Rami Abi Jomaa is an advancement professional with 14 years of experience in supporting education.  

As the former Chief Advancement Officer at King’s Academy, Jordan, Abi Jooma led the advancement office's fundraising, alumni relations, advancement services, events, and communications functions, as well as managed a multi-year capital campaign. Prior to King’s Academy, Abi Jooma was the Director of Advancement Services at American University of Beirut, where he led several advancement functions. Abi Jomaa has successfully completed complex projects related to building advancement systems, structures, processes, and capital campaigns infrastructure. He is experienced in annual giving, technology management, human resources, and business processes development.  
 
Abi Jomaa holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and information systems and a master’s degree in sociology.

Dina Abulfotuh serves as vice president for marketing communication and public affairs at the American University in Cairo (AUC), a leading English-language liberal arts university in the Middle East. Working with a diverse and multi-talented team, Abulfotuh is responsible for the design and execution of the university’s global positioning, community outreach, branding, as well as internal and external communications. Her experience includes overseeing the university’s centennial celebration, advancement, crisis communications and its coronavirus response taskforce. Abulfotuh was a Fulbright scholar to Egypt and earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from Arizona State University and master’s degree in business administration from AUC.

Angeline Ang has served as a mentor in the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Mentorship Programme for more than 10 years. She was a member of the inaugural Alumni Advisory Board of NUS and was awarded NUS Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 2009.  

Ang majored in philosophy and Chinese studies in NUS, and did her master’s degree in public management at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS, and Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 

Ang is deputy director (international partnerships) at Ministry of Law in Singapore. She also worked in the ministries of National Development; Culture, Community and Youth; and Health. She was also a council member of Public Transport Council and the National Youth Council, and a member of National Youth Mentoring Steering Committee and Singapore Youth Olympic Games Community Engagement Taskforce.

Yasmeen Ashraf is the Communication and Development Manager at King George V School (KGV), under the English Schools Foundation (ESF) system, established in 1894. She is a veteran in developing alumni relations, communications, and fundraising. Her expertise is in building and strengthening relationships for the school. Ashraf values every connection she makes, devoting herself to advancement in education.

Ashraf dedicates her efforts to connecting and engaging alumni in meaningful projects that enhance the learning experience at KGV. Being grateful for the education she received at her alma mater, she returned to serve the community seven years ago. Her aim is for graduates to pursue their dreams while never forgetting where they started.

Ashraf connects alumni to the school to enhance their career guidance, mentor students, support sponsorships, and fundraise for school events. Her strategy is built on the recognition that relationship-building and storytelling, undertaken by the development team, is the presentation of the school’s values and mission that connect the community to the school.

Ashraf is an active member of the ESF communication and alumni office, serving a diverse demographic of alumni in Hong Kong and worldwide.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in crime and deviance, history, and sociology. Before returning to Hong Kong, Ashraf worked in Toronto, Lisbon, Hanover, and Karachi.

John Batistich is the owner and director at Potentiality with over 20 years of experience working in online communities, alumni, fundraising databases, and digital engagement strategies. He founded Potentiality in 1998 to meet the needs of the global education market by providing the first all-in-one community management and zero input fundraising platform. 

Batistich’s innovative and forward-thinking approach to community engagement has enabled Potentiality to create the most powerful fundraising platform available, where member engagement data is automatically collected and profiled to provide valuable insights into community engagement and donor prospecting.

Batistich is also an international expert and has spoken on engagement and fundraising strategies in the education sector all around the world. He is passionate about continuous innovation and development aimed at delivering maximum value to clients. 

Sarah Benjamin is a licensed practitioner of the Vanguard Method, which she has been working with since 2003.

British-born, and from a human resources and marketing background, Benjamin discovered the work of Professor John Seddon, founder of Vanguard Consulting Ltd, having become increasingly frustrated with the conventional, sub-optimal organisational environment she was in and seeking an alternative.

This created a passion to help organisations understand themselves from a different point of view - challenging organisational norms, transforming service delivery, improving efficiency, and increasing morale.

Benjamin has worked extensively with progressive leaders in the private and public sector across the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia.

John Bird has been with the alumni relations and development team for almost four years and has helped develop a data-informed culture within the department, supported by his team of prospect research and advancement services staff and by the implementation of new systems and modelling techniques. 

Prior to moving to Auckland, Bird spent almost 20 years working as a supplier of fundraising CRM databases to the non-profit sector in the United Kingdom. Starting as a database developer and moving through project management roles, his final job was managing director of Blackbaud Europe and everydayhero.

