25 Professional Development Speakers Schools in Melbourne Trust

Your staff sat through another professional development session last term and three weeks later nobody can remember a single takeaway.

You spent the budget. You gave them the time. The evaluations came back positive. But when you walk past classrooms or sit in on leadership team meetings, nothing has changed. The same behaviours show up. The same frustrations surface. The PD session might as well have never happened.

The problem is not that your staff do not want to grow. The problem is that most professional development speakers deliver content designed for the day, not for the 90 days after. They inspire in the moment. They do not equip for Monday morning.

I put together this list of 25 professional development speakers Melbourne schools actually book, trust, and bring back year after year because they deliver frameworks that stick.

LEADERSHIP AND TEAM DEVELOPMENT SPEAKERS

These speakers work with school leadership teams, middle leaders, and whole-staff groups on the underlying patterns that make or break a school's culture. They focus on team dynamics, decision-making structures, and the leadership behaviours that create the conditions for real change.

1. Jonno White

Jonno White works with school leadership teams who have the talent on paper but know the team is not working the way it should. He is the author of Step Up or Step Out, with more than 10,000 copies sold, and a Certified Working Genius Facilitator who brings Patrick Lencioni's framework into Australian schools.

The pattern most schools miss: Leadership teams nod in meetings but nothing changes afterwards. The issue is not alignment. The issue is that the team has never worked through the kind of conflict that produces real commitment.

Jonno runs workshops that surface the unspoken tensions holding a team back. He does not facilitate another strategic planning day. He facilitates the conversation the leadership team has been avoiding. Schools bring him in when the polite version of teamwork has stopped producing results.

Works with independent, Catholic, and public schools across Melbourne and regionally

Delivers keynotes, half-day workshops, and multi-session leadership intensives

Specialises in Working Genius team diagnostics and executive team development

Available for whole-staff PD, middle leadership development, and board retreats

Why Melbourne principals book him: He works inside the specific pressures Australian school leaders face. Parent expectations. Board dynamics. Staff retention. The gap between the school's stated values and what actually happens in the staff room. He has sat in enough of those rooms to recognise the pattern the moment it shows up.

Reach out at jonno@consultclarity.org to discuss your next leadership development session.

2. Simon Breakspear

Simon Breakspear specialises in how school leaders build the internal capability to drive sustained improvement without burning out their staff. His work focuses on instructional leadership, professional learning design, and the systems that turn isolated good practice into schoolwide consistency.

The framework Melbourne schools use: Breakspear teaches a diagnostic approach to leadership where principals and middle leaders learn to read the patterns in their school's data, behaviour, and culture, then design interventions that address the underlying cause rather than the surface symptom.

Runs workshops on instructional leadership for primary and secondary schools

Works with leadership teams on building professional learning cultures

Delivers content grounded in implementation science and systems thinking

Available for keynotes, multi-day intensives, and ongoing coaching partnerships

Schools bring Simon in when they are tired of PD that sits in a folder. He teaches leaders how to design professional learning that changes practice in classrooms, not just in the session.

3. Kathy Bunney

Kathy Bunney works with school leadership teams on the skills that do not appear in most leadership programs but determine whether a leader actually leads well. Difficult conversations. Managing underperformance. Navigating staff conflict. Building authority without damaging relationships.

The gap she closes: Most new principals and middle leaders were promoted because they were excellent teachers. Nobody taught them how to manage the deputy who undermines them in staff meetings or how to exit a staff member who has been underperforming for three years.

Kathy delivers workshops that give school leaders the language, the frameworks, and the confidence to have the conversations they have been avoiding. She teaches the mechanics of feedback, the structure of a performance conversation, and the follow-through that makes accountability real.

Specialises in leadership coaching for principals and aspiring principals

Delivers PD on managing difficult conversations and performance management

Works with leadership teams on building psychological safety and trust

Available for one-on-one coaching, team workshops, and staff training

Melbourne schools book Kathy when they need a leader to step up into a hard conversation and they want someone who has done it before to teach them how.

