Speakers

Rozanne Donald is Associate Principal at Rutherford College. She has 25 years’ experience as an educator and senior leader in the tertiary and secondary sectors. In 2019 she was awarded an Aitken Fellowship based at the Centre for Educational Leadership at The University of Auckland. Her leadership approach draws on collaborative complex problem-solving and the research of Viviane Robinson, with a focus on building relational trust and strengthening teachers’ instructional practice. Her role as a senior leader, is focussed on leading school improvement that lifts outcomes for students who enter secondary school below expected levels. Rozanne is currently leading literacy improvement at scale in a secondary school, working with teachers to implement explicit instruction that builds vocabulary, background knowledge, and writing capability across the curriculum.

Dr Michael Johnston has been a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative since early 2022. He has published numerous reports for the Initiative, on topics including modern learning environments, initial teacher education, AI in education, and industry training. Michael is a cognitive psychologist by training. He has taught in Australian and New Zealand Universities in Schools of Psychology and Education. He was Senior Statistician at NZQA during the 2000s, where he led technical aspects of assessment reform. In his final academic role, he was Associate Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Education at Victoria University of Wellington. In 2024, he chaired a Ministerial Advisory Group. He is a member of the Curriculum Coherence Group and the National Qualifications Technical Advisory Group.

James Chapman is Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at Massey University. He received his M.A. with Distinction in Education from Victoria University of Wellington, and his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Alberta. Before working on his PhD, James trained and taught as a secondary school teacher In New Zealand. He joined Massey University in 1980 where he served for 8 ½ years as Head of the Department of Learning and Teaching, and 10 years as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Education. He has over 150 publications on learning disabilities, literacy learning development and difficulties, and cognitive-motivational factors in academic achievement. In 1999 he was co-winner of the International Reading Association’s Dina Feitelson Award for Excellence in Research, and in 2024 he received the Eminent Researcher Award from Learning Disabilities Australia. In addition to serving on the Editorial Boards of numerous international research journals, he completed a 4-year term as President of the US-based International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities.

Lauren is a Deputy Principal at Long Bay College, and a co-developer of the Colleges approach to Teaching and Learning: Tino Akoranga. Lauren oversees professional learning at the college where she works to secure pedagogical and leadership development with staff and leaders.

Gaven has won fellowships and prizes from almost every international research funding agency in the world received the CNZM for his services to mathematics and education this year.  His research has solved some of mathematics’ most challenging problems, and his advocacy has contributed to a recent transformation of the New Zealand mathematics curriculum.

He has been co-founder and Director of the New Zealand Mathematical Research Institute, Director of the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study (Massey). He has held appointments at prestigious international institutions, including the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley and  Yale University,  and research roles at the Mittag-Leffler Institute in Sweden, the University of Helsinki, the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), the Institute des Haute Etudes (Paris), and Magdalen College (Oxford) among many others. He has received the Hector medal, Jones Medal, Humbolt Prize, and many other recognitions.

Professor Martin’s ability to translate intricate concepts into accessible texts has made him a vital contributor to the global mathematical community.

Nilesh Naran is the Assistant Principal of Teaching & Learning at Wellington College where he has taught for over a decade. He is also a former student of the school, and teaches English. Over the years, Nilesh has held a number of middle management roles including being the e-Learning specialist, coordinator for beginning teachers, and running the Gifted and Talented Education programme. In his current role, Nilesh leads professional development around effective pedagogy, coaching and mentoring, and learner habits. Nilesh lives in Wellington, is a proud father, and enjoys playing music and reading novels in his spare time.

Dr Helen Walls is a professional learning facilitator and educational researcher, with twenty years’ experience working in schools. She is committed to raising achievement in writing by sharing evidence-based, practical methods that will engage every student. Helen is Managing Director of The Writing Teacher – a consultancy which provides writing workshops and resources for teachers, all accessible online. She also works in schools as a professional learning facilitator. For her PhD thesis, Helen conducted two empirical studies into the teaching of writing. The first was a trial of the Fast Feedback Formative Evaluation System. The second was a survey of teachers’ beliefs and practices, and an investigation of the impacts of these on student achievement. In 2024, Helen was selected as a member of Minister Stanford’s Ministerial Advisory Group for the New Zealand Curriculum refresh. She was also involved as a lead writer of the Year 0-6 English curriculum. Helen has been published with Essential Resources, The Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties and The Education Hub.

Brigid McNeill is a Professor of Education and Dean of Postgraduate Research at the University of Canterbury. She is an internationally recognised researcher in literacy education, with a focus on designing and evaluating evidence-based approaches that can be successfully implemented at scale. Professor McNeill works at the intersection of research, policy, and classroom practice, supporting schools and education systems to deliver literacy teaching that is effective, scalable, and sustainable. She is also the co-lead developer of the Better Start Literacy Approach.

Tanya Evans is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Auckland | Waipapa Taumata Rau. Her research spans mathematics education, cognitive science, and educational psychology, with a focus on mathematical cognition and its relationship with psychosocial factors. She has experience teaching at the intermediate and secondary level and has taught mathematics at university for over 20 years. Tanya serves on the executive committee of the New Zealand Mathematical Society Education Group and is a co-founder of the Quantitative Studies in Education Special Interest Group (NZARE), which promotes rigorous, empirically grounded quantitative research in education. She has received two Faculty of Science Dean’s Teaching Excellence Awards, including one for Leadership in Teaching (2024), in recognition of her impactful approaches to teaching, learning, and the professional development of others.

Nina is the founder of The Education Hub, a not-for-profit with a mission to bridge the gap between research and practice in education, and co-founder of The Teachers’ Institute, which trains primary and secondary school teachers. She conducts research on a range of topical issues affecting school level education in New Zealand including literacy, curriculum reform and implementation and neurodivergence, as well as engaging in policy work both locally and internationally. 

Tom Bennett is the UK Department for Education’s School Behaviour advisor. He is also the founder of researchED, an international research advocacy non-profit for educators that seeks to raise research literacy in education and slay edu-myths. He is the author of the best-selling Running the Room.

Distinguished Professor Pamela Snow is Co-Director of the Science of Language and Reading (SOLAR) Lab in the School of Education at La Trobe University. Her research focuses on language, literacy, and learning. She advocates for evidence-based reading instruction and bridges research, policy, and practice to improve educational outcomes for all children, by promoting high teacher knowledge.