Bird’s experience gives him an appreciation of what technology can and – importantly – can’t do, alongside what fundraisers and alumni relations staff really need from that technology.

With a career in relationship management, communications, and events across various industries, Kate Birrell moved into education advancement eight years ago and hasn’t looked back since. She is passionate about creating a strong sense of belonging within the community, delivering a programme that benefits all members and the school, and sharing the vast array of life stories within the community. In 2020, Birrell successfully shifted the Society’s offering online engaging and supporting the many different demographics of her community with a host of new initiatives.

Ricky Cheng, executive vice president of United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, has responsibilities for development but also gives special attention to the organisation’s strategic planning and future directions.

Prior to joining the United Board, Cheng was the founding director who established the Office of Institutional Advancement at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2003. His responsibility at CUHK covered all areas of advancement. He also has more than 20 years of professional and business experience in the private sector. Cheng is a keen volunteer of CASE and currently serves as the vice chair of CASE Council for Asia-Pacific. He has chaired the CASE Asia-Pacific Advancement Conference twice and has spoken at many conferences.

Valerie Chow is a versatile 360 marketer with integrated marketing experience in both digital and offline platforms. She has over 16 years of marketing experience in the retail consumer industry and pivoted to the insurance industry to deepen her digital marketing skills. 

Chow’s growth mindset enables her to adapt to changes and work in an agile way. She started her career in merchandising, evolving to branding and marketing – showcasing her ability to upskill.

She majored in economics and statistics and has actively been volunteering with the National University of Singapore (NUS) Economics Alumni since 2010. She is the current president of NUS Economics Alumni and has been actively mentoring undergraduates and early career alumni in the last 10 years.

Sinéad Collins began her career as a performing musician and teacher in London and Ireland before working for the Irish Arts Council, building audiences and philanthropic support for live music performances all over Ireland. 

In 2003, she moved to China, where she worked in cross-cultural communications, supporting senior business professionals in making the transition to multi-cultural working environments.
 
Subsequently, Collins led strategic marketing and communications at UWC South East Asia, before being appointed as director of engagement and external relations, overseeing a fully integrated advancement team of 45 professionals, incorporating marketing, admissions, communications, fundraising, and alumni relations. 
 
She is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and the Institute of Education, University of London. 

Mikaeli Costello leads the alumni relations and engagement portfolio at The University of Queensland (UQ), overseeing alumni marketing and communications, programming and events, as well as UQ's annual fund and donor relations. Previous to this, Costello held a fundraising role at UQ's Queensland Brain Institute.

In addition to her roles at UQ, Costello has worked extensively in marketing, communications (internal and external), fundraising, and stakeholder engagement, within the public and private sectors nationally and internationally, including WorldSkills International, Dusseldorp Forum, and the United Kingdom Government.

Rachael Dalton will soon enjoy her eight-year work anniversary at The University of Melbourne, where she held IT business relationship roles before joining the advancement team two and a half years ago as the deputy director of operations. Her favourite part of her workday is joining people together to solve shared problems and coaching her team so that they can achieve their goals.  

Prior to joining the higher education sector, Dalton spent five years in medical research, and seven years prior in IT consulting. She holds bachelor’s degrees in computing and business (majoring in accounting), but please don't ask her to write code or do your tax return!

Professor Cheryl de la Rey has been the vice-chancellor of University of Canterbury since February 2019.
 
Prior to moving to New Zealand, Professor de la Rey was vice-chancellor and principal of South Africa’s largest research university, University of Pretoria. She has 18 years of experience as an executive in higher education.
 
After an academic career in South Africa’s university sector, she took up her first executive role as executive director of the National Research Foundation. Later, she was appointed deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town and was CEO of the Council on Higher Education.

Jo Dowling was born in the United Kingdom and after what felt like a long career in marketing communications for IT companies, she joined Children 1st in Scotland in 2003 as its individual giving manager and found her calling. Since then, she has held roles in charities, schools, and universities, and was named Scotland’s Institute of Fundraising ‘Fundraiser of the Year’ in 2010. In 2014, Dowling and her family moved to New Zealand, where she took up the role of director, alumni & fundraising, leading a team that nurtures relationships with 140,000 alumni and supporters across the University of Canterbury. Fundraising includes individual, major and planned giving, grants, corporate donations, and sponsorships.