4. Jenny Donovan

Jenny Donovan works with school leadership teams on the strategic thinking and planning disciplines that allow a school to execute on its priorities without adding ten more initiatives to an already overloaded staff. Her focus is clarity, focus, and follow-through.

The problem she solves: Leadership teams set priorities at the start of the year and by Term 2 they are doing everything except the priorities. The urgent crowds out the important. The strategy document sits on a shelf while the team reacts to whatever showed up in their inbox that morning.

Jenny teaches school leaders how to translate strategy into a small number of executable projects, how to build accountability rhythms that keep those projects moving, and how to say no to the good ideas that would dilute focus. Schools that work with her end the year having actually delivered what they said they would.

Runs strategy workshops for school leadership teams and boards

Delivers training on priority-setting, project management, and execution discipline

Works across independent and Catholic schools in Melbourne and interstate

Available for facilitated planning days, ongoing coaching, and board governance sessions

Principals bring Jenny in when the strategy is fine but the execution machinery is broken.

5. Adam Voigt

Adam Voigt specialises in school culture, student behaviour, and the leadership moves that create the conditions for both to improve. He is the founder of Real Schools and works with schools across Australia on behaviour frameworks, restorative practice, and whole-school culture change.

The insight most schools need: Behaviour issues are not primarily a student problem. They are a systems problem. When the same five students keep ending up in the office, the issue is not that those five students are broken. The issue is that the school's behaviour system is not designed to teach, support, and hold students accountable in a way that actually changes behaviour.

Adam delivers workshops that teach staff how to build relationships without lowering expectations, how to use restorative conversations that repair harm rather than just punish it, and how to design a whole-school behaviour framework that reduces office referrals and improves student outcomes.

Works with primary and secondary schools on behaviour and culture

Delivers keynotes, staff PD sessions, and long-term culture partnerships

Specialises in restorative practice and trauma-informed behaviour frameworks

Available for whole-staff training, leadership coaching, and community presentations

Melbourne schools book Adam when they are tired of reactive discipline that does not change anything and ready to build a behaviour system that actually works.

WELLBEING AND MENTAL HEALTH SPEAKERS

These speakers address the wellbeing crisis showing up in both students and staff. They deliver evidence-based frameworks on mental health, resilience, burnout prevention, and the practical strategies schools can implement to support their communities without adding unsustainable workload.

6. Michael Carr-Gregg

Michael Carr-Gregg is one of Australia's most recognised adolescent psychologists. He works with schools, parents, and students on mental health, anxiety, digital wellbeing, and the developmental challenges facing young people in 2026.

What makes his sessions different: Carr-Gregg does not deliver generic resilience content. He speaks directly to the specific pressures Melbourne students are carrying right now. Social media. Academic pressure. Friendship conflict. Family breakdown. He translates the research into language students, parents, and teachers can use the next day.

Schools bring him in for student seminars, parent evenings, and staff training. His content is practical, evidence-based, and grounded in decades of clinical practice with adolescents.

Delivers keynotes for students in Years 7 to 12

Runs parent evenings on managing adolescent mental health and digital behaviour

Provides staff PD on supporting student wellbeing and recognising warning signs

Available for school visits, conferences, and community events

Melbourne schools book Michael when they need someone who can speak to students about mental health in a way that lands, and to parents in a way that equips rather than overwhelms.

7. Madhavi Nawana Parker

Madhavi Nawana Parker specialises in mindfulness, stress reduction, and the neuroscience of wellbeing. She delivers programs for students and staff on managing anxiety, building emotional regulation, and creating sustainable practices that support mental health without requiring another hour in the day.

The framework she teaches: Wellbeing is not about adding more. It is about designing small, repeatable practices into the rhythms you already have. Madhavi teaches breathing techniques that take 90 seconds, grounding exercises students can use before an exam, and staff practices that reduce burnout without requiring a complete life overhaul.

