Growing up on a farm in Grasmere, Anna’s parents, Marcia and Basil were focused on education and on ensuring that their children were fully prepared for a life after school. This led Anna to take up extra work experience opportunities, allowing her to spend time with a range of therapists. She went on to study Chiropractic at RMIT.

Anna was fascinated by the human body and diagnostic reasoning. After graduating, Anna headed to London to work, returning 16 months later to start her own business. Anna also began teaching Chiropractic at RMIT, and completed an education qualification. She really enjoyed the work.

Around that time Anna developed problems with her hands and was advised that Chiropractic might not be a career for life. Undeterred, Anna decided to sit the entrance test to study Medicine, and was offered a place at the University of Melbourne.

While working in the emergency department at the Austin Hospital, Anna uncovered an opportunity to teach at the clinical school. From that point Anna’s career as an educator really took off. In 2012 she commenced a PhD in medical education, and this began a program of research and innovation using assessment data to direct and support learning.

Through her work, Anna has contributed to assessment and feedback innovations. Their significance has been recognised in both local and international journals, along with faculty awards, and saw Anna promoted to Associate Professor.

A major focus of Anna’s work has been ensuring that medical students, through their assessments, are provided with meaningful feedback and data that will help them to identify their strengths and weaknesses and set them on a path of continual improvement.

Throughout her career Anna has been: a Clinical Supervisor, Senior Lecturer and PhD Supervisor. Her commitment to improving the education of health professionals and patient safety has seen Anna serve on many Boards and Committees including; her ministerial appointment to the Chiropractic Board of Australia, a number of Australian Medical Council Medical Schools Assessment Teams, the Medical Imaging Advisory Board at Deakin University and the Industry Advisory committee for the RMIT University Chiropractic and Osteopathic Programs to name just a few.

During the beginning of the COVID pandemic, rapid flexibility and innovation was needed to combat the effects of the lockdown. Anna was able to fast-track an assessment reform program that introduced secure, online exams, quickly, while ensuring academic integrity.

As a result, Anna and her Melbourne Medical School Assessment Team won the Norman Curry Award for Innovation and Excellence in Educational Programs. In that same year Anna was made a full professor in recognition of the global impact of her work.

Kevin and his six siblings grew up on a small farm in Killarney. He loved farm life and being close to the beach, but life wasn’t easy for a large family with a small farm so the family moved north to the Murray River. After four years, Kevin’s Dad became sick and the family moved to Port Fairy. He passed away in 1978.

In the same year, Kevin began Year 8 at CBC. He enjoyed study and in his final year was appointed College Captain. Continuing his education was only possible because the family was supported by the Brothers.

Kevin had heard through Principal, Br Tom Kearney that the Ballarat Diocese was looking to employ school leavers in a youth ministry support group. Kevin enjoyed this role and working with people all around the Diocese, from Mildura to Portland.

In 1985 Kevin entered the Corpus Christi seminary in Melbourne, and was ordained in Port Fairy in 1993. Kevin’s first appointments as Priest were in rural areas in places like Ararat and Hopetoun, where the amalgamation of parishes were starting to happen.

An opportunity then arose for Kevin to complete further studies overseas at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. There Kevin completed two Masters degrees, in Religious Education and Theology.

On his return, Kevin served as Parish Priest in Ballarat, then took up an executive position within the Catholic Education Office. Kevin oversaw student curriculum, and teacher accreditation and was involved in the selection and appraisals of Principals.

During that time Kevin led a major renewal of the sacramental and reconciliation programs for children, but his most significant task was the development of the religious education curriculum guidelines. This was called Awakenings.

Still in use today, Awakenings represented a significant change in the way that religious education was taught. It was driven by demographics about religious faith, practice and identification. It recognised that not every child comes from a religious background, and not every student has or understands religious faith. In acknowledging this, Awakenings endeavoured to take them on a journey of understanding.

Kevin’s philosophy was that Religious Education should be underpinned by an educational experience as strong as those found in Maths or Literacy. The aim was to enhance the Catholic identity of a school while acknowledging the cultural mix of a school, making all welcome.

After five years as the Director of Religious Education, Kevin returned to Belgium and completed a PhD in Theology. During university breaks, Kevin continued to participate in Parish life as much as possible. Kevin returned to Australia and became the Master of the Catholic Theological College in Melbourne.

Kevin was also a member of the first Plenary Council of the Church. This was the most significant national gathering of the Catholic Church in Australia in more than eighty years, allowing for decisions on the future direction of the Church and to make significant reforms.

Father Kevin Lenehan’s academic achievements have been extraordinary. He has contributed enormously to Catholic education and throughout remained connected to the grassroots level of the Church. “Community,” says Kevin, “is where faith can make a difference.”

