Event Program

Reframing the behaviour of your with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Hayley Passmore
Telethon Kids Institute

This presentation will provide:

• An introduction to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and commonly associated behaviours

• An overview of the recent prevalence study of FASD and other neurodevelopmental impairments conducted at Banksia Hill Detention Centre in Western Australia

• A demonstration of ‘Sentence’, a short film about young people in detention with unrecognised neurodevelopmental impairments

• Practical strategies to use with young people who may have FASD

About the presenter:

Hayley Passmore is a child health researcher at the Telethon Kids Institute, and is in the final year of her PhD at The University of Western Australia. Hayley has qualifications in Criminology and Psychology, and previous experience working with adult offenders, and vulnerable children, youth and families across Western Australia. Since 2015, Hayley has been working on a research study at Banksia Hill Detention Centre aiming to improve the management of young people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) who are involved in the justice system.

The School Drug Education and Road Aware (SDERA) Program
Paul Searle
Department of Education – School Drug Education and Road Aware (SDERA) program

This presentation provides information about the School Drug Education and Road Aware (SDERA) program and how we support school communities by providing professional learning, resources, funding and consultancy support. It looks at: Implementing a whole-school approach to health and wellbeing; a best practice approach to prevention education and early intervention, with a focus on AOD and road safety; Keys for Life – SDERA’s Pre-Driver education program that is available to schools and agencies; and Wraparound – SDERA’s new early intervention program for school staff.

About the presenter:

As Principal Consultant – Alcohol and Drug Awareness, Paul Searle leads the development of alcohol and other drug (AOD) education for the School Drug Education and Road Aware (SDERA) program. He provides valuable insight into practical and effective approaches to address and prevent student AOD use. Paul’s approach to AOD education is informed by his experience across a diverse range of education and community-based settings, including 12 years in the Kimberley region. Experiences which have shaped a deep appreciation of the complexity of alcohol and other drug use, and how it impacts the lives of young people.

Resilience, Wellbeing and Relationship: Strong Keys in Youth Engagement
Adam Przytula
Armed for Life

Our purpose in increasing youth engagement has an end goal of helping students to learn. This most effectively takes place when a student is resilient, has a healthy sense of wellbeing and is connected to others around them. We will discuss why these 3 key areas matter and how students can improve all 3 areas and we can assist them by creating an environment where students can thrive and want to engage.

About the presenter:

Adam Przytula has been speaking in schools for 20 years. He has a secondary teaching degree, is an author, an international speaker and an entrepreneur as the director of Armed For Life for 9 years, an organisation driven by Adams purpose to help others develop resilience and increase their wellbeing and mental health. This passion is fuelled by Adam’s experience of being bullied every day of his high school life which combined with issues at home lead to dealing with depression and anxiety and having a suicide pan in place in year 10 – which is all used as lived experience to enrich the presentations delivered. Armed For Life has now worked with over 330 schools in WA (including Karratha, Geraldton, Albany and Narrogin), as well as Cape Town, South Africa, and has spoken to over 950,000 students.

Understanding the Naitonal Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Mission Australia
Rebecca Biltoft
Mission Australia

This presentation will be an introduction to the NDIS and will cover eligibility and access requirements whilst also providing some case studies as examples and detailing the role of MA’s Local area Coordinator. As MA is a partner with the NDIA, MA will be delivering Local Area Coordination to eligible people with significant and permanent disabilities in different areas within WA. Mas Local Area Coordinators will be working with all people with disabilities to enable them to participate physically, socially and economically in their communities as any other person would.

About the presenters:

Rebecca Biltoft is a Community Engagement Facilitator with Mission Australia for the central North Metropolitan Area. She has previously worked at the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in the community mainstream and engagement team. She has a love of Africa and has coordinated four community development projects in Kenya in marginalised areas.

Try Work Inspiration on for Size – Building Aspirations in the Future Workforce
Janine Blake – The Smith Family
Maryanne Baker – Mandurah Murray Employment Facilitator

Work Inspiration is about providing young people facing disadvantage with a positive, meaningful and inspiring taste of the world of work. Our research tells us that after participating in Work Inspiration young people tend to have a better understanding of career pathways, a better understanding of what employers are looking for, and are more likely to return to school motivated to do well in their studies. In a new model, The Smith Family collaborated with the Participation team, the City of Mandurah, Employment Facilitator and Jobs and Skills Centre to deliver Work Inspiration to young people in the Peel region.