Her sessions are experiential. Participants do not just learn about mindfulness. They practise it in the session and leave with a technique they can use tomorrow.

Runs workshops for students on managing exam stress and anxiety

Delivers staff wellbeing sessions on burnout prevention and nervous system regulation

Works across primary and secondary schools in Melbourne

Available for single sessions, term programs, and whole-school wellbeing partnerships

Schools bring Madhavi in when the wellbeing rhetoric needs to translate into actual practices staff and students can sustain.

8. Andrew Fuller

Andrew Fuller is a clinical psychologist who works with schools on resilience, motivation, and the psychological skills young people need to navigate setbacks, uncertainty, and failure. His work is grounded in positive psychology and translates academic research into strategies teachers and parents can implement.

Why Melbourne schools trust him: Fuller delivers content that works for both high-achieving students who are anxious and disengaged students who have given up. He teaches the middle path between helicopter parenting and neglect, between over-support and under-support, and gives schools a framework for building genuine resilience rather than performing it.

His sessions are engaging, research-informed, and immediately practical. Students leave with strategies. Teachers leave with language. Parents leave with a plan.

Delivers student seminars on motivation, resilience, and managing stress

Runs parent evenings on raising resilient, motivated young people

Provides staff training on supporting student mental health and engagement

Available for keynotes, workshops, and multi-session programs

Principals book Andrew when they need someone who understands adolescent psychology deeply and can translate it into content that changes how students think about challenge.

9. Maggie Dent

Maggie Dent is one of Australia's most trusted voices on parenting, adolescence, and child development. She works with schools to help parents and teachers understand the developmental stages children move through and the support they need at each stage.

The insight she brings: Most behaviour that frustrates parents and teachers is developmentally normal. The seven-year-old who cannot sit still. The thirteen-year-old who has suddenly become sullen and withdrawn. The sixteen-year-old who is taking risks. Maggie reframes these behaviours not as problems to fix but as stages to navigate with the right support.

Her sessions reassure parents, equip teachers, and create a shared language between home and school. Schools that bring her in report better parent engagement and less conflict between families and staff.

Runs parent evenings on child and adolescent development

Delivers staff PD on understanding developmental stages and trauma-informed practice

Works with early learning centres, primary schools, and secondary schools

Available for community events, staff training, and keynote presentations

Melbourne schools book Maggie when they want to strengthen the partnership between school and home and give parents the confidence to parent well.

10. Shona Innes

Shona Innes is a psychologist and wellbeing consultant who specialises in staff wellbeing, burnout prevention, and building sustainable work practices in schools. She addresses the reality that you cannot pour from an empty cup, and most school staff are running on empty.

The problem she names: Schools invest heavily in student wellbeing and almost nothing in staff wellbeing. Teachers are expected to regulate the emotions of 25 students while carrying their own unprocessed stress, grief, and exhaustion. The result is burnout, turnover, and a staff culture where people are surviving rather than thriving.

Shona delivers workshops that teach staff how to recognise their own stress signals, how to set boundaries that protect their energy, and how to build recovery practices into their week. Her content is compassionate, practical, and does not require staff to add another thing to their to-do list.

Runs staff wellbeing workshops for primary and secondary schools

Delivers leadership training on supporting staff mental health and preventing burnout

Works with schools on building wellbeing into school culture, not just PD days

Available for single sessions, term programs, and whole-school wellbeing audits

Principals bring Shona in when staff retention is a problem, when morale is low, or when the leadership team knows their people are running too hard for too long.

TEACHING PRACTICE AND PEDAGOGY SPEAKERS

These speakers focus on the craft of teaching. They work with classroom teachers on evidence-based pedagogy, instructional techniques, assessment practices, and the daily decisions that determine whether students learn deeply or just complete tasks.

11. Lyn Sharratt

Lyn Sharratt is a global leader in literacy instruction and system improvement. Her work focuses on the 14 Parameters framework, a research-based approach to lifting student achievement through collaborative inquiry, data-informed instruction, and precision teaching.

