Speakers

General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove retired from the Army in 2005. Four years earlier, he had been Australian of the Year: “In every respect Peter Cosgrove demonstrated that he is a role model. The man at the top displayed those characteristics we value most as Australians – strength, determination, intelligence, compassion and humour.”

The son of a soldier, he attended Waverley College in Sydney and later graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1968. He was sent to Malaysia as a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. During his next infantry posting in Vietnam he commanded a rifle platoon and was awarded the Military Cross for his performance and leadership during an assault on enemy positions.

In 1972 he served a year as ADC to HE the Governor General and then returned to regimental life as a Company second in command, then Adjutant and then as a Company Commander in 5 RAR and then 5/7 RAR in Holsworthy Sydney. After that came a spell as an instructor at the Army’s Infantry Centre in Singleton, NSW.

Then it was off to the USA for year with the US Marines but now with a young wife, Lynne and their first-born, Stephen.

The next twenty years saw the family grow to three sons and a wide variety of defence force postings, including extended duty in the UK and India. During this period he commanded the Army’s 1st Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, receiving the AM for his time in command in 1983/4. He was honoured to be invested with this award by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 1985, during a period of service in the UK as the Australian Army’s exchange instructor at the British Army’s Command and Staff College Camberley. Later he commanded an infantry brigade and attended the Indian National Defence College in New Delhi
In 1999 Peter Cosgrove became a national figure following his appointment as Commander of the International Force East Timor (INTERFET). He was responsible for overseeing East Timor’s transition to independence during, what was to become, a tense and uncertain period. The International Force rapidly and decisively restored law and order and handed over to another UN force early in 2000. For his leadership of INTERFET he was subsequently advanced to the rank of Companion in the military division of the Order of Australia, and was invested by Her Majesty the Queen at Yarralumla during her visit to Australia early in 2000.

He was soon promoted and made Chief of the Army. He went on to be promoted again to General and was appointed Chief of the Defence Force. Peter Cosgrove retired from the Army in July 2005. Subsequently, he accepted positions on numerous boards, including QANTAS, Cardno and the Australian Rugby Union. He was appointed by the Queensland Government to lead the taskforce rebuilding communities in the Innisfail region following the devastation caused by Cyclone Larry in 2006. From 2007 to 2012, he chaired the Council of the Australian War Memorial, and served as Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University from 2010 until early 2014. General Sir Peter Cosgrove gave the Boyer Lectures series, “A Very Australian Conversation” in 2009. His best selling autobiography “My Story” was published in 2006. He was named Australian of the Year in 2001.

On 25 March 2014, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that General Cosgrove would become a Knight in the Order of Australia when sworn in as Governor General. His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd) was sworn in as Australia’s 26th Governor General and he served in that role until June 2019.

In August 2019 Sir Peter was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order by Her Majesty the Queen.

In January 2020 Sir Peter accepted the voluntary role as chairman of the Business Council of Australia’s Community Rebuilding Initiative in response to the 2019/20 bushfires, leading a group of eminent business and community leaders to work with government community in the rebuilding process.

Sir Peter is an avid sports follower with particular emphasis on Rugby and Cricket. He is the husband to Lynne and they have three sons and three grandchildren.

Gert Biesta is Professor of Public Education, Maynooth University, Ireland and Professor for Educational Theory and Pedagogy, University of Edinburgh. Professor Biesta’s presentation will address some of the big questions for those who lead education. What is a good education? What should really matter in education? What should be the place of the school in society? Professor Biesta has written extensively on the philosophy of education and educational policy with a particular focus on teaching, teachers and curriculum.

Jenny Gore is a Laureate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Newcastle. Jenny's sustained program of research on Quality Teaching, a pedagogical model, and Quality Teaching Rounds, an innovative approach to teacher professional development, has had significant evidence based impact on student outcomes in government, Catholic and independent schools throughout Australia. Quality Teaching Rounds is an evidence based model that enables teachers to draw on their own strengths and the advice of peers to find creative ways of improving their practice. The DET has this year approved a QTR pilot in Victorian government schools.

Roger began teaching in 1980. Working initially in the Technical School division he was heavily involved in leadership roles in wellbeing and professional development. He developed an interest and involvement in integrated curriculum and gifted education early in his career, and has been involved in the design and planning of several new schools. Roger is the foundation principal of Nossal High School, the first purpose built coeducational government selective entry school in Victoria. He was responsible for the physical design of the school buildings and teaching spaces; the appointment of all staff; and the development of an ICT rich 21st century curriculum for high performing students

Sandra Milligan is Director of the Assessment Research Centre at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. Sandra has an unusually wide engagement with the education industry and in educational research. Originally a teacher of science and mathematics, she is also a former Director of Curriculum in an Australian state education department and has held senior research, management and governance positions in a range of educational organisations, including government agencies, not-for-profits, small start-up businesses and large, listed, international corporations.

