Antonia Yeung is an engagement professional certified in environmental, social and governance planning, behavioural analysis, NLP, career coaching, and mediation, and a trainer for programmes in personal growth and team collaboration.

With over 20 years of experience in higher education and non-profit sector, Antonia is passionate about driving student growth, institutional advancement, and stakeholder engagement. She was Director of Alumni Relations at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and City University of Hong Kong. Her current role promotes user experience through campus development and service design, with a specific focus on environmental and operational sustainability.

Antonia is a CASE Laureate and has served CASE in various roles including Chair of the inaugural APAC Alumni Relations Institute (2011), Commissioner for Alumni Relations (2011-14), Co-Chair of the alumni relations track at CASE Asia-Pacific Advancement Conference (2018) and Co-Chair of the CASE Asia-Pacific Advancement Conference 2023.  She is currently a member of the CASE Council for Asia-Pacific.

Mark Bentley manages the advancement function at University of Auckland, a global role that acts as the organisation’s “Chief Development Officer” as well as reconnecting alumni to their alma mater. In 2019, Mark’s team concluded the university’s award-winning campaign, For All Our Futures, which raised $380 million, making it the largest fundraising campaign in New Zealand’s history.

Mark's career started in the United Kingdom in marketing roles in television sport and construction before he "found" education and the philanthropic sector. For the last 28 years he has worked in leadership roles in communications, fundraising, grant-making, and alumni relations, including stints at Manchester Business School, the University of Auckland Business School, and as inaugural Chief Executive Officer of Auckland Foundation. At a governance level, he has supported initiatives to link supportive businesses with schools in deprived areas, as well as being a director for Outward Bound Trust of New Zealand for eight years.

Rob Blandford trained as a linguist and began his career as an interpreter and translator with IBM in the 90s in Manchester, U.K.

From 2005, he taught English in Japan for two years, before moving to Australia and joining The University of Western Australia (UWA) as a casual English teacher. Rob subsequently joined the university’s Faculty of Engineering, where he worked in student administration, student support, and marketing/events.

In 2014, Rob joined UWA’s alumni relations team, which he describes as “like seeing what every role he’d ever done previously had prepared him for”.

Rob moved to Hobart, Tasmania, in mid-2021 to take up a role as Associate Director, Alumni Relations at University of Tasmania. He is passionate about engaging alumni with their university in ways which deeply benefit current and future students. He believes that all the best ways to engage people are those which improve others’ lives.

Sue Birch is an experienced advancement services professional, having worked in this field for almost 15 years as both a practitioner and a consultant. As a practitioner, she worked with leading Australian universities, including Monash University, The University of Sydney, RMIT University, and The University of Queensland, from 2008 to 2018. Sue now has her consultancy practice, specialising in advancement services and fundraising operations, working with universities, schools, medical research institutes, and other not-profit organisations to help them achieve their ambitions for philanthropy.

Sue holds a Graduate Certificate in business (philanthropy and nonprofit studies) from Queensland University of Technology and a master's degree in technology (information technology) from RMIT University. She is based in Brisbane, Australia.

With a personal vision to make a real impact in helping to achieve a world of equality Ziqiao Chen’s advancement journey began in 2018 as a CASE Graduate Trainee. Following the conclusion of his Graduate year, Chen was appointed as Monash’s first dedicated internationally focused fundraiser in 2019, delivering the design and implementation of the university's fundraising strategy for Asia.

Chen successfully led the launched of a series of philanthropic initiatives in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Notably, he raised over 7 figures annually amid the global pandemic in these markets since 2020.

His work has culminated in the creation of Monash's flagship philanthropic program in Asia - The Asia Equity Scholarship program, which has been featured in The Standard & The Sing Tao Daily - Hong Kong's most circulated newspapers, as well as winning the CASE Circle of Excellence 2022 - Best of Asia-Pacific Awards.

Rebecca Hazell is a highly motivated advancement leader who is passionate about philanthropy, alumni and community engagement, with particular interest in building a philanthropic culture in higher education and connectivity with community.

Rebecca has held leadership roles at Western Sydney University and Queensland University of Technology. In 2010, Rebecca established a fundraising consultancy called Giving Capacity and shared her experience and knowledge with a broader range of non-profit and education-based organisations, including consulting on an award winning capital campaign.