Eleanor Britton describes herself as a country girl at heart. Growing up on a dairy farm, she enjoyed helping with outdoor chores and the freedom of farm life. Witnessing the hard work put in on the farm by her parents, became quite an influence on Eleanor throughout her life.

Eleanor had no idea how important health care would become in the lives of her family. Eleanor’s first child, Chloe, at age six underwent a liver transplant. Following the transplant Chloe continued to suffer from infections and her physician suggested that a move to a warmer climate may help to break the cycle.

Eleanor, who at the time was the Business Manager at Panmure Primary School, and her family, packed up the car and relocated to Western Australia. Chloe thrived in the different climate and the family loved the environment, often taking the opportunity to explore.

On a road trip through central Australia they appreciated the beauty of the land they were on, but were shocked by the contrast in the living conditions of indigenous peoples. At the time she was working as the Business Manager of a medical practice and began to think more about access and equality in health care.

An opportunity arose to work with the not-for-profit, community-based organisation, GP Down South, which focused on: mental health, indigenous health, chronic disease management, youth health and drug and alcohol problems.

Eleanor’s knowledge of the deep divide between those who have a lot and those who have little became more extensive. Seeing a need for more comprehensive health care, Eleanor was instrumental in the development of some key programs for the Peel region. One of these was the Outreach Bus - the Peel region mobile health service which she took to the outlying areas, distributing information on issues such as drugs and alcohol, diabetes, diet and mental health.

Eleanor then went on to develop a flagship program for secondary students - the Tier Three Youth Mental Health program, designed to remove the stigma associated with talking about mental health and to give young people the tools and language they needed to talk about issues they were facing.

A spate of youth suicides propelled Eleanor into action, devising a systematic and holistic response. Eleanor proposed a ‘one-stop-shop’ concept that would see a range of service providers working together to remove barriers to access, provide immediate help and achieve better outcomes.

Eleanor had to be relentless in her pursuit of funding, sharing her vision and seeking support from all levels of government. Ultimately, she succeeded in gaining bi-partisan support from federal, state and local governments. The Peel Health Hub opened in December 2018, on time and under budget with nine co-locating organisations offering a coordinated response to health issues.

The Peel Health Hub is recognised as a unique model of care that is being held up around Australia as an outstanding model of innovative health care.

The talk around the Delaney kitchen table during Brigid’s formative years was often focused on politics, instilling a passion that would never leave her.

Initially completing a double degree in Arts and Law at Monash University, however, Brigid’s love of words, writing, politics and travel would soon pull her in a different direction.

Brigid became a trainee journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald where she was to become a general news reporter, a feature-writer and a section editor. This new career path took Brigid to London, working with the Telegraph news group and the London branch of the multinational news channel, CNN.

Along the way, mentors in journalism had opened her eyes to the idea that it was possible to combine journalism and the creativity of longer form writing. This led to her first book - This Restless Life. A reflection about globalisation and the way that this concept has changed the way young people love, work and travel.

In 2010, when two Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were placed on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking offences as part of the Bali Nine, Brigid co-founded the Mercy Campaign. The Mercy Campaign lobbied for Indonesia’s President to show clemency and reduce the sentences. Over 250,000 signatures were gathered. The campaign hosted a candlelight vigil in Sydney in 2015 and it featured some eminent Australian performers, artists and journalists.

During this intense period of time, Brigid also continued to work on her next book, Wild Things, a novel about boys behaving badly, with a pack mentality influencing a dark underbelly of University life.

In 2014 Brigid began working with The Guardian. It began as a summer job, writing in a light-hearted way about travel, culture and life, but they were often underpinned by a deeper meaning, and quickly built a following.

Then came the release of Wellmania: misadventures in the search for wellness. With this book Brigid uses herself as a guinea pig investigating the wellness industry and questioning whether there is any science behind the fads we are drawn to in the Instagram age.

The book captured the attention of well-known writer and broadcaster Benjamin Law, who along with Fremantle Media, approached Brigid to option Wellmania for television. Now starring Celeste Barber, Wellmania the series has been purchased by Netflix, reaching a global audience.

Most recently, Brigid published Reasons Not to Worry: How to be Stoic in chaotic times, and it is already her most successful book to date. It is an accessible and humourous introduction to Stoic principles of virtue, moderation and self-discipline, adapting this ancient knowledge to inspire practical advice for everyday life.

Today, life often has a way of turning full circle and the seed that was planted decades ago around the Delaney family table is bearing fruit. Brigid has recently been appointed as the speech writer for Senator Katy Gallagher, the Minister for Finance, Women and the Public Service.