About the presenter:

Janine Blake is the Strategic Engagement Manager for The Smith Family. Leading a team of three, Janine overseas Work Inspiration and Post School Options programs in outer metropolitan and regional areas around Australia and her side hustle is the co-owner of ICIRIS Video Production specialising in wedding and event videography in WA.

Maryanne Baker is the Mandurah Murray Employment Facilitator working across the Peel region of WA. As one of thirteen Employment Facilitators regions across the Country, Maryanne is the only Facilitator in Western Australia. Employment Facilitators are an Australian Government Initiative and offer an on-the-ground presence that work with retrenched workers and other job seekers in specific regions to connect them with training, job opportunities and to link them with other existing support whilst being engaged to facilitate government initiatives.
Maryanne works on improving employment opportunities for the local community – including people who wish to enter the workforce, change jobs, upskill and for those who are unemployed through networks and strategic engagement.

Supportive mentoring to enable employability
Pat Ryan
Dismantle Inc.

Dismantle uses unique programs to benefit young people aged 13-18yrs. The first is Bike Rescue, a 10-week earn-a-bike program where youth workers disguise themselves as bike mechanics. The second is a job readiness program, available through Dismantle’s social enterprises Bike Dr and ReNew Property Maintenance. Together these opportunities create strong outcomes and Pat Ryan, CEO at Dismantle is providing a summary of their model, data, successes and challenges.

About the presenter:

Pat Ryan heads up Dismantle and he’s been in the leadership position for 5 years. Pat’s background is in youth work and behavioural science. Now, Pat leads a team that has a diverse skillset in clinical and non-clinical youth services, together they offer a broad range of supports and opportunities for young people who take part in their programs. Pat is particularly interested in using social enterprise as the key financial driver of the organisation – which is why they own and operate two – ‘ReNew Property Maintenance’ and ‘Bike Dr.’ (a bike shop located in Subiaco).

Wilgee Mia – A partnership approach to successfully engage aboriginal youth in training and their community
Kayleigh Ellis – City of Melville, Lisa O’Neill – Carey Training, Joel Woods – Department of Education

The Wilgee Mia Program started from a conversation in May 2018 at an interagency meeting. A group of Aboriginal youth in the Willagee area had been identified as being disengaged from mainstream schooling and needed localised solutions to support their re-engagement in learning.

Through the dedicated work of the City of Melville, Carey Training and the Department of Education, the Wilgee Mia Program was developed.

This unique partnership approach has led to real outcomes for a number of local aboriginal youth and the local community. This partnership ‘blueprint’ has since been adopted by the City of Kwinana to support their aboriginal young people.

Find out how this partnership was developed, sustained and grown and how a similar partnership could be developed in your local area.

About the presenters:

Kayleigh Ellis is the Community Development Coordinator – People at the City of Melville. A qualified Social Worker, Kayleigh has supported a range of community development initiatives aimed at providing opportunities for disengaged young people based on principles of empowerment and self-determination. Kayleigh supports the City’s Community Development Officer – Youth who has been actively involved in all stages of the Wilgee Mia project to date.

Lisa O’Neill is the Training Manager WA for Carey Training. She has worked in this role for 2 years, and within the VET industry for 8 years. Carey Training is a 100% Aboriginal owned and operated national Register Training Organisation and Lisa’s vision for WA is to be a provider of exceptional services for the Aboriginal community. This will be done through quality training, recruitment and sustainable employment opportunities. Joel Woods is the current Engagement and Transitions Manager (ETM) for the South Metropolitan Education Region (West).

Joel has worked with the Department for 20 years as a Teacher, Head of Department, Regional VET in Schools Coordinator, Senior Policy Officer and has been the SMER ETM for the past 10 years. Joel is also an avid runner and olive preserver.

Youth Work Works!
Dana Anderson
Youth Futures WA – Anchor Point

This seminar will discuss the valuable role youth workers play in young people’s education and how the Anchor Program programs use the principles of youth work to help disengaged young people to re-engage with education and successfully transition into future education, training or employment. This session will share Anchor Point students stories gained via the ‘Most Significant Change’ (MSC) technique to highlight the collaborative value of professions working together to meet the needs of young people.

