Kylie Ahern

CEO

STEM Matters

Kylie is an award-winning publisher and strategist. After 10 years working across media titles in the UK and Australia, she co-founded Cosmos Magazine and built it to be the number one science magazine and website nationally. In recent years she helped establish the Nature Publishing Group team in the Australian and NZ market and created the global education outreach strategy for Scientific American.

In 2016, Kylie founded STEM Matters—Australia's leading agency for strategy, communications, and content for the STEM sector. She serves on the board of Science & Technology Australia and the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision.

Fiona Allan

Chief Advancement Officer (Acting)

The University of Western Australia

Fiona is a professional fundraiser with over 18 years' experience. She enjoyed a successful career in Scotland working in the areas of leadership development, conservation, and disability before moving to Australia in 2008.

Her focus in Australia has been higher education but has also spent time in healthcare. With deeply embedded personal values, Fiona has always had a desire to make a difference to civil society. Her time spent at leadership development organisations in the UK firmly set these values into action and since then she has engaged both in a professional and volunteer capacity to make such a difference.

James Allan

Director of Alumni & Stakeholder Relations

The University of Melbourne

In his role as the director of Alumni and Stakeholder Relations at the University of Melbourne, James is responsible for setting strategy and leading efforts to engage alumni and others to support the University, through alumni relations, regular giving programs, events, and communications.

Holding a PhD in Communications from the University of Massachusetts Amherst along with degrees from University of Toronto and McGill University, James spent over 10 years in alumni relations at York University in Toronto before joining the team at The University of Melbourne.

Ann Badger

Senior Consultant & Principal

Marts & Lundy

Ann is a recognised leader in advancement within Australia. She works with a range of clients in the education sector to build their fundraising capacity. Ann focuses on strategic planning, board and leadership engagement, major gifts, and campaigns. Having successfully concluded three campaigns at Ormond College and Melbourne Grammar School, Ann is now a consultant with Marts & Lundy. A past president of both Educate Plus VIC/TAS and Educate Plus Australasia, she has presented at numerous CASE and Educate Plus conferences, and was chair of CASE Asia-Pacific Institute in Educational Fundraising (APIEF). Ann is a Trevor Wigney Award recipient.

Rachel Bentley

Director, Rich Media, Digital Futures

Western Sydney University

Rachel is a digital strategist and educator passionate about developing innovative technology to challenge and elevate the way we communicate and learn. Rachel leads her team at Western to develop new pedagogical models through implementation of technology enabled teaching solutions. Rachel believes real change and motivation can be achieved through creativity, technology, and supercharged collaboration. Rachel is experienced at leading her team in implementing large-scale creative and technology projects in community, academia, media, and higher education portfolios. Rachel's former roles have included director of academic programmes, communication, SHCA, CEO of Television Sydney, head of broadcasting training SOBO/SOCOG, and manager of corporate and television training, SBS.

Nancy Bikson

Managing Director

Chapel & York International

Nancy is the managing director of Chapel & York International, which provides solutions for international fundraising and obtaining tax-effective donations. She is a lawyer by training and has been in private practice specialising in charities and tax. She has lived in the US, Australia, and France but is now home in the UK. She speaks regularly on the issues relating to cross-border philanthropy and fundraising. She doesn't like Powerpoint.

Sue Birch

Senior Consultant & Head of Operations (Australia)

Global Philanthropic



A recognised leader in advancement services, Sue joined Global Philanthropic in October 2018 as senior consultant and head of operations (Australia). Having held leadership advancement positions at University of Queensland, RMIT University, and University of Sydney, Sue has significant experience maximising infrastructure, services, and data to best leverage engagement and philanthropic fundraising.



Co-chair of 2018 CASE Asia-Pacific Advancement Services Conference; co-chair of 2018 CASE APAC Deep Dive Session on data analytics; faculty member of 2016 CASE Asia-Pacific Advancement Services Conference; and chair of the editorial committee for CASE Charitable Giving to Universities in Australia and New Zealand benchmarking survey in 2017 and 2018, Sue's expertise and knowledge are widely recognised.

John Bird

Associate Director, Business Intelligence

The University of Auckland

John joined the team at the University in May 2017 with the simple brief to support the development and alumni relations department in becoming data-led. Since then they have implemented new systems and processes to improve data capture and integration and are now experimenting with some of the insights from their data modelling.

Prior to joining the university, John spent almost 20 years working as a fundraising CRM database supplier, most recently as managing director of Blackbaud Europe and everydayhero in the UK. In this time he has become well-versed in the challenges and opportunities to be had in implementing CRM solutions.

 Joshua Birkholz

Principal

Bentz Whaley Flessner

Josh, leader in big philanthropy, data science pioneer, and innovator for the business of fundraising is a principal at Bentz Whaley Flessner. Josh consults the leading nonprofits, universities, and healthcare centers in comprehensive program development, organisational structure, major giving, data-driven strategies, campaigns, and productive business processes. Josh also oversees service lines providing program capacity analysis, staffing assessment, prospect development, predictive science, digital communications, and new technologies.



He is widely regarded as a leading innovator in 21st-century development strategies, having authored the sought-after book, Fundraising Analytics: Using Data to Guide Strategy and contributing to the books A Kaleidoscope of Prospect Development and Return on Character.

 Nick Blinco

Vice-Principal (Advancement)

The University of Melbourne

Nick joined the University of Melbourne as vice-president (advancement) in September 2015.

Previously Nick was director of engagement at the University of Birmingham, where he worked since 2004. During his tenure, the university's Circles of Influence campaign exceeded its 160 million pound ($320m) target and had significant impact on its research, students, and campus.

Nick began his development career in 1997 at Mansfield College, Oxford, where he established the 10-million-pound Access to Excellence campaign, championing access to the university for those from unconventional academic backgrounds.

He was a member of the CASE International Philanthropy Commission from 2008-2010, has a CASE Crystal Apple, and has taught on the Spring Institute for Educational Fundraising.

Liza Boffen-Yordanov

Chief Development Officer and Executive Director, Development Office

‎Nanyang Technological University

Liza leads Nanyang Technological University's development team as chief development officer and executive director, development office in support of the university's drive for excellence in education, research, and innovation. She joined NTU in September 2018 from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), where she was the CDO and CEO of the IITB Foundation in Mumbai.

Her two-decade career include roles as the vice president of advancement at Franklin University Switzerland, senior director of international advancement at George Washington University, director of the development office at SingHealth and dean for undergraduate programme at the Centre for American Education, Singapore.

Liza is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and an AFP Master Teacher.

Rod Bosman

Director of Community & Development

Newington College

Rod has been the director of community and development at Sydney's Newington College since 2013. He is a chartered accountant by profession and ran his own practice until 2000 and then assisted charities and other fundraising bodies with their fundraising needs. Rod is an Old Boy of Newington (1978) and a past parent (2010).

With his strong Old Boy connections, Rod is uniquely placed to engage the Newington community in supporting the Newington Foundation generally and the Founders Society Bequest programme specifically. Majority philanthropic support comes through the Old Boy network and it is Rod's aim to steadily build support of the Founders Society and provide an ongoing legacy to the College.

Tony Bretherton

Director of Development and Community Relations

Xavier College

Tony is director of development and community relations at Xavier College in Melbourne. Previously he has been director of community relations at Geelong Grammar School (2010-2016), director of development at Wells Cathedral School, UK (2006 - 2010), executive director of the University of Limerick Foundation, Ireland (2001 - 2006), and director of development at Waikato University, New Zealand (1996 - 2001). Tony is a Fellow of Educate Plus and a member of the New Zealand Fundraising Institute. Tony has led comprehensive campaigns in each role he has held, and has extensive experience in international fundraising, major gifts, bequests, and annual giving programme. Tony has served on the CASE Commission on Philanthropy.

Rubina Bulot

Alumni Relations Manager, Faculty of Business and Economics

The University of Melbourne

Rubina has over fifteen years' global experience in advancing business, elevating brands, and leading change across many sectors. In her role at the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, Rubina worked with Australian universities to engage their alumni in China. Returning to her alma mater, she now leads alumni relations for the faculty of business and economics at The University of Melbourne. As part of the university's alumni leadership team, Rubina leverages her social science background to take a customer-centric approach that fosters engagement throughout the student lifecycle and across a broad international community. Her work enables the alumni relations' goal, which is to engage 100,000 alumni by 2021.

