South Australia Branch

Martyn Anderson

ACEL SA Branch President

Martyn is currently in the Director of Teaching and Learning at Immanuel College. He has held a variety of leadership positions at the College including Faculty leadership and the Senior Years Learning Leader. In 2020, he was named the national winner of the ACEL Keith Tronc Award for “Outstanding Teacher Leadership” as well as the ACEL (SA) Pip Field “Emerging Leader of the Year”. In 2022, he was named the ACEL (SA) Teacher of the Year. He has presented locally and nationally at conferences on utilising technology, cultures of thinking and engaging with data to improve student outcomes. He has a particular interest in the work that has emerged out of Harvard Project Zero and aims to develop cultures for both staff and students where thinking and innovation are valued and actively promoted. Martyn is excited about the prospect of becoming the President of the ACEL SA branch.

Emma Grave

Branch Executive Member

Emma is a passionate and dynamic educational leader dedicated to fostering wellbeing and excellence in education. With a highly perceptive understanding of both students and staff, she is known for identifying challenges and developing innovative curricula, programs, policies, and solutions to maximise educational outcomes.

With experience across Victoria and South Australia, Emma thrives on the creativity of the modern classroom. She is recognised for her expertise in adaptive leadership and strategic planning, creating inclusive, innovative, and supportive environments that drive student achievement, staff development, and community engagement.  She is committed to building strong team cultures and developing high staff morale.

Emma has held leadership roles in the independent sector in Ballarat and Geelong, including an extensive career in boarding at Geelong Grammar School. She served as Deputy Principal at Seymour College in Adelaide and is currently the Deputy Principal of Scotch College Adelaide.

In 2023, Emma was awarded the ACEL SA Fellowship Award for her contributions to education. She also serves as Deputy Chair of PESA, Australia’s peak body for wellbeing in education.

Shane Hill

Branch Executive Member

Shane is an experienced educational leader with a strong background in curriculum innovation and teacher development. As Head of Learning Analytics at Wilderness School, he leads their Professional Learning Teams, guiding teachers in using evidence-based practices to enhance student learning. His leadership extends beyond Wilderness, collaborating with educators across South Australia to design curriculum, develop teacher capability, and drive professional learning that strengthens teaching practice.

Shane holds a Master of Instructional Leadership from the University of Melbourne and was the recipient of the 2021 ACHPER SA Excellence in Health & Physical Education Award. Through his action research on deep learning in a capabilities curriculum, he focused on translating education research into industry-relevant learning experiences, ensuring students engage with real-world challenges through immersive learning. As the lead of the Capabilities Curriculum at Wilderness, he embeds futures thinking in student learning, equipping them with the skills to navigate complex challenges through problem-solving, collaboration, and interdisciplinary thinking.

Michael Murphy

Branch Executive Member

Michael is a father, a friend, a learner, and a leader, who lives, learns, and works on Kaurna Land, in South Australia. His purpose in education is to inspire, motivate and support people to live well in a world worth living in. His work has been exhibited at international conferences, as well as published in Australian Journals. Michael is known for his commitment to developing collective staff emotional intelligence. Staff he works with appreciate truly distributed leadership models, engaging faculty projects and rewarding working environment. He is an award winning leader, with a 2023 Excellence Award for Department Head of the Year at the Australian Education Awards, and Pip Field Emerging Leader award from ACEL. In 2022 Michael was a recipient of the ACEL New Voice Scholarship, highlighting his ability to lead beyond his school-based role, also contributing to published research, mentorship of aspiring leaders, and through his role as an initial teacher educator at the University of Adelaide.

Alina Page

Branch Executive Member

Alina Page is an experienced leader who has held teaching and leadership positions both in Australia and internationally. Currently the principal at Para Hills High School in South Australia, Alina is passionate about enabling growth for staff and students alike, ensuring that students are engaged through high quality pedagogical practices that inspire. She sees learning as a lifelong process and staff development and growth as a lever to improve outcomes for all. Known for her ability to leverage data to inform strategy, Alina has consistently created environments where her staff and students are challenged, nurtured and encouraged to be their best. Her current school is the recipient of multiple awards, and Alina is proud to have been awarded the ACEL SA Educational Leadership Medal in 2023.

Kimberley Shean

Branch Executive Member

Kimberley is passionate about ensuring all students are truly known and supported to maximise their learning potential and flourish. She is committed to empowering educators to ensure learning is student centred, data informed, evidence-based and inclusive. 

She has extensive leadership experience at both the school and system level from Early Years to Senior Secondary. Kimberley has held executive leadership roles in three large R-12 Catholic and Independent Schools and she has also worked for the SACE Board. She is currently the Director: Excellence, Equity, and Inclusion at Catholic Education South Australia, where she leads system leaders, school leaders, and teachers to ensure excellence and equity for all learners through inclusive evidence-based teaching and learning across all Catholic schools. She has also served on numerous boards, committees and reference groups, locally and nationally.

Kimberley holds several academic qualifications including a Master of Educational Leadership. She is currently a Doctor of Education Candidate at the University of South Australia, where her research is focused on exploring assessment literacy in relation to the Australian Curriculum and NAPLAN.

Julie Tarzia

Branch Executive Member

Julie has had an extensive career in education, including teaching, executive leadership, and consultancy roles across all sectors both in South Australia and internationally. Currently, a Senior Educational Consultant with the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia, Julie works with school leaders and teachers in a range of areas including strategic planning, educational leadership, teacher, curriculum and learning excellence and implementation of innovative and impactful practice. She also leads a range of sector projects and holds representative and convening roles related specifically to middle and senior secondary years.

Previous roles have included the inaugural Director of Teaching, Learning and Innovation in a large multi campus R-12 Catholic school as well as number of diverse consultancy and committee roles on both state and national forums. She holds a Masters of Instructional Leadership from the University of Melbourne, is an AITSL Certified Assessor and is passionate about the power of education to foster equity, innovation, and to impact positively on the lives of young people.

Georgina West

Branch Executive Member

With extensive experience in education, Georgina is currently the Head of Senior School at Walford Anglican School for Girls. In a career spanning a diverse range of sport, teaching and leadership roles, Georgina believes that schools are uniquely positioned to cultivate student agency, promoting the development of young people as individuals who know how to learn, possess awareness of their strengths, can relate positively with others and who can mobilise their knowledge, skills, values and experiences to succeed and serve causes greater than their own.

At Walford, Georgina leads the Futures Curriculum Working Party which consists of an interdisciplinary team of teachers who draw upon a blend of futures thinking, robust evidence and practical experimentation in learning contexts to position students as principled agents of their own futures. As the Co-Chair of the Reconciliation Action Plan Committee, Georgina also leads a team consisting of teachers and students across the School to foster an inclusive, welcoming, culturally responsive community that honours Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through deep listening, meaningful engagement and authentic collaboration.

Anita Zocchi

Branch Executive Member

Anita Zocchi is an experienced leader in education, having worked across both government and the independent sectors. Her leadership roles have encompassed all levels of school leadership. Anita led the successful development of international programmes, including sister school programmes with reciprocal exchanges to Italy, Germany, Japan, Greece, France, and Spain. She has also been a leader in international education, as chair and co-chair of accreditation teams for the Council of International Schools and is recognised for her leadership in all aspects of secondary education.

Anita has worked with councils, educational leaders, and teachers in developing, and implementing strategic goals, leading innovation, and improved learning and wellbeing outcomes. Her passion is supporting young people to become independent, resilient, and empowered learners and leaders, while also supporting teacher efficacy, leadership, and collaboration.