Chair’s 2019 Report for 2020 PESA AGM

It’s my pleasure to report to our members on the achievements of your Association over the past 12 months. 2019 was indeed another successful year for PESA.

A key achievement for the year was the finalisation of the PESA Positive Education Guide, to which many of you have subscribed and we thank you for your support. This substantial guidebook was edited by the PESA CEO and Board, and is the result of over 18 months’ work. We believe it to be a world first – a resource which brings together current theory, research and best practice in the field. This guide was a collaborative endeavour, and we thank the many experts who provided input on this important resource. It was professionally edited and launched in December 2019. I do commend it to you if you haven’t already purchased a copy.

We were very pleased with our annual national conference in April, with around 400 delegates in attendance from across , Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, USA, China and Canada. The conference was held at RACV Royal Pines, Gold Coast, Queensland. This location, not being in a capital city and therefore somewhat more remote, resulted in lower attendance than the 2018 conference hosted by Geelong Grammar School in . This was anticipated by the Board, which was of the view that to reflect our status as a truly national organisation committed to serving our members across the country, it was important to locate the conference in a state where it had not yet been offered.

Conference non-member ticket sales resulted in over 220 new PESA members which was very pleasing.

Given the growth of our conferences, and considering the substantial human resource input and financial cost they impose on host schools, the Board took the decision to hold the 2019 conference at a commercial venue. This inevitably led to a higher cost base and lower attendances. The conference was essentially a financial ‘break even’. Notwithstanding this, the Board saw the 2019 conference as a learning experience for this new