Marion Cape

Director of Marketing and Communications

Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School

Marion commenced her career within the airline industry working in corporate sales for British Airways. A passionate advocator for customer service and experience, Marion transferred her skills to the education sector and has worked with independent schools for the past 10 years' having held senior leadership roles. An active and enthusiastic contributor to strategy and implementation, Marion enjoys working together with leadership to produce outcomes of growth and progression. Together with a small vibrant team, Marion manages marketing, communications, and enrolments for Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar, an independent school in Melbourne, Victoria. She holds a post graduate qualification in Communications

Daisy P Chan

Director of Public Affairs

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Daisy has over 25 years of experience in brand building and communications covering a diverse portfolio including public administration, energy, public utility, and higher education. She joined HKUST as public affairs director in 2016 and since then has played a key role in offering strategic direction in public and marketing communication, media relations, issue management, and community engagement.



Since its inception in 1991, HKUST has rapidly risen in the global academic arena and has ranked world number one in the Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings 2018 and sixth in The World University Rankings 2018.



Daisy holds a master's degree in communication, a master's degree in cultural management and a bachelor's degree in arts.

Albert Chau

Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)

Hong Kong Baptist University

Albert, is vice-president (teaching and learning) of Hong Kong Baptist University. He is responsible for the university's teaching and learning for the nurturing of creative, caring, and ethical global citizens. He leads the development of curriculum and academic programmes, quality assurance, innovative learning such as experiential learning and eLearning, student recruitment and placement, and globalization of teaching and learning.

Ricky Cheng

Executive Vice President

United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia

Ricky has been with the United Board since 2010, responsible for development and assisting in strategic planning for the 97 year-old organisation. Prior to joining the United Board, he was the founding director of the office of institutional advancement at The Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2003. A CPA holding an executive MBA degree, Ricky's wide range of experience covers business development, higher education governance, and public speaking. He is the vice-chair of the CASE Asia-Pacific Board and served as chairs of the CASE Asia-Pacific Advancement Conference in 2008 and 2016 respectively.

Ross Coller

Executive Officer, Victoria University Foundation

Director, Advancement

Victoria University

Ross is a senior executive with over 20 years' experience in tertiary education, the last 10 in advancement. Joining Victoria University in October 2017, Ross is responsible for building fundraising and alumni engagement capacity, and the philanthropic culture of the university's communities. From 2007, the former director of campaign operations at the University of Melbourne led the early years of fundraising capacity-building then took responsibility for operations for the first philanthropic campaign in 60 years: Believe. It reached its initial goal of $500 million two years ahead of schedule.

Sinéad Collins

Director of Engagement and External Relations

UWCSEA

Sinéad began her career as a performing musician and teacher, before joining the Arts Council in Ireland, doing public relations and logistics for music in education and live performance programme. She moved to Beijing in 2002, working in admissions and communications at an international school, before relocating to Singapore in 2011 to take up the role of director of communications and marketing at UWC South East Asia. Most recently, Sinéad led a pilot impact study for UWCSEA, in partnership with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, now a significant longitudinal study across the whole UWC movement.

Sinéad graduated from Trinity College Dublin and the Institute of Education, University of London.

Justin Connally

Strategy and Operations Leader

Nature Research

Justin is strategy and operations leader at Nature, a strategic insights consultancy in Australia with offices in Melbourne and Sydney. Justin has 20 years academic and commercial research experience during which he has built an outstanding track record of delivering actionable insights that drive commercial outcomes for his clients across a range of industries including technology, FMCG, automotive, services, government, and education. Justin has significant experience across brand positioning, brand health and advertising evaluation, innovation and product development, and CX. Justin has a bachelor of arts (psychophysiology) and graduate diploma (applied psychology) from Swinburne University and a PhD from The University of Melbourne.

Mark Corgat

Secretary to the Board of Trustees and Chief Financial Officer

Brisbane Grammar School

Mark Corgat joined BGS in 2017. His finance career spans more than 30 years, including tenures with KPMG and Ernst & Young, 10 years in the corporate finance function of Jupiters Limited (a top 100 ASX hotel and gaming group) including as Director of Finance, nine years in the corporate function of Holcim Limited (the world's largest producer of cement) including six years as global Head of Standards and Accounting Principles based in Zurich Switzerland, and most recently as CFO and Company Secretary of Migas Limited, a not-for-profit charitable enterprise dedicated to training and qualifying blue collar trade apprentices throughout Australia.

Mikaeli Costello

Director, Alumni Relations and Engagement

The University of Queensland



Mikaeli leads UQ's alumni relations and engagement portfolio overseeing alumni marketing and communications, programming and events, as well as UQ's annual fund and donor relations. Previous to this, Mikaeli held a fundraising role at UQ's Queensland Brain Institute. Under her leadership, QBI's philanthropic base accounted for 17% of QBI's funding. In addition to her roles at UQ, Mikaeli has worked extensively in marketing, communications (internal and external), fundraising, and stakeholder engagement both within the public and private sectors; nationally and internationally including WorldSkills International, Dusseldorp Forum and the UK Government.

  Sue Cunningham

President & CEO

Council for Advancement and Support of Education



Sue leads one of the largest global membership associations of educational institutions. CASE provides professional development and advancement knowledge for 3,700 institutions and 90,000 practitioners working in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing, and other related professions. Previous roles: vice-principal, advancement. the University of Melbourne; director of development, the University of Oxford; director of development, Christ Church, Oxford; and director, external relations, St. Andrews University.



She's a member of the International Women's Forum, an honorary fellow of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a member of the fundraising committee for the Aurora Foundation, Australia. She holds a master's degree from Oxford University and a bachelor's degree from Middlesex University. While a CASE Volunteer, she received the CASE Crystal Apple Award and a CASE Distinguished Service Award.

Rebecca Curran

Development Manager

St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill

Rebecca made the switch to secondary education in 2013 after ten years in marketing for global businesses such as Bacardi-Martini and Clarins. A Sydney local with roots in country NSW, Rebecca commenced working as the Marketing and Communications Manager at Kincoppal-Rose Bay School (KRB) for almost four years. Rebecca completed an overhaul of the KRB brand and implemented strong communications practices within the College before she transitioned into development and fundraising at Waverley College. As Waverley College's Development and Fundraising Manager, Rebecca oversaw fundraising, community and alumni relations. In March 2018, Rebecca joined the Advancement Office at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, as the Development Manager.

Soleiman Dias

Director of Admissions

Chadwick International

Soleiman is the director of admissions at Chadwick International in Songdo, South Korea, where he has lived for more than 17 years. Soleiman presides the Korea Council of Overseas School (KORCOS), which is the oldest association for professional international educators in Korea. He received his master's degree in international education in the U.S., and PhD in international relations with specialization in Korean Studies from Hanyang University.

Soleiman is also the founder and president of the Songdo's Foreign Advisory Board, president of Seoul Council of Honorary Citizens, founder and president of the Brazil-Korea Association and a member of the Academy of Social Sciences in Ceará, Brazil.

Professor Carol Dickenson 

Provost

Queensland University of Technology

Professor Carol Dickenson AM is Provost at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Professor Dickenson oversees the six faculties at QUT, the Indigenous Research and Engagement Unit, and the Learning and Teaching Unit, and is chair of University Academic Board.

Professor Dickenson is actively involved with a range of public sector and education agencies and is a member of the Universities Australia Standing Group for TEQSA.

Professor Dickenson has a Bachelor of Business (Management) from QUT and completed her PhD at the University of Queensland in 1994. In January 2016 she was recognised for her outstanding contribution to the tertiary education sector with the award of the Member of the Order of Australia.

Gillian Dodgin

Senior Manager, Planned Giving

Monash University

Gillian is the senior manager of planned giving at Monash University, Australia. In 2014, Gillian established a planned giving programme and created targeted strategy for bequest marketing and communications, which has led to a record number of newly confirmed bequests; providing a strong pipeline of future philanthropic funding for the university. Realised bequests are now providing a substantial contribution to Monash University's philanthropic income. Prior to Monash, Gillian held senior marketing and business development roles within professional services firms in the UK and Australia.

