Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System - Review Panel

Dr Lisa O’Brien AM

Dr Lisa O’Brien AM has worked in leadership roles across the public, not-for-profit and commercial sectors. She has served as the inaugural Chair of the Australian Education Research Organisation since its incorporation in early 2021. She is a non-executive director of Bupa, Australia and New Zealand, a Council Member of the University of Technology Sydney and a member of Chief Executive Women. In 2021, Lisa stepped down after 10 years as Chief Executive Officer of The Smith Family. During that time, she led significant growth in both the reach and the effectiveness of The Smith Family’s education-oriented programs to support more disadvantaged children and young people.

A Medical Practitioner registered in New South Wales and a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, Lisa also holds a Masters of Business Administration, a Masters of Human Resource Management and Coaching and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM

Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM is a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker. She was the Secretary of federal governments departments from 2004-2016, and has worked to five Prime Ministers and nine Cabinet ministers. After retiring in 2016, Lisa joined the boards of listed and unlisted companies and many not-for-profits including chairing headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation and being a Director of Social Ventures Australia, Schools Plus and many others. She is currently Co-Chair of the Independent Review of the NDIS and is on the Expert Advisory Group for the South Australian Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care. In 2021 she Chaired a Review of the Quality of Initial Teacher Education.

She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2011 and in 2003 was awarded a Public Service Medal for her work coordinating the Commonwealth's domestic response to the Bali bombings. In 2011 she was named National Government Leader of the year by Chartered Accountants.

Ms Dyonne Anderson

Ms Dyonne Anderson is a proud Githabal woman. She has over 26 years’ experience with the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. She has worked in various roles and locations throughout NSW, including, principal at Cabbage Tree Island Public School, classroom teacher, curriculum advisor and consultant. Ms Anderson was also recently appointed the CEO of the Stronger Smarter Institute where she previously served as Chief Operations Officer.

Dyonne is President of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Principals Association (NATSIPA), and represents NATSIPA on the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) National Education Committee and AITSL’s School Leadership Expert Standing Committee. Dyonne was a member of the Ministerial Aboriginal Education Advisory Group until December 2013, an Initiative Reference Group member for the More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative (MATSITI) and a member of the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan Working Group in 2022.

Dr Jordana Hunter

Dr Jordana Hunter is the Education Program Director at Grattan Institute. She has co-authored a number of Grattan reports on school education, focusing on education strategy and teacher professional learning. Her particular research interests are in approaches to designing government policies to support quality teaching and evidence-based literacy and numeracy instruction.

Jordana previously held policy roles in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. She has also consulted to Australian school systems, education service providers, and individual schools.

Professor Stephen Lamb

Stephen Lamb is Professor Emeritus in the Centre for International Research on Education Systems at Victoria University. Holding a Research Chair in Education at Victoria University from 2014, Stephen has published widely in several areas of education: schooling of disadvantaged students, school effectiveness, educational inequality, school to work transition and education policy. He has undertaken a range of high-impact policy research projects for governments and school systems, both nationally and internationally, on school funding, performance of schools and school systems, and quality of school programs. Stephen is also a member of the National School Resourcing Board.

Professor Pasi Sahlberg

Pasi Sahlberg is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Melbourne. He has worked as a schoolteacher, teacher-educator, academic, and policymaker in Finland, and he has advised schools and education system leaders around the world. He served as a senior education specialist at the World Bank (Washington, DC), lead education specialist at the European Commission (Italy), director general at the Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture and visiting professor of Practice at Harvard University. Professor Sahlberg has written over 22 books and over 200 academic articles, book chapters and essays on education. He is recipient of the 2021 Hedley Beare Award in Australia, the 2021 Dr Paul Brock Memorial Medal in NSW, and the 2016 Lego Prize in Denmark. His book “Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland” won the Grawemeyer Award in 2013 for an idea that has potential to change the world.