Amy Rose

Marketing Assistant

Amy Rose has ten years of experience working in community services, specifically in disability employment, supporting people to access the schemes and resources of the Department of Human Services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

After shifting her focus to marketing, Amy held roles coordinating communications, content creation and community engagement. She is committed to her own professional development and is undertaking a Diploma of Digital Media at CQ University.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…

I feel the work of High Resolves is extremely valuable! I’m excited to be a part of shaping the future of the world, through growing and empowering our youth with the tools to succeed.

Annabel Rattigan

Program Leader, Melbourne

Annabel’s career has focused on designing and delivering participant-led programs for professionals and university students to build their cultural competency. Annabel has facilitated hundreds of group programs for culturally diverse groups and focuses on building trust and collaboration as a way to break down cultural differences and develop inclusive practices. Annabel remembers her own peak experience as a 14 year old travelling to Java in Indonesia. This transformative experience led to her passion for global issues and social justice. Since that experience, Annabel has spent time studying in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, living and working in Samoa in the South Pacific and volunteering in Timor-Leste. Annabel has a BA (Hons) in Gender and Asian Studies from the University of Melbourne as well as qualifications in Intercultural Communication from the University of British Columbia and Training and Assessment.

I love supporting young people to find their spark. High Resolves provides an opportunity for students to find their voice and to think critically about social justice issues and become agents of change.

Anthony Mackay AM

Board Member

Anthony is CEO of the Centre for Strategic Education. He is Chair of the Australian Council for Educational Research, Chair of the International Advisory Board for the National Institute for School Leadership in the USA, and advisor to Asia Society’s Global Cities Education Network. He was Inaugural Chair of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.

Beth Henry

Customer Experience Lead and National Competition Manager, Videos for Change

Beth has spent over 18 years working with young people as a facilitator, manager, Youth Worker, coordinator, mentor, volunteer and coach. With a background in Youth and Community Development, Beth is passionate about working with young people in creative ways to help them develop to their full potential and to find positive connections to themselves and their community.

Having spent 10 years with PCYC Queensland, she has hands-on experience in managing and facilitating a diverse range of community and youth development programs across metropolitan, regional and remote Queensland. In this time, she managed State-wide projects and programs around leadership development, crime prevention, a program working with young people with diverse genders, sexualities and/or bodies, and a domestic and family violence response program.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…

The organisation has very clear values and a vision of what we want to achieve and how to achieve it. I love that High Resolves is about action and that we are giving others the tools to intentionally use their powers for good and make a difference in their lives.

Brandon Patterson

Program Leader, Sydney

Inspired by his own development and aha moments through attending an immersive, ‘peak experience’, leadership camp in the US as a teenager, Brandon saw the value and impact that non-traditional education can have on a person’s life. Brandon volunteered at this same camp a number of summers in a row, getting the opportunity to lead some activities and group sessions. This planted seeds that one day, he too could become a facilitator and create aha moments for others. After developing his skills through acting studies and performance, Brandon began facilitating behaviour change workshops in secondary schools on behalf of corporate clients.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…

I want to see a world where we don’t just survive, but we thrive. To do this we need to create a world that works together for everyone, with no one left out. To create this world we need bold, ethical and empathetic leaders who strive not just to propel themselves forward, but who will bring others with them and lead others to do the same. What better way to achieve this, than through immersive education? I see a whole generation of young people resolving to do their part and make a difference.

Carly Pettiona

Program Leader, South-East Queensland

As she was completing her Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education, Carly had her peak experience when she began to learn how teenagers think and realised that teenagers would be the ones to craft our future. Since then, Carly had fostered a passion for education and social justice. This inspired her to go back to University and complete a Master of Applied Linguistics at the University of Melbourne. During this time and in the years that followed, Carly’s work and research has led her further down the path of social justice and advocacy, focusing on the relationship between society and language.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…

Kids and young people are fantastic thinkers and learners and I love that at High Resolves, I have the opportunity to help children develop the tools they need to go on to be global citizens.

Chad Brown

Executive Director, Digital Services

Chad grew up in a small town in country Victoria. His own ‘Peak Experience’ occurred in his early twenties when he travelled to Uganda to volunteer in rural communities through a not-for-profit organisation that had been set up by his parents.

Chad has also spent many years living, travelling and working abroad. During this time, he worked in a variety of organisations of all shapes and sizes to improve both employee and customer satisfaction through the constant refinement of user experiences. He now applies this real-world experience and knowledge to help achieve the maximum possible impact in his work at High Resolves.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…

I believe in both the power and the critical role of young people in solving the greatest challenges of our time. The opportunity to work for an organisation that facilitates such a powerful movement of global citizens and gives them the skills and confidence that they need to change the world is an inspiring experience.

Chris Presland PSM

Board Chairman

Chris is the immediate Past President of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council (NSW SPC), the largest single Secondary Principals’ association in Australia. He had the honour of being the Principal in three different settings over a 20 year period. He has been a member of multiple working parties at both state and national levels over a number of years. He has now retired from full time work, but currently works as a Professional Learning Project Officer with the NSWSPC where he has led the development and delivery of courses building the aspirations and capacity of future school leaders. He remains very active in the education scene.

Greg Hayes

Board Member

Greg was formerly the CFO of Brambles, an ASX listed provider of supply chain solutions and information management through its two businesses CHEP and Recall. Previously, Greg was Group Managing Director and CEO of the Tenix Group, the CFO and interim CEO of AGL.

