In alphabetical order...
Ms. Barbara Macnish
Barbara Macnish is the CEO of Miles Morgan Australia. She has worked in public policy, service delivery, evaluation, governance, stakeholder relations and strategy in both government and commercial environments. Barbara has oversight of and input into all Miles Morgan’s projects, many of which are focused in the education arena at a policy, research and/or evaluation level.
Barbara has an MBA, is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Australasian Evaluation Society and the Australian Institute of Human Resources and was a Western Australian Business Woman of the Year in 2003.
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Mr. Colin McCowan OAM
Col McCowan OAM is a registered psychologist, teacher and counsellor who worked for the Queensland Government for over 15 years AND responsible for over 500 specialist personnel working across Queensland. He moved on to become a well-regarded academic in fields related to Psychology and Counselling with the Queensland University for over 15 years. He has won numerous awards including the Hobson’s Press National Career Counselling Award and the 2009 International ePortfolio Award.
In 2008 he was awarded the highly prestigious Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to the career industry in Australia. He has worked extensively as a consultant for organisations such as UNESCO, UNDP and AusAID in Bhutan, Vietnam, Thailand and Oman and has also managed a wide range of projects addressing specific organisational issues.
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Mr. Craig Johnson
Craig Johnson is currently the Superintendent of the American School of Bombay in Mumbai, India. Mr Johnson returns to India (where he spent 12 years of his childhood) after 15 years in Brazil. While in Brazil, he served as the High School Principal at Graded School in Sao Paulo, and more recently as the Headmaster of the American School of Brasilia, Brazil. Mr Johnson received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Fort Hays State University (Kansas): BA in History and English; MA in Secondary Education and Administration.
His roots, as a classroom teacher, are in Middle and High School English and Social Studies. he continues to keep engaged in student life, by coaching soccer, and trying to teach or co-teaching an English class as often as possible. A regular presenter and workshop facilitator on a variety of Leadership and School Improvement topics, Mr Johnson has also published a novel (Wave Watcher), and has a second novel on the way.
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Prof. David Blustein
David L. Blustein is a Professor in the Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. David has published over 100 articles and book chapters on career development, the school-to-work transition, the psychology of working, work-based transitions, and relational perspectives of working.
He is the author of “The Psychology of Working: A New Perspective for Career Development, Counseling, and Public Policy” and the editor of the recently published “Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Working.” David is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the National Career Development Association. In addition, David has consulted with state and national government agencies on issues pertaining to career development education and the school-to-work transition process.
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Mr. J. P. Rai
Mr. J.P. Rai worked as Executive Director, Prime Minister’s National Council on Skill Development in the Office of the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Skill development since January 2012. He is the Director General of National Skill Development Agency. He has had a long career spanning over 35 years, including in banking, the civil services and the private sector.
After six years in the State Bank of India, he joined the Indian Administrative Service, Madhya Pradesh cadre, in 1983. This stint saw him serve at various locations in the then undivided Madhya Pradesh, including as District Magistrate of Seoni district, and Raigarh districts, Deputy Secretary Finance in the Government of MP, Additional Secretary Environment etc. He also served with the United Nations Transitional authority for Cambodia as an electoral expert during the UN supervised elections in 1993. In 1997, he resigned from the IAS to join the private sector. His work in the private sector was in leadership positions in major infrastructure projects, including India’s first private sector port, LNG project, and modern shipyards.
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Ms. Lina Ashar
Lina Ashar,Chairperson, Kangaroo Kids Education, is a global pioneer in children’s education. Propelled by her vision, Kangaroo Kids Education Ltd (KKEL) has become a leading education chain that is changing the way kids learn by introducing innovative learning strategies, fun-filled activities and an engaging curriculum.
Equipped with a bachelor’s degree in Education from Victoria College, Melbourne, Lina came to India in 1993 with a dream of making a much needed difference in the field of education. However, as a teacher in Mumbai, it did not take her long to understand the limitations of the existing education system. Her conviction in the need for change led to the establishment of her first preschool in Bandra (Mumbai) in 1993, with only 25 students.
Today KKEL is a renowned educational group with 80 plus schools across 17 different cities in India as well as two in Dubai and one in Maldives, and is still growing. The schools include Kangaroo Kids (Playschool, Nursery, Junior & Senior KG) Billabong High International School (Grades 1 to 12) and its newest affiliate, Brainworks.
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Ms. Manjula Pooja Shroff
Mrs. Manjula Pooja Shroff is a renowned edupreneur, regarded by many as the change agent for schooling in the state of Gujarat. As the CEO of Calorx, she has been instrumental in founding and managing several premier schools. Calorx, since its inceptions in 1995, is a name synonymous to professional and excellence in schooling. It has in its umbrella, the Delhi Public Schools, Calorx Olive International School at Ahmedabad and Calorx Public Schools across the Western Belt of India with 40+ educational Institutions and still growing.The one of its kind, sector specific Calorx Teachers’ University is developing a creed of teachers to fill the quality gap of Human Capital.
Her concern for the marginalized and those with special learning needs is evident through the projects Visamo Kids and Prerna ‐ a school for dyslexics. Mrs. Shroff is a postgraduate from York University and executive alumni from London School of Economics. She holds a post‐graduate degree from Utkal University and is a Graduate of Management Education Programme of IIM, Ahmedabad. She is a recipient of several awards, among them, the prestigious Secular India Award from the President of India, Shri Shankar Dayal Sharma & Woman of the year by American Bibliography Society, North Carolina.
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Mr. Mark Pearce
Mr Pierce is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was until most recently Assistant Secretary of the Department's South and Central Asia Branch. He has served overseas as Minister-Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Washington; Chargé d'Affaires at the Australian Embassy in Rome; and Minister at the Australian Embassies in Berlin and Paris, with earlier postings in Tel Aviv and Ottawa.
