John was born in Launceston and after training as a teacher at the University of Tasmania was in 1959 teaching mainly mathematics and science at Brooks High School, Launceston. Requested by the Education department, John went to Melbourne and trained as a teacher of the deaf – returned to Hobart and became the Foundation Principal of the Tasmanian School for the Hearing Impaired (know as Lady Rowallan House) in 1961.

After appointments at several schools John gained a scholarship to study in the USA – a Masters degree in Management and Supervision … but studied with a class that included several mature profoundly deaf students. On return again to Tasmania John completed his PhD at the University of Tasmania with a focus on evaluation of informal adult learning especially with parents of severely disabled children.

John, with his wife Shirley participates in a number of voluntary activities including the Royal Society of Tasmania and for many years has served Rotary International as a senior leader throughout Australia and overseas. They have two married daughters, two great sons-in-law and five wonderful grandchildren.

Peter has a business and corporate career spanning over 40 years.

He was Managing Director and Chief Executive of several US corporate organisations in countries throughout the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Sub-continent and represented the parent company on the boards of subsidiaries.

He spent a further four years at the company’s world headquarters in the USA. From 1984, he worked in Sydney with another global corporation where he became the director of a business unit for the South Pacific Region and a member of the management committee.

Since 1993, Peter has contributed his extensive international experience and knowledge to companies in commercialisation and capital raising, in sourcing joint venture partners and facilitating acquisitions, but he particularly enjoyed assisting start-ups. Peter, who grew up in Switzerland, holds a precision engineering degree and has studied at further learning institutions including INSEAD, Brown, Macquarie and Sydney.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Member of the New York Academy of Sciences and supports the MIT Open Courseware efforts.

Anita Hansen was educated at the University of Tasmania and the University of Newcastle where her studies have focused on natural history illustration.

Before returning to Tasmania in 2003 to complete a Masters and PhD, Anita worked interstate and overseas in scientific illustration, graphic design and project management, most recently with the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) as an Education Officer/Projects and Publications.

Mary Koolhof has had wide experience as a teacher in Tasmanian schools including stints as Senior Education Officer and Senior Curriculum Officer for the Department of Education. Mary was an inaugural awardee of a Commonwealth Endeavour Language Teacher Fellowship and a recipient of several Goethe-Institut scholarships to study in Germany. She has a passion for teaching and was awarded a Rotary Salamanca Vocational Award for Excellence for her work with refugee students. Mary currently works for the Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification in a number of part-time roles. She is the commissioned author of seven children’s books published by the Salvation Army for the Safe From the Start and Communities for Children initiatives. The books tackle current issues facing young people, such as cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Mary enjoys her voluntary work on the Tasmanian Social Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee.

Janet Carding is the Director of Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Margaret Davies was educated at the University of Tasmania, the ANU and the University of Adelaide from where she retired in 2002 after an academic career at that institution of 30 years.

Her research focused on the taxonomy and systematics of the Australopapuan frog fauna with an interest in osteology. She has discovered and named 34 species of frog during that research career and has published 118 papers, books and edited works.

An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of South Australia, she served as Secretary, Editor (for 13 years), Vice-President, President and Minute Secretary before returning to Tasmania where she became Honorary Editor of the Royal Society of Tasmania, a position she claims is to keep the brain active.

Mary Koolhof has had wide experience as a teacher in Tasmanian schools including stints as Senior Education Officer and Senior Curriculum Officer for the Department of Education. Mary was an inaugural awardee of a Commonwealth Endeavour Language Teacher Fellowship and a recipient of several Goethe-Institut scholarships to study in Germany. She has a passion for teaching and was awarded a Rotary Salamanca Vocational Award for Excellence for her work with refugee students. Mary currently works for the Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification in a number of part-time roles. She is the commissioned author of seven children’s books published by the Salvation Army for the Safe From the Start and Communities for Children initiatives. The books tackle current issues facing young people, such as cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Mary enjoys her voluntary work on the Tasmanian Social Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee.

http://www.utas.edu.au/profiles/staff/plant-science/james-reid