About the presenter:
Dana Anderson is Education and Vocational Training Manager at Youth Futures WA. In this role she manages Futures Education and Training, a Registered Training Organisation and the Anchor Point Community Based Courses. Having lectured in Youth Work for over 10 years and being part of Youth Work WA for 8 years, Dana is passionate about working towards a secure future for quality Youth Work practice and education in WA.

Technological advances in proactive mental health in schools
Jason van Schie
People Dianostix

Mental health is a continuum ranging from illness, to wellness, to flourishing (optimal wellbeing). Despite this, most mental health interventions in schools are provided at the illness end as opposed to keeping students well and assisting to flourish.

This presentation will demonstrate how the public health model can be applied to student mental health, particularly focusing on primary prevention (tier 1) interventions using a three-part process of
i) increasing literacy,
ii) raising self-awareness, and
iii) increasing agency.

Technological advances to support this process will be discussed and demonstrated.

About the presenter:
Jason van Schie is the Managing Director of People Diagnostix and founder of Flourishing at School. He has been working as a registered psychologist since 2005 and consults with schools internationally (including Australia, UK, Germany, USA and Canada) offering scalable, technology driven, proactive mental health measurement and intervention. Jason is primarily a practitioner, but also collaborates with academics from several universities on pioneering research in the area of technology and mental health.

Re-engaging disengaged youth using meaningful programs
Courtney Gratteri
St Francis’ School

This presentation will focus on strategies and methods that have been demonstrated effective in encouraging engagement and relationships with at-risk youth, family members/carers and community stakeholders.

These strategies include specific programs that may be transferable to other contexts, such as innovating ways of developing relationships community stakeholders, soft skills workshops that promote emotional regulation, pro social relationships and behaviour and programs that equip students with adaptive and self-care strategies that enable them to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.

About the presenter:
Courtney Gratteri is a youth worker at one of Perth’s leading care schools – St Francis’ School, Maddington. She has been working in industry for the last seven years and is well known in the youth-work sector as a positive female role model, an advocate for young people and a mentor to fellow youth workers.

Courtney believes in the “power of education” and is very passionate about working with the south east corridor and advocating to find ways for services to better connect and collaborate as well building genuine positive relationships with young people and families within the educational setting. Courtney’s vision is to empower young people to be the best versions of themselves and to touch the lives of youth, educators, and parents

Strategies and approaches – working with students with FASD
Sophie Harrington
National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (NOFASD)

To effectively manage behaviours and increase engagement, a better understanding of the brain injury that is FASD is critical, alternative approaches are required.
Prevalence within the Australian general population is estimated to be as high as 5%, FASD is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed.
Children and adolescents with FASD are vulnerable, they have a brain injury; a disability which requires different supports and interventions to improve learning and life outcomes.
This presentation will raise awareness of the prevalence of FASD within our communities, identify the red flags to look for and provide strategies to increase engagement and participation.

About the presenters:
Sophie Harrington is a National Community Educator for NOFASD Australia, working for more than 20 years with youth and families ‘at-risk’, both in Australia and the United Kingdom. Sophie has worked extensively in roles as a case manager, program manager and regional manager, across the AOD, youth homelessness, careers and justice sectors. Her experience of managing programs, particularly in the justice and homelessness sectors, have brought her in to contact with many young people and families affected by FASD.

Unlocking the untapped gift of multilingualism
Patricia Konigsberg and Rubi Marbrouk
Department of Education

One of the biggest obstacles in supporting EAL/D students in our schools is the lack of understanding regarding how language works. Beliefs in the existence of ‘good English’ and ‘broken English’ undermines students’ confidence and self-esteem and can have significant educational and life pathway consequences. In this workshop we will explore current trends and leading best practice to support EAL/D learners in Western Australian schools. More specifically we will explore how language is never neutral, the power of orality within linguistic diversity and how the cognitive pathways of multilingual speakers are profoundly different to that of a monolingual speaker. Implementing strategies that are supportive of EAL/D students are mutually beneficial and ensure all students can strive.

