IEAA Board

Prof. Simon Ridings (IEAA-SF) 

President

Professor Ridings is Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer at Swinburne University of Technology. He joined Swinburne from a career in academic leadership and university business development and is a nationally and internationally recognised leader in the higher education sector. Before his current role, he held Deputy Vice-Chancellor roles at Edith Cowan University, Curtin University and the University of Canberra.

Prof. Ren Yi (IEAA-SF)

Vice President

Professor Yi is the Pro Vice-Chancellor International at the University of Southern Queensland. He has been working in the higher education sector for over 15 years, and is an expert on international education. He also has extensive industry management experience. An award-winning researcher, Professor Yi is a past President of the Australasian Research Management Society. He is currently a reviewer for the Academy of International Business and Australian Research Council.

Bronwyn Bartsch (IEAA-F)

Treasurer

Bronwyn Bartsch currently holds the role of Director Global Engagement at ACU. With responsibility for the implementation of global strategies, international partnerships and international operations, Bronwyn has substantial experience in managing offshore teaching partnerships, international relationships, study abroad programs and managing large multi-function international offices. With over 15 years of experience in international education at three Australian universities, along with previous finance and agribusiness trading sector experience, Bronwyn has worked with many different sectors, always with a focus on partnerships to achieve outcomes. She has also previously held the Deputy Chair and Treasurer for AUIDF.

Jonathan Chew (IEAA-F) 

Jon Chew is one of world’s leading market analysts in international education. He was previously a Principal at Australian management consulting firm, the Nous Group, and is now Global Head of Insights and Analytics at Navitas. Jon brings in-depth expertise on global trends in education, built on the rigorous analysis of a wide range of external and in-house datasets. His work is informed by an up-to-the-minute industry perspective, developed collaboratively with a global network of stakeholders, policy-makers and experts.

Mike Ferguson (IEAA-SF) 

Mike is Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) at Charles Sturt University and former Chair and Treasurer of the AUIDF. Prior to his role at Charles Sturt University, he held the role of Director for Global Student Recruitment at the University of Canberra. He has also worked in international education as an Australian Diplomat in New Delhi, as Director of International Education Policy for the Department of Home Affairs and as a Ministerial Advisor to Senator Michaelia Cash. Mike is an IEAA Fellow.

Emily O'Callaghan 

Emily has worked in education for two decades across sector advocacy, research, policy and development. She has worked across all sectors of education including working in Edtech. She is Recruitment Operations Manager at the University of Melbourne. She previously served as Director Partnerships at Practera and General Manager at the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA). Emily has also worked across various international education roles, working in student recruitment, pathways, TNE, learning abroad and admissions.

Steve Knussen 

Steve Knussen is Executive Director of Kaplan Business School, a self-accrediting Institute of Higher Education with campuses across five states, and he has held this position since 2016. He has over 25 years’ experience in the international education industry in Australia, working in various roles across the higher education, university pathway and ELICOS sectors. He has also been a member of the English Australia Board since 2015.

Brett Lovegrove 

Brett Lovegrove is Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Partnerships) at The University of Queensland (UQ), where he leads UQ’s Global Strategy, Partnerships and Development activities. Brett has been working in Australian and International Universities for more than 20 years’, including senior positions at University of Wollongong and Macquarie University. He has extensive experience in Transnational Education and sports administration, serves on the Board of Cromwell College (UQ) and was formerly an AUIDF Executive member.

Jana Perera (IEAA-AF)  

Jana has over 20 years of experience in the international education sector, holding leadership roles in marketing, business development and project management. Jana is currently in the executive team at The Gordon Institute of TAFE, providing strategic direction and operational management of The Gordon Institute of TAFE's External Engagement function. Jana is passionate about strengthening links with key industries so that students move straight into employment and implement internship programs so both employers and students can experience the benefits of international students.

Rishen Shekhar  

Rishen is the Director: Global Recruitment and Engagement at the University of South Australia (UniSA), leading international student recruitment, business development, partnerships and learning abroad functions. A former international student himself, Rishen has worked across the international education sector for over 17 years in public universities, TAFE, private RTO, accommodations services (PBSA) and education technology. He is an Executive Member of the Australian Universities International Directors' Forum (AUIDF) and the IDP Connect ANZ Advisory Panel.

Prof. Sarah Todd (IEAA-SF)

Professor Todd is Vice President (Global) at Griffith University. Previously, she was the inaugural PVCI at the University of Otago from 2006–13. Sarah is currently President of the Asia Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE), and Chair of the Universities Australia and Innovative Research Universities (IRU) International Committees.

Sally Waite 

Sally has over 20 years of experience in international education and currently holds the role of Executive General Manager, University Partnerships Australasia at Navitas where she has overall responsibility for the growth, profitability, leadership, and management of the English & Testing operations. With a strong commercial and strategic focus she supported the successful growth of the operations as it expanded delivery across Australia and overseas and has managed a range of operations under the Navitas English and Hawthorn Melbourne brands, from stand-alone centres to those based on university and TAFE campuses, within Australia and overseas. Sally has also been a member of the English Australia Board since 2016.

Marnie Watson (IEAA-F) 

Marnie is Chief Commercial & Partnership Officer for Acumen/Sannam S4. She has spent most of her 27 years in the international education sector based in Southeast Asia working for UNSW Global, Study Group and UP Education. Her focus has been on setting and executing on international education strategy for schools, vocational providers and university pathways while leading global student recruitment and academic teams. She was previously President of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam and on the Board of the Australian and New Zealand Association in Singapore.