Evan Donaghue

Operations Manager

Aurora Adventures

Evan joined Aurora after spending 10 years as a secondary school teacher. Having taught history and English throughout his career, Evan's passion is for providing lasting education through experiences, such as events and adventures. Evan's interest in sport has him involved in coaching many teams across many sporting disciplines and after organising, managing, and delivering overseas school trips for sports teams, the move to adventure and event management as a mechanism for educating, building resilience, and doing good in the community was a natural progression.

Kimberly Downes

Director of Community Relations

Ruyton Girls' School

With over 30 years international experience in fundraising and philanthropy, Kimberly's range of knowledge of fundraising and communication adds considerable leadership to any campaign.



Her expertise includes major gifts, capital campaigns, annual campaigns, prospect research, trusts and foundations relationships and proposals, event management, donor protocols, donor recognition, donor segmentation, public relations, publications, marketing and alumni programmes, staff recruitment, and volunteer and board training and development.



Her passion is assisting organisations to create a culture of philanthropy that is true to their mission.

Robyn Evans

Marketing Consultant & PhD student in Higher Education Branding

University of Southern Queensland

Robyn is a marketing communications strategist with more than 10 years' experience in leadership roles in the education sector, at an education charity with international operations, and at two universities, including her current role as associate director of marketing at the University of Southern Queensland.

Robyn has worked for universities in the UK and Australia, in research and administration roles as well as in marketing. She and her teams have won a number of professional awards, including a CASE Circle of Excellence Silver Award in 2015. In 2018, Robyn commenced PhD studies, investigating what insights into brand perceptions could be mined from university-owned data. Robyn blogs on leadership-related topics at www.jailbirdstreet.wordpress.com.

Gillian French

Director of Development and Alumni

Griffith University

Gillian is the director of the development and alumni office at Griffith University, South East Queensland. In this role, Gillian has supported Griffith University in growing a culture of philanthropy and alumni engagement over the past four years with over 165,000 connected alumni and a growth of 157% in philanthropic giving. Gillian brings to advancement over 25 years' experience in service marketing and executive management from the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.

Edi Fung

Director (Principal Gifts), Development Office 

National University of Singapore (NUS)

Edi leads the principal gifts team in NUS. He works closely with the University's senior management in cultivating and soliciting key prospects/gift cases. Edi and his team also work with Deans and volunteers. On international gifts, his team covers donors in ASEAN, the UK and the US. He joined NUS Development Office in 2006. Prior to NUS, he spent 17 years in marketing and communication industry. He is a graduate of NUS Business School.

Simone Garske

CEO

Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital

An experienced senior leader with more than 20 years' experience in the non-profit and higher education sectors, Simone is focused on achieving transformative outcomes through innovative health research and advancement through engagement and philanthropy.



Simone is a certified fundraising executive who has proven leadership abilities in building philanthropic programs, board engagement, communications as well as stakeholder and relationship management.



She is also a director on the Asia Pacific Board of the Council for Advancement & Support of Education and has a bachelor of business (communication) and an MBA from QUT.

Ken Gideon

Alumni Manager

Queensland University of Technology

Ken is currently the alumni manager at QUT, a position he has held since March 2012. In this role, he strategically leads every aspect of the QUT alumni programme. He is also the current co-chair of the Australian Universities Alumni Professionals Group (AUAPG), which is a professional group designed to share learnings in the university alumni space within Australia. He previously spent 3.5 years as the inaugural alumni manager for The University of Queensland, School of Medicine.

Megan Giles

Communications and Community Liaison Manager

All Hallows' School

Megan joined the education sector in 2009 after 15 years working in finance. In her current role as communications and community liaison manager at All Hallows' School Brisbane, Megan is responsible for communications, marketing, events, and admissions management for this large, inner-city Catholic Girls School.

Megan's diverse sector experience includes managing complex business change and governance issues which she believes are central to successful risk mitigation and crisis management. Megan is a serving Not for Profit board director. Prior to working for All Hallows' School, she worked for the Macquarie Group for thirteen years.

Julia Glass

Director of Advancement

International Grammar School

Julia has six-and-a-half-years of experience in the areas of community engagement and philanthropy, largely spent working in the educational advancement sector at International Grammar School (IGS) in Sydney.



As IGS's first director of advancement, and in roles previously held at the school, Julia has been responsible for establishing alumni and fundraising programmes for IGS including an annual giving campaign, which was transformed into last year's successful giving day. Julia was also responsible for project managing the school's website redesign in 2017.



Prior to working at IGS, Julia worked for the Australian Chamber Orchestra and for the Australian Embassy in Paris.

John Glier

CEO

GG+A



John is the CEO of GG+A, a global consulting firm in philanthropic management headquartered in Chicago and London. He is recognised internationally for providing strategic direction to leading universities, academic healthcare institutions, and philanthropic counsel to some of the largest fundraising campaigns in higher education. He has worked with voluntary leaders, noted philanthropists, and board leaders of distinguished institutions in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.



John has delivered presentations on diverse topics such as campaign planning and strategy, philanthropic board structures, and the critical roles of academic leaders in higher education fundraising.



GG+A currently advises non-profit institutions with aggregate campaign goals of more than $60 billion.

Felicity Gouldthorp

Deputy Director (Operations) 

The Australian National University

Felicity has worked in the higher education sector for 22 years in a variety of roles ranging from student and scholarship administration, business management, curriculum design, executive management, governance, and more recently, philanthropy and engagement.



Felicity has attended several CASE programmes and courses at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University-Purdue and is greatly inspired by the advancement sector.



She enjoys solving complex problems with innovative and streamlined solutions, within the context of a giving and donor-centric culture. Felicity also loves to share her ‘attitude of gratitude' with the community.

Janet Hall

Senior Development Manager

UNSW Sydney

Janet Hall is senior development manager, 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, Janet worked as a campaign manager for UNSW. Previous roles included corporate relations manager for WWF Australia and fundraising manager for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Heather Hamilton

Executive Director - Advancement and Community Relations

Brisbane Grammar School



Heather Hamilton joined Brisbane Grammar School in 2014. Her career as an external relations and fundraising professional spans more than 25 years in the education, corporate and not-for-profit sectors throughout Australia, Indonesia and Canada. Her career in the education sector spans 15 years, serving as Director Marketing and Communications (Advancement) at The University of Queensland and Director External Relations at The University of Western Australia Business School. She was instrumental in building corporate, community and alumni partnerships, as well as managing change, building a strong culture of philanthropy and delivering strategic marketing and communications. Heather also served as a Commissioner on the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and is a regular speaker for CASE internationally.

Keiran Hargreaves

Alumni Strategic Relationship Manager

RMIT University

Keiran has more than 15 years' experience in the alumni and higher education sector, having managed the alumni programmes for The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and RMIT University.

In his current role, he is primarily responsible for establishing and nurturing the relationships between the university and its VIP alumni on a global scale.

Keiran is recognised as an industry leader, and is the co-chair of the Australian Universities Alumni Professionals Group (AUAPG) as well as the DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade) Working Group leading changes and implementing strategies to better align the way Australian universities work with government on global alumni issues.

Monique Harper-Richardson

Director of Advancement

The University of Wollongong

Monique Harper-Richardson is the director of advancement at the University of Wollongong. With twenty years' experience in higher education, Monique is responsible for the strategic leadership of the university's advancement programme incorporating alumni engagement, philanthropic programmes, and community engagement.

Under Monique's leadership the advancement portfolio has rapidly expanded, including strong growth in philanthropic support for flagship initiatives including the largest gift received by the university. A recent addition is the UOW USA Foundation, created to provide opportunities for engagement with US based alumni and organisations.

Monique has a bachelor of commerce (economics and marketing), a master of strategic marketing, post graduate certificate in Scottish culture and heritage from the University of Edinburgh and is an alumna of Commonwealth Study Conference Leaders programme.

 James T Harris III

President

University of San Diego

James is the fourth president of the University of San Diego, the youngest Catholic institution among the nation's top 100 universities. Over the past 25 years, he was president of three universities and is the current board chair for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

The NAACP recognised him with a leadership award for his work defending civil rights; he was named one of the Top 50 Character-Building Presidents in America by the John Templeton Foundation, and received the CASE Chief Executive Leadership Award.

An active scholar and teacher, he co-authored the book Academic Leadership and Governance in Higher Education–a Stylus Higher Education best seller.

Rebecca Hazell

Director of Advancement

The University of Newcastle

Rebecca is a senior 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. Rebecca is currently the director of advancement at the University of Newcastle which she joined in 2013. She has led the establishment of an integrated approach to advancement, further developing the culture and programmes to enable a sustained, meaningful, and next practice approach to engaging with alumni, community, and donors across the globe.

Deborah Hill

Alumni Coordinator

Christ Church Grammar School

Deborah has seven years' experience in alumni relations after working at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girl's and Christ Church Grammar School, Western Australia. At both schools Deborah rolled out alumni association centenary celebrations locally and internationally, and is currently responsible for strategic planning and development, events, engagement, communication, and data management. Previously a project manager in the events industry and fundraiser in the not-for-profit sector, Deborah combines her skills from allied careers to complement alumni advancement.

Peter Høj

Vice-Chancellor and President

The University of Queensland

Peter commenced as vice chancellor and president of The University of Queensland in October 2012. Prior to this appointment, he was vice chancellor and president of the University of South Australia from June 2007. He was CEO of the Australian Research Council (2004-2007) and managing director of the Australian Wine Research Institute (1997-2004).

He is a director of the Board of Group of Eight (Go8) Universities and in 2017 was the chair. He is a member of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board.

In 2019, Peter was awarded an AC in the Australia Day Honours awards for service to higher education, commercialisation of research and policy development and reform.

Allison Howell Quinton

Deputy Director, Development and Head of Major Gifts

The University of Melbourne

Allison Howell Quinton is a seasoned fundraising executive with over 15 years' experience. She recently joined University of Melbourne as Head, Major Gifts, and Deputy Director, Development. She's fortunate to work with some of the world's most passionate people, translating visions into plans.

Most recently as CDO for a pediatric oncology charity, Allison led and completed a $40M capital campaign, launched a Major Giving program and delivered a long-term revenue growth strategy.

She has served in Major Giving, Campaign and Business Development leadership roles at a variety of health and social service organisations ranging in revenue from $10M - $120M. She's committed to leaving organisations better than she finds them.

Katie Hunt

Alumni and Community Manager

Carey Baptist Grammar School

Katie is the alumni and community manager at Carey Baptist Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia. Katie has a special interest in the powerful ways in which society and our relationships influence the decisions we make and how this knowledge can be applied to engage alumni. Katie has worked with local and global not-for-profits managing personal and corporate high-net-worth relationships. In addition, she also holds a leadership position on Swinburne Universities Philanthropy and Social Impact Alumni Committee and sits on their Scholarship Advisory Committee.



Alongside her experience in engagement and relationship management, Katie is a certified advancement practitioner and holds a bachelor of social science and master's degree in social investment and philanthropy.

Celia Hurley

Vice President, Advancement

University of Technology Sydney

Celia has over 25 years of international experience in management, leadership, and fundraising within the higher education sector.

Celia is currently the vice president, advancement at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Before beginning the role at UTS in 2018, she held several positions at Curtin University, including chief advancement officer.

Prior to moving to Australia, Celia was Central Carolina Community College's vice president of institutional advancement. During her career in the North Carolina Community College System, she led initiatives in advancement, online learning, instructional excellence, staff development, and institutional accreditation.

Celia holds a BA in communications from UNC-Greensboro and a MA in mass communications from the University of Florida.

Mark Hutchinson

Former President and CEO

General Electric (GE) Europe

Mark is former president and CEO of GE Europe, managing activities and leading efforts to strengthen its operations across Europe. Prior to this, Mark was president and CEO, GE Greater China, responsible for GE's growth strategy and leading a team across manufacturing, sourcing, sales, and other functions. He developed and executed a shared growth strategy for all the GE businesses. Mark was also previously president of GE Capital Real Estate, International and headed the Barclays Merchant Bank Asian project advisory team (Hong Kong).



An English native, Mark graduated from The University of Queensland with a bachelor of commerce in 1986, and was awarded an honorary doctorate of business in 2014.

Lawrence Jackson

Managing Director

Catalyst Management

Lawrence is the managing director of Catalyst Management, a philanthropy, fundraising, and digital consultancy and agency. Within Catalyst Management, Lawrence has undertaken consulting and management assignments for over 50 organisations, both locally and globally, including University of Melbourne, Hebrew University, Vision Australia, University of Sydney, Multiple Sclerosis Limited, University of Notre Dame, Cochlear, Sydney Community Foundation, Israel Institute of Technology (Technion), AGSM at UNSW), and many more.

Previously he held full time or interim positions at Heart Foundation (GM Revenue & Brand), Jewish Communal Appeal (CEO), University of Sydney (Director of Development and Head of University Campaigns), Benevolent Society (Director of Development), and Royal Blind Society (Funding Development Manager).

Lyn Jarvis

Director of Community Engagement

St Andrew's Cathedral School

Lyn has worked in the education sector for 17 years, most recently in advancement at St Andrew's Cathedral School as director of community engagement. Lyn's responsibilities include working with stakeholder groups and associations including alumni and parents, and her diverse portfolio includes community events, volunteer management, and fundraising. Initially a parent volunteer at the school, she gained valuable insight into how the school's community works and how to leverage its interests, passions, and motivations to increase donors and donations resulting in an unprecedented record of funds being raised in one day. Her previous work experience includes adult education, students with learning disabilities, and publishing.

Jennifer Karlson

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Advancement)

The University of Queensland

Jennifer joined UQ in 2017 to oversee the university's first comprehensive philanthropic campaign. She is the advisor to the vice-chancellor on advancement strategy, lead solicitations, and change management to embed best practice. She is committed to the concept of advancement services as an essential partner—not a service provider—in advancement.

Prior to UQ, she served as the assistant dean of advancement for the College of Letters & Science and senior director of development and strategy manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW Foundation. Her belief in the importance of philanthropy in both a local and global context began through experience in West Africa, the American Red Cross, and the YMCA.

Holly Kaye-Smith

Senior Rich Media Developer, Digital Futures

Western Sydney University

As a social change activist and academic, Holly specialises in communicating for social change and action. Her PhD focused on creating and mediating ground-up interventions for change. She advocates for everyday life activism and addresses challenges of engaging an audience in matters such as combating climate change and creating behavioural change in audiences in everyday life.

Jocelyn Kelty

Director

Richmond Associates, Australia Office

Jocelyn established the Richmond Associates Australia Office in 2010 and has since worked with the Universities of Queensland, Melbourne, Sydney, Western Australia, Adelaide, Monash, and ANU among others, to recruit critical fundraising positions for their growing teams. Jocelyn has a background in fundraising for the performing arts and is delighted to continue her links in the sector, working with a number of significant cultural organisations.

Jocelyn joined Richmond Associates in London in 2008, where she gained valuable executive search and selection experience. Prior to this, she worked in corporate fundraising and individual giving for Opera Australia in Sydney. Jocelyn is proud to be a current member of the CASE Industry Advisory Council, continuing the partnership Richmond Associates holds with CASE.

Susanna Leong

Vice Provost (Lifelong Education)

National University of Singapore

Susanna Leong is vice provost (Lifelong Education) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and she is responsible for initiatives and programme on continuous education and training in NUS. Prior to her current appointment, Susanna was the vice-dean at the NUS Business School from 2008 to 2016, and had oversight of the NUS MBA, EMBA, and MPAM programme. Susanna is professor of law in the NUS Business School. She teaches business related law modules such as contract, sale of goods, and intellectual property to undergraduate and graduate business students. Susanna's research interests are in intellectual property and technology-related laws. She has published in international and local academic journals.

Richard Li

Deputy Director

University Foundation Office/Institutional Advancement

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Richard received his master's degree in education administration at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the deputy director at the University Foundation of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen), heading a small team to broaden the support base and enhance resource acquisition for the rapidly expanding CUHK-Shenzhen. CUHK-Shenzhen was established in accordance with the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-foreign Cooperation in Running Schools upon approval of the Ministry of Education. It admitted the first cohort of undergraduate students in 2014 and inherits the educational philosophy and academic systems of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Liza-Jayne Loch

CEO

Alpha Consult

Liza-Jayne (LJ) is one of Asia-Pacific's most experienced reputation protection experts. She brings extensive reputation management and crisis communications experience plus hands-on experience in handling just about every type of reputational crisis at an organisational and individual level. This includes her highly effective campaign with Blackmores during and post the Pan Pharmaceuticals crisis as well as on major corporate issues, contamination issues, pharma crises, aviation incidents, and numerous product safety issues. She has also successfully managed personal reputation issues for high profile individuals.

