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Dr Sajal Roy is an established academic and dedicated researcher in human services management, with expertise spanning community services, politics and society, social work, sociology, gender and development studies, project management, entrepreneurship and innovation, leadership and management, globalisation and value chain management, as well as business and management in context. He holds a PhD from Western Sydney University and an MPhil from the University of Bergen, Norway. His academic career includes impactful roles at leading institutions such as UNSW, ACU, PIA, and UTS, where he has contributed significantly to initiatives in social impact, financial wellbeing, community development, and climate change resilience. As a proactive educator, he is highly regarded for his work in curriculum development and student mentorship, consistently promoting multicultural perspectives and student-centred approaches to teaching and learning in the community education sector. With an extensive publication record, a dynamic teaching style, and leadership in professional development, Dr Roy is committed to advancing knowledge in community services—particularly in relation to politics and society, gender relations, disaster recovery, diversity and inclusion, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His work firmly establishes him as a productive scholar in community-based teaching and research, and in recognition of his expertise and contributions, the Australian Government awarded him the Global Talent visa in 2022.

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The Royal Australian Historical Society (RAHS), Australia's oldest historical organisation founded in Sydney in 1901, promotes the study of Australian history. The Society organises events, produces publications and provides research advice and support to its membership network of individuals and local historical societies, with a particular focus on New South Wales local and community history.

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Judith was born in the Netherlands, where she taught modern history and Dutch at a local high school. She moved to Sydney over a decade ago. She holds a PhD in Modern History from the University of Sydney, where she worked at History Department and the School of Languages and Cultures. Judith develops interactive, motivating language and culture lessons and creates a relaxed environment which promotes interaction between her students in a positive and welcoming way.

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Born and raised in Piacenza, a town right on the border between Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia, Diletta (AKA Dilly) is a certified Italian teacher with extensive teaching experience both in Europe and Australia. She holds a BA in Chinese and English studies and an Advanced Diploma in TESOL. She has gained experience in teaching adults, teenagers (especially for high school assessments) and children from 8 years of age onwards. 

Both her face to face and online classes are incredibly dynamic and practical and have the purpose to make every student communicative straight away. She has a very friendly yet professional approach that helps students feel comfortable asking questions and participating with enthusiasm. Every class she teaches focuses on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation and aims both at revising what has been done previously and adding new "bits and pieces" that will contribute to make each student a more confident Italian speaker.

Most of her students literally started from scratch and now speak rather fluently. She is also a very imaginative person who enjoys presenting cultural events such as movie nights in collaboration with various Italian institutes in Sydney to promote and support Italian art and creativity.

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Dr Kerry Sanders gained her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Sydney. Her specialist areas are: Aesthetics, Phenomenology, Postmodernism and Political Philosophy. She has formerly taught at the University of Sydney in the theory department of Sydney College of the Arts. Kerry has published academic papers on The phenomenology of art; Contemporary Romanticism in art; Postmodernism and political theory. Kerry has also had two poetry books published.

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Doctor Jan (Johannes) Scherpenhuizen is an author/illustrator, editor, graphic novelist and academic. He studied literature, the history or ideas and religion at Deakin University as an undergraduate and wrote his honours year thesis on key figures in Modern German philosophy. He assessed fiction and non-fiction manuscripts for 15 years and acted as a writing mentor and literary agent while also working in freelance illustration. In 2015 he commenced a Doctor of Arts at the University of Sydney where he began to teach in 2019.

He taught a variety of courses for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, specialising in critical thinking, persuasive writing and media and communications. Jan is interested in critical thinking as applied to all major disciplines. He reads widely as an antidote to the limitations of specialisation. He is particularly interested in how ideas are negotiated in the digital age and the role of influencers and the public intellectual. His main goal is not so much as to hand over information in any particular sphere as to equip students with the ability to source good information themselves and critique ideas wherever they may encounter them.

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Erin brings two decades of experience as a ceramic artist, educator, and community arts facilitator, shaped by a practice that is both technically refined and deeply human. His training at the National Art School (Ceramics, 2007) and his work across Australia, Italy, China, and the Northern Rivers has given Erin a rich, tactile understanding of clay—how it responds to touch, how it holds stories, and how it brings people together. Erin has managed studios in Sydney, the Northern Rivers, Faenza, and Uluru, honing skills in hand‑building, firing, glaze preparation, equipment maintenance, and safe, intuitive studio operations. His time in cultural spaces such as Walkatjara Gallery and Beijing’s 798 Art Zone strengthened his belief in creative practice as a form of connection—an exchange of culture, memory, and meaning.

Erin's recent focus is on delivering accessible ceramics programs for adults and seniors, especially those seeking confidence, calm, and creative nourishment. His workshops are designed to feel grounding and sensual: the warmth of clay in your hands, the slow rhythm of shaping form, the quiet pleasure of making something that is entirely your own. Sessions balance technical foundations with gentle exploration, ensuring every participant feels welcomed, supported, and free to create at their own pace. Students begin with essential hand‑building techniques—pinch, coil, and slab—before moving into a functional project. Each person creates either a Moroccan‑style tagine fired to earthenware temperatures or a piece of stoneware ovenware: objects made to be held, used, and loved in the home.

The atmosphere is relaxed, tactile, and encouraging, with space for curiosity, texture, and personal expression. By the end, participants leave not only with a finished piece but with the quiet satisfaction that comes from shaping something by hand.

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In 1991 Rebecca graduated as an opera singer from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with a Diploma in Operatic Arts (DOA). She worked and lived in London and Europe for 13 years as a professional opera singer performing 35 operatic roles, oratorios, concert work and BBC documentaries. She also recorded two CD's in London’s elite Wigmore Hall. Rebecca returned to Australia in 2005 and completed her Masters of Arts in Music Therapy at Sydney’s UTS graduating in 2011 (MAMT).

She was invited to sing with the International Festival Chorus in Beijing as a guest soloist in Elgar’s ‘The Music Makers’, in 2009, ‘Messiah’ in 2010 and ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ in 2013. She has very recently taken part in several pilot studies in Speech Research at the Western Sydney University under the direction of the Professor in Psycholinguistics which explores the differences in tongue movement between singing and speech. Rebecca combines her work as a Registered Music Therapist (RMT), running a private singing studio and tutoring singing with the Open Academy at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

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Sign Language - Class 1. Tutor of WEA Sydney

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Sign Language - Class 2. Tutor of WEA Sydney