Our Board

Independent Non-Executive Director

Adam is an educator passionate about student voice. After winning a fellowship to study at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2016 to research how to empower young new citizens, he is now completing a Doctorate of Education at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, concentrating on the relationship between Civics and Citizenship Education and student agency. Adam is part of the executive of Social Education Victoria, where his focus is building teacher capacity and communities relating to student agency and civics and citizenship education.

Erin oversees the development and delivery of the Young Mayors Program at the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), and manages an amazing team who are rolling out the pilot in 6 Councils across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Prior to working at FYA, Erin has worked across Australia, India and the UK in social enterprises, start-ups and tech. She loves scaling programs, building new teams and developing sustainable delivery models in the non-profit sector. She is a firm believer in servant leadership and creating safe spaces for people to explore their potential.

Deputy Chair

Jenna is an experienced educator who has worked with students, teachers, and leaders across primary, secondary, and tertiary education contexts for more than 16 years. An Associate Professor and researcher, her work aims to understand and address inequity and threats to wellbeing in student educational experiences through participatory rights-based approaches to educational transformation and school improvement. Jenna holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology, two post-graduate degrees in Education, a Master of Education, a Master of Evaluation, and a PhD (Children’s perspectives and Wellbeing). She is also a Justice of the Peace (Qual) and holds full teacher registration.

Treasurer

Claire is an education academic and experienced school teacher and leader. She is currently the co-ordinator of HSIE Curriculum (Secondary) in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. Prior to taking up her academic role, Claire held executive leadership roles as Leader of Pedagogy and Head of Professional Practice. Claire’s research spans both the history of schooling as well as contemporary classroom-based projects exploring the relationship between education policy, teacher practice and student experience. She has a particular interest in the impact of teacher professional learning on changing teacher practice and in broader school reform. She is part of the Culturally Nourishing Schooling research project, a collaborative research study investigating new ways to provide equitable, quality schooling for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Chair

I am a student myself, so I understand the importance of agency and voice amongst youth, and how crucial it is to ensure that everyone who works with students knows how to support them. Alongside my part-time studies towards a Bachelor of Communication, I work full-time as the Distance President for my University’s students’ association. In this role I’m able to fulfill my passions in advocacy, representation, and support. I have experience through governance and boards via holding a place on both my Association’s board of governance, as well as representing students at my University’s Academic Board. I’m based in regional NSW at Armidale, however spent much of my life growing up in rural Central Queensland. Because of this, I understand the hardships involved in regional/rural/isolated learning, and always fight to ensure these students get a fair go and aren’t left behind.

Executive Director

Mitch is the Founder of the Australian Council for Student Voice. Mitch worked with a passionate team to build the ACSV following the 2019 Student Voice Conference, in response to the need for a national body to bring the sector together. Mitch is passionate about fostering participatory environments where all those passionate about student voice can come together in the sharing of knowledge. Mitch is also passionate about youth advocacy and empowerment, particularly in civics education. He is an award-winning leader, winning the 2020 VCE Leader of the Year award as a Year 12 Student in 2020. Beyond his work in the education sector, Mitch is a post-graduate student completing a Master of International Relations at Deakin University in Victoria.

Emma has a solid background in research and a degree in biomedicine, and is now working in the biotech industry, where she gets to dive into exciting and innovative projects. When she's not immersed in her work, you’ll find her running or playing soccer—two activities that help her stay active and balanced.