LJ is the founding chair of Now Australia, the #TimesUp equivalent in Australia, co-founder of Outspoken Women and CEO of Alpha Consult.

Kevin Lynch

Director of Marketing and Communications

Shanghai American School

Kevin joined Shanghai American School in 2016 as the director of marketing and communications. There, his team has helped introduce a heavily integrated identity system that enables compelling storytelling and consistent, distinctive communications across the school. Prior to joining SAS, Kevin came from the world of advertising agencies, and was most recently the executive creative director of BBDO South China overseeing work out of the Hong Kong and Guangzhou offices.

Hongnan Ma

Director, International Alumni Relations

Cornell University

With an academic upbringing in cultural anthropology and professional experiences in higher education, cross-cultural communication, and programme management, Hongnan has been involved in various dimensions of the Global Cornell endeavor for over a decade. In her current role as director of international alumni relations, she oversees Cornell's international alumni engagement activities outside of the US and Canada, providing strategic insights and staff leadership toward aligning these activities with university priorities. She and her cross-cultural team of professional staff and volunteer leaders regularly engage 200+ alumni volunteers in 50+ parts of the world, building meaningfully engaged Cornell communities and supporting the university's institutional advancement goals through balanced, coordinated, and sustainable programming.

Bill Maddock

Major Gifts and Grants Manager

Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section)

Bill is the major gifts and grants manager at The Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section). With over twenty years' experience, Bill has developed and executed fundraising campaigns within iconic educational institutions including the Queensland University of Technology and Brisbane Grammar School. Bill has the ability to identify and highlight strategic fundraising pillars whilst also sharing practical tips for starting a major gift program.

Leigh Martin

Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships

Singapore American School

Leigh is the director of community engagement and strategic partnerships at Singapore American School. Through this work, she organises and leads community engagement with parent groups, administrators, faculty, and school board. Additionally, she develops partnership that align with the schools mission and vision.



Leigh previously was tenured faculty at the University of Northern Iowa where she coordinated international programmes for educators. She co-created a master's degree programme for teacher leaders in international schools which has spread to more than 10 countries.



Leigh started her career teaching in international schools in Egypt and Brazil. She earned a PhD from Iowa State University in educational leadership and policy studies.

Julie McAllister

Director of Communications

Barker College

Julie is the director of communications for Barker College, an independent Anglican school located on Sydney's North Shore. During her 10 years at Barker, she has overseen the communications and marketing activities of a school that is undergoing significant changes, including its transition to become fully coeducational by 2022. Prior to joining Barker as their first in-house marketing specialist, Julie held senior marketing and communications roles at the Commonwealth Bank, an international professional services firm, and Red Cross in Queensland. Her experience also includes several years working in Hong Kong for a global PR consultancy and prior to that was based in London where she led marketing and promotions for an international casino company.

Ben McCloghry

Marketing and Communications Manager

St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill

Moving into the independent education sector after a number of years in national magazines and custom publishing, Ben joined St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill in 2017 as the marketing and communications manager. He has over 10 years of brand, design and communications management at both The King's School and St Aloysius' College. Ben's expertise includes brand and identity development, crafting impactful communications strategies, and campaign development. He has a reputation of developing strategies, creative solutions, and finished products in-house, utilising the skills of staff on hand, and minimising the often high cost of outsourcing.

Pip McConnel-Oats

Head of Brand and Creative Services

The University of Queensland

Pip has more than 20 years' experience specialising in brand strategy, design, and implementation for national and multinational organisations across a diverse range of industry sectors.

In 2002, she established Lumino, one of Brisbane's leading and highly awarded brand consultancies.



In 2012, she merged her business with Rowland to build a strategic, brand-led creative practice working across disciplines on integrated projects for clients including Kina Bank, Westpac Institute, Cement Australia, Kilcoy Pastoral Company, Queensland Airports, and SunWater.

She is currently head of brand and creative services—a new position at The University of Queensland—where she is responsible for overseeing their transition to a masterbrand.

Phoebe McIlwraith

Ma & Morley Scholar

The University of Newcastle

Phoebe, a proud Bundjalung and Worimi saltwater woman, has a vision: a social enterprise that engages with marginalised peoples and enables meaningful change. Phoebe is a passionate advocate for public education, making this her platform at the National Indigenous Youth Parliament. Phoebe lives the Ma and Morley values through her involvement with climate youth action groups, Seed, and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, and her participation in the 2018 programme of the Centre of Sustainability Leaderships. Phoebe's cadetship with the Australian Tax Office is developing her understanding of governance and it's role in community development. With aspirations to be a change-maker, Phoebe is in her second year of a bachelor of business/bachelor of laws (honours), majoring in policy, governance and political economy.

Catherine McVean

Coordinator, Alumni Relations

Haileybury

Catherine is an experienced and recognised engagement specialist with a history of success in alumni engagement, event management, and engaging communities within the education industry. Catherine is a skilled strategic planner who creates innovative and appealing initiatives to capture and engage communities. Catherine strongly believes that when someone feels that they belong to a community, they become enthusiastic and passionate and if nurtured, their sense of belonging can develop into a valued and deep emotional connection to that community. For life.

Catherine manages the alumni programme for Australia's largest independent co-educational School, Haileybury. With five campuses throughout Australia and one in China, the scope to engage this alumni globally, is profound. Catherine regularly volunteers her expertise to numerous other communities where she herself belongs.

Dee Dee Mendoza

Managing Director, West Coast Advancement

Dartmouth College

Dee Dee is managing director of West Coast advancement for Dartmouth College, where she works largely with alumni in startups and venture capital to develop their philanthropic support. She has led efforts to launch higher ed's two most prominent pre-exit philanthropy platforms: the Dartmouth Founders Project, and the Berkeley Founders Pledge, which won a CASE Grand Gold Award. Her teams' work to maximize philanthropy from the entrepreneurial community has been featured in CASE's Currents magazine and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. In addition to speaking and blogging, she continues to advance the field through independent research and as an advisor to numerous emerging programmes.

Bridget Metherall

Advancement Operations Manager

Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS)

The University of Melbourne

Bridget is an administrative professional with extensive experience in educational and arts settings and has worked at the University of Melbourne for 11 years. She has collaborated on a suite of gift implementation strategies in the faculty of medicine, dentistry and health sciences, working in both advancement and finance. Her previous experience in trust administration and compliance provides her with unique insights into the perspective of colleagues outside advancement.



Now leading the advancement operations team in the faculty, she is bringing together her arts and administrative strengths to effectively communicate and collaborate with colleagues, ensuring that advancement aims are embedded into the strategic goals of the faculty.

Anthony Micallef

Headmaster

Brisbane Grammar School

Anthony is the 12th Headmaster of Brisbane Grammar School. Anthony has also taught in several independent boys' schools in Brisbane and Sydney where he fulfilled leadership roles in academic, student welfare and extracurricular domains. At BGS, he has been instrumental in developing student-related programs, structures and policies, most significantly in the areas of student leadership, personal development curriculum, student services, community service, boarding and outdoor education. He combines his strong academic, pastoral and sporting background with a collaborative style of leadership and an ardent belief in creating an inclusive educational environment where individual strengths can be encouraged and nurtured.

Jane Miller

Executive Director, Alumni and Engagement

UNSW Sydney

Jane is an alumni relations and stakeholder engagement executive with extensive experience in higher education. In January 2017 she was tasked with designing and implementing UNSW's first centralised, comprehensive alumni and engagement function to support the UNSW's ambitious 2025 strategic plan, and first fundraising campaign.

As executive director of alumni and engagement, Jane leads a team working across the university to build philanthropic capacity for the long term.

Jane is passionate about articulating a dynamic value proposition for engagement, connecting people, and bringing real value to the university and to its supporters. She also likes developing talent in the sector, and making the whole thing as much fun as possible.