The shift she creates: Most schools have pockets of excellent teaching. Sharratt teaches schools how to make excellent teaching the norm rather than the exception. She works with leadership teams and teachers on building professional learning cultures where staff observe each other, analyse student work together, and refine their practice based on what the evidence shows is working.

Her sessions are detailed, rigorous, and focused on implementation. Teachers leave with specific instructional moves they can use Monday. Leaders leave with a roadmap for building the systems that sustain instructional improvement over years, not just terms.

Delivers keynotes and workshops on literacy instruction and system leadership

Works with primary and secondary schools across Melbourne and internationally

Specialises in collaborative inquiry, learning walks, and case management approaches

Available for PD sessions, long-term partnerships, and leadership coaching

Melbourne schools bring Lyn in when they are serious about lifting student outcomes and ready to do the work required to make it happen.

12. John Hattie

John Hattie is the director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne and the author of Visible Learning, one of the most cited works in educational research. His meta-analyses of what actually works in education have shaped teaching practice globally.

What his research reveals: Not all teaching strategies produce equal results. Some interventions have massive impact on student learning. Others have almost none. Hattie's work identifies which practices deliver the greatest effect sizes and helps teachers and school leaders focus their energy on what will actually move student outcomes.

He delivers keynotes and workshops that translate his research into actionable insights for classroom teachers. The content is evidence-based, challenging, and grounded in decades of data on what makes the biggest difference in student achievement.

Delivers keynotes on visible learning and evidence-informed teaching

Works with schools and systems on implementing high-impact strategies

Provides leadership training on using data to drive instructional improvement

Available for conferences, school visits, and system-level consultancy

Schools book John Hattie when they want their staff to engage with the research that should be shaping their practice and to critically examine whether what they are doing is actually working.

13. Dylan Wiliam

Dylan Wiliam is one of the world's leading experts on formative assessment and feedback. His work focuses on the minute-by-minute and day-by-day decisions teachers make that determine whether students understand the content or just complete the work.

The practice that changes everything: Most teachers assess learning at the end of a unit when it is too late to do anything about the gaps. Wiliam teaches formative assessment, the practice of gathering evidence of student understanding during the learning and adjusting instruction in response. This single shift can double the rate of student learning.

His workshops are practical and immediately usable. Teachers learn techniques like hinge questions, exit tickets, and no-hands-up questioning that give them real-time data on what students know and do not know. They leave with strategies they can implement the next lesson.

Runs workshops on formative assessment and feedback

Delivers keynotes on assessment for learning and instructional responsiveness

Works with schools and systems globally, including Melbourne-based visits

Available for PD sessions, leadership training, and conference presentations

Melbourne schools bring Dylan in when they want to shift from teaching as delivery to teaching as responsive practice.

14. Debra Costley

Debra Costley is a professor of autism education and works with schools on evidence-based approaches to supporting students on the autism spectrum. Her research and practice focus on inclusive education, classroom adjustments, and teacher training.

The gap her work addresses: Most teachers receive minimal training on autism during their degree. They enter classrooms with autistic students and have no framework for understanding sensory sensitivities, communication differences, or the adjustments that allow these students to learn. Debra changes that.

She delivers workshops that teach staff how to recognise autism presentations that do not fit the stereotype, how to design classroom environments that reduce sensory overload, and how to communicate with autistic students in ways that build connection rather than frustration.

Runs PD sessions on autism and inclusive education for primary and secondary schools

Delivers training for learning support staff and classroom teachers

Works across Melbourne schools and provides consultancy for complex cases

Available for whole-staff training, leadership coaching, and parent information sessions

Schools book Debra when they have autistic students whose needs are not being met and a staff team that wants to do better but does not know how.

15. Jocelyn Seamer

Jocelyn Seamer is the founder of Podium Education and specialises in teacher clarity, instructional design, and the mechanics of explaining complex content in ways students can understand. Her work is grounded in cognitive science and the research on how students actually learn.