Rebecca is currently the Director of Advancement at the University of Newcastle where she joined in 2013. Rebecca has led the establishment of an integrated University wide approach to advancement bringing together fundraising, alumni and community engagement programs into one office as well as further developing the strategy, culture and programs to enable a sustained, meaningful and next practice approach to engaging with alumni, community and donors across the globe.

Soha Hmaidan is currently the Chief Advancement Officer at King’s Academy, a day and boarding independent school for grades 7-12 in Jordan. In her role, Hmaidan is responsible for leading fundraising efforts, advancement services, alumni relations, and parent engagement to help King’s Academy successfully launch its campaign in support of the school’s strategic priorities and to ensure financial sustainability.

Prior to King’s, Soha was Associate Vice President for Advancement Services and University Events at American University of Beirut (AUB), a position she last held for over 22 years. With a diversified experience in higher education and independent boarding schools, Soha brings best practices in advancement strategies and operations, international fundraising, and campaign planning and execution, in addition to good prospect research and donor relations, bridging different cultures of advancement, between west and east, and the United States and the Middle East.

Soha holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from AUB and is a certified professional in human resources and compensation.

Nuzhat Kamran leads advancement at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan’s premier, private university. An accomplished professional with over 25 years of experience in higher education management, Nuzhat has strategic and operational oversight of marketing and communications, alumni relations, and development. She has innovated several philanthropic programmes with multiple donors–foundations, corporates, and alumni–besides building her advancement team into an effective and high-performing team. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion and a founding team member of the CASE Platinum award-winning programme, the National Outreach Programme: Changing Destinies, which attracts talented students from low-income backgrounds nationwide.

Nuzhat holds master's degrees in business administration and in science (applied psychology) from LUMS and the University of Punjab respectively. She has also completed the Management Development Program at Harvard Graduate School of Education and consults for The World Bank.

Yvonne Li leads global engagement and manages partnership programmes at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). She works closely with the university's leadership to formulate international strategies and develop institutional networks.

Yvonne was formerly Head of Alumni Development at HKUST School of Business and Management, responsible for driving alumni engagement and developing corporate partnerships and global alumni network. Prior to joining HKUST, Yvonne led external relations and marketing communications at the medical faculty at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) covering stakeholder engagement, endowments, knowledge transfer, and community projects. She was also a part-time teaching consultant for public administration courses at HKU.

Yvonne holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from HKU and a master’s degree in international relations from The University of Warwick, U.K. 

Daniel Martin is the Director of Foundation at St Aloysius’ College, a Catholic boys independent school based in Milsons Point, New South Wales in Australia. He serves on the college’s leadership team, and as Executive Officer for the St Aloysius’ College Foundation.

Daniel has over 20 years of experience working for leading health-related charities, universities, and schools, and previously held senior leadership positions at UNSW Sydney (medicine and science faculties) and The University of Sydney (medicine and nursing facilities) , where he contributed over six years towards the $1 billion INSPIRED philanthropic campaign. Daniel volunteers for a range of non-profit committees and associations.

Anirudh Sharma is a strategic communications and marketing professional with over 20 years of experience in Singapore, the Middle East, and India. Currently, he leads communications for Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore’s flagship graduate-entry medical school. Since he joined in 2018, the Duke-NUS share of voice in media has risen exponentially, and the team has produced many award-winning publications and content, including the prestigious CASE Circle of Excellence Awards–Gold for a scientific story.

Prior to joining Duke-NUS, Anirudh led public and international relations for Qatar’s telecommunications regulatory authority, establishing the department as well as developing comprehensive national policies, guidelines, and strategies to enhance engagement with telecom users. Before that, he worked with Singapore Workforce Development Agency, Sentosa, and other non-profit organisations. Sharma started his communications journey as a journalist.

Passionate about growing a philanthropic culture and seeding changemakers, Yap Su-Yin joined Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2021 as Executive Director, Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving. She spearheaded a successful engagement cum annual fundraising campaign that galvanised alumni, faculty and staff, and students at the height of the pandemic, to remain engaged with the university and reconnect with one another by participating in its first Service Week, virtual Fundraising Run, and inaugural Giving Day. She supports sustained efforts that foster impactful engagement with students, alumni, donors, and communities. She feels privileged at the opportunity to co-create enduring relationships between NTU and its alumni.

