Tasmania Branch

Jacqui Lawless

ACEL TAS Branch President

Jacqui is a principal working in Catholic Education in Tasmania. She has had a range of leadership opportunities across Tasmania and within a range of age groups. Jacqui has been an activator of school improvement and led significant educational change. She has worked extensively in the area of student support and special education, and she is passionate about the access and quality of education for all students.

Louise Bender

Branch Executive Member

Louise is a highly committed leader with over 20 years teaching experience in Catholic and Independent schools in Tasmania and Queensland.  

Louise has held several leadership roles including Deputy Principal and Director of Teaching and Learning. Louise is currently the Director of Learning and Innovation at St Mary’s College, Hobart. Louise is committed to improving student outcomes and building teacher capacity. Louise was a 2022 recipient of the ACEL TAS Excellence in Educational Leadership Award.

Louise Corrigan

Branch Executive Member

Louise is current the Principal of Trevallyn Primary School, Launceston, Tasmania. Prior to this she was the Principal of Wulagi Primary School, Darwin, Northern Territory. She has many years’ experience as a teacher leader, assistant principal, co-principal and principal in urban, rural and remote schools across the Northern Territory.

Throughout her career, Louise has showcased her passion for leadership and education by connecting and promoting educational leaders across a variety of networks. Louise’s expertise includes early childhood education, equity in education, school and teacher leadership including systems, strategic and design thinking. She is passionate about the role teachers and education play in young people’s lives, evidenced by her ongoing work to develop teacher leadership within her school, nationally and ACEL. In 2017 she completed a Certificate in Advanced Educational Leadership through the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Louise believes that sharing knowledge and expertise is an essential part of leadership, she continues to participate in conferences, panels and events and contributes to current educational literature. She is relentless in her vision for school improvement, student voice and equity at school and system levels.

Beth Gilligan

Branch Executive Member

Beth has been the Principal of Dominic College, a K-10 Catholic, independent school in Hobart’s northern suburbs. She served at Dominic from 2009 – 2021, before retiring. She has a special interest in school improvement and shaping school culture to secure best trajectories for students. A former member of CPAT, CaSPA and AHISA, Beth has continued to be an advocate for mentoring aspiring leaders and finding ways for experienced leaders to professionally develop.

Prior to taking up her position at Dominic, Beth ran an independent educational consultancy for ten years in Sydney, assisting schools and not-for-profit entities in organizational and program reviews, strategic planning, governance development and leadership appraisal and formation. In 2023 she was appointed to the Tasmanian Teachers Registration Board.

Tracy Siedler

Branch Executive Member

Tracy was the Principal of Hobart College from 2010 - 2023. With a background in Business, Tracy has worked in Tasmanian Senior Secondary Colleges for around 35 years where she held various leadership positions. She is passionate about the role of educational leadership in improving outcomes for all students. Tracy is particularly interested in raising academic aspiration and supporting the engagement of all students, especially those from backgrounds of trauma and disadvantage. 

Amy Sharp

Branch Executive Member

Amy is the Tasmanian and South Australian State Manager for Teach For Australia, a not for profit organisation that works to address educational inequity through two key levers that research shows impact student outcomes: teacher quality and leadership. Amy has worked in education for the past 20 years across all sectors. Amy is passionate about addressing educational inequity and how we can build and support communities to thrive.  

James Seddon

Branch Executive Member