations and reforms she has designed and implemented are deeply grounded in evidence and highly practical. Ann’s research in professional learning, school improvement and professional standards is highly pertinent to all who are interested in teacher, leader and school quality.

Associate Professor Dorothy Andrews is a researcher, consultant and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Southern Queensland. Dorothy teaches in the area of leadership and organisational theory. She is Director of the Leadership Research (LRI) group and National Director of a School Improvement program – IDEAS. The Leadership Research team was awarded the Australian Council for Educational Leaders Gold Medal in 2003 for excellence in research. Dorothy’s current research is focused on Leadership, capacity building and organisational change.

Dr Phil Lambert has a strong background with both the NSW Department of Education and Training and the NSW Board of Studies, commencing in the Department as a primary teacher at Yennora Public School in 1977. Following this, Dr Lambert held school-based positions, including executive teacher, assistant principal and principal. In 1994, Dr Lambert was appointed the Inspector of Primary Education with the NSW Board of Studies. His recent appointments include Director of Early Childhood, Primary and Rural Education and Assistant Director-General for Primary Education, plus the supervision of Western NSW districts.

Keren Caple is a General Manager at the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). Keren’s experience, both in Australia and internationally, has helped her to develop a deep understanding of the importance of supporting and advancing teacher and school leader quality in Australian schools. In her role at AITSL, Keren has overseen the finalisation and endorsement of the National Professional Standards for Teachers and is now working with jurisdictions and AITSL’s stakeholders to ensure implementation of the Teacher Standards across Australia and to promulgate the National Professional Standard for Principals.