Karen Foelz is the development manager (corporate) at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. In this role, she is responsible for leading QUT’s strategy to increase strategic corporate engagement and grow corporate philanthropic giving.  

Prior to her current role within the Advancement Office, Foelz worked in QUT Business School as development manager, looking after broader strategic engagement with industry partners to build mutually beneficial partnerships and sustained revenue growth for priority university projects. 

With a background in fundraising in the non-profit sector, Foelz has also grown strategic corporate partnerships for charities such as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Playgroup Children’s Foundation, and Special Olympics Australia.

The Vice-President (Advancement) leads the strategic direction for Advancement activities across the University, encompassing fundraising, alumni and stakeholder relations, and operations. The goals of ANU Advancement are to support University to achieve success against University strategic priorities, and build and strengthen partnerships with our alumni, donors and friends.

Alex Furman was appointed as Vice-President of Advancement in February 2023. A highly experienced leader of philanthropic and engagement programs, he previously held leadership roles in Advancement at the University of Melbourne as Director of Development, Head of Public Relations and Development for Murdoch Children's Research Institute, and leadership positions in fundraising and management in the Australian arts sector.

Goh Hong Yi has over 20 years of extensive experience as an occupational psychologist, consulting in a wide range of industries from start-ups to established organisations in both the public and private sectors. 

At the organisational level, Goh’s specialty is in cultural transformation, effectively linking people processes to business outcomes. At the individual level, he is a trusted advisor to executives who need to know how they are perceived and want to focus on what is most important in their professional and personal lives.

Janet Hall is senior development manager at UNSW Sydney. She established a future-giving programme for the university in 2015 and has built a healthy pipeline of prospects and donors using as many avenues as possible - including exclusive events, university events showcasing research and education programmes, intimate lunches and dinners, and electronic and hard copy direct mail appeals. Prior to this role, Hall worked as a campaign manager for UNSW Sydney. Previous roles include corporate relations manager for WWF Australia and fundraising manager for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Cecilia Handel is director of development at Tanglin Trust School (TTS), an international school in Singapore. The school has 2,800 students aged between 3 and 18 who are all based on one campus. TTS will celebrate its centenary in 2025. Handel leads the development team which focusses on community, corporate, and alumni relations. She also has responsibility for the Tanglin Trust School Foundation, which is funded philanthropically and delivers enrichment opportunities for the TTS Community. Handel holds a master’s degree in arts, post graduate certificate in education, and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Having spent the last nine years at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Liz Hardy has played a key role in the advancement unit, its development, growth, and successes.

In her current role, she supports the vice president advancement in all aspects of advancement and university activity. She leads the philanthropy teams in ensuring they are achieving their strategic objectives, financial and operational targets, whilst also managing and growing her own significant portfolio of donors.

Hardy has more than 20 years of strategic planning, fundraising, relationship management, marketing, communications, and business management experience, spanning the non-profit, corporate, and higher education sectors.

She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in dispute resolution.

Eeqbal Hassim is an education consultant specialising in intercultural education, international education, and the development of general capabilities. He holds the title of associate professor as an honorary principal fellow at Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne. Hassim has worked extensively with education providers, systems, and networks nationally and internationally, across a range of different curricula. He is a qualified administrator of Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)® and has collaborated with the Council of International Schools on a wide range of global learning, intercultural competence, and diversity, equity, and inclusion projects. He holds a bachelor’s degree in arts with first-class honours and a doctoral degree from The University of Melbourne.

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, Hmaidan 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, Hmaidan 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.

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

Rami Jaber is the manager of corporate relations at the Office of Advancement and Alumni Affairs at American University of Sharjah (AUS). For over 11 years, Jaber has been establishing and managing high impact collaborations and partnerships between the university and industry that serve advancement objectives and goals successfully. Jaber is also one of the most notable founders of the AUS Alumni Association that currently represents a network of over 16,000 graduates from 115 different countries.

Crickett Kasper joined CASE as Director of Schools in August 2023. Most recently Kasper served as the Chief Advancement Officer at Singapore American School (SAS) where she was responsible for leading a unified community engagement approach through the integration of parent relations, alumni relations, annual giving, and major giving. With more than 16 years of advancement experience, Kasper has hosted a variety of events to support school communities and non-profit organizations. Prior to joining SAS in July 2019, she led fundraising efforts at Shanghai American School as Director of Development and Alumni Relations for five years. Her background is in advancement in U.S. independent schools, universities, and non-profit radio.

