Speakers

Professor Howard Stevenson

Howard taught in secondary education in England for 15 years before moving into higher education in 2002. Since 2013 he has been Professor of Education and Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Nottingham, where he is currently the Director of Research.

He has been researching teachers' work and teacher unions for more than 25 years and has recently undertaken research for Education International and the European Trade Union Committee for Education as well as several teacher unions. He is a past President of his union branch in both school and university sector unions.

Rod Little

Rod Little is from the Amangu and Wajuk peoples of Geraldton and Perth areas of WA. He has been a Director of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples from 2011. Rod has been elected member of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body since 2008 and Chairperson from 2011 to November 2015 and resigned to take up Congress Co-chair role. Rod is a champion for the ACT Human Rights Office ‘Diversity in the Territory’ campaign, promoting respect and tolerance for multiculturalism and elimination of racism in the ACT.

Jack Boyle

Jack Boyle is PPTA President. He grew up and attended school in Hawke’s Bay before migrating to the much colder climate of Wellington to become a Drama and English teacher in 2005.

He has been an activist at all levels in PPTA, starting as a branch chair and regional establishing teachers’ representative. He then moved onto representing the Hutt Valley and Wairarapa as an Executive member before being elected the Association’s Junior Vice President last year and now President for 2017/8.

Jack is interested in both industrial and professional issues – having chaired PPTA’s Behaviour and Workload Taskforce, while also being a member of the industrial bargaining team for the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement. He believes that high quality, well-resourced public education is a cornerstone to achieving fairness and equity in society, both in Aotearoa/New Zealand and abroad.

Anne Swift

Anne Swift is the President of the National Union of Teachers (UK). She has taught all nursery and primary age range students and is currently working in a large Infant school in Scarborough. She is also an external examiner for Leeds Metropolitan University and mentors newly qualified teachers. Anne is a member of National Primary Advisory Committee, Chair of National Heads and Deputies Advisory Committee and advisor to the Compass Inquiry into Education.

James Tewheyo

James is a seasoned educator, with specialization in Secondary Education and currently involved in Education Development work as a General Secretary since 2012 to date. He is a strong union activist and has served the union since 2003 in the capacities a National Vice Chairperson from 2005 to 2012. He served as a head teacher at Nyakayoojo Secondary School and Kabalega Secondary School. He has specialization in Education Administration and Planning, Labour and Industrial Relations, Performance Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Policy Planning, professional governance, Analysis and Advocacy, strategic planning, including Financial Management of institutional funds.

It was against this exposure that he was not only nominated to the Education International Development work as Executive Board member but also Executive Board member of Education & Solidarity Network; positions that pushed him to the Education International (EI), the Global Federation that represents over 40 million teachers globally. He also has had numerous exposures in organization Psychology through training, conferences and symposia through this work both locally & internationally.

Aaron Devine

Aaron has a wealth of strategic leadership experience in the education sector. Currently, Aaron is an education management consultant and is the Managing Director Devine Management Solutions which specialises in strategic planning, leadership and policy development in the higher education and vocational education sectors. Aaron has held high level positions including General Manager - TAFE Queensland Brisbane, General Manager Organisational Development - TAFE Tasmania and Director VET and Leader Teaching and Learning Quality at Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory. Concurrently he performed the role of Director TAFE Reform – Gold Coast region as part of the Queensland Government’s reform of the state’s training sector.

Dr Stacey Fox

Dr Stacey Fox is a Policy Fellow at the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University.

The Mitchell Institute is committed to an education system that equips all young people to be creative, entrepreneurial, resilient and capable learners, and works from early childhood through to tertiary education. Stacey primarily works in the Mitchell Institute’s early childhood research and policy stream.