Su-Yin previously served as Chief Executive Officer for a philanthropic foundation with a portfolio that included educational institutions and more than 200 non-profit organisations in Singapore and the ASEAN region. For leisure, she enjoys travel and trekking.

Daniel Martin is the Director of Foundation at St Aloysius’ College, a Catholic boys independent school based in Milsons Point, New South Wales in Australia. He serves on the college’s leadership team, and as Executive Officer for the St Aloysius’ College Foundation.

Daniel has over 20 years of experience working for leading health-related charities, universities, and schools, and previously held senior leadership positions at UNSW Sydney (medicine and science faculties) and The University of Sydney (medicine and nursing facilities) , where he contributed over six years towards the $1 billion INSPIRED philanthropic campaign. Daniel volunteers for a range of non-profit committees and associations.

Kate Barnett joined Melbourne Grammar School in 2021 as the Director of Community Relations, overseeing the school’s alumni and community engagement, student recruitment, philanthropy, communications and outreach. With qualifications in languages, law, and communication as well as extensive experience in leading philanthropic and stakeholder engagement across the education and health sectors, Kate brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to this key portfolio.  

Kate previously served as the SVI Foundation CEO, leading the fundraising and donor relations team at St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research. She had the privilege of working with incredible friends of SVI to ensure the scientists were supported as much as possible to focus on progress towards a better future. 

She has two teenage children, enjoys politics, hiking and travel, and volunteers on the board of Mary Mackillop Today.  

Abhra joined Tanglin Trust School, Singapore, in November 2022, from Scotch College Adelaide, where he helped build a culture of philanthropy and led the DARE Centenary Campaign. In his 10 years at Scotch, he served as the College’s chief fundraiser and as the Executive Officer of the Scotch College Foundation. In 2022, the DARE campaign was recognised by EducatePlus as the joint winner in the category of Capital Campaigns / Major Gifts, in Australia and New Zealand.  

 Before that, Abhra was the Director of Advancement at Woodstock School in India, one of Asia’s oldest residential schools. He has also led country and regional communications teams for global technology companies in India and Singapore. Abhra volunteers extensively and has served on the boards of several non-profits, churches, and independent schools.  

Born in India, and having lived in Kenya, India, and Australia, Abhra currently lives in Singapore with his wife Sandra, and their three children.  

Sitting on the School Executive and leading the Advancement team, Halina focuses on capital campaigns aligned with the school’s strategy and masterplan. As an international fundraiser with over 16 years’ experience in educational fundraising, Halina is leading the largest philanthropic campaign in Christ Church Grammar School’s 112-year history. PERFORM is a $40M project with a $20M philanthropic campaign. Supported by a stellar campaign committee and forward-thinking donors, the school is putting a stake in the ground by placing a value on the creative and performance arts. Halina is committed to securing the future for generations to enjoy.

Previously, Halina worked at The University of Western Australia for 9 years where she secured the endowed Chair in Cardiovascular research, the EZONE engineering building capital campaign, scholarships, and corporate partnerships. In 2013 she emigrated from London to work on UWA’s $430M New Century Campaign.

Elissa leads the philanthropy program at Geelong Grammar School as Head of Advancement and Executive Director of the Geelong Grammar Foundation.

She has spent her career before this in University Advancement and the charitable sector, with experience in philanthropy, alumni engagement and advancement operations. Elissa relocated from Sydney in 2016 to join the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne, following roles with Western Sydney University and the University of Wollongong.

Newly relocated to Hong Kong, Jane is currently leading Advancement for the Chinese International School, (CIS), as it envisages the future of the school in the current context as it approaches its 50th anniversary in 2033.  

Previously based in California, Jane was Senior Vice President for Graham Pelton Consulting, a leading global philanthropic consulting company, heading up the business development and consulting team on the West Coast.  

Jane equally provided strategic counsel to international schools in Paris and Barcelona, where she was Director of Development. Prior to that, Jane had experience working across different sectors, leading charitable organisations in Paraguay and Nicaragua as well as working with the Symphony Orchestra in Chicago.  

