The 14 members of the English Australia Board are elected by member colleges and represent a cross-section of the English Australia membership base. The Board consists of the Chair, 2 Deputy Chairs, 6 General Delegates, 5 State and Territory Delegates.
Kerry Sutcliffe – Chair
BA (Asian Studies), Grad Dip Education, Master of Education Studies (TESOL)
Kerry commenced in the ELICOS sector in 1992 and has been involved in ELICOS management since 1998. She is currently the Director of Griffith English Language Institute (GELI) Brisbane and Gold Coast and prior to that held Director of Studies roles at GELI Brisbane and Gold Coast, Embassy Brisbane and Central Queensland University Language Centre, Rockhampton.
Kerry has been an active participant in English Australia since 1998. She was the Queensland State Delegate 2010-2013 and Alternate State Delegate for Queensland over the periods 2001-2005 and 2007-2010. Over many years she has been involved in organising English Australia Queensland Branch events, including the annual PD Fest, was on the organising committee for the 2005 English Australia Conference and was the Program Committee Convenor for the English Australia Conference 2010. She was also a member of the Project Working Group for the English Australia Guide to Best Practice in Direct Entry Programs.
Lucas Chiusoli – Deputy Chair
Lucas Chiusoli has been working in the ELICOS sector since 2004 in Australia and abroad. He is the Director at ILSC Sydney, an independent English and Vocational provider with multiple campuses across Australia, Canada and India.
Lucas holds a BA in Business, Cambridge DELTA and CELTA, Cert IV in TESOL and TAE, and has developed and delivered a number of TESOL and ESL syllabi and courses (GE, EAP, ESP, Exam prep, Business English, Cert IV in TESOL and CELTA). Lucas has taught at several language centres as well as elementary, primary and secondary schools, being involved in a wide range of teaching contexts, and also designing and running professional development programmes for teachers and trainers. He has presented at a number of national and international conferences and PD events.
In addition to his experience in the ELICOS sector, Lucas’s background in business and previous professional experiences have provided him with a deeper understanding of how organisations operate, and have given him the skill set to understand and address the needs of different stakeholders.
Prior to becoming the English Australia State Delegate for NSW, Lucas had been an active member of English Australia, attending branch meetings, and actively engaging with fellow members. He was also part of the EA Conference Organising Committee as well as the NSW – AMSIG Committee, planning, facilitating and delivering professional development sessions for Academic Managers.
Joanna Kelly – Deputy Chair
With two decades of experience in international education, both domestically and overseas, Joanna currently serves as the General Manager of Academies Australasia, a publicly listed group comprising 18 colleges. In this role, she is responsible for education management and setting the strategic direction of stand-alone ELICOS programs at Discover English in Melbourne and Language Links International (LLI) in Perth. Additionally, she holds the position of CEO of Academies Australasia Polytechnic (AAPoly), an Institute of Higher Education.
Joanna’s enthusiasm, empathy, and passion for education are deeply rooted in her personal experience, having immigrated to Australia in 2003 to study. She is a firm believer in the “fair go” ethos and is dedicated to promoting cultural diversity and championing Australian education on the global stage.
With a diverse skill set that spans marketing, strategic and operational management, student services, and a focus on best-practice teaching and learning, Joanna has successfully implemented change and navigated multiple organizations through challenging times.
Joanna joined the English Australia Board as a General Delegate in May 2019, and she currently serves as Deputy Chair, as well as a member of both the Risk and Audit Committee and the Nominations Committee. She understands the pivotal role English Australia plays within the Australian international education sector and remains deeply engaged with addressing the core issues facing the industry today.
Jennifer Coster
Jennifer has been an active member of the Victorian-branch group for ten-years hosting meetings, leading state PD events, and actively contributing to discussions impacting our sector. Throughout this period, Jennifer contributed to the formative stages and first iteration of the CPD Framework, the PD Advisory Committee and have coached staff to present or have presented myself at the annual conference and EA’s webinar program. Monash College has been a regular contributor to a number of best practice/good practice guides and discussion papers/surveys on government standards/changes to visa requirements.