The principle she teaches: If students are confused, it is not because they are not smart enough. It is because the explanation was not clear enough. Teacher clarity, the ability to explain content in a way that makes the invisible visible, is one of the highest-impact teaching practices. Most teachers were never trained in it.

Jocelyn's workshops teach the techniques of clear explanation. How to use analogies that work. How to sequence information so students build schema rather than collect disconnected facts. How to check for understanding before moving on. Teachers leave with a sharper instructional toolkit and students learn faster.

Delivers workshops on instructional design and teacher clarity

Runs training on cognitive load theory and memory science for teachers

Works with primary and secondary schools across Australia

Available for PD sessions, coaching, and curriculum design consultancy

Melbourne schools bring Jocelyn in when they want their teachers to teach with greater precision and their students to learn with less confusion.

INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND FUTURE-FOCUSED LEARNING SPEAKERS

These speakers work with schools navigating the intersection of technology, pedagogy, and the skills students will need for a world that is changing faster than curriculum documents can keep up. They focus on innovation, digital literacy, and future-ready learning.

16. Pasi Sahlberg

Pasi Sahlberg is a former director general of the Finnish Ministry of Education and one of the most influential voices on education reform globally. His work focuses on equity, play-based learning, and the policies that create high-performing education systems without high-stakes testing.

The lesson from Finland: The Finnish education system consistently ranks among the best in the world. It achieves this not through longer school days, more testing, or teacher performance pay, but through trust, equity, and a focus on student wellbeing alongside academic outcomes. Sahlberg shows schools what is possible when policy aligns with what research actually says about learning.

His keynotes challenge the assumptions most education systems operate from and offer an alternative vision grounded in decades of evidence from Finland and beyond. Schools that bring him in leave questioning practices they have taken for granted and inspired to build something better.

Delivers keynotes on education reform, equity, and wellbeing

Works with school systems and leadership teams on rethinking assessment and pedagogy

Visits Melbourne periodically for conferences and school engagements

Available for keynotes, panel discussions, and system consultancy

Melbourne schools book Pasi when they want their staff to think beyond the constraints of the current system and imagine what education could be.

17. Michael Fullan

Michael Fullan is a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and a global authority on education change and system reform. His work focuses on deep learning, new pedagogies, and the leadership required to drive sustained change in schools and systems.

The framework Melbourne systems use: Fullan's deep learning framework identifies six global competencies students need to thrive in a complex world: character, citizenship, collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. He teaches schools how to redesign curriculum and pedagogy to develop these competencies alongside traditional academic content.

His sessions are strategic and system-focused. He works with school leaders and policymakers on the conditions required to make change stick, not just launch. The content is visionary but grounded in the practical realities of leading change in complex organisations.

Delivers keynotes on deep learning and system transformation

Works with school systems on implementing new pedagogies and competency-based learning

Visits Australia for major conferences and system partnerships

Available for keynotes, leadership coaching, and long-term consultancy

Schools and systems bring Michael in when they are ready to move beyond incremental improvement and commit to transformational change.

18. Sugata Mitra

Sugata Mitra is an education researcher best known for the Hole in the Wall experiments and his work on self-organised learning environments. His research explores what happens when students are given access to the internet, a big question, and minimal adult intervention.

The provocation he offers: What if students can teach themselves almost anything when given the right conditions? Mitra's experiments show that groups of students with access to technology and a compelling question can learn complex content without direct instruction. This challenges the traditional model of teacher as knowledge transmitter and reimagines the teacher as learning designer.

His keynotes are visually engaging, research-based, and deeply challenging to conventional assumptions about how learning happens. Schools leave questioning how much of their current practice is necessary and how much is habit.

Delivers keynotes on self-organised learning and the future of education

Works with schools interested in student-led inquiry and technology-enabled learning

Visits Australia periodically for conferences and speaking engagements

Available for keynotes and workshops on redesigning learning environments

Melbourne schools book Sugata when they want to disrupt the traditional classroom model and explore what becomes possible when students drive their own learning.