About the presenter:
Patricia Konigsberg is the Principal Consultant, EAL/D within the Department of Education. A linguist and a qualified teacher with extensive experience teaching students of all ages across metro, regional and remote areas of WA, Patsy has been involved in numerous research projects on Aboriginal English and two-way learning. She is widely published as co-author of with Ian Malcolm and Glenys Collard. Patsy has dedicated her career to empowering EAL/D learners from diverse language backgrounds.

Rubi Mabrouk is a Senior EAL/D Teacher with extensive experience teaching EAL/D learner, currently seconded to the position of EALD Consultant at the Statewide Services Centre, Literacy, Numeracy and EAL/D Branch. Prior to joining the Department of Education in Western Australia, Rubi has worked in the ELICOS sector as a TESOL lecturer, Program Manager and A/ Director of Studies. In addition to Graduate diploma in teaching from UWA and Masters in Education from Monash University, Rubi has extensive experience working in a variety of leadership roles as an EAL/D and literacy specialist within the Department and in the Private sector.

WA’s First Private Youth Work Practice on social, emotional, educational and vocational growth.
Sain Dzemail
Insain Youth Services

An explanation into the Insain Factor with 3 case studies on how Insain is preventing Youth Suicide in Perth, Western Australia. Come join into this fully interactive presentation followed by a discussion on the importance of what we call THE FIRE TRIANGLE.

You will hear how the team at Insain all need to have their own vision in conjunction to work with any young people and how an Insain Session has been completed in a nightclub at 1AM in the morning, giving the success needed for a family to focus on what’s important. Insain will also run a mini session of discovering what’s important to you through your own vision and giving you access to discover share with your own family and friends

About the presenter:

Life and Times of a Lower School Engagement Program
Litza Reed
Harvey Senior High School

We would like to present our Lower School Engagement Program at Harvey SHS. Many schools are currently implementing Senior School Engagement Programs, but what are we doing to target students in Years’ 7-10?

The program began in Term Four 2018 and we began implementing our current model at the beginning of 2019. We openly admit that we have good days, great days and not so great days. We would love to share our story, where we began, where we are at and where to, in the future. We envisage sharing what works, what doesn’t and what we do when things are not working.

The perspective of this story would not only be teacher and administrator led, but weave in the student stories, including our current action project – examining our school’s rubbish to provide for more sustainable practices in the future.

About the presenters:

Litza Reed is a Lower School Engagement Program Teacher. Litza has been teaching and working as a school administrator for the past 15 years and has a background in both Curriculum and Teaching and Learning as well as Student Services. She is passionate about holistic education and creating engaging curriculum in safe, supportive environments. Litza made the choice this year to return to the classroom full-time to set up the Harvey SHS LSEP based upon these ideas.

Understanding Refugee & Asylum-Seeker Experience
Alome Mbenjele & Teresa Cangemi
ASeTTS

The presentation will focus putting a human face on the Refugee and Asylum Seeker population by exploring their experiences, both prior to arrival and during resettlement in Western Australia. We also define the meaning of the main terms ‘Refugee’, ‘Asylum Seeker’ and ‘Statelessness’. The presentation will further explore Australia’s part in the international Refugee and Asylum Seeker intake, identify different facets of the Refugee experience, and torture and  trauma symptoms and highlight the impact of torture and trauma on everyday life, and the strategies for T & T rehabilitation.

About the presenters:

Career development: Integration and collaboration
Shirley Parer – Department of Education
Linda Winter – Education and Training Adviser at CCIWA

This session will provide participants with information and resources which focus on:

• the importance of preparing young people with the skills and capabilities for the future of work;
• the significance of labour market information and the need to provide young people with effective career information and guidance; and
• an integrated approach to career development.

About the presenter:

Shirley Parer is a Principal Consultant with Teaching and Learning Services and represents the Department of Education on national working parties for career education and career development. She is a member of the executive committee of the Career Education Association of WA.  Shirley has led the development of key career development resources for the department and she designs and delivers professional learning to support the implementation of career development and individual pathway planning in schools.

