Board & Staff
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Dr Donna Barwood
PresidentDonna is the Coordinator of HPE at Edith Cowan University, and in the past has taught in government, Catholic and Independent private schools, including the the role of Head of Department at Iona Presentation College. Donna has been a Curriculum Writer and Senior Project Officer with the DoE, and as a writer with ACARA developing the Australian Curriculum for HPE.
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Matthew Shields
Board Member: Vice President & AdvocacyMatt has taught HPE in a range of settings and is currently a Principal Consultant for Learning Area Partnerships within the Department of Education (DoE). In this role, he is responsible for leading the DoE’s support for PP- Yr 12 in the HPE learning area, and has a key role in coordinating programs related to the HPE curriculum, specialist teaching services, and professional leadership. Matt is extremely passionate about providing positive learning and growth experiences for all students to enable them to live healthy lifestyles.
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Matthew Donaldson
Board Member: AdvocacyMatthew has been teaching PHE at Presbyterian Ladies’ College for the last 13 years. He is an International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum Workshop Leader for the Asia Pacific region, a PHE Building Quality Curriculum examiner, and a Sessional lecturer at the University of Notre Dame. His passion is to create digital content to facilitate learning and skill development, and is an author of HPE e-books.
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Jamie Blanchard
TreasurerOver the last two decades Jamie has worked as a local and Northern Territory (NT) government public servant in a range of governance roles, as well as a lawyer for commercial and property litigation. Whilst in the NT, Jamie was a board member for the Heart Foundation of Australia and has more recently managed governance at the City of Swan. In his spare time, Jamie enjoys competing in marathons and ultra-marathons!
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Jeff Giles
Board member: Driving ExcellenceJeff is an experienced teacher of ATAR Physical Education Studies and upper school HPE at Guildford Grammar School, where he continually evolves his practices to ensure classes are inclusive, developmentally appropriate, challenging and holistic. As a leader of his team and Director of Athlete Development, Jeff is working towards a deeper understanding of the structures and processes that can be put in place so that students gain the competence and confidence to be life-long movers.
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Karen Layman
Board member: Driving ExcellenceKaren has been a HPE teacher and member of ACHPER for over 20 years, working extensively in Outdoor Education, PE, Health Ed and PE Studies. Over the years, Karen has held various positions including House Leader and Year Coordinator, and is currently working at Peter Carnley Anglican Community School. While raising two energetic boys, Karen enjoys teaching at the grass roots level and views teaching as a profession of optimism…she loves engaging with the positive people of the future.
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Sian Chapman
Board member: Driving ExcellenceSian is a Lecturer in Health and Physical Education at Notre Dame, with over 20 years experience teaching movement and dance across kindergarten to Yr 12. She has also worked as an Education Measurement Officer for the Department of Education. Currently completing a PhD in Education, Sian’s research interests lie in understanding contextual factors that impact on curriculum implementation in schools.
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Rolanda Geneff
Board member: Community EnhancementRolanda has previously taught HPE and Dance for over 10 years, and been responsible for the implementation of a full Secondary Dance Curriculum. She has also lectured at ECU in Secondary HPE and Primary education, worked on the CAPANS study, and worked as a Project Officer at Notre Dame University. As an active ACHPER member since 1993 and recurrent board member, Rolanda has coordinated our Primary and Secondary Dance Festivals for over a decade.
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Clara Deans
Board member: Community EnhancementClara has been a HPE teacher for over 30 years, and has gained a wealth of knowledge and expertise working in roles such as the Local Area Coordinator for the Disability Services Commission, a Primary Literacy Coordinator for Macmillan Education, a Community Development Officer for Creating Communities Australia, a Project Officer for the DoE, and a lecturer at Edith Cowan University and The University of Notre Dame. Clara currently works as a BUZ School Programs Research and Development Project Officer for Nurture Works Foundation.
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Denyse Passmore
Staff: Executive OfficerDenyse began her working life as a Phys Ed teacher at Albany SHS, teaching with teachers who had taught her! During her teaching career, Denyse taught at several metro schools before commencing with ACHPER WA in 1990. Denyse has now been in the role of Executive Officer for 27 years, and liaises with our allied government, sport and health organisations, tertiary institutions and schools across all sectors. Denyse’s knowledge of all things ACHPER is invaluable.
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Mikala Dinka
Staff: Marketing and CommunicationsMikala is an Exercise Physiologist by qualification, who over the last 15 years has delivered and designed health and injury prevention programs for large businesses, and seen most of remote WA with FIFO. Mikala has extensive experience in Product Design, Research & Development, Digital Media, and Marketing for small business. As an avid Netball fan, Mikala is a long term player and committee member for club Netball.