Mr Pierce was the International Crisis Group's Director of Research in 2001. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Tasmania and Master of Arts in History from Queen's University in Canada. He is married to Joanna Hewitt AO.
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Mr. Nadir Godrej
Mr. N. B. Godrej is the Managing Director at Godrej Industries Ltd. He holds a Master of Science degree in chemical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has been a Director of several Godrej companies since 1977 and has developed the animal feed, agricultural inputs and chemicals businesses of Godrej Industries and other associate companies, and has been very active in research.
Mr. Godrej has been awarded Chevalier de Legion d'Honneur, Globoil Life Time Achievement Award – 2012, OTAI Life Time Achievement Award – 2012, Chemtech CEW Leadership & Excellence Award - 2013, and Chemexcil Life Time Achievement Award – 2013. He also received the Porter Prize 2013 for Creating Shared Value awarded to Godrej Industries Ltd.
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Dr. Rati Godrej
Dr. Rati Godrej is an American Board Certified physician trained in Internal Medicine. She has held a position as a Medical Consultant and Post Medical Advisor for the US Consulate General in Mumbai, India since 1999. Her other professional commitments in Mumbai, have included serving a two year term on the Ethics Committee for Clinical Trials and Research at the Tata Memorial Hospital (2009-2011) and earlier she held positions as a Deputy Medical Director at the Asian Heart Institute in 2010 and as a member of the Board of Trustees for developing the Godrej Memorial Hospital from 2006-2009.
She has been a Past President and continues to be a Board Member for the Jai Vakeel School for Children with Special Needs, since 1999. Dr. Godrej continues to be an active member of the Board of Trustees for the Framjee Cawasjee Institute, an Educational Trust, since 2008. Although she finds clinical medicine extremely rewarding, she would like to make a more significant impact in society, by working in public health, so as to improve access, quality and affordability of medical care to the indigent and rural population.
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Dr. Ratna Dhamija
Dr. Ratna Dhamija is an experienced senior executive, teacher, strategic planner and consultant. She is the Country Head of ACER India. In her role as the Country Head, she is leading training activities, project design and direction, liaison with Ministry both federal and state, National and International agencies, and development sector and client liaison. She joined ACER in September 2005 as Manager – India of its India office. She has an extensive experience of large scale project management.
She has conducted workshops for school principals and teachers on ‘School Improvement and Use of Data to improve Classroom transaction’ as well as on the topics of ICT. Ratna has executive experience on national consortia and has had national project management experience in managing and organising national and school assessment programs in India and neighbouring countries. Prior to joining ACER, Ratna worked in various capacities responsible for teaching and training in ICT in school and Management colleges, management, project planning and coordination.
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Mr. Ravi Saxena
An IAS of the 1978 batch, Ravi Saxena last served as the Additional Chief Secretary – Department of Science & Technology, Govt of Gujarat. He has held various managerial assignments in the Public Sector Undertakings of Central and State Government. He contributed to the development of the industrial and economic infrastructure of Gujarat State as the chief of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Gujarat Infrastructure Development Board and Development Commissioner of SEZs.
He has effectively managed rescue, relief and disaster mitigation work on various occasions including the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake and various natural disasters and riots that broke out in the state. He has conceptualised and founded various organisations during his career, for effective working of the departments he headed. He is passionate about harnessing the power of Information Technology and has been pursuing use of IT in governance, right from the beginning of his career. He has many firsts to his credit in the area of eGovernance.
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Mr. Stephen Meek
Stephen Meek has been the Principal of Geelong Grammar School since 2004. Stephen has led the School’s introduction of its transformational Positive Education programme, which was developed from the science of positive psychology in collaboration with Professor Martin Seligman and his team from the University of Pennsylvania.
He has discussed the impact of Positive Education at various conferences, both in Australia and overseas, including the Symposium on Wellbeing at George Mason University in Virginia and the International Conference on Positive Psychology and Education in Beijing. Stephen was previously Headmaster of Hurstpierpoint College in the UK, where he led the introduction of co-education.
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Mr. Syed Sultan
Syed Sultan Ahmed is a first generation entrepreneur. He has set up EDUMEDIA, an organisation that enriches the lives of children through progressive initiatives using media. With 15 years of focused experience, creative methodology and extensive research, EduMedia has continuously created inspiring and innovative offerings that are benchmarked in the Indian education space. He is the promoter & publisher of MENTOR MAGAZINE, India’s most respected monthly print magazine focused on school leadership, principals and educators. Mentor reaches over 15,000 schools with a readership of over 200,000 educators.
His creation SCHOOL CINEMA is a revolutionary learning module on life skills, values & attitudes, developed through research and taught using short films and thought provoking workbooks. Over 500,000 students from 600 schools are using School cinema as part of their curriculum. School Cinema films have won 3 President of India’s National Film Awards and have featured in over 35 International Film Festivals. His brainchild AKSHAYA LIFE SKILLS is one of India’s largest organized training programs that benefitted over 120,000 government school students in the academic year 2011-12 from Karnataka, Rajasthan, AP and Jammu.
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Prof. Tristram Hooley
Tristram Hooley is Professor of Career Education and Head of iCeGS. His research interests include careers policy, the evidence base in careers work and the role of technology in career development. He is also interested in careers work and social justice, the role of appearance and attractiveness in career and the careers of researchers.
He is a member of the UK Careers Sector Strategic Alliance, a Winston Churchill Fellow, a Fellow of National Institute for Career Education and Counselling (NICEC) and on the editorial board of the British Journal of Guidance and Counselling. He was the specialist adviser to the House of Commons Education Committee inquiry into career guidance. He also write the Adventures in Career Development blog.
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