Jocelyn Kelty set up Richmond Associates’ Australia office in 2010, when she returned home after working in the London office for two years. Since joining Richmond Associates, Kelty has worked with a wide variety of clients on both sides of the globe – from those at the pinnacle of the performing and visual arts sector in London, Sydney, and Melbourne, to others building significant fundraising teams for growing operations at King’s College London, The University of Melbourne, The Australian National University, The University of Queensland, and UNSW Sydney among many more. 

Kelty is also inspired by the challenge of helping smaller organisations establish fundraising and advancement operations in the health, broader non-profit, and independent schools sectors. She currently serves on the CASE Industry Advisory Council, enjoying the continued partnership between CASE and Richmond Associates.  

Parag Khanna is a leading global strategy advisor, world traveller, and best-selling author. He is the founder & managing partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario-based strategic advisory firm. Khanna's newest book is The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict & Culture in the 21st Century (2019). He is author of a trilogy of books on the future of world order beginning with The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (2008), followed by How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance (2011), and concluding with Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization (2016). He is also the author of Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State (2017) and co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012).

Khanna was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.” He holds a doctoral degree from the London School of Economics, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has travelled to nearly 150 countries and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. 

Polo Leung has been with the Development & Alumni Affairs Office at The University of Hong Kong since 2005 and currently manages a small advancement services team handling gift accounting and administration, as well as donor stewardship and communications. She also monitors the processes and integrity of a Constituent Relationship Management database that includes donors and alumni. She advises faculties on fundraising-related matters, such as how to ensure funds received comply with the university’s policies and procedures.

Prior to managing the advancement services team, Leung planned and marketed the Bricks Campaign, a fundraising initiative for the development of the university’s Centennial Campus.

As chief communications officer at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Ovidia Lim-Rajaram heads an award-winning team that works on NUS reputation management, including strategic communications, branding and communications, digital communications, special events and protocol, issues management as well as crisis communications. She works with a diverse campus community of 50,000 spread across 17 schools and 30 university-level research institutes in Singapore, and in NUS locations overseas. Lim-Rajaram is the press secretary to the university president and university spokesperson. In her earlier life, she was a newspaper reporter, broadcast journalist, and a media studies lecturer.

Lim-Rajaram graduated from NUS with a bachelor's degree in political science and history, and holds a master’s degree in international communication from Macquarie University.

Kathy Limmer, Ed.D. is a seasoned fundraising professional with experience in university and independent school advancement. At the university level, her work focussed on major gift fundraising during campaigns. At the independent school level, her leadership of Hockaday's US$100 million centennial celebration and campaign brought parent participation to 100%, notes the school's largest gift of US$20 million, and brought alumni giving to record levels. At Taipei American School, her work focusses on KA-12 communications, annual giving, and alumni engagement. Limmer has been a CASE volunteer for over a decade, and enjoys learning from and sharing with the CASE community.

David Livermore, Ph.D. is a thought leader in cultural intelligence (CQ) and global leadership and president and co-founder of the Cultural Intelligence Center (www.culturalq.com) in Michigan, United States of America. He is also a visiting research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Livermore has authored 11 award-winning books on global leadership and CQ, and has worked with multinational corporations, governments, and non-profit organisations in more than 100 countries. He speaks at several international conferences annually, addressing an average of 7,500 leaders over a year. He also serves on several non-profit boards. 

Nasci Lobo has worked in international education communications and marketing since 2010, starting at Canadian International School of Hong Kong (CDNIS). He began his current role at Yokohama International School (YIS) in 2017, where his department covers internal and external communications and alumni relations, and supports the communications and operations of advancement initiatives. Lobo specialises in social media and community engagement. He started CDNIS' social media programme and has expanded YIS' social footprint. Canadian by upbringing, he has spent 18 years in Japan and 10 years in Hong Kong.

Murray Lopdell-Lawrence was appointed bequests manager at University of Otago in 2019. Formerly director of planned giving for Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America, Lopdell-Lawrence has extensive advancement experience in tertiary education, private school education, and the performing arts. 

Prior to Princeton Seminary, Lopdell-Lawrence served as vice president for advancement at American Boychoir School, Princeton, New Jersey, and was head of school (principal) for four private schools in four different states in the United States of America. His arts administration background includes working for performing arts organisations such as Chamber Music New Zealand and San Francisco Opera Center. 

