I have been very fortunate to spend the last 18 years working in residential outdoor education across a number of contexts. These have included a GAP year at the National YMCA Outdoor Center in Northern Ireland, facilitating team building and ropes courses in the USA, running youth leadership programs in Canada, and teaching at a remote residential Year 9 campus in far East Gippsland. These experiences led me to join the inaugural staff team of the School for Student Leadership’s Don Valley campus when it opened in Term 1, 2021.

I love living in the beautiful Yarra Valley and sharing this special place with our students each term. My love for residential and outdoor education has continued here where I am grateful to spend my time building relationships with young people in the outdoors every term. Being part of a team of staff who support students through the personal growth and real-life learning that occurs in a modern rite of passage is a powerful and rewarding job. I look forward to continuing to work with young people from across Victoria as they embark on their journey with our school.

Like most SSL staff, in my spare time I enjoy being outdoors, mainly mountain biking and hiking. A few colleagues and I recently started a Futsal team too – the Don Valley Challengers! I also enjoy building well-structured wood stacks and consuming copious cups of peppermint tea.