Lee Martin

Executive Director, Premium Services

Lee has worked at High Resolves since 2010, working in a variety of roles including face-to-face delivery of content to young people and teachers, developing curriculum, and quality assurance and training. He holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Sheffield and a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in History and Politics from the University of Warwick. Lee worked as a high school history teacher in socially diverse areas of the U.K. and took on the roles of form tutor, Head of Year and Head of Department. In May 2009, government inspectors reported that the history department and its management were “outstanding”.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…
I have always believed that education is the most effective way of overcoming some of the problems that the world faces today. High Resolves offers me that opportunity by working with young people to develop the confidence, motivation and skills to make our world a better place.

Lisa Richardson

Head of Engagement

Marlina Moussa

Director of Partnerships and Growth, Digital Services

During her time as an English teacher, Marlina’s passion to empower and inspire young people to be positive leaders in the community and globally saw her develop and implement new educational programs and initiatives that increased student involvement and engagement in understanding social issues. She participated in the Make Poverty History Campaign in NSW, which involved meeting with ministers at Parliament House on the issue of foreign aid. Her experiences in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East further fueled her desire to see students become global leaders and citizens who are motivated to make a positive difference, which led her to High Resolves. She completed a Bachelor of Secondary Teaching (Double English major) at the University of Technology Sydney and a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature and History) at the University of Wollongong where she also undertook a 3-year leadership program, delivering a number of projects for social action, development and change in the University and community.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…
What we do is for the greater good. Seeing that achieved by empowering young people to be global citizens is inspiring and exciting.

Mehrdad Baghai

Founder and Board Member

As Global CEO of High Resolves, Mehrdad has focused on rapid growth of the program in Australia and expansion into the U.S., Canada, China, Brazil and Africa. Mehrdad is Chairman of Alchemy Growth, a boutique strategy advisory firm. Previously, he was a partner at McKinsey & Company and co-leader of the Firm’s worldwide Growth Practice, and an Executive Director at the CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. Mehrdad has degrees from Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School and Princeton University. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…

I have seen and felt the impact of social division and hatred first hand. We need to think of prejudice, racism and hatred as public health issues and engage in immunization programs in order to eradicate these diseases.

Natasha Woolley

Marketing and Communications Manager, Australia

Natasha is a marketing and communications professional with over 12 years experience. Starting out as a filmmaker, she translated her love of storytelling into marketing and content producer roles across the commercial, entertainment and government sectors. She held senior Communications roles at Sydney Water and Telstra, where she designed immersive customer experiences. Her peak experience was finding that working with disenfranchised communities to co-design their journeys and tell their own stories, was what really ignited her spark.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…

We’re familiar with the proverb: “it takes a village to raise a child”. To my mind, it takes a community approach to raise kind, resourceful, independent thinkers. I believe we need more than an academic education to be well-rounded and resilient. In the modern, digital environment, kids are being exposed to more sophisticated concepts at a younger age. Parents and teachers are under so much pressure to help young people navigate their social networks and relate to the world around them. The work of High Resolves supports educators and gives students the experiences, tools and skills to make informed choices.

Rachel Jackett

Program Leader, Newcastle

Rachel has been working with young people predominantly in the arts and education sector for the past ten years. She spent the majority of this time on the road touring as an actor with theatre in education company, Brainstorm Productions, delivering well-being programs to primary and secondary school students across Australia. Rachel recently spent 18 months back in her regional hometown, Port Macquarie, on the Mid North Coast of NSW as a School Outreach Officer for Charles Sturt University, inspiring students to follow their career goals and aspirations.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…

We get the privilege of helping to mould, and learn from, tomorrow’s leaders and changemakers who are working to create a world worth living in.

Shazia Juma-Ross

Board Member

Shazia Juma-Ross is the Co-Founder and Chair of Skills and Thrills, an EdTech platform focusing on skill-based children’s activities servicing a global client base. Prior to that she held numerous roles in Macquarie Group including Global COO of Macquarie Capital, Director of Corporate Strategy and Chief Procurement Officer.

Tas Fitzer

Program Leader, Wollongong

Prior to joining High Resolves, Tas spent a number of years working in the tertiary education sector, primarily facilitating both study support and personal development workshops for students of a variety of backgrounds. Studying History and Sociology as part of a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Wollongong really furthered his passion for being a part of improving the world we live in and built on his experiences and involvement in a variety of social justice campaigns and movements both growing up and into adulthood.

I am passionate about High Resolves because…

There are few things more rewarding than being able to work with young people on the issues that matter. At High Resolves, I can match my education, passions, and professional background to do something I really care about.

Taylor Hawkins

Board Member

Taylor Hawkins is a leadership development specialist and an advocate for greater consideration of long-term interests in leadership decision-making. Taylor is Managing Director Foundations for Tomorrow, Strategy Director of Future Frontiers Group and holds several leadership roles within the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.

Trish Talob

Customer Experience Lead, Digital Services

Trish has a diverse professional background but her passion lies in making a positive social impact using technology and human-centred design.

After several years in major advertising firms, Trish transitioned into the world of technology and spent a few years at a big 4 consulting firm. Here, worked as part of an innovation development team and built the customer success and support function for a suite of digital products for small-to-medium sized enterprises.

Trish then developed an interest in human-centred design and upskilled to become a service designer. As a service designer, Trish worked with several government departments, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

I am passionate about High Resolves because… 

Through my work, I get the opportunity to support the next generation of great thinkers and doers. I also love being part of building innovative education platforms designed to provide powerful and unique learning experiences for young people.