With his broad experience, Lopdell-Lawrence has successfully supervised a wide variety of advancement and development activities, specialising in planned giving and bequests.

Tara Loty is passionate about creating transformative and strategic engagement opportunities for universities and the government. She has over 10 years of experience in senior management roles at universities in Australia and the United States. She received the 2020 Australian Catholic University Vice-Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Medal and Award for Mission Excellence.

Loty has policy development expertise with both state and federal government, including the Department of Premier and Cabinet, New South Wales and the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Associate Professor Loy Hui Chieh received his bachelor’s degree (honours) in arts and master’s degree in philosophy from National University of Singapore (NUS), before going on to pursue his doctorate in philosophy at University of California, Berkeley. He has been a faculty member of the NUS philosophy department since 2006, and his research interest centres on early Chinese philosophy, though he sometimes teaches classes in Greek philosophy and other topics. He has been the vice dean of external relations and student life for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at NUS since 2016. In this capacity, he oversees the FASS mentorship programme.

Ruth Mackenzie has extensive experience in marketing and communications, including brand development, advertising, promotions, stakeholder engagement, and media relations. She has worked in a variety of industries in both the private and the public sectors, including 10 years at University of Otago and five years at Massey University (MU). Mackenzie has also worked in radio, event management, retail, and with two government agencies. Recently, as part of a Memorandum of Understanding between MU and Volunteer Service Abroad, she was able to spend a year working in Timor-Leste assisting in their programmes to support community policing, health and nutrition, and the rights of women. 

Mackenzie is grateful that her work experience has been so diverse and interesting.

Seiichi Matsuo has been president of Nagoya University since 2015, and is the founding chancellor of Tokai National Higher Education and Research System established in 2020. He began his career at Nagoya University School of Medicine as an instructor in 1986, and eventually became a professor at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine (2004-2015). He also served as vice president of Nagoya University (2009-2015) and as director of various Nagoya University affiliated institutes, such as Nagoya University Hospital (2007-2013), Center for Preventive Medical Engineering (2011-2015), Headquarters for Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration (2012-2015), and Institute of Innovation for Future Society (2014-2015).

Emily McCaffrey, Ph.D. moved into a fundraising career after working in various roles across academia, editing and publishing, and communications in both Australia and the United Kingdom. She started fundraising with CARE Australia, working in gifts in wills and trusts and foundations, before joining Monash University and then The University of Melbourne as a major donor fundraiser. She has returned to working in gifts in wills and estates at The University of Melbourne, where she enjoys listening to people’s stories and helping them curate their unique legacies. McCaffrey has a doctorate in French history from The University of Melbourne.

Tere McGonagle-Daly is a seasoned marketing and international strategist, with experience in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. McGonagle-Daly is currently the deputy vice-chancellor, students and global engagement at Massey University, and was previously pro-vice-chancellor, external relations at Solent University. McGonagle-Daly works with national and international agencies in marketing, student experience, public relations, and fundraising.

Joanne Nyland has 20 years of experience in higher education institutions in the United Kingdom and Australia. At Griffith University in Australia, she is responsible for the strategic leadership of a team of alumni relations, communications, event management, and campaign fundraising professionals. This team works to effectively engage with the university's alumni and build a culture of giving among alumni and community supporters, as well as the university staff through an active Staff Giving programme. 

A strong believer in the transformative power of education, Nyland sees her role in advancement as a facilitator and enabler, connecting people with each other and the university, supporting research, and assisting students through scholarships, mentoring and allied programmes. 

A qualified fundraising professional with over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Margo Powell comes with an impressive background in fundraising across the arts, health, medical research, and higher education sectors. As executive director, advancement at Queensland University of Technology, she leads a large team that supports philanthropic and alumni engagement activities that align with the university’s education, research, and community initiatives.

Powell is active in the fundraising community – she enjoys her role as coach and mentor, and frequently presents to non-profit boards on fundraising and philanthropy. She does consulting independently for Board Connect and regularly hosts fundraising workshops and masterclasses. Powell's wealth of expertise, strong network of elite donors, and extensive fundraising skills have been helping a number of new and experienced fundraisers establish winning solutions in increasingly complex environments.