Following his time at CBC, Eric completed a degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Melbourne, before working for an environmental, water and sewerage consulting firm. He then went on to complete further studies, both here and in the US, before beginning work with various Councils, beginning with the Shire of Dundas (Hamilton) then the Shire of Bulla (Sunbury).

This early work prepared him well for his next big challenge - the City of Melbourne, where he was appointed Acting CEO during a critical period of challenge and reform. Here he carried out substantial change, including reducing the organisations’ staffing costs, tackling long standing unsustainable cost burdens, redeveloping its electoral and rating systems and improving ratepayer services. Later work with the City as Corporate Manager included establishing what is now a major operating company - Citywide P/L, which allowed existing staff collectively to be in the position to bid for services packages.

Eric was then approached to act as interim CEO for the new Shire of Yarra Ranges, amalgamating four municipalities in Melbourne’s East into one new entity – all in the face of the major reductions in income required by government.

Eric then went on to be appointed as General Manager of Road Safety at VicRoads. Under Eric’s collaborative leadership, an astonishing amount of road safety legislation was passed. Victoria became the first jurisdiction in the world to introduce roadside drug testing, strengthened its position as a world leader in alcohol testing, and introduced the first major programme for use of interlocks in Australia. Eric was also instrumental in the development of Arrive Alive!, the Victorian Road Safety Strategy, which led to a 20% reduction in road trauma over 5 years. From here, he went on to introduce the “Safe System” approach to road safety in Australia, a foundation for addressing road safety risk that has been incorporated into National Road Safety Action Plans since 2004.

Gaining international attention, Eric was approached to chair the OECD/ ITF “Towards Zero” Project. The result proved to be a landmark document recommending significant changes towards the “Safe System” approach and encouraging all member countries to adopt an ambitious zero long term target for road deaths and injuries. The approach became the basis for the UN Road Safety Decade of Action Plan from 2010 to 2020 and for the international UN Road Safety Action Plan.

These achievements attracted the notice of Governments and other international organisations, which led to Eric establishing his own consulting service - Whiting Moyne, where he continues to support reviews and projects, and direct leadership programs in over 35 countries throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Americas.

Despite the demanding nature of his work, Eric has always made time for volunteering, chairing the planning committee for the Mercy Hospital for Women, and serving on the Sisters of Mercy Property Advisory Council, the Emmanuel College Foundation and as President of Eureka Australia.

In 2018 Eric was presented with the Award of Member of the Order of Australia.

Life for Andrea’s family was centred firmly around community, sport and volunteering. If her family has a legacy, says Andrea, it is that strong focus on giving back to the community.

At St Ann’s, it did not take long for Andrea to decide that wanted to become a teacher. After completing a Bachelor of Education, majoring in Art History and Woodwork, she began teaching at Lake Bolac College. At the time, Woodwork was almost exclusively the domain of male teachers, but her teachers at St Ann’s and Melbourne State College had instilled in her the confidence and self-belief needed to break through the gender barrier. Andrea admired her hard-working and creative colleagues and being part of a community of educators.

After Andrea met and married Bruce, life began to take Andrea on a different path - farming. Again finding strength in community, she valued how progressive farmers were happy to share their knowledge. On buying their own dairy farm in Nirranda, Andrea immersed herself in all aspects of the business, whilst they raised their children. They now have 800 cows on 286 hectares and are involved in 2 dairy equity partnerships.

Andrea also volunteers with the Nullawarre Community Emergency Response Team, responding to a diverse range of incidents from car accidents to births, farm accidents, overdoses, strokes and heart attacks. Andrea is also a Timboon Ambulance Community Officer supporting paramedics.

In 2020 Andrea was honoured with a Community Heart Award, not only for her own volunteering but for her work as the coordinator of TAP - the Timboon Agricultural Project.

A collaboration between Timboon P-12 school, and the local community and industries, TAP was developed when the leadership of the school noticed a disconnect between the school and the community. Its initial goals were to: increase learning opportunities, increase the uptake of maths and science, increase school retention rates, increase community engagement and increase awareness of the wealth of careers in agriculture.

Through TAP, Andrea has built a community of educators to inspire teachers and to provide real-world, hands-on learning opportunities. Partnerships were formed throughout the region and, by the end of 2022, 566 people throughout the region had partnered with the program. Andrea saw the immense value of introducing students to a wide range of passionate people who are experts at what they do, firmly believing that, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

Not only were all of the original TAP goals achieved, the program has won multiple awards including recognition from: the Victorian Worksafe Awards, the Resilient Australia Awards and the Victorian Teaching Excellence Awards.

James Merlino, former Deputy Premier and Education Minister, described TAP as, “a best practice example of what can be achieved when you have strong partnerships between schools, industry and community.”