Sandra’s current research interests focus on assessment, recognition and warranting of hard-to-assess learning. She directs several research partnerships with school networks and organisations working to develop Learner Profiles for their students. She is lead author of ‘Future Proofing Australian Students with New Credentials’ report, outlining methods to reliably assess and recognise the level of attainment of general capabilities, and of Recognition of Learning Success for All: Ensuring Trust and Utility in a New approach to Recognition of Learning in Senior Secondary Education in Australia.

Almost universally, Australian school leaders agree that the culture of their school matters. And yet, when asked to define it, the answers are often diverse and vague. It positions school leaders in the company of an inconvenient question - “How can work on our school’s culture if we aren’t even sure what it actually is?” In this presentation, Adam will call upon his years as a principal to assist us to establish a clearer definition of school culture, to adopt methodologies that foster culture and to see more clearly our own personal influence within that culture. A strong, relational and productive culture is the key to your people and your programs thriving. We stand at the edge of the next frontier of school improvement and Adam will be ensuring that our first steps are taken together.

Yamini Naidu’s purpose is to partner with business leaders to create & sustain positive impact and achieve results, in a way that leaves them, the people who work with them and the world a better place. Yamini believes every leader has been given a gift. The gift is the daily opportunity to impact and inspire team members, clients, customers, and stakeholders in their world.

Yamini has co–authored three books; Hooked: How leaders connect, engage and inspire through storytelling, Triple your presentation success and Eliminate Death by PowerPoint and she shares her communication insights in a fortnightly blog.

Yamini has held senior leadership roles and has extensive corporate experience working in a range of industry sectors including financial services, retail, not for profit, government, e commerce, pharmaceuticals, and professional services with senior industry leaders, key stakeholders and company boards.

Caroline Milburn is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Ourschool, a not-for-profit service devoted solely to helping public high schools build strong alumni networks to benefit students and their school communities. Under Caroline’s leadership, Ourschool transformed from its origins as a small pilot program in 2017 incubated by VASSP, to an independent entity currently providing a service to 24 partner schools in Victoria.

Caroline is a former state secondary school teacher and a former journalist with The Age newspaper. Caroline believes state high schools deserve to have professionally-run alumni programs that create supportive alumni networks.

Paul Broecker is an Assistant Principal at Hampton Park Secondary College, located in Melbourne’s south east. Paul is passionate about making a difference to the lives of our most vulnerable and marginalized young people, having taught in disadvantage communities for 12 years. Paul was one of the original school leaders to join Ourschool and has implemented the program in two large secondary schools. He has a strong understanding of how to build an alumni program from the ground up and can attest to benefits that flow from unlocking the power of alumni.

Caroline and Paul will present on ‘Empowering schools to deliver cultural change and lift aspirations via a coherent alumni program’.
The Ourschool alumni program was founded in 2017. In this workshop, Caroline Milburn and Paul Broecker, Assistant Principal at Hampton Park Secondary College, which joined the program last year, deliver a frank appraisal of the challenges and lessons they’ve learned from starting an alumni program from scratch in a school. Paul’s former school, Fountain Gate Secondary College, was in Ourschool’s pilot and continues to grow it’s alumni program.

Andrew Douch is a teacher and independent education consultant with 22 years’ classroom experience. He helps teachers amplify their impact on student learning by inspiring new thinking about teaching effectively in a technology rich world.

His essential message is that in a rapidly changing social and economic landscape, as technology becomes ever more plentiful, user-friendly and affordable, it is leveraged most powerfully, not by the most technologically capable teachers but by those most willing to look with fresh eyes at their pedagogy.

In this down-to-earth workshop, Andrew will explain and demonstrate tips, tricks and tools he and other professional presenters use, that make presentations more seamless, compelling and memorable.

No matter your current presentation skill level, you are sure to pick up some ideas and insights that will guarantee your next presentation is more effective than your last.

Kylie Lewis is an executive coach and a certified Dare to LeadTM Facilitator. Dare to LeadTM is a formal leadership program derived from Brené Brown’s best-selling book of the same name. In this presentation, Kylie will introduce the four skill sets demonstrated by courageous leaders. Kylie holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) (Psychology & Sociology), Masters in eBusiness and Communication and is a certified Executive Coach (IECL) and Wellness Coach (Wellness Coaching Australia).