As Director of English and International Partnerships and a member of the Extended Leadership Team, Jennifer is responsible for informing Monash College’s strategic direction and achievement of this plan. She currently leads the English pathway and oversee the academic delivery of their pathway programs at 11 partners across 6 countries in the Asia region.
Jennifer has an advisory role with the Australian African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity; roles on university committees focused on post-entry English and the international student experience, and has completed volunteer work with sector national committees.
Roxana Ene
Roxana comes from Transilvania, Romania where she worked as a primary school teacher and later as an English high school teacher. In July 2004 she decided to travel to Australia on a student visa to do a vocational course. Since 2004 Roxana has worked in the education sector in a variety of roles: ESL teacher, Assistant Director of Studies, Director of Studies, Dean of Education and currently the Executive General Manager at Greenwich English College overseeing all departments across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Perth campuses.
Having been an international student herself, Roxana is able to empathise with the plight of international students and her experience, together with her business acumen, have helped her to produce innovative new courses, which are unique to the ELICOS sector in Australia. Roxana closely collaborated with international organisations like Cambridge to identify the needs of the international students in Australia and how Cambridge and Greenwich English College could work together to train agents, teachers and students. Roxana has trained a high number of agents in Australia and overseas and has a very good understanding of the variety of markets Greenwich is active in. This allowed her to create market, student and agent specific profiles and build strategies accordingly to attract students from particular regions and therefore add to the student diversity in Australia. Roxana has always showed interest in making the student experience in Australia better and better. Given that Greenwich College is part of a group, NextEd Group, which is a publicly listed company, strategic planning represents the core of the business.
Roxana believes that given her experience and expertise in the academic, financial, marketing, compliance and business areas, she can represent the voice of the ELICOS private providers in the EA Board. Roxana’s strong belief that students come first and that all providers have the responsibility to offer them the right support is obvious. Roxana has not only influenced the careers of the people she directly worked with but the careers of other stakeholders with the only purpose of making a difference in the international education market.
E: [email protected]
Ian Pratt
Ian Pratt is the Director of the Lexis Education group, overseeing language and vocational schools located around Australia and in Asia. Ian entered the ELICOS sector in 1998 in marketing and management roles for the Australian College of English and later for the Canadian based Global Village English Centres group. He and his wife founded Lexis English in 2004, before later expanding to Korea and Japan.
Ian holds a BA/BCom in Asian Languages and Business Law, a Graduate Diploma in Japanese Politics and an MBA in International Marketing. He also has the world’s least utilised CELTA, reluctantly granted on the condition that ‘he agrees to absolutely never step foot in an English language classroom again’.
Ian lives in Noosa, QLD, with his wife, two children, innumerable ducks and a flock of perpetually enraged geese.
Steve Knussen
MA Applied Linguistics (TESOL), BA, CELTA
Steve is the Executive Director, International Education for Kaplan Australia and New Zealand.
Steve has over 25 years’ experience in the international education industry, and has worked with a number of Australian ELICOS providers in a variety of roles from Teacher to Executive Director. He started working for Kaplan in 2008 as the Principal of Kaplan’s ELICOS college in Sydney, and he is currently responsible for Kaplan’s international education businesses in Australia and New Zealand, including Kaplan Business School, the University of Adelaide College, and the University of Newcastle College of International Education.
Sally Waite
BA (Psychology), MBA
Sally is the Executive General Manager at Navitas in the University Partnerships Australasia Division.
With a strong commercial and strategic focus, Sally has held various senior management roles in her 20+ years working in international education. In her current role with Navitas she has responsibility for ensuring the company’s strategic, operational, and financial objectives are met across a portfolio of higher education, university pathway and English language operations in both Australia and New Zealand. Sally is also a director on the IEAA Board.
John Paxton – Delegate for Western Australia
BA(Hons), Dip Ed, Grad Dip Bus
John is currently the owner and Director of Perth International College of English in the City of Perth. He has been on the board of StudyPerth, previously Perth Education City, for some years representing the private providers. He is also on the Board of English Australia representing WA in the national association for English language providers. He is also a member of WAPETIA, having served on the executive as Chair, Deputy Chair and Treasurer at different times since 1998.