Linda Winter is the Education and Training Adviser at Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia (CCIWA) Linda is responsible for engaging and building strong networks and relationships with key stakeholders in the education, university and training sectors.  Linda coordinates student and teacher programs around “work” and the future of work initiatives as part of CCI’s workforce development contribution to the community

VRooM: On track for engagement
Dr Susan Main
Edith Cowan University

The link between reading ability and engagement in learning has been well established in the research literature. Evidence-based approaches to instruction are advocated to redress reading difficulties for young children; however, there is a much greater emphasis on motivating young adults to read, rather than on teaching them to read. This fails to acknowledge that some young adults lack the basic skills for reading that no amount of motivation can ameliorate. This presentation discusses why engagement for young adults’ hinges on the right balance between vocabulary, reading skills and motivation to read, and how to identify this balance.

About the presenters:

Dr Susan Main is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University. Her overarching research interest is in understanding what constitutes effective teaching; that is, teaching that results in learning for all children. She has undertaken research projects in the areas of reading instruction for children in the early years through to high school, positive behaviour support, inclusive education, and the use of technology to support student and teacher learning.

The Hedland Schools Attendance Strategy
James Gorham, Shelly Marklew, Neville Sellwood, Narelle Ward,
WA Police South Hedland, Hedland Network of Public Schools.

Case study presentation on a sustained and successful inter-agency and community partnership guided by Hedland’s Aboriginal Strong Leaders, that ensures all children within Hedland regularly attend school and succeed in their engagement in education.

Four perspectives will be presented by 4 speakers representing: Hedland Network of Schools, WAPOL, DC-CPFS and Pilbara ERO.

Themes are:
• Powerful Collaborations; ‘using what is strong to fix what is wrong”.
• Effective Transitions.
• Fostering family and community support.

Each presenter will conclude with data sets that underpin the success of the strategy

About the presenters:

SGT Shelley Marklew – WAPOL South Hedland.

Neville Sellwood – Field/Support Worker | Pilbara District, Child Protection and Family Support

Narelle Ward – Network Principal Hedland Network of Public Schools.

Narelle is Talk 4 Writing champion, Principal of IPS Cassia Primary School, Network Principal of the Hedland Network of Schools, newly appointed Leadership Institute of Western Australia mentor to early service principals has the rich red soil of Pilbara running through her veins.

In partnership with The Dyslexia SPELD Foundation, Narelle has been instrumental in ensuring the successful roll-out of the Pilbara Partnerships for Student Success – Literacy and Response to Intervention ($2m), Talk 4 Writing suite of professional learning to ~300 staff across the Pilbara Education Region in 2018.

An influencer and leader in School Reform, Narelle advocates that high quality teaching practices focussed on tier 1-3 interventions can and do achieve outstanding improvement in student academic performance at the classroom, school, network and regional level.

Effective coping
Dr Mandie Shean
Edith Cowan University

In this presentation Dr Shean will discuss coping in the context of resilience. Mandie will provide practical strategies to build coping skills in young people. This will include ways of working with emotions and building problem solving skills. These skills can be applied to youth across various settings.

About the presenter:
Dr Mandie Shean is a registered teacher and psychologist. Her PhD research investigated resilience in adolescence. She is currently a lecturer/researcher in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University and consultant psychologist at Catholic Education Western Australia.

“Big Yellow Machines” – Pathways in Infrastructre for disengaged youth
Tim Hunter
Ertech Construction Academy – Motivation Foundation

The Ertech Construction Academy is a project of the Motivation Foundation.

• 2018 the Academy had 100% Completion rate & 100% Employment Rate.
• 2018 Year the Beazley Medal VET was awarded to an Academy Graduate.
• 2019 The Civil Contractors Federation awarded Training Org of the Year.

The Foundation operates a training academy to enable disadvantaged and disengaged youth to transition to a career in civil construction, resources and infrastructure. This presentation will cover:

• Pathways for WA High School Students to a career in Civil construction and Infrastructure/Resources.
• How the Academy works:
– Selection of our students
– Presentation of our course
– How we link students with Industry Employers
– Scholarships for disadvantaged youth to reach their potential

Scholarships are available for students in disadvantage or distress

About the presenters:
Tim Hunter is the Manager of Ertech Construction Academy and CEO of the Motivation Foundation. He is a Not-for-Profit and Educational Leadership professional with 20 years expertise in Workplace Learning & Development, Vocational Education & Training, and coaching/mentoring. Tim believes in sharing in a positive culture, working with people to achieve life and workplace learning outcomes, at the same time delivering results for the Foundation and the Community.