 Joanna Motion

Partner

More Partnership

Joanna's 40-year career in advancement includes eight years at the University of Melbourne where she launched the alumni association and then the development office. During a decade with CASE, as the inaugural vice president international, she oversaw dynamic growth in advancement activity around the world, including the creation of CASE Asia-Pacific. The University of Kent and Loughborough University have awarded Joanna honorary doctorates in recognition of her championing of change encouraging philanthropy. Joanna joined the international fundraising consultancy, More Partnership, in 2011. Her More clients in the Asia-Pacific region include ANU, the Universities of Melbourne, Newcastle and Wollongong, Arts Centre Melbourne, UNIS Hanoi, and UWCSEA in Singapore.

Kelley Musgrave

Marketing and Communications Manager

Marist College Ashgrove

Kelley Musgrave is the Marketing & Communications Manager at Marist College Ashgrove. She has spent the majority of her career in the manufacturing industry as a Global Marketing Manager, gaining valuable experience in international marketing.

For the past 3 years Kelley has overseen the Marketing department at Ashgrove, where she helped launch the school's social presence across four platforms and devise a strategy for communication and engagement.

Kelley brings understanding, communication and organization to her role at Ashgrove to ensure that messages are communicated efficiently and effectively both internally and externally.

Rob Needham

Director of Business Development

Sheldon College

Rob is the director of business development for Sheldon College, an Independent, co-educational, non-denominational college located in Brisbane's bayside. Rob has over 15 years' experience in fundraising at iconic institutions including the Mater Foundation, Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie), and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. As the foundation manager at Churchie, Rob led the capital campaign for the largest building project in its history. Major gifts is Rob's specialty.

Justyna Ng

Assistant Director (Alumni Giving)

Nanyang Technological University

Justyna leads the engagement of NTU's global community of over 230,000 alumni in philanthropic support to their alma mater. She oversees the strategic effort to analyse and understand the varied sub-segments of the alumni and their philanthropic aspirations, develops the right communications and propositions to these motivations, and ultimately, secures the alumni's win-win philanthropic partnership with the university. Justyna has over a decade of experience in public service where she has forged win-win collaborations in various settings, including education, rehabilitation, and health. In addition, she has spearheaded successful large-scale initiatives with target audiences of over 130,000. When Justyna isn't working, she's beautifying the world with her flowers.

Joanne Nyland

Deputy Director of Development and Alumni

Griffith University

Joanne is deputy director of Griffith University's development and alumni office. 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 to build a culture of giving among alumni and community supporters, through the annual appeal, and the university staff, through staff giving.



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

Ruth O'Hanlon

Head of Development

External Engagement and Public Affairs

SOAS University of London

Ruth is a fundraising professional with over 20 years' experience in the not-for-profit and international development sector. She spent over five years living in China and Central Asia, and speaks Mandarin and smatterings of Uighur and Russian. Ruth has led philanthropy and external engagement teams at universities in Australia and the UK, and currently heads up the advancement function at SOAS University of London. She was the bequest and legacy manager at one of the Australian Group of Eight universities for almost eight years.

Rosalind Ogilvie

Vice-Principal Advancement (Interim)

The University of Sydney

Rossie is the vice-principal of advancement (interim) at the University of Sydney. She brings over 20 years of experience in the higher education sector, leading teams in both Australia and the UK. At Cambridge, Rossie was a key part of the team that raised more than £1 billion in its inaugural campaign. Rossie returned to take on the role of executive director of advancement at The University of Sydney. She was responsible for planning and implementing INSPIRED, Australia's largest philanthropic campaign, engaging more than 60,000 donors and now under Rossie's leadership, INSPIRED is on its way to raising $1 billion, the first university in Australia to do so.

Paul Olds

CEO

MND and Me Foundation



Paul was appointed CEO of The MND and Me Foundation in July 2014. Prior to joining the foundation, Paul spent 12 years as a consultant and professional services manager—predominantly in the accounting and legal industries.



Paul is committed to building a service offering that makes a difference to the MND community. One that improves access to support and equipment, provides care to those in need, and funds research. He believes that corporate social responsibility can become a competitive advantage for many organisations.



His past experiences in strategic planning, business development, marketing, and stakeholder relationships is driving the foundation's vision to ensure that no one faces MND alone.

Russell Ousley

Director, Development Office

University of the Sunshine Coast



Russell is a marketing and fundraising professional who has worked in the not-for-profit sector for more than 20 years in education, health, performing arts, environment, disability, and overseas aid. This includes 12 years in senior management roles at the Royal Flying Doctor Service and USC. Russell has overseen significant growth at USC with donor numbers doubling and the four largest years of fundraising income. In two of those years, USC had a larger proportion of income coming from donations than any other Australian university.

Jon Paparsenos

Vice President, Philanthropy & CEO, UNSW Foundation

UNSW Sydney

Jon is the vice president of philanthropy and CEO of the UNSW Foundation, appointed in 2016. He brings to the role more than 14 years' experience in the planning and execution of fundraising campaigns. Prior to joining UNSW he served in the position of executive director of development, academic divisions and regions for Caltech (the California Institute of Technology) and with Marquette University in Wisconsin and Community Counselling Co. in New York.



Jon came to philanthropy following an eight year service with the US Marine Corps. Jon holds a BA from Seton Hall University. In 2016 Jon immigrated to Australia with his wife and two children to take up his current position with UNSW.

Amy Parker

Vice President, Asia Pacific

GG+A

Amy is vice president of Asia Pacific, at the global fundraising consulting firm Grenzebach Glier & Associates (GG+A). With current clients in more than a dozen countries, GG+A combines industry best practices with an understanding of each organisation's cultural context to help organisations build sustainable fundraising and engagement structures. Prior to GG+A, she held fundraising leadership roles at the Smithsonian Institution during its historic $1.5 billion campaign, at the New York Public Library, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Residing in Hong Kong, she works with organisations across the globe.

Jenn Parsons

Alumni Engagement Manager

The University of Western Australia

Jenn is an alumni engagement professional with experience at both Canadian and Australian Universities. Known for building community partnerships and relations with campus stakeholders she has worked with a number of fantastic teams over the years. Life-long and experiential learning are key influencers for Jenn. A broad background, with roles in community newspaper publishing and fundraising have also contributed to a 13 year career (and passion) in alumni relations.

Garry Pierson

Associate Director

Geelong Grammar School

Garry has been managing the bequest programme at Geelong Grammar School for three years. His background is in education, having been headmaster of the Hall School in London and more recently, head of campus at Geelong Grammar's primary campus in Melbourne for 10 years.



His connections within the wider Geelong Grammar community have enabled him to grow the reputation of the bequest programme and, by doing so, increase the membership accordingly. His vision is to lead a period of steady growth through developing confidence to participate in the programme and thus establish a valuable and meaningful experience for members.

Lesley Ray

Executive Director - Philanthropy

Mater Foundation

Lesley Ray is Executive Director - Philanthropy at Mater Foundation, Brisbane where she couples fundraising practice with organisational management and leadership. She leads a team of fundraising professionals and is charged with the development of the organisation's individual giving and philanthropic engagement programmes.

Her Master's degree work focused on giving circles, particularly women in philanthropy and along with five colleagues, in 2014 they formed 'Women & Change', Queensland's first giving circle.

Lesley is Deputy Chair of Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) based in Washington DC and is a Fellow of Fundraising Institute Australia. In 2015 Lesley was awarded the Arthur Venn Fundraiser of the Year which recognises outstanding contribution to fundraising in Australia.

Carl Rhodes

Professor of Organisation Studies and Deputy Dean

UTS Business School

Carl is a professor of organisation studies and deputy dean at the University of Technology Sydney Business School. His research investigates the ethical and political dimensions of management and leadership. Carl's most recent books are CEO Society: The Corporate Takeover of Everyday Life (Zed, 2018 with Peter Bloom), and The Companion to Ethics and Politics in Organizations (Routledge, 2015 with Alison Pullen). His next book, Disturbing Business Ethics: Emmanuel Levinas and The Politics of Organizational Life, will be published by Routledge in 2020. Carl regularly contributes to the media with articles and commentary on issues related to ethics, politics, and management.

Scott Rigby

Head of Digital Transformation for Enterprise Solutions, APAC

Adobe

Scott leads the digital transformation practice in Asia Pacific for Adobe and has over 20 years of enterprise experience providing strategic advice to C-suite and senior executives in the areas of digital transformation, strategy, marketing, innovation, organisational change and cloud computing. Scott has advised a broad range of customers and industries from finance through to retail, media, telecommunications, automotive, and high-tech. Examples include Telstra, Citibank, Samsung, Disney, Westpac, L'Oreal, and Etihad Airlines.

He is skilled in helping organisations reimagine and transform their customer experience, employee engagement, business models, processes, and operations by understanding the opportunities and challenges that new technologies can have on businesses, their culture, their customers, and the world of work.

David Robertson

Executive Director

Independent Schools Queensland



David was appointed executive director of Independent Schools Queensland in April 2010, having progressed to this role after joining ISQ in 2002 as director of strategic and government relations. He has decades of experience within the independent schooling sector.

David has specific expertise in the areas of funding, planning, governance, operations, and administration. He also has an exceptional understanding of government regulation relating to independent schools. David serves on a wide range of school education committees and working groups at ministerial, departmental, and stakeholder levels. In 2015, David was awarded the Australian Council for Educational Leadership Fellowship for his outstanding leadership contribution to the improvement of student achievement and organisational effectiveness.

Deep Saini

Vice-Chancellor and President

University of Canberra

Deep is the vice-chancellor and president of the University of Canberra (Australia). He has previously served as vice-president of the University of Toronto, principal of the University of Toronto Mississauga, and dean of the faculty of environment at the University of Waterloo. He has overseen transformative academic expansion, physical development, and internationalisation in all his leadership roles. He is presently leading an ambitious plan, The Educated Life, to transform the University of Canberra into an integrated hub of education, research, industrial partnerships, and community living. He is an experienced and passionate fundraiser, most recently as part of the University of Toronto's Can$2.4 billion "Boundless" campaign.

Hillary Sandeen

Alumni Relations

Hong Kong International School

Hillary oversees alumni relations at Hong Kong International School, has been in this role for the past two years, and is dedicated to reaching and engaging with alumni to inspire them to stay connected, involved, and passionate about HKIS.

Hillary began her career in advertising working in client service at agencies in the USA serving Fortune 500 clients such as Pfizer and Purina before relocating to Asia 16 years ago with her husband and now two children. Hillary holds a bachelor of arts degree in communications and French from St. Olaf College.

Wendy Scaife

Director, Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS)

Queensland University of Technology

Wendy leads an experienced team that delivers evidence, learning, and impacts for the nonprofit, social enterprise, philanthropy, and community sectors. She was national project director of giving Australia—the nation's largest ever research into giving and volunteering and has studied all cause areas during her three decades of nonprofit life including education. Wendy serves on government bodies, philanthropic grants committees, and international research boards and holds two vice-chancellor's excellence awards. She chairs a small community heritage organisation and was previously CEO of a health nonprofit that ran successful major gift campaigns.

Ram Semo

Director of the Division for Advancement and External Relations

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Ram is director of the division for advancement and external relations. He was born and raised on Kibbutz Ein Dor in the north of Israel. Following military service in the parachute brigade he studied at the Hebrew University, gaining a BA in sociology and business studies, and an MBA. Ram was previously director of the office of the university president and most recently the university's financial controller.

Dave Shepherd

Director of College Advancement

UWCSEA

Dave Shepherd is Director of College Advancement at United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA). Established in 1971, the school has 5,500 students across two campuses with over 20,000 alumni. With 30 years' experience in the schools' sector, Dave most recently established the Advancement department at the College in 2006 and is responsible for the strategic leadership of the programme, incorporating alumni engagement, fundraising programmes, volunteer engagement and responsibility for the UWCSEA Foundation. A CASE member since 2006, Dave has presented regularly at CASE events, institutes, the commission and is currently a member of the CASE Asia-Pacific Board.

Ivan Shin

Executive Director, Development (International)

UNSW Sydney

Ivan is executive director of international development at UNSW Sydney where he leads the university's fundraising activity outside Australia.

Prior to UNSW, Ivan was the senior fundraising strategist for Caltech's Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering during its USD2B "Break Through" campaign and coordinated international outreach. Previously, Ivan led the development team at UC San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy.

Ivan was a senior major gift officer during the University of Pennsylvania's USD$4.3 billion "Making History" campaign. He began in development at Duke University where he managed the undergraduate reunion giving programme during the USD$300 million "Financial Aid Initiative." He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Duke University.

Luke Siah

Senior Assistant Director (Admission, Student Affairs & Alumni Relations), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

National University of Singapore



Luke led the first dedicated alumni relations team at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, the oldest Medical School in Singapore, since 2012.

He is responsible for the numerous strategies to engage the 10,000 over medical alumni and constantly exploring new ways to bring values to the alumni, enriching their experience with their alma mater.

His past portfolio at the 115-year-old Medical School includes Institutional Relations and Corporate Communications. Currently, he is with the Education Division, helming the Admission and Outreach Team, the Student Affairs Team and the Alumni Relations Office. Luke advocates alumni relationship building should start at the admission and outreach phase.

Maha Sinnathamby

Chairman

Springfield City Group

Few people can say they have not only conceived a city, but built one.

Maha Sinnathamby can.

Born in Malaysia, Maha is the visionary and founder of Greater Springfield, Australia's fastest emerging city. In 2010 it was declared World's Best Master Planned Community (awarded by the International Real Estate Federation).

As chairman of Springfield City Group, Maha is committed to changing the community building paradigm by creating a sustainable, truly master-planned city where being able to live, learn, work, and play is at the core of its architecture.

Maha, A UNSW graduate and donor, constantly reminds us that education is the currency of the future and is fundamental to Greater Springfield's design.

Jamie Smith

Director of Enrolments

Brisbane Grammar School

A registered teacher, Jamie has completed both a master's and an associate degree in the fields of pastoral care and boys' education. As director of enrolments at Brisbane Grammar School, Jamie is responsible for all aspects of the enrolments process for commencement at all year levels and provides an essential link between the administrative and student-focused functions of the School prior to students' commencement. Jamie also oversees the scholarship and bursary program at the school. Previously Jamie served as deputy master at King's College within The University of Queensland, head of boarding house at Nudgee College and house master, head of year and sports master at Marist College Emerald.

Mary Smith

Managing Director

Aurora Adventures



Mary is the founder of Aurora Adventures and has a passion for adventure, education, and for helping those in need. She has worked in the expedition adventure field for over 12 years and has spent the past seven years as managing director of Aurora Adventures. Mary has organised and led many treks across the world including 49 crossings of the Kokoda Track and has trained, led or arranged operational logistics for hundreds of trekkers in remote environments internationally. Mary spent her years before moving to adventure and event management as a lawyer in Queensland, setting up and working as principal of a legal practice in locations across Queensland.

Howard Stack 

Chairman, Board of Trustees

Brisbane Grammar School



Howard Stack is an experienced company director with both listed and unlisted companies, including several as Chairman. These directorship s included companies with substantial international operations or whose strategies included penetration of world markets. He was a partner of the leading national law firm Allen, Allen & Hemsley until 2001, and before then a partner with predecessor firm Feez Ruthning from 1969 to 1996. He also acted as a corporate advisor to one of Australia's largest electricity generators until 2011. Mr Stack is a BGS Old Boy and was School Captain in 1962. His son also attended BGS and his daughter attended BGGS. Mr Stack has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for BGS since 1991.

Keryn Tan

Manager, Graduation Giving and Student Giving

Nanyang Technological University

Keryn is the lead manager of student giving at NTU and oversees the strategic planning and execution of the university's effort to inculcate a culture of giving among students. Keryn has already demonstrated tremendous success in growing student-giving participation by over 50%. This accomplishment was driven by her strong belief that student giving enables students' self-discovery of how they fit into the world at large, and develops them into active citizens for the community. It was also fuelled by Keryn's deep understanding of the youth psyche from her many years in Ministry of Education planning and leading programmes to engage and develop youths, where she attained various outstanding awards.

