Keynote Speakers

Leaders' Conference Keynote Presenters

Wayne Bennett
Ruby League's Super Coach

Wayne Bennett was Coach of the Brisbane Broncos for 21 years from 1988 until 2008. He was appointed Coach of St George Illawarra in 2009. Wayne Bennett is recognised in Rugby League circles as one of the most influential and innovative of modern day coaches. He is the longest serving coach of a single club, has one of the best winning percentages, and ranks second in the number of premierships won as a coach at an elite level.

A former state and international player, Wayne began coaching in 1976 at club level, and in 1986 became Queensland Director of Coaching. In 1987 he became a full-time coach with the Canberra Raiders. In his first season with the Raiders, Wayne coached them to their first-ever Grand Final and was named Coach of the Year.

In 1988 Wayne joined the Brisbane Broncos as their inaugural coach. He guided the club to five premierships; two World Club Challenge titles; and three pre-season titles. Wayne was coach of the QLD State of Origin sides in 1987 and ‘88 and was appointed the inaugural Queensland Super League coach for the 1997 Tri-Series against NSW and New Zealand . He returned to State of Origin in 1998, where he guided Queensland to an historic 2-1 series victory over NSW.

The Broncos' success in 1997, winning both the Telstra Cup and the Visa World Club Championship resulted in Wayne being named the Super League Coach of the Year.

In 1998 Wayne was chosen as the Australian coach for the final two Tests of the ANZAC series against New Zealand . The same year, he created history by becoming the first coach to steer his club, his state and his country to victory in their respective series. He was also named Queensland Coach of the Year, Australian Domestic Team Coach of the Year and on a personal level, Queensland Father of the Year .

Again in 2000, Wayne was named Coach of the Year when the Broncos won both the minor and major premierships. His success continued in 2001, when Queensland won the State of Origin series. The same year, the Queensland Government added Rugby League to the Queensland Academy of Sport program, of which Wayne was appointed the Director.

In 2008 he was appointed Coach of St George Illawarra. In the same year, he released his autobiography, Wayne Bennett, The Man in the Mirror .

 

Kurt Fearnley
2009 NSW Young Australian of the Year

Kurt Fearnley is a world champion wheelchair athlete with a can do attitude that makes the impossible possible. His infectious energy and passion for life inspires and motivates audiences across age groups and industries.

In 2009, Kurt Fearnley claimed his fourth New York Marathon title in a row, finishing the 42.2-kilometre course in a time of one hour, 35 minutes and 58 seconds. Just two weeks before he claimed his third consecutive win in the Chicago Marathon. The wins capped off an amazing year for Kurt Fearnley with other victories in Seoul, Paris, London, and Sydney.

As if that were not enough, with relentless enthusiasm and incredible drive, Kurt moved on from the marathon
circuit to take up his next and most grueling challenge for the year – crawling the Kakoda Trail. He took on this last challenge for 2009 to raise awareness of mens' health issues.

 

Celia Lashlie

Presentation: 'Matriarchs and the Need to Work Effectively with Mothers if we are to Make a Real Difference in the Lives of Children'

A researcher and social commentator, Celia Lashlie worked for 15 years within the Prison Service, starting in December 1985 as the first woman to work as a prison officer in a male prison in New Zealand . Her final role within the Service was as Manager of Christchurch Women's Prison, a position she left in September 1999.

Celia, who has a degree in anthropology and Maori, is the mother of two adult children. She now works on a number of projects, all of which are linked to improving the lives of at-risk children and empowering families to find their own solutions to the challenges they face.

In September 2004, she completed the ‘Good Man' project. The project, which facilitated discussion within and between 25 boys' schools throughout New Zealand , aimed to create a working definition of what makes a good man in the 21 st century.

She has written two books; The Journey to Prison: Who goes and why, and He'll Be Ok: Growing Gorgeous Boys into Good Men .

 

Chris Presland

Chris Presland is in his third Principalship at the multi award winning St Clair High School in the western suburbs of Sydney . He has previously been a senior Principal at the NSW DET State Office and prior to that he was the Principal of Airds High School, located at Campbelltown in Sydney 's south west. He has a strong history of developing a shared understanding of learning across the school, leading to improved teaching and learning, greater levels of professional dialogue between teachers and improved learning outcomes for students.

He has presented keynote speeches and workshops relating to successful organisational change and the foundations for effective leadership, for audiences in the USA , New Zealand , South Australia , Western Australia , Queensland , Victoria , the Australian Capital Territory and in many locations across NSW. Whether in writing or as a lively facilitator, his areas of expertise focus upon the processes rather than just the theory of how to create highly focused and dynamic organisations.

As a presenter Chris brings with him many years of educational leadership and derives his credibility not only from his knowledge of “process” but also from the fact that he is a school based practitioner, with years of experience in some of the most challenging educational and socio economically disadvantaged environments.

Chris is currently a Deputy President of the NSW Secondary Principals' Council (NSW SPC), Convener of the NSW Branch of Principals Australia (PA), a National Board Member of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) and is a representative on the NSW DET Professional Learning and Leadership Development Reference Group.

Chris was a recipient in 2003 of a Director General's award for “Excellent Service to Public Education”, was listed in the 2004 “ Australia's Smart 100” awards conducted by The Bulletin magazine and Microsoft Australia, received a 2005 Macarthur Outstanding Educator Award from the Australian College of Educators, in 2006 received a “National Outstanding Achievement by a Principal” award from the Federal Government, and in 2008 was conferred as a National Fellow of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders.

 

Teacher's Conference Keynote Presenter

Bruce Sullivan CSP
Red Hot Relationship

Bruce is a relationship specialist and a proven performer in achieving results through people for over 24 years. His practical, hands on experience is based on working in both the community and business. He is a Husband to Gillian of 23 years, a Father to Hannah (13) and Declan (9) and he currently balances this with being a Director of six private companies.

Managing his own businesses since his teens, by age 24 he had established his own million-dollar network of businesses and he has an extended track record of working with a wide range of private and public organisations', both in Australia and overseas. His enthusiastic, entertaining and hands-on approach gets long term tangible results and has resulted in 100% of his work being generated from repeat and referral business, which is of course the strongest possible testimony to his skills.

Bruce has worked with individuals, families, businesses and communities providing education and opportunities for personal improvement. It is this experience that has given Bruce a unique understanding of our ability to relate to one another in the workplace and at home. This is what sets his work apart and gives a very practical and timely insight into the human side of the corporate environment.

 

Should you have any questions regarding the 2010 Special Education Leaders' Conference, please contact GEMS Event Management on (02) 9744 5252 or email mglasson@gemspl.com.au

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