Fluent in Spanish and French, Jane has given talks on fundraising in various institutions in the U.S., France, Spain, and Latin America. She has served on the ECIS Development committee as well as the CASE Planning Committee and has spoken at numerous conferences in the U.S. and around Europe. Jane serves on multiple boards including the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals based in San Francisco.  

Jane holds an MBA from the University of Wales.  

Antonia (Toni) Swindells is an alumni relations professional with extensive experience engaging with alumni communities, creating lasting relationships and creating effective programmes of events and alumni communications with measurable impact. 

  Toni is currently the Alumnae Relations Manager at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, and works closely with the Old Girls Association to create innovative opportunities for past students and the wider community, to re-engage, and re-connect with each other and their school. Previous roles include Community Relations and Events Manager, and prior to moving to the education sector, Toni has fourteen years’ experience working in management and event roles with Flight Centre.  

Sue Birch is an experienced advancement services professional, having worked in this field for almost 15 years as both a practitioner and a consultant. As a practitioner, she worked with leading Australian universities, including Monash University, The University of Sydney, RMIT University, and The University of Queensland, from 2008 to 2018. Sue now has her consultancy practice, specialising in advancement services and fundraising operations, working with universities, schools, medical research institutes, and other not-profit organisations to help them achieve their ambitions for philanthropy.

Sue holds a Graduate Certificate in business (philanthropy and nonprofit studies) from Queensland University of Technology and a master's degree in technology (information technology) from RMIT University. She is based in Brisbane, Australia.

Jennifer Karlson joined UQ in 2017 to lead the University’s first comprehensive philanthropic campaign: Not if When—the Campaign to Create Change. The $500 million campaign was launched to inspire UQ’s 300,000+ global alumni community to create change by accelerating opportunity through philanthropy. One in three UQ alumni engaged with the University throughout the campaign, which closed at the end of 2020 with over $607 million in donations.

Karlson is the advisor to the Vice-Chancellor on strategy, external engagement and change management related to institutional advancement and sits on the UQ Endowment Fund Board. Her career history spans the US, West Africa and Asia Pacific, including roles with the American Red Cross and the YMCA. Prior to UQ, she served as the Assistant Dean, Advancement for the College of Letters & Science and Senior director of Development & Strategy Manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison – America’s top Producer of Fortune 500 CEO’s.

Committed to growing a culture of philanthropy in Australia, in April 2019 Karlson chaired the CASE Asia-Pacific Advancement Conference in Australia – the first in country for the world’s leading conference for professionals in advancement.

In 2020, Karlson led an ambitious fundraising campaign to accelerate the development and manufacturing of a promising UQ vaccine candidate for COVID-19. The effort attracted $10 million in support from over 2600 donors in under four months and was recognised with a Universities Australia Award for Best Fundraising or Engagement Campaign. In 2020, she also received a UQ Excellence Award for Leadership for her contributions to philanthropy and the University.

Ken Gideon is the Director (Alumni) at the University of Southern Queensland.  He has been working in higher education for more than 30 years, both in the USA and Australia.  He is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of AUAPG (Australian Universities Alumni Professionals Group).  He has co-chaired both the APAC Alumni Relations and Road Map to Advancement tracks on multiple occasions and is a CASE Fellow.  He has given more than 20 presentations about Alumni Relations across the sector at many national and international conferences.  Previously, he was also the Alumni Manager at the Queensland University of Technology and he was the founding Alumni Manager at the University of Queensland School of Medicine.  He has been a CASE volunteer for more than a decade and is thrilled to be Co-Chair of the 2024 CASE APAC Conference.

Simone Garske is the CEO of Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) Foundation.

With expertise in major philanthropic campaign strategy and execution, and delivering impact in medical research and donor relations, Garske has been instrumental in leading RBWH Foundation through the most significant transformation in its 35-year history.

Garske is a Certified Fundraising Executive. She has served as director on the Asia-Pacific Board of the Council for Advancement & Support of Education and has a bachelor’s degree in business (communication) and a master’s degree in business administration from QUT.

Garske is inspired about truly excellent health research and advancement through partnerships and philanthropy.