Raziq Qasimi is a former refugee from Afghanistan who has recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law and justice (honours) from Queensland University of Technology. He currently sits on the board of Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT) and has represented the organisation at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland. Qasimi has volunteered with numerous organisations in the refugee sector. He was the president of Youth Voice Committee, an initiative of QPASTT run by youths aged 12 to 25 from diverse backgrounds. Qasimi intends to practice law and continue his work in the non-profit sector, and helping marginalised people and communities in Australia and abroad. He currently works with Legal Aid Queensland and recently finished an associateship with a district court judge. Qasimi is extremely passionate about the topic of diversity and inclusion as it relates to his personal experiences, as well as the work that he is doing in the refugee space. 

Erin Robinson is deeply appreciative of the opportunities to grow up in diverse environments as a Third Culture Kid. From an early age, she came to experience the significance of compassion, perspective taking, and developing a sense of relatedness with others who are different from yourself. This evolved into a passion for pursuing intercultural competence, social justice, equity, inclusion, and peace. Robinson currently serves as middle school principal and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) co-lead at United World College of South East Asia. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership and her doctoral work focused on cultural competency in education with additional research interests in student voice, student engagement, and outdoor education. 

Throughout her career, Robinson has sought opportunities to support students, staff, and parents in further developing intercultural understanding and developing equitable and inclusive school environments. With 15 years of experience in school-based DEI across the United States of America and Asia, she also enjoys consulting with schools and providing professional development in DEI, anti-bias recruitment, cultural competency, inclusive leadership, organisational implementation of DEI, and culturally responsive pedagogy.

Sharon Roux is the director of advancement at St Peter's School, Cambridge, New Zealand. In this role, she leads fundraising, alumni relations, and sponsorship for St Peter's. Prior to joining St Peter's in November 2017, she was part of the University of Auckland's $300 million For All Our Futures campaign, where she served as development manager at the Faculty of Education and Social Work. Roux has been involved in educational fundraising for nine years, and is passionate about the profession of educational advancement.

Shakila Samuel has worked in international schools for the last five years in the areas of business development, communications, marketing, and currently is the alumni manager at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore. Prior to joining the education sector, she worked for more than 20 years in private hospitality services in Singapore, initiating new ideas and establishing successful best practices for member engagement. As Tanglin Trust School is one of the oldest schools in Singapore, she manages an alumni base of over 20,000, running programmes that engage both recent and past graduates.

Tim Shearer was appointed Scotch College’s director of development in 2012. In this role, he has delivered a fundraising plan to successfully achieve the $20 million target for the capital campaign for Sir Zelman Cowen Centre for Science, and an additional $20 million to deliver a range of other building projects at the school. Since 2012, he and his team have also raised $25 million to drive the Scotch College Foundation’s scholarship programme. Shearer is presently raising funds to endow the Scotch College Indigenous Scholarship programme ($8 million).

In between raising funds for Scotch College, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Christine, and their three children – Nicholas, 21, Amanda, 18, and Edward, 16. He also coaches the School’s Year 10A cricket team and Year 9A football team, is the president of the Old Scotch Football Club, and on the board of Hawthorn Football Club.

Ivan Shin leads the development and communications team at the Centenary Institute, a medical research institute with a focus on cancer, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease.
 
Previously, he led a team of more than 35 major gift fundraisers at UNSW Sydney. He worked closely with the vice president of philanthropy on planning UNSW’s inaugural campaign and formerly led the international fundraising team, managing key relationships with donors and prospective supporters overseas.
 
Prior to UNSW, Shin was the senior fundraising strategist for Caltech's Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He also held development leadership roles at UC San Diego, the University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University.
 
He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Duke University.

Louise Simpson is managing director of specialist higher education consultancy, The Knowledge Partnership established in 2004, and director of the World 100 Reputation Network. Before consultancy, she was director of communications at University of Cambridge for 10 years. As a global reputation expert, Simpson leads research for universities and government bodies to support reputation and international student recruitment. 

Lucie Snape has 18 years of experience spanning corporate, agency, and media publishing. Snape has a keen interest in how the way we write, connect, and tell stories has evolved over time, with new technologies and changes in human behaviour; most recently the application of NLP and AI to further personalise messaging – right message, right channel, and at the right time. Snape recently started at United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) and is thrilled to be joining the college in its 50th anniversary. She joins a passionate group of intelligent people with a shared mission and values. Snape has a bachelor’s degree in business from Queensland University of Technology, majoring in communications and human resources management.