19. Yong Zhao

Yong Zhao is a foundation distinguished professor at the University of Kansas and a global expert on education, technology, and entrepreneurship. His work critiques the standardisation agenda in education and advocates for personalised, student-driven learning that cultivates creativity and entrepreneurial thinking.

The argument he makes: The education systems that produce the highest test scores often suppress the creativity, risk-taking, and entrepreneurial mindset students need to thrive in a rapidly changing economy. Zhao challenges schools to move beyond compliance and standardisation and to design learning experiences that honour individual strengths and passions.

His sessions are provocative, data-driven, and grounded in global comparisons. He shows what other countries are doing, what the research says about the skills employers actually value, and what schools can do to prepare students for a future that does not yet exist.

Delivers keynotes on education innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship

Works with schools and systems on personalised learning and curriculum redesign

Visits Australia for conferences and school consultancy

Available for keynotes, workshops, and strategic planning sessions

Schools bring Yong in when they are questioning whether their current model is preparing students for the world they will actually enter.

20. Kath Murdoch

Kath Murdoch is one of Australia's leading voices on inquiry-based learning. She works with primary schools on designing curriculum that starts with student questions, develops deep conceptual understanding, and builds the skills of critical thinking and self-directed learning.

The shift she teaches: Inquiry is not a unit you do once a term. It is a pedagogical approach that reshapes how you teach everything. Kath shows teachers how to move from covering content to uncovering understanding, how to design provocation that sparks genuine curiosity, and how to scaffold inquiry so students build independence without floundering.

Her workshops are practical, deeply informed by research, and filled with examples from real classrooms. Teachers leave with planning frameworks, questioning techniques, and the confidence to let go of control without losing rigour.

Runs workshops on inquiry-based learning for primary school teachers

Delivers keynotes on curriculum design and student agency

Works across Melbourne and internationally with schools implementing inquiry approaches

Available for staff PD, curriculum consultancy, and leadership coaching

Melbourne primary schools book Kath when they want to shift from teacher-directed learning to student-driven inquiry and need someone who has done it hundreds of times to show them how.

DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND CULTURAL COMPETENCE SPEAKERS

These speakers address the work schools must do to create genuinely inclusive environments for students and staff from diverse backgrounds. They focus on cultural competence, anti-racism, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and the leadership practices that turn policy into lived reality.

21. Santilla Chingaipe

Santilla Chingaipe is a writer, filmmaker, and cultural commentator who works with schools on race, diversity, and the conversations Australians avoid. Her work focuses on helping predominantly white institutions understand the lived experience of students and staff of colour and build the practices that create genuine inclusion.

The conversation she facilitates: Most schools have a diversity statement. Fewer have staff who know how to navigate a racist comment in the classroom, a microaggression in the staffroom, or a curriculum that centres whiteness without acknowledging it. Santilla creates the space for these conversations to happen with honesty, discomfort, and growth.

Her sessions challenge staff to examine their own assumptions, to listen to experiences different from their own, and to take responsibility for creating a school culture where every student feels they belong. The work is uncomfortable. It is also necessary.

Delivers keynotes and workshops on race, diversity, and inclusion

Works with schools on anti-racism training and cultural competence

Runs sessions for students, staff, and parent communities

Available for single sessions, term programs, and ongoing consultancy

Melbourne schools bring Santilla in when they are ready to move beyond performative diversity and do the hard work of becoming genuinely inclusive.

22. Benjamin Law

Benjamin Law is a journalist, author, and LGBTQIA+ advocate whose work explores identity, culture, and the experiences of queer Australians. He works with schools on creating safe, affirming environments for LGBTQIA+ students and supporting families navigating these conversations.

The reality he names: LGBTQIA+ students are at significantly higher risk of anxiety, depression, and suicide. The single greatest protective factor is a supportive school environment where they feel seen, safe, and valued. Most schools want to provide that support. Many do not know how.