John has been involved in education since 1975, first as an English teacher in Perth’s private secondary colleges. After some years travelling and working in Europe, he moved into school administration – as Director of Development at Aquinas College, and then onto the same position at St Mark’s International College in 1995.
In 1997, he was appointed part-owner and Director of ILA Perth, now Kaplan, before setting up his own school – PICE, in 2002.
John’s passion for international education has been formulated from his past, not least promoting Perth as a destination for overseas students.
E: [email protected]
Cara Dinneen – Delegate for NSW
Cara Dinneen holds a M.TESOL, Grad Cert Business Educational Leadership & Grad Cert Educational Research. She has over 20 years’ experience in ELT, teacher training and leadership in Australia, Oman and Spain, and is currently Education Manager at Macquarie University College.
Cara has experience in financial and developmental aspects of project management, expertise in TESOL pedagogy, and a strong connection across the ELICOS community. Cara has a proficient working knowledge of ELICOS legislation and has developed high-level strategies and supporting implementation plans to manage academic governance and promote good learning and teaching practices. She has advocated for the quality of Australian ELICOS operations through her engagement with Government offices (Austrade, Department of Education, and international Ministries of Education and Training) in negotiating English language and teacher-training programs.
Cara has successfully managed transnational education projects and tight resourcing budgets. Having worked in both private and university centres in VIC and NSW, she has been an active member of both English Australia branches, and is well placed to support the interests of member colleges. As convenor for the English Australia Assessment SIG, Cara is in regular contact with teachers and managers nationally. She has driven multiple collaborative projects among association members, contributed to the English Australia journal, and the Good Practice Guide in Online Delivery, and promoted sector collaboration through participation in UECA and NEAS workshops and expert panels.
E: [email protected]
Nick Philippou – Delegate for Victoria
IDLTM, Master of TESOL, CELTA, B Arts (hons)
With over 25 years’ experience working in the English language teaching sector in university and independent colleges in Australia and abroad, and as an active member of the Victoria Branch of English Australia since 2010, Nick’s strong commitment to the industry has grown out of his love of English language learning and teaching.
Nick joined RMIT University Pathways (formerly RMIT English Worldwide) in 2017 as Deputy Director. Nick is involved in all aspects of ELICOS program development and delivery, as well as academic governance and regulatory compliance. Prior roles include Director of Studies, Senior Teacher and IELTS examiner.
His contributions to English Australia have centred around his role as State Delegate for the Victoria Branch and his involvement in professional development, and he greatly values the opportunity to further support the sector alongside his colleagues on the English Australia Board.
T: 61 3 9925 8112
E: [email protected]
Simon Futo – Delegate for South Australia
BA Hons. English Language and Linguistics
Simon Futo is the General Manager for the University of Adelaide’s English Language Centre (ELC).
Simon has over 20 years of experience in the English Language sector. After studying Linguistics at Durham University, UK, Simon lived in Japan for seven years as an English teacher, teacher trainer and area manager for Japan’s largest private English school network.
Following his time in Japan, Simon began working at the University of Adelaide’s English Language Centre and has performed a number of roles including operations management and business development, before taking the role of General Manager in 2022.
T: 61 8 8313 4777
E: [email protected]
Iain Mathieson – Delegate for Queensland
Senior Manager, English Pathways, UQ College
B.Ed. (Hons), M.Ed. (TSL), DELTA, IDLTM
During his 25 years working in the English Language sector, Iain has worked in a diverse number of roles including teacher, examiner, teacher trainer and manager in Australia, Asia, Europe and South America. He has a keen interest in professional development and has presented at conferences and industry forums in Australia and overseas.
He is currently Senior Manager for English Pathways at UQ College with overall responsibility for quality assurance, curriculum, and administration for English language programs. As a member of the Senior Management Team, Iain is also involved in business strategy, regulatory, and governance aspects of the business. He holds a B.Ed. (Hons), a M.Ed. in Teaching Second Languages and Cambridge DELTA, and has also completed the International Diploma in Language Teaching Management (IDLTM) and the AICD Foundations of Directorship program.
He has been an active member of the EA Qld Branch since 2012 and is passionate about contributing to the ongoing success of ELICOS sector and the part that English Australia plays in this.
T: 61 7 3346 6770
E: [email protected]
