Rebekkah Parsons

Assessment Design & VET Compliance Consultant and Founder - Reimagine Learning

Rob Campbell & Alana Segnit

Operations Manager and Head of Growth and Development - Connect'n'Grow

About Rob

Over the past couple of years Rob has been managing the change that was going to dramatically impact VET in Schools in Queensland. Rob has a strong background in Change, Project and People Management across various industries & sectors.

About Alana

Alana is Connect’n’Grow's Head of Growth and Development. She has over 18 years experience working in VET in a variety of roles and enjoys helping people achieve their career and education goals.

Melanie Alexandra

Education Services Advisor (Vocational Education, Skills & Training), Independent Schools Queensland

Saxon Phipps

Director, Year13

Saxon Phipps is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Year13. Year13is an EduTech company that strives to democratise opportunity to empower all young people into intrinsically motivated education and employment by utilising data & technology to prepare future generations for the ever-changing world of work effectively.

Year13 are closing the gap on a 20th-century approach to career-related learning; our north star is to develop generations of young people into a productive, resilient and passion-driven workforce. The team at Year 13 have been able to apply this process to create several youth engagement strategies and programs for the likes of the Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Engineers Australia, and the Industry Skills Organisations (Digital, Mining and Human Services)He regularly speaks at events about youth issues such as The Australian Financial Review - Higher Education Summit, Australian Davos Connection - Future of Education Summits and is on the advisory board to the National Careers Institute and initiative of the Federal Governments Department of Education Skills and Employment.

Melanie Alexandra

Education Services Advisor (Vocational Education, Skills & Training), Independent Schools Queensland

Having held a variety of roles within the Academic and Vocational Education and Training (VET) sectors over the past 25 years including trainer and assessor, Head of Faculty, Program Manager, RTO Manager, and Head of Quality Assurance, Melanie has won awards for excellence in teaching and learning, and outstanding leadership of young people in schools.

In recent years, Melanie worked as a Senior Lead Auditor for the Queensland and Curriculum Assessment Authority, conducting regulatory audits and registrations against the current VET Quality Framework and Standards for RTOs 2015, and has continued to provide support services to Registered Training Organisations as a VET Consultant in her own right.  

Today, Melanie provides support, guidance, consulting and mentoring services as the Education Services Advisor of Vocational Education, Skills and Training for Independent Schools Queensland.

David Garner

Principal Consultant, [consult dg]

David Garner is the Principal Consultant at [consult dg] and provides advice, development and research to the VET sector. He has worked in a variety of compliance related roles for over 15 years.  He also currently works in staff roles for two RTOs delivering a range of courses to overseas students in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Most recently, as the General Manager Regulatory Operations for the Australian Skills Quality Authority, David was responsible for implementing ASQA’s regulatory strategy nationally.

David was also Director, Training Quality, in the Queensland Department of Education and Training. Prior to joining the Queensland department in 2005, David worked in and managed training providers for many years. David also has been active in sports administration for over 30 years.

Sheridan Sugden BSocSc (Psych)

Founder & CEO of UBU Coaching

Sheridan has worked in various careers; however, teaching and helping people has always been her passion. 

Sheridan has been in the Education sector since 1995; in the fields of VET, Career Development, Career Counselling, Education Support and Learning Support in both public and independent schools in Victoria, England and Queensland.

Sheridan has owned and managed businesses throughout her career, most recently 5 years as a Resort Manager and Founder and CEO of UBU Coaching. She has been a VET Trainer and Assessor since 2011, and developed training programs for Certificates II & III in Business and Tourism using industry knowledge to ensure authentic workplace experiences and compliance.

Sheridan brings together her experience in VET, management, psychology, coaching, positive education and working with disengaged and learning support students to assist young people to find purpose, take responsibility and engage with education and life. As well as assisting teachers and parents to re-engage students using a range of positive strategies.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Social Science (Psych) majoring in Psychology and Business.
• Certificate in Education Support
• Certificate IV in Career Development
• Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
• Certificate in Positive Education, Positive Parenting, Positive Discipline
• Certificate IV in Tourism
• Certificate III in Business
• Life Coach
• NLP Practitioner
• Genesis Facilitator

Kerri Buttery

Director, Digital Literacy Licence

Kerri Buttery has worked in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector for two decades as a Trainer/Assessor, RTO Manager and also as a Senior Lead Auditor for the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Kerri has worked as a consultant for a range of organisations in the areas of establishing Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), conducting internal audits, consulting on VQF compliance, developing accredited courses, convening conferences and events, developing training and assessment materials, conducting professional development workshops and delivering Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

As the former Director of Content and Strategy for Velg Training, Kerri has extensive experience in providing advice and assistance to Registered Training Organisations in managing compliance,developing assessments and delivering training in line with the VET Quality Framework. She also specialises in eLearning consulting, with a particular focus on the Canvas LMS by Instructure.

Kerri now provides professional development services on everything related to VQF compliance for an RTO through webinars, face-to-face workshops (public and on-demand) as well as presenting at conferences and other events.

Mark Maddox and Robyn Gooley

Manager, Vocational Education & Training and Principal Education Officer, QCAA

About Mark:

Mark has been working in the education industry since 1989 in various roles including high school teacher, head of department, Review and Executive Officer for the Arts. He is currently the Manager of the Vocational Education and Training unit for the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA). He has an in-depth knowledge of current curriculum development in Creative Arts and VET.

In his current role, Mark undertakes the overall management of the functions of the QCAA VET Unit and compliance with state and national VET legislation and implementation of the delegation from the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) as a registering body.

About Robyn:

Robyn has been active in the education industry since 1986. In her 32 years of teaching she has been active in both the public and private school systems. Roles have included high school teacher, trainer and assessor, head of department and curriculum leader. She is currently the Principal Education Officer and Lead Auditor of the Vocational Education and Training Unit for the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA). She has a broad range of knowledge in the curriculum areas of Technologies, Health and Physical Education and VET.