Benjamin delivers sessions that educate staff on LGBTQIA+ identities, language, and the small but significant ways teachers and school leaders can signal safety. He also runs student panels and parent information sessions that create understanding and reduce fear.

Delivers keynotes and workshops on LGBTQIA+ inclusion

Runs training for staff on supporting gender-diverse and sexuality-diverse students

Works with parent communities on understanding and affirming LGBTQIA+ young people

Available for school visits, conferences, and community events

Schools book Benjamin when they want to build a culture where LGBTQIA+ students do not just survive but thrive.

23. Nakkiah Lui

Nakkiah Lui is a Gamilaroi and Torres Strait Islander writer, actor, and comedian whose work centres First Nations voices, stories, and perspectives. She works with schools on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, truth-telling, and the work required to decolonise curriculum and culture.

The work she invites schools into: Most Australian schools teach about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as history. Nakkiah challenges schools to engage with First Nations communities as living, thriving, contemporary cultures and to examine the ways curriculum, language, and school practices continue to marginalise Indigenous students and families.

Her sessions are engaging, challenging, and grounded in storytelling. She does not deliver a lecture. She invites schools into a conversation about what reconciliation looks like in practice, not just in a policy document.

Delivers keynotes on First Nations perspectives and decolonising education

Works with schools on embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content across curriculum

Runs sessions for students, staff, and community groups

Available for Reconciliation Week events, NAIDOC Week, and ongoing partnerships

Melbourne schools bring Nakkiah in when they are ready to move beyond token acknowledgment and commit to truth-telling and genuine partnership with First Nations communities.

24. Rosie Batty

Rosie Batty is a family violence prevention advocate whose personal story and public advocacy have reshaped the national conversation on domestic violence. She works with schools on respectful relationships education, early intervention, and creating safe environments for students experiencing family violence.

The pattern schools must recognise: Family violence affects students in every school. It shows up as unexplained absences, sudden behavioural changes, academic decline, and trauma responses teachers do not always recognise. Schools that train staff to notice the signs and respond with care can be the lifeline a student needs.

Rosie delivers sessions for staff on recognising family violence, responding appropriately, and connecting students and families to support. She also speaks to parent communities on respectful relationships and the role schools play in prevention.

Delivers keynotes on family violence prevention and respectful relationships

Runs training for staff on trauma-informed practice and recognising warning signs

Works with schools on whole-school approaches to respectful relationships education

Available for community events, staff PD, and advocacy partnerships

Schools book Rosie when they want to take family violence prevention seriously and equip their staff to support students who need it most.

25. Tim Soutphommasane

Tim Soutphommasane is a political theorist and former Australian Race Discrimination Commissioner. He works with schools, organisations, and communities on multiculturalism, social cohesion, and the policies and practices that create genuinely inclusive institutions.

The question he asks: What does it mean to belong in Australia? For students from migrant and refugee backgrounds, for First Nations students, for students whose families speak languages other than English at home, belonging is not automatic. Schools either create the conditions for it or they do not.

Tim delivers sessions that help school leaders and staff understand the structural and cultural barriers to inclusion and design practices that dismantle them. His content is intellectually rigorous, deeply compassionate, and grounded in the lived reality of diverse communities.

Delivers keynotes on multiculturalism, anti-racism, and social cohesion

Works with schools on diversity and inclusion strategy

Runs sessions for leadership teams, staff, and community groups

Available for conferences, school visits, and ongoing consultancy

Melbourne schools bring Tim in when they want to move from celebrating diversity in assemblies to embedding inclusion in every decision they make.

Your next step is simple. Identify the two or three speakers on this list whose expertise matches the development areas your school is prioritising this year. Reach out to them directly or contact Jonno at jonno@consultclarity.org to discuss which speaker would best serve your staff, your students, and your strategic goals.

Professional development only works when it equips people to do something different on Monday. The speakers on this list deliver that.