Planning Your Career Moves in 2024

Dr Naomi Dempsey 

Women-Space Australia

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Naomi is an accomplished executive educational leader with over 25 years of experience in higher and vocational education. Naomi was the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Students, Chief Student Officer and Interim Deputy Provost of Students & Academic Services at Victoria University and has held many executive roles in vocational education (including Registered Training Organisations, TAFE and Australian Apprenticeships). She is an Associate with Women-Space and leads Women-Space Australia, supporting the development and progress of women who work in higher education. 

Naomi’s expertise in the education sector spans enhancements to student learning and success, student equity, innovation in service delivery and digital technologies, and organisational capability. She has a proven track record conceptualising and leading innovative strategies that solve problems in complex environments and for growing organisational capability.

She was awarded the tertiary education sector’s LH Martin Institute Award for Excellence in Leadership (ATEM, 2019), recognising her achievements in delivering innovative strategies that improved the student experience for a dual-sector university.

Naomi holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Education. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD). Her most recent achievement was completing her PhD research that examined an educational reform in Australian higher education focused on first-year student success and intensive block mode delivery and the influences of that reform on student outcomes across multiple academic disciplines and student equity groups.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-dempsey/

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Professor Christina Hughes

CEO and Founder, Women-Space

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Professor Christina Hughes is the Founder and CEO of Women-Space.

Christina has always been incredibly passionate about gender equality, and she has a strong belief in the principles of fairness, integrity, and care so that together we can create a more compassionate and equal world.

Having spent a large part of her career working in universities has increased my keenness to help other women who work in higher education to progress and thrive. She was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) at the University of Warwick, Provost at Sheffield Hallam University, and most recently, Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) at the University of Kent.

Christina is delighted to be an Honorary Professor at the University of Kent and a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Global Education at Coventry University. She has published over 15 books and has achieved external grant capture of £1.6M.

She gained her Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy/Advance HE in 2016, is an ILM Level 7 Executive Coach and Mentor and is an accredited StrengthsProfile practitioner.

It’s from this insight, experience, and learning that I want to help other women achieve the fulfilment from their professional and academic careers that they truly deserve.

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​https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinahugheswomen-space/

Professor Helana Scheepers

Academic Director Research Training, School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology

Co-Chair of the WATTLE Steering Committee

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Professor Helana Scheepers is currently the Academic Director Research Training for the School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. She received her Ph.D. from Aalborg University in Denmark in 2000. She has worked for several universities including Monash University and University of Pretoria. Before joining academia, she worked as a business analyst and project manager.

She is the co-founder and executive leader of Swinburne Women’s Academic Network. This Swinburne-based organisation focuses on peer support for women in an academic environment. She is also a co-founder and co-chair of WATTLE. Her research interest centres on IT-based innovations in organisational contexts. She has studied the development, management and adoption of information technology by large and small organisations. She has studied the use of social media by individuals and organisations as well as information technology (mobile technology, enterprise resource planning systems) by organisations. More recently her research has focused on a specific niche research area focussing on the unique IT requirements for the social sector.

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​https://www.linkedin.com/in/helana-scheepers-154a5621/

Professor Sarah O’Shea

Dean, Graduate Research, Charles Sturt University

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Professor Sarah O’Shea is currently the Dean, Graduate Research at Charles Sturt University and also holds an Honorary Professorial position with the University of Wollongong.

A nationally and internationally recognised educator and researcher, Sarah has worked across education sectors for nearly 30 years. She has held numerous university leadership positions, which have directly informed changes across the Australian higher education sector, particularly in the field of student access and participation. This work has been used to inform both government policy and teaching practices, with regular invitations to contribute expertise to government panels, peak bodies, professional associations as well as educational providers. Sarah is a prolific and award-winning author – with over 100 publications, she has also obtained over $4 million in research income.

As Director of the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education, Sarah provided national leadership in higher education equity policy research, coordinating a program of nationally and internationally significant research. 

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Sarah has also been recognised as an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow, a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Authority (AdvanceUK) and was awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship to engage in research internationally.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/profsarahoshea/

Professor Letizia Gramaglia

Academic Director, Learning & Teaching, Monash University

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Professor Letizia Gramaglia is Head of Academic Development and Director of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA). She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a National Teaching Fellow and has led educational projects on inclusive pedagogies and assessment. She is responsible for the strategic leadership of development for academic staff who teach, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and sector trends.

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She has established a close partnership with the Monash Education Academy and has contributed to the development of an AdvanceHE accredited scheme for professional recognition of teaching in HE at Monash University. 

Letizia recently joined Monash University on a fixed-term secondment as Academic Director of Learning and Teaching.