In her current role, Robyn undertakes leading the assessment reviews for compliance and initial applications for School Register Training Organisations.

Fiona Bogaart

Senior Consultant and Instructional Designer, VETNexus

Fiona Bogaart has over 10 years’ experience in the VET sector. From 2007-2012 Fiona was an RTO manager in Qld Schools and from 2011-2014 she was a member of the Senior Phase Network as part of Sustainable Partnerships Australia, an organisation that provides Professional Development opportunities to VET teachers. 

Since 2010, Fiona has been a Qld Schools consultant supporting schools through VET services including internal audits, reviews, quality products and professional development, and is also on retainer for many schools on the Sunshine Coast. 

She is currently the Senior Consultant and Instructional Designer at VETNexus

Paul Pellier

Managing Director, Accellier

Paul is an energetic and engaging public speaker and a highly experienced VET professional having held roles such as Quality Manager for a large national RTO. He is passionate about high quality, modern, flexible education and loves to share ideas and connect with others to build a first-class Australian VET sector.

Paul is the founder and Managing Director of Accellier Education, an RTO with over a decade of service to and success in Australia's VET sector including the delivery of the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.  Accellier education provides a variety of services to a range of industries, government and defence sectors.

Paul is a self-confessed nerd with a software and digital media background. He loves crafting streamlined, highly automated business systems using tech, freeing his RTO team to do what they do best; serve clients with a delightful course experience.

Pauline Farrell and Sarah Phillips

Managing Director, Skills 4 the Future and Managing Director , Pop Education

About Pauline:

Pauline is a specialist in learning transformation and learning innovation with twenty plus years in learning strategy specifically around online and blended learning. She has led opportunities that transformed the student and teacher experience. Her current major research interests focus on the future of work and how education can evolve to meet the emerging needs of the workforce. She works globally across the education technology and disruptive technologies. She is a passionate advocate of curriculum, assessment and learning eco-system transformation through co-design and collaboration with industry, students, executives and teachers. Her focus is on how the process of transformation impacts student retention, student experience and graduates’ outcomes. She is equally driven to achieve exponential change in the teacher experience through setting aspirational benchmarks in innovation, delivery and assessment. Interest include; eLearning, digital learning, workforce development, the future of the workforce, disruptive technologies, and transformational curriculum.
 
Pauline has worked in a broad range of environments including public and private Universities, TAFE's, private RTO's, government organisations and private enterprises. She has worked as a teacher, academic, executive and consultant and has been a presenter at over 100 conferences. She is the author of eBusiness Now, Winner of UMTC Melbourne University PH'd scholarship, DEET T.R.I.P. fellowship, and Multiple Award winner in innovation, elearning, and leadership. Pauline has extensive experience working in and for business including DFSS, Victoria Police, Goodyear Dunlop, Department of Justice, Linfox, and numerous blue chip companies.

About Sarah:

Sarah is the Managing Director of Pop Education, an educational design company specialising in Vocational and Higher Education courseware development. Sarah has been working in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) industry since 2005 across many different positions within TAFE, private and Learn Local training organisations. She has also been involved with many reputable Higher Education institutions.

Sarah manages and consults to a range of VET and Higher Education projects, specialising in blended and online training and assessment. She is known for her no-nonsense approach to compliance. She has the innate ability to think outside the box with an incredibly heart-driven, professional approach. Along with spearheading some truly innovative projects with various government departments, Sarah spent 3 years working as the Victorian eLearning Coordinator and Content Services Advisor for the National VET eLearning Strategy (previously the Australian Flexible Learning Framework) where she consulted on digital resource customisation and strategic development across many industries and with a range of VET organisations.

Carmen Basilicata, Executive Director, Quality Assessment and Compliance, ASQA

As the Executive Director of Quality Assessment and Compliance for the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), Carmen oversees the efficient and effective operation of ASQA’s assessment and compliance functions. 

Carmen commenced in this role in August 2021 after returning from maternity leave with her second child. She initially joined ASQA in 2019 as the Manager Legal Services before taking on a Project Lead role focused on advancing ASQA’s reform agenda and implementing the recommendations of the Rapid Review into ASQA’s internal regulatory practices and processes. 

Specifically, Carmen led projects on ASQA’s audit practice and the establishment of Quality Assessment and Compliance teams. She has had an extensive career over the last 15 years in administrative law, regulation, reform and leading change. Prior to ASQA Carmen held a range of roles in Comcare and the Australian Taxation Office. 

She has led strategic pieces of work across these Federal Government agencies, specifically in relation to compliance, evidence based decision making, dispute resolution, litigation and best practice. 

Carmen has a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Justice and Society, a Bachelor of Laws, a Diploma of Legal Practice, a Diploma of Languages, an Accreditation in Mediation and a Certificate IV in Government (Project Management).

Samantha Young

Director, Human Psychology and Corporate Speaker

Samantha Young is Managing Director of Human Psychology, one of Adelaide’s largest psychological services providers, with a team of 25 people operating for over 14 years.

Samantha brings a unique combination of senior management and commercial experience, psychological intervention skills and Masters-level formal education in both business and psychology to her clinical, training, coaching and consulting work.

She has designed and delivered training for over twenty years and is a sought-after facilitator and speaker, working with hundreds of employees and managers and dozens of organisations every year.

She holds Bachelor and Postgraduate qualifications in business and psychology, including a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology and an MBA from Melbourne University completed at the Darden Business School, University of Virginia. Samantha has also completed the AICD Company Director’s Course.

Samantha is passionate about helping people to think, feel and perform better to realise their potential.