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Judith Sleijpen graduated from Ryde School of Horticulture with distinction in Urban Horticulture and gained experience in the retail nursery industry for several years. She now conducts her garden design and horticultural consultancy business, ‘Gardens, Balconies and Beyond’ and teaches garden design and horticulture for the Northern Beaches Community College. As a Member of the Horticultural Media Association, Judith writes a monthly gardening column for Peninsula Living and has also published articles in Landscape Contractor and Manager, Better Homes and Gardens, Gardens and Outdoor Living and The Garden Gurus. Passionate about plants and garden design, she is a Professional Garden Judge for Garden Competitions, a Member of the Australian Institute of Horticulture, a former Committee Member of the Sydney Executive Committee of Open Gardens Australia and a former member of the Speakers' Bureau of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

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Jennie Smiedt is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher with extensive experience supporting adult learning in professional and community settings. Combining deep meditation practice with expert facilitation skills, she creates welcoming, reflective classes that help students build awareness, confidence and everyday resilience

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Brendan Vivian Smith (MFA, Dip Arts) is an exhibiting artist showing nationally & internationally since 1986. His work is held in significant national public and private collections. He has taught at the National Art School, Raffles College of Design, City of Sydney Pine Street Creative Studios, for Reverse Garbage and the Australian Academy of Garden Design. He currently teaches at Bundanon, the former Arthur Boyd properties in the Shoalhaven.

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Sheela Sree Kumar hails from Chennai in the Southern state of Tamilnadu in India. She completed her undergrad studies in Architecture from the University of Madras. Completing her MBA and PhD in Business Management, she has actively followed an academic career and currently teaches in a University. She founded Darshan Events in 2003 and since then has conducted several cultural + Indian film + cuisine events at Govindas in Darlinghurst. She has lectured in WEA on a large variety of topics related to India such as Temple Architecture, Islamic architecture, religions of India, Indian cuisine and Indian cinema. She has organised and led several tours to India for WEA. After a short gap induced by Covid and other factors, she is excited to revive her passion – sharing the wonders of India with Australian friends – this time curating special interest tours highlighting ayurveda, yoga, spiritualism, wildlife photography and wildlife painting where you will be accompanied by experts in the fields.

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St Georges Presbyterian Church. Tutor of WEA Sydney

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Tatiana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics (with a specialisation in Portuguese and French languages and literature) and a Diploma of Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language from Lomonosov Moscow State University. Over the last 9 years, Tatiana has been delivering Portuguese, Russian and literature lessons to groups and individual students of different ages and levels. Previously, Tatiana created and conducted tours in Portuguese for tourists from Portugal and Brazil. As a project coordinator at a library for foreign literature, Tatiana organised events promoting the culture and languages of Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries. Her experience working in the field of culture and tourism inspires her to create engaging Portuguese lessons full of joy and discoveries to her students. Her teaching approach is focused on speaking, careful and patient study of grammar, cultural immersion and considering specific needs and interests of students.

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After completing an undergraduate degree majoring in history, Bill undertook law studies and now holds a Masters in Law and a Master of Public Administration, as well as the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.  Having worked in the fields of employment services, workplace safety and industrial relations, he is now a senior lawyer managing a team specialising in organisations and their compliance.  Bill has taught and assessed courses at university, TAFE and other registered training organisations, and has presented to various conferences including on the issue of whistleblowing. He currently serves on the boards of Shelter NSW and WEA Sydney, and is an accredited mediator.

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Kimberley Stuart. Tutor of WEA Sydney

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Yiya Sun is the Founder and Director of Optimise AI, a Sydney-based consulting firm specialising in AI strategy, use case development, and tool selection. With an MBA and certification in AI Business Strategy from UC Berkeley, she combines strategic insight with hands-on expertise to help professionals and organisations work smarter and adapt to change. Recognised as a Finalist in the 2025 Australian AI Awards, Yiya empowers individuals to use AI confidently and effectively, bridging the gap between emerging technology and real-world business needs.

LinkedIn: @yiya-sun-optimise-ai-consulting

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Ann Sutherland holds a doctorate in Australian modernist art and exhibition history. She currently teaches video production at the University of Sydney alongside presenting art history classes in community education centres. She is a long-term volunteer guide at the Art Gallery of NSW, conducting tours of the standing collection and specialist exhibitions. Her current research interest is in tracking down the many artists who have entered the Archibald Prize over the past century, and their sitters, to assist a research project into art and aging.