Her disciplinary background is in post-colonial studies, with a research focus on Indo-Caribbean literature and the history of mental health institutions in the Caribbean. She was an Associate Fellow of the Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/letiziagramaglia/

Andrea Strachan

Director, Student Services, The University of Queensland

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Andrea Strachan is currently the Director, Student Services at The University of Queensland (UQ). Having spent 14 years developing and delivering services to enhance the student experience in one form or another, Andrea’s professional working career has included leadership roles within UK Students’ Union’s; including as Chief Executive of the Students’ Union at the University of the Arts London, LSE and the University of Manchester.

Andrea has experience outside the HE environment, managing customer services operations in both sales and hospitality. Andrea’s leadership within HE was recognised globally by Universitas 21 and nationally by the Australian Financial Review during and after COVID.

For the past eight years, Andrea’s role at UQ has included overseeing the range of support services, including advice, learning skills, counselling, sexual misconduct prevention and response, student engagement, campus activation and diversity and inclusion.

In recent years, the scope and scale of the directorate have shifted to focus on assisting the key strategic challenges at UQ, building a sense of belonging and community and opportunities to enhance the experience and maximise the retention and success of students. Whole-of-institutional initiatives such as establishing peer-to-peer support/mentoring, Sexual Misconduct Support Unit and a Mental Health Strategy keep colleagues busy and much focussed on enhancing the student experience through engaging students.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreastrachan/

Dr Nadine Zacharias
Managing Director and Founder, Equity by Design
 

Dr Nadine Zacharias is the Managing Director and Founder of Equity by Design – a specialist consulting firm in student equity and engagement. 

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Nadine leads transformative work in higher education to achieve a more equitable and high-performing sector. Her contribution to student equity research, policy and practice was enabled by roles with the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE), including as an inaugural Equity Fellow, as well as senior management roles at Swinburne and Deakin University. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadine-zacharias-4ab09053/
 

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Inbar Niv
Head of Learning and Organisational Development, Orygen Youth Mental Health 
 

A dynamic and accomplished organisational development leader, Inbar is the Head of Learning and Organisational Development (L&OD) at Orygen Youth Mental Health. With experience across multiple sectors including FMCG, Higher Education and Health, she thrives on building and delivering transformative L&OD programs that lift employee capability, enhance leadership, and create inclusive cultures that foster connection, belonging and potential.

Inbar is passionate about driving new ways of thinking and working to bring about positive and sustainable change for individuals, teams, and organisations.

She is a mother to two teenage girls and four furry family members, is an ‘extreme’ gardener and has recently discovered she is terrible at wheel throwing.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/inbar-niv-45539714/

Katharine Adcroft
Development Manager, Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery

The University of Melbourne

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Katharine Adcroft is currently a Development Manager guiding the University of Melbourne’s contributions to the new collaborative Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD), after recently transitioning from a more technical role, establishing then managing facilities and services across the Health precinct at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia.

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After studying genetics, biochemistry and pathology at the University of Western Australia, Katharine worked as a biomedical researcher at the Fiona Wood Foundation on spray-on-skin technology, as well as several other research, industry, technical support then management roles in health.

Katharine is passionate about art, graphic and communication design, and has completed a Masters in Communication Design at RMIT and Swinburne. Some of her more exciting career highlights have been completing an Endeavour Scholarship at the National Institute of Design in India, studying the local healthcare system then creating design solutions for diabetic patients; and working for SymbioticA to run international workshops teaching artists scientific techniques and helping them to create bio-art works.

In the coming years, Katharine is excited to lead the development of innovative engineering and health education and research solutions, while seeking out broader professional experience in finance, business management and sustainable infrastructure development.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharine-adcroft/

Donna Trebilcock

Performance and Leadership Coach, Chorus

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Donna was part of the WATTLE inaugural Professional cohort when she worked as the Manager, Digital Student Engagement, Orientation & Transition (Lifecycle Engagement) at Curtin University.

Following WATTLE, Donna was inspired to move into a design and innovation consulting role on Curtin’s massive digital transformation project, designing and leading in-person and online design thinking workshops at mass scale across professional and academic staff, students, researchers and external partners.
 

From there Donna gained her executive coaching qualifications and transitioned into a private consulting role, with Curtin University inviting her back in to lead strategic planning and leadership development workshops.

Donna now splits her time between working as an internal leadership coach and organisational development leader for a highly progressive for-purpose organisation, and partnering with private coaching clients through her own business. She invests deeply in her personal and professional development, with a special interest in systems coaching and leadership effectiveness. Donna remains an avid supporter of women in leadership and actively coaches and mentors women looking to develop themselves in this space.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnatrebilcock/