Tegan Murdock is a proud member of Barkindji, Maurara, Yorta and Duduroa tribes. Tegan learnt the art of weaving from her Mum, and now she passes on this treasured skill through her business, Ngumpie Weaving. Ngumpie in Barkindji language is translated to 'Beautiful' - which is what Tegan's Grandmother called her. Weaving can be a powerful healing and meditative tool, a chance to connect with other people, and a way to help people come together in challenging times. Tegan creates jewellery and wall pieces and teaches others to weave in face to face workshops, online workshops, school visits and corporate staff development days.
From a career spanning many years in the Hospitality industry, Julie entered the teaching profession following her passion for food, healthy eating and well-being. In 2017, Education Is Key was born and has continued to grow ever since. Julie consistently works across a variety of Food and Health avenues to ensure she remains current and that the resources created are representative of our existing educational landscape. Throughout 2020, Julie taught remotely in the Northern Territory to expand her knowledge of the Indigenous foods and gain a cultural awareness of the struggles and social impacts that influence remote communities. Julie represents a positive role model to those wishing to provide the highest standard of teaching to their students and for the students themselves to learn and recognise the golden standard for the work they do and submit.
Scott is a Design and Technology teacher with over 30 years experience in the Technology classroom. An engineer by trade he specialises in woodwork and has extensively taught and used the cleaner technologies such as Electronics, Laser cutting, CNC and 3D printing for many years in the classroom. Always extending his skills in these areas he is keen to share his knowledge and help other utilise these technologies in their own classrooms.
Jonathon (JJ) Wallace is a highly experienced workplace trainer, hospitality veteran and coffee lover with over 25 years of experience. Among many of his career highlights include: * Coffee judge, Sydney Royal Easter Show Technical Judge, Australiasian Coffee Association. * Owner and operator of several cafes. * National Barista Champion (Michel's Patisserie) * Coffee Trainer. Henessy Coffee, Di Bella Coffee * Public Schools NSW Co-assessor * Public Schools NSW Ultimo RTO industry representative * JJ currently works as a Hospitality teacher at St Ives High School.
Laura VonHoldt is a teacher at St Paul’s Catholic Secondary College, Kempsey, currently teaching Food Technology and Textiles. She graduated from Southern Cross University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Technology Education specialising in Design and Technology, Food Technology and Computers. Laura has a passion for teaching and food, providing real life holistic experiences for students which are currently on trend. She likes to encourage students to use their initiative.
Era is an Industrial Designer by trade. Prior to joining the Design and Technology team at Australian Catholic University, her work’s focus has been in the commercial furniture industry. Aside from her current role as a Technical Officer for Food and Textile Technology, she is also teaching a unit called Design Principles- a unit focused on the design process, graphic and CAD communication. Rapid Prototyping Technology and Computer Aided Design have always been an interest for Era. Outside of her day job, she enjoys cooking, baking and cake decorating. She is inspired by pastry chefs such as Amaury Gauchon, Dinara Kasko and Meruyert Nursila with their unique vision in cake decorating and their application of industrial techniques in something that we all love- food.
Author and founder of Dream Big Education Wellbeing & Consulting, Kylie Captain is a proud Gamilaroi woman, born and raised in the inner-city Sydney suburbs of Redfern and Waterloo. Kylie is an educational leader and author of her recently published books Dream Big and Imagine the What If and Co-authored book Be That Teacher who Makes a Difference and Lead Aboriginal Education for All Students. Kylie's books and accompanying journals are making a difference to the lives of many across the Australia and abroad.
Kylie is known for her expertise in facilitating transformational professional learning for teachers and leaders and her passion for supporting all students to reach their full potential. Kylie has had an impressive career in education, finance, wellbeing and community service. She is the President of the Aboriginal Studies Association and is an inspirational teacher and leader.