Be You – a whole school framework for mental health and wellbeing
Consultants from the Be You Team
Headspace Schools

This session will provide participants with a complete overview of the Be You framework including the underpinning theory and vision of Be You as well as a deeper dive into the implementation process including all the online tools and resources schools can use to contextualise the framework to their setting.

The session will also incorporate a workshop aspect which will include a website tour and provide participants with an opportunity to explore the online domains, implementation tools, and resources with support from the Be You consultants. Participants are encouraged to create their own Be You accounts and bring their own devices for the workshop aspect of the session.

About the presenters:
Renae Duncan is the Senior Clinical Consultant for headspace Schools Be You team, working across both Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Renae has worked for the past 4 years supporting schools to prepare for, respond to and recover from suicide.

Lynda Cumming is an Education Consultant with headspace Schools Be You team and has worked for over 20 years as an educator in schools and 15 years as a consultant facilitating implementation change in the areas of literacy and more recently mental health and wellbeing.

Full Service School pilot Armadale – The journey so far
Matthew Shields and Sharon Holder
Department of Education

The State Government is committed to a three-year pilot of a Full Service School model as a way of addressing the needs of vulnerable young people and their families in the Armadale-Kelmscott region.

The Full Service School pilot is located at Armadale Senior High School and provides services and support to Armadale Education Support Centre, Armadale Senior High School, Byford Secondary College, Cecil Andrews College and Kelmscott Senior High School.

The focus of this presentation will be sharing the journey to date and the collaborative and sustainable partnerships that have been established within and between sectors. Providing a range of support services for young people and their families living in the Armadale-Kelmscott region including a drop in centre, counselling support, employment and housing support, parent education, youth outreach and alternative pathways.

About the presenters:
Matt Shields has over 15 years’ experience in an education context, creating success for all students, both nationally and internationally through teaching, learning area coordination and administration, curriculum and resource development, including the delivery of student support programs to government and non-government schools. He has built and sustained productive relationships in a variety of settings to facilitate stakeholder engagement and continuous improvement.

Sharon Holder is a primary to year 10 trained teacher with special needs background. She has worked with Centacare since 2017 gaining specific experience in classes for disengaged youth. She is dedicated to providing an environment where understanding, care and motivation is practiced to support young people to successfully transition from education to meaningful employment. Recently she worked in the Stepping Stones program in Midland, starting with one student on her roll but ending up with 25. 8 students went onto TAFE.

Happiness, and showing schools how to find it
Julian Pace
Happiness Co

Happiness Co have the ultimate vision to reduce the impact unhappiness, depression and anxiety has on our community. Our ability to create one of a kind live workshops and programs makes us a social movement like no other. Whether it’s for the individual, workplace or school- our relatable tools make understanding happiness attainable. In this presentation Julian will share the Happiness Co story, cover how we can use resourcefulness instead of relying on resources and give practical tools for being better tomorrow than you were today.

About the presenters:
The CEO and founder of Happiness Co, Julian Pace is fast becoming the leading voice for happiness, having become the youngest ever 40-under-40 winner as well as winning several mentorship and business awards. Julian is a raw and authentic storyteller and speaker, who has captivated audiences around the world. Whether it’s a corporate conference, local footy club or cohort of students, he leaves no stone unturned when it comes to making an impact on the individuals within the crowd local.

Ethical Principles for Working with Young People
Dana Anderson
Youth Work WA

This interactive workshop will assist people who work with young people to develop their understanding of ethical practices – based on the Code of Ethics for Youth Workers in WA. By the end of the workshop, participants will have:

• Discussed the principles of the Code of Ethics for Youth Workers in WA
• Reflected on their own ethical behaviour
• Considered engaging with Youth Work WAs ethics trainings to further their understanding of the Code of Ethics for Youth Workers in WA.

About the presenter:
Dana Anderson has lectured in Youth Work for over 10 years and has worked in the Youth Work sector for over 25 years. She has worked with young people in not-for-profit, local government and state government settings. Dana has been a committee member of Youth Work WA for the last 8 years and was Chairperson for 4 years.