Professor Tan Tai Yong

President

Yale-NUS College



Professor Tan Tai Yong is President at Yale-NUS College. Prior to becoming President, he was the College's Executive Vice President (Academic Affairs). Professor Tan was previously the Vice-Provost (Student Life) at the National University of Singapore. An active member of the community, Professor Tan serves on numerous boards of various organisations. These include the National Heritage Board, the Indian Heritage Centre's Advisory Board, the Board of Trustees of ISEAS-the Yusof Ishak Institute and the Management Board of Institute of South Asian Studies. He is also the Institute of Policy Studies' 6th S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore.

Callista Thillou

Executive Director, Communication & Engagement

Flinders University

A member of Flinders University's senior executive team, Callista is the executive director of communication, marketing and engagement, with responsibility for the university's alumni and advancement, external engagement, brand, and communications strategy.

Callista has held strategic roles in higher education both nationally and internationally. Before returning to Australia, Callista was responsible for leading the UK Higher Education International Unit. Prior to this, she was the director of communications and government relations at the then Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, now Universities Australia.



Callista is on the board of Engagement Australia, Flinders University Athena Swan Governance Committee, Enterprise Bargaining Committee, and is leading the gender equity strategy and values projects at Flinders.

Th'ng Beng Hooi

Director, Alumni Affairs Office

Nanyang Technological University

Th'ng Beng Hooi is Director, Alumni Affairs Office at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) which has 30 Alumni Associations with over 27,000 alumni in China. 

Beng Hooi is passionate about collaborative engagement that involves all stakeholders in the NTU alumni community. He has two decades of experience at one of NTU's oldest alumni associations where he championed service to the community, professional development and governance. He graduated from NTU in 1991 with a Bachelor of Accountancy degree and is a CFA charterholder.

Beth Toole

Associate Director, Alumni Relations

Singapore American School

Beth manages the alumni relations programme at Singapore American School. Founded in 1956, SAS serves 4,000 students Pre-K through grade 12 representing 52 nationalities. Alumni are scattered across the globe and number over 22,000 former students and graduates.

Beth has spent over 20 years in school administration and student affairs in higher education in the US, China, and Singapore. Her experience in schools includes management roles in admissions, communications, community relations, alumni relations, and fundraising while her roles in higher education include career counseling, student advising, and directing a non-profit consortium of colleges and universities. Beth holds a BA from the College of Wooster and an MA in college student personnel from the University of Maryland.

Brenda Tournier

Director, Alumni & Community Relations

The University of Western Australia

Brenda has been privileged to lead alumni engagement at UWA since 2013 when the university launched its first major fundraising campaign and her position was created. Last year the campaign closed successfully, surpassing its $400 million target. In that time, a team was built, a culture changed, and the value of graduate engagement was proven.

She believes the future relies on human connection: our ability to recognise what needs to be done and then come together to make it happen. In her work, she sees the power of community every day and it is her absolute passion to bring people together in meaningful ways.



Brenda draws on a broad-based background and experience ranging from alumni relations to entrepreneurship, marketing, business consulting, communications, and community relations.

Tara Turner

Director, Global and Institutional Philanthropy

The University of Queensland

Tara leads UQ's global and institutional philanthropy team, providing comprehensive oversight of established and emerging institutional and international markets. Her portfolio comprises the whole of UQ advancement initiatives including entrepreneurship, student strategy programs, international fundraising market development, enhanced research partnership collaboration, and UQ-affiliated international foundation management. With two decades of experience, Tara also manages relationships with international alumni and philanthropic organisations at the major and principal gift level. Prior to UQ, she was a senior member of the Canadian Cancer Society's leadership philanthropy team following her work with a successful campaign to raise $200 million to build a new children's hospital in her hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

Steve Uscinski

Deputy Headmaster - Teaching and Learning

Brisbane Grammar School

Steve Uscinski was appointed Deputy Headmaster at BGS in May 2009. Steve first arrived at Brisbane Grammar School in 1992 as a teacher of English, working for 10 years as a curriculum innovator, coach of rugby and cricket, Director of the Senior Play and Resident Master in Harlin House, the School's boarding house. Steve was also heavily involved in the original Dimensions of Learning implementation as a resource writer, trainer and leading teacher.

Paul Walsh

Director of Admissions and Community Engagement

Ivanhoe Grammar School

Paul has been involved in education for over 38 years, 25 years in primary schools and the last 13 in admissions. Paul has taught in international schools in Kuwait, Indonesia, and Brunei as well as Brixton in the U.K. As director of admissions at Ivanhoe Grammar School, Paul is responsible for overseeing the 2,200 enrolments across three campuses. Paul was a member of the organising committee for the 2014 Melbourne Educate Plus International Conference and has presented workshops at a number of national and international conferences.

Joanna Watts

Director of Operations

The University of Melbourne



Joanna has 25 years of experience in the Higher Education sector both in the UK and Australia. She joined the Advancement team at the University of Melbourne just under two years ago to head up the Operations team and provide leadership in the areas of organisational development, HR, financial management, OHS, policy and governance. Joanna is the Deputy Chair of the Board of TEAR Australia, an international NGO and is a fiction writer in her spare time. She has a BA (Hons) from the University of Birmingham in Russian Language and Literature and a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Administration from the Open University in the UK.

Fred Weiss

Chief Research and Data Officer

Council for Advancement and Support of Education

As CASE's chief research and data officer, Fred has primary responsibility for CASE's global data strategy. He manages all of CASE's research and data initiatives, including AMAtlas, a global resource for educational advancement-related metrics, benchmarks, and analytics. Fred holds a bachelor's degree from Boston University, where he worked with the annual fund and as a major-gifts fundraiser. Prior to joining CASE, he served as president and CEO of iModules Software, and before that he worked with Ellucian and its predecessor companies for 21 years. Fred is a longtime volunteer for CASE, having served in a variety of positions.

Janita Westbury

Faculty Trusts Coordinator

Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS)

The University of Melbourne

Janita is the trusts coordinator for the faculty of medicine, dentistry and health sciences at The University of Melbourne. She has 23 years' experience in the education sector as a teacher and consultant, most recently in trusts management, predominantly administering philanthropic gifts and endowments. Her strengths are in gift implementation, process improvement, and consulting with management and academics to increase the recognition of philanthropy across work-teams.



Janita managed scholarships for the faculty of arts for six years and led a team project that designed a database system for award administration for several faculties. She combines her skills to promote an improvement culture in the faculty advancement and research divisions.

Amanda Windus

Strategy Director

The Lab Insight and Strategy



Amanda is a Strategy Director at The Lab, a qualitative research and insights consultancy with offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Amanda leads the Brisbane office and is a highly-skilled brand strategist and researcher with over 14 years' experience working across categories including education, financial services, government, media and FMCG. 



In addition to brand strategy, customer profiling, customer experience design and innovation, The Lab are renowned for thought leadership on Australian culture and key social groups like Millennials. Amanda leads The Lab's annual culture study called ‘The Australia Project' - an exploration on what people seek and how brands can effectively respond to changes in society.

Sunny Wong

Chairman, Alumni Committee

Hong Kong Baptist University Foundation

With 35 years' experience in the FMCG industry, Sunny is executive director of Tibet Water Resources. He was chief executive officer of Carlsberg Greater China from 2006 to 2011 and chairman from 2011 to 2014 during which time he increased the number of breweries from one to 60 and managed a workforce of over 15,000. Sunny graduated from Hong Kong Baptist College (now Hong Kong Baptist University) in 1978, majoring in business management and received an MBA from University of Bath, UK in 2001. Sunny was appointed chairman of HKBU Foundation's alumni committee in 2018 with a vision to connect alumni for the long-term development of the university.

Maggie Zhou

Managing Director

Alibaba ANZ

Maggie was appointed Alibaba Group managing director for Australia and New Zealand in March 2016 and has worked for Alibaba Group since 2000. Maggie is currently responsible for building Alibaba Group's business in Australia and New Zealand to further develop the digital infrastructure and help local merchants enter the vast China consumer market.

Prior to this role, Maggie worked closely with the Australia and New Zealand business development team on Tmall Global and was in charge of overall government and public affairs for the platform. In 2003, Maggie was one of nine founders who helped the Group establish Alibaba's Taobao Marketplace and served as executive assistant to Jack Ma for almost five years.

This speaker has earned a CASE Crystal Apple award in recognition of excellence in teaching at 10 or more conferences, workshops, and institutes.