Lea Sublett is an international leader in alumni engagement, with a 25-year career in higher education. In March 2023, she was appointed as inaugural Associate Director of Alumni Relations at the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

Prior to her current position, Lea served as the Manager of Alumni Affairs at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia for seven years. During her tenure, she developed a best-practice office of Alumni Affairs and successfully implemented a global alumni engagement strategy and University-wide programs and events. Lea's career also includes roles as the Director of Alumni Relations at The Australian National University and Director of Alumni and Community Relations at The University of Queensland. 

Lea has actively served the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) as a volunteer for over 10 years. She serves on the CASE Alumni Relations Commission and was named a CASE Laureate in 2019.

Tang Chi Lin has spent the past 15 years promoting process automation and digital transformation of manufacturing, known as “Industry 4.0”. This enables autonomous robots to control operations too dangerous to be executed by humans or help develop “digital twin” services that accurately simulate product function before actual manufacturing.

At TÜV NORD, the global test, inspection, and certification service provider, Tang provides integrity testing of source data and verification of data models. Using statistical methods known as regression, this builds reliable predictive and prescriptive models, forming the basis for functionally safe digital products and services.  

Professor Rocky S. Tuan is a world-renowned biomedical scientist specialising in stem cell science and regenerative medicine. He received a doctorate in life sciences from Rockefeller University in 1977 and has authored nearly 500 research publications. He previously held various academic and administrative positions at University of Pittsburgh and other renowned universities in the United States of America, as well as a research leadership position at the National Institutes of Health before he assumed the presidency of The Chinese University of Hong Kong on 1 January 2018.  
 
Professor Tuan was elected to the fellowships of National Academy of Inventors, Chinese Association of Inventions, American Association of Anatomists, and Orthopaedic Research Society for his accomplishments in innovation and translational research that bring significant impact on society.  

Professor Jessica Vanderlelie is the inaugural deputy vice-chancellor (students) at La Trobe University, leading the university to develop and implement a sustainable, and integrated strategy to improve the student experience and outcomes. A key focus of this work is to facilitate successful student transition and prepare graduates for the changing world of work. Vanderlelie is a passionate academic who has demonstrated sustained leadership in learning and teaching in the Australian higher education sector with a key focus on supporting student and graduate success. She is an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow and led a national programme titled Engaging Alumni for Graduate Success. 

With over 15 years of advancement experience, Fabienne Vonarburg joined Curtin University in late 2018 to lead the fundraising and engagement efforts of the Faculty of Health Sciences. Since then, she has been instrumental in creating a culture of philanthropy, underpinned by strong relationship building principles. This has led to a five-fold increase in donations for research, scholarships, and student projects within the faculty. Prior to this, Vonarburg was the general manager of a hospital-based foundation in Western Australia, and worked for nearly a decade in development and alumni relations at The University of Western Australia. With a background in health administration in Australia and community development in Switzerland, she has the skills and experience to make fundraising an enjoyable yet humbling experience.

Chris Walker has worked in the advancement and community relations department at Brisbane Grammar School for seven years. He has managed communications for the school through a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and more recently, in response to COVID-19. Walker also manages marketing for the school. He is a graduate of The University of Queensland, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in journalism and bachelor’s degree in arts, majoring in media studies. He also completed journalism studies at City University in London. Walker worked as a journalist for almost six years in Sydney and Brisbane with his work appearing in major Australian publications. His work as a freelance journalist and photographer has been featured in several travel magazines.

Katrina Webb is recognised and acknowledged for her success as a Paralympic athlete. She has won gold, silver and bronze medals in athletics at three Paralympic Games. 

Webb has graced the TEDx stage and represented Australia at both the United Nations and as a global ambassador for the International Paralympic Committee. 

As a physiotherapist and well-being specialist, Webb is the director of Silver 2 Gold High Performance Solutions, which specialises in powering organisations, teams, and individuals best.  

Today, Webb is also the founding director of Newday Leadership, a platform and thought leadership brand with a mission to inspire leadership for the greater good in an age being redefined by rapid change, uncertainty, and a return to community principles via purpose-driven business. 

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.

Alex Zadoyanov is naturally a passionate leader. He believes in leading by example, demonstrating to others how they can work smarter and improve their own processes for the benefit of themselves and others. He thrives on challenges, problem solving, and innovation.

Before joining advancement at The University of Melbourne in October 2018 as the head of business operations, Zadoyanov held management roles in student and academic services at The University of Auckland. Prior to his work in the higher education sector, he was a market research professional in Russia and New Zealand. Zadoyanov holds a master’s degree in social work, a postgraduate diploma in sociology and a diploma in languages (French).