Leadership Development Conference
On Friday, the 23rd of February, our College Co-Captains, accompanied by one of the Social Justice Prefects and the Verdon House Prefect, attended a Leadership Development Conference held at St Leonard’s College to further develop their leadership capabilities by exploring the concept of leadership and its significance. This event included a variety of sessions, such as keynote presentations from prominent speakers, panel discussions with leaders in the community, and engagement with peers through interactive workshops. The three sessions of the day asked the students to consider and discuss the ideas of leadership for change, leadership as service, and leadership with joy. Keynote speakers included:
- Kate Jenkins, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, who submitted the landmark Respect@Work report in 2020. She was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in 2023.
- Jamil Tye, director of the William Cooper Institute at Monash University, a proud Yorta Yorta man with a rich family legacy in Aboriginal activism, who has contributed to the Department of Health and Human Services, shaping policies for Aboriginal Victorians.
- Jo Kwok, a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia and Director of Youth and Vocational Service at the Rotary Club of Brighton, spearheading various initiatives to support vulnerable members of the community.
- Simon Dowling, a leading thinker on how to bring out the best in teams through effective collaboration and leadership.
- Liz Dawes, Founder, and CEO of the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation, Australia’s largest pediatric brain cancer charity.
- Ryan Shelton, featured on shows such as Thank God You’re Here and Spicks and Specks, who has built a career off leading with joy.
- Zoe Daniel, an independent member of the parliament for Goldstein and former broadcast journalist and foreign correspondent.
The day was a great success, and our students valued the time offered to them to grow as leaders through interactions and dialogue with other student leaders across a range of different schools.
Siobhan Bloomfield
Assistant Principal, Student Engagement and Wellbeing