New South Wales Branch

Corinna Robertson

ACEL NSW Interim Branch President

Corinna is a principal with the NSW Department of Education School Leadership Institute (SLI) where she leads the work on middle leadership. This includes the development of a middle leader role description and co-design of a middle leadership development program between the NSW DoE SLI, University of Newcastle and University of Wollongong. Corinna has more than 20 years’ experience as a principal, acting principal, assistant principal, and teacher at schools in the Blue Mountains and Sydney’s west. She has numerous qualifications including the Harvard Graduate School of Education Leadership for School Excellence, Master of Education (Educational Leadership), Graduate Certificate in Instructional Leadership, Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Teaching. She is currently studying a Master of Social and Organisational Leadership at Charles Sturt University.

Corinna is in her second term as executive on the Board of ACEL. She is a member of the NSW Primary Principals Association (PPA) Leadership Standing Committee, a facilitator for the NSW PPA Principal Credential and the School Leadership Institutes Aspiring Principal Leadership Program. Corinna was one of the first participants to successfully validate through the NSW PPA Principal Credential and was a member and representative of government school principals from 2019 to 2021 on the NESA Moderating Consistency Committee.

Corinna is the co-author of the Primary Executive Support Group Leadership Exploration and Development (PESGLEAD) program and NSW PPA Middle Leadership Imperative.

Sue Bryen

Branch Executive Member

Sue is passionate about student voice, professional learning, and effective implementation for student-centered initiatives. Previously a teacher, instructional leader and principal, Sue now provides professional learning and implementation support throughout Australia and Internationally. Previously a global Master Trainer for Visible Learning +, Sue is now the Director of Learning Services, for the Quaglia Institute for School Voice and Aspirations (QISVA), an organisation founded by the renowned expert in student voice, Dr Russ Quaglia. Sue works with school leadership teams to enhance student voice and agency through co-designing contextually relevant professional learning and implementation strategies. Continually learning from educational research and practice, Sue has developed connections with educators from around the world and is a Fellow of the Leading Educators Around the Planet (LEAP) organisation.

Amanda Conray

Branch Executive Member

Amanda has led state-wide leadership development programs within the NSW Department of Education as a Chief Executive Officer since 2019. Currently working in the department’s School Leadership Institute, Amanda’s role focuses on middle leadership. Prior to this role Amanda has served as a leader in NSW public secondary schools for more than 20 years including as a substantive deputy principal in two schools. As a committed educational practitioner, she has presented at state and national conferences, sharing best practice in school transformation, pedagogy and leadership. Through diverse leadership roles across a variety of educational contexts, Amanda has developed expertise in professional learning, leadership development, student-centred pedagogies and building collaborative cultures focused on school improvement. Amanda has been recognised for her educational leadership and was awarded an ACEL Leadership Award in 2022. 

Rhonda Kaidbay

Branch Executive Member

Rhonda is a passionate education leader with extensive experience in leading and managing quality teaching across different curriculum areas and stage groups. Rhonda started her teaching career in 2001 in South West Sydney. Since then she has worked in an American International School in Abu Dhabi teaching the International Baccalaureate curriculum. She returned to Sydney and the NSW Department of Education (DoE) to become a quality teaching and literacy consultant for the Northern Sydney Region. Rhonda has also worked with NESA's assessment branch and the well-being team with the NSW DoE. She was an active member in Project Zero Australia’s steering committee and is passionate about quality teaching and learning and best pedagogical practices. Rhonda is currently a Deputy Principal at Auburn Girls High School.

Kirsten Macaulay

Branch Executive Member

Dr Kirsten Macaulay is the Deputy Head (Quality Teaching K - 12) at St Andrew’s Cathedral School. Her professional interests are both encouraging teacher efficacy and excellence in teaching.

As the Deputy Head, Kirsten leads her team to develop professional learning based on evidence and best practice informed through current research. She also mentors, supervises, and supports teachers to professionally build their capacity through all Accreditation processes and is passionate about connecting educators to learn and grow professionally.

Kirsten’s educational research won the Beth Southwell Award for “Most Outstanding Education Research thesis” (NSW Institute of Educational Research); her teaching excellence has been recognized with awards such as “Dr Paul Brock Medal” from the Australian College of Educators (ACE, NSW) and the “Outstanding Professional Service Award” from the Australian Society of Music Educators (ASME, NSW). Before her current role, Kirsten has 25+ years of experience as an Educational Leader, Head of Department, and teacher.

Larissa Maraga

Branch Executive Member

As the proud Principal of Quakers Hill East Public School, Larissa Maraga is passionate about making a positive difference in students' learning and life outcomes. She has extensive teaching and leadership experience working in public schools as a classroom teacher and in varying school leadership roles. Focused on providing educational opportunities for every student to flourish, Larissa models a personal commitment to ongoing learning. Her passion and belief in the importance of interpersonal leadership skills culminated in her final research paper for her Masters of Educational Leadership. Larissa supports, develops, and strengthens educational leadership capabilities by bringing depth and perspective to developing professional learning opportunities for early career principals and middle leaders. She draws upon best practices, nationally and internationally, through professional collaboration, experience, and the ability to enact her professional responsibilities as a system leader within the NSW Department of Education.

Brenda Quayle

Branch Executive Member

A member of ACEL since 2003, Brenda has been an educational leader in the NSW Department of Education system, serving students across a range of public secondary schools in Western Sydney. Experienced at all levels of school leadership, she has held executive positions with the NSW DP Association and ACEL NSW. She had collaborated on reference groups for the NSW Secondary Principal’s Council, NESA NSW, NOII NSW (Network of Innovation and Inquiry) and the Prevention Education Research Unit (PERU - Western Sydney Health). In 2019, Brenda was awarded an ACEL NSW Fellowship as recognition for the contribution she made as a member of the NSW ACEL Branch. Now an Expert Facilitator for Real Schools, she works with schools across all sectors and states to develop school cultures that embrace restorative practices, working in partnership with schools to develop a culture of collective responsibility to support all students in all contexts. Brenda has a long history of designing and facilitating professional learning opportunities, influencing the development of staff capacity and inspiring colleagues across all stages of their career. Her approach to collaborative professional practice has seen significant shifts in school cultures leading to improved relational strategies and high impact professional learning that directly enhances student engagement and learning outcomes. Recognising that this is a significant time in education, Brenda is deeply committed to every opportunity that allows her to inspire leaders and to illuminate the voice of the profession by contributing to dynamic networks who recognise and empower educational leaders.