Say hello to ACHPER Victoria’s newest team members

You may be aware the ACHPER Victoria team has undergone a few changes recently. We’ve said goodbye to past Professional Learning Manager, Dr. Trent Brown, who has returned to work in higher education as a Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education (HPE) at Deakin University.

We thank him for his contributions and insights, especially in helping develop our HPE at Home resources in response to lockdowns and other challenges presented in 2020, all of which helped improve our professional learning offer to HPE teachers. It’s been great to have Trent on board and we wish him the best of luck in his new role and all the best for what the future brings.

Following Trent’s departure, we are so very pleased to welcome the newest members to the ACHPER Victoria team:

  • Jo Ritson, Professional Learning Coordinator – Jo brings both primary and secondary teaching knowledge along with her passion and support for high quality PE and Health Education programs both within and outside of schools. Jo has been an active contributor to ACHPER and was a proud recipient of the ACHPER Victoria HPE Primary Teacher of the Year Award in 2019.
  • Steph Patterson, Professional Learning Officer (VCE Resources) – still employed at a school, Steph’s background is in VCE student management, secondary HPE curriculum development with secondary science experience linking biology to human movement in HPE curriculum. 
  • Laura Widdowson, Events and Conferences Manager – Laura brings experience as a PE and health teacher in both primary and secondary schools in Victoria, and the United Kingdom. With a passion for high quality health and movement education, Laura is also experienced in mentoring graduate and trainee teachers.

In addition to our newest staff members, this is also a great opportunity to update you on changes to the ACHPER Victoria Board.

We announce Jo Ritson’s departure from the Board and bid farewell to Dr Deana Leahy from the Board and thank her for her valuable contributions to our strategic direction since 2017. We also offer our congratulations to re-elected Directors, Peter Wright (President), Kate Simpson (Vice President) and Chloe Dew. These positions were officially announced at ACHPER Victoria's 35th AGM held via Zoom webinar on Tuesday 4 May 2021.

The sky’s the limit with some of Victoria’s greatest HPE minds in the same room! We can’t wait to work together to continue to provide Victorian teachers with the best possible support to deliver quality HPE.

Watch this space and should you require further information, please contact us.