Conference speakers

• Keynote speaker: Emeritus Professor Steven Schwartz
• Mr George Habib
• Professor Brenda Cherednichenko
• Professor Chris Hickey
• Dr Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli
• Associate Professor Damian Blake
• Mr Ken Massari

Keynote speaker: Emeritus Professor Steven Schwartz

Steven has been Vice-Chancellor and president at three universities in Australia and England. He holds appointments on councils, boards and think tanks in Australia, the US and the UK.

In the UK, Steven was tasked with reviewing all universities in England to ensure they were providing access to applicants from non-traditional and deprived backgrounds. The report is known as the Schwartz Report and has been widely covered in the media.

The Schwartz Report led to changes in legislation, the establishment of an Office of Fair Access and a think tank called Supporting Professionalism in Admissions. Steven has also advised Trinity College Dublin on access issues.

Steven is currently a Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford, lecturing on admissions. In the past month, he has spoken in Westminster at the House of Commons, at the Guardian Education Conference, and the annual meeting of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and at Oxford.

Mr George Habib

Mr. George Habib is a Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist who has over twenty years’ experience in government funded services and private practice.

He is currently the Discipline Senior for the Early In Life Mental Health Service at Monash Health and provides a range of clinical interventions to children and families. He provides secondary consultations and training to a range of educational, health and welfare services in the sector.

George’s main clinical interests include working with:

• children, adolescents and youth who have experienced child abuse and neglect
• children who were adopted
• children who experience difficulties fitting into schools and the community.

He is a current member of the State Governments Therapeutic Treatment Board.

Professor Brenda Cherednichenko

Brenda is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University. Her previous roles have included Pro Vice-Chancellor, Engagement, Equity and Indigenous at Edith Cowan University (2007–2011) and Director, Access and Success, Victoria University (2006–2007).

Brenda is also currently the President of the Australian Council of Deans of Education (2012–2014) and has been an early childhood, primary, secondary and community educator. Her research is focused on educational equity and community-university partnerships.

Professor Chris Hickey

Chris is the Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University.

Chris is an educational researcher with an orientation toward social critical scholarship. His research recognises the importance of ‘networks of social relationships’ in influencing personal direction and opportunity. His research has focused on the practices of identity for socially disadvantaged groups (economic, geographically and culturally). Using qualitative research methodologies he has undertaken extensive work with schools, families and sporting clubs as key socialising institutions.  

Chris is working on two Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage projects. One is conducting research with ‘at risk’ students in low socio-economic schools. The other focuses on educational pathways for disadvantaged youth.

Chris is currently Chief Editor of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education.

Dr Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli

Maria is Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Social Development at Deakin University. Her primary areas of research and activism are cultural, gender, sexual and family diversity in education and health.

Maria is also a Founding Member of AGMC Inc (Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council). Her books include:

• Love You Two, her first novel, and co-winner of a 2010 Lambda Literary Award
• Someone You Know (Australia's first AIDS biography)
• Girls Talk: Young Women Speak Their Hearts And Minds
• Tapestry, a biographical narrative on five generations of her Italian family
• When Our Children Come Out: How to Support Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Young People
• Border Sexualities, Border Families in Schools (a recipient of a Lambda Literary Award, 2011).

She has also co-written three books with her dear friend Wayne Martino:

• Boys Stuff (shortlisted for four awards)
• So What's a Boy
• Being Normal is the Only Way to Be: Adolescent Perspectives on Schooling.

Associate Professor Damian Blake

Damian Blake is an Associate Professor in Education at Deakin University. His research interests include the use of applied learning approaches in schools, universities and TAFE settings.

He is currently undertaking an ARC-funded research project entitled ‘Innovative partnerships for youth engagement in education and work’ which is exploring how partnership-building pedagogies can improve educational outcomes for young people.

Damian’s other current research includes:

• school-university partnerships that raise young people’s aspirations and improve pre-service teacher education
• Activity Theory perspectives on blending learning across workplaces, community contexts and formal learning environments.

Damian is also the Associate Head of School (Teaching and Learning) for the School of Education at Deakin University and Chair of the Access and Equity Reference Group in the Faculty of Arts and Education.

Mr Ken Massari

After 25 years of teaching, Ken Massari is proudly the principal of the Goldsworthy Road Year 9-12 Campus of Northern Bay P-12 College. Growing up and having been educated in Corio, to return as the principal of his former school is not only an honour for Ken, but an opportunity to provide a personal insight into what supports success for its students.

Ken provides curriculum and policy advice to state and federal governments, and is currently on the Boards of the Victorian Principals’ Association, the Norlane Community Centre and the Geelong Regional Local Learning and Employment Network.

These roles have allowed him to continue to be an advocate for low socio-economic communities and he has led schools that have produced strong improvements in the outcomes for students and their families.

A strong belief in school and community partnerships underpins his leadership. This is evident at Northern Bay College which is working towards developing a full-service delivery model. This aims to foster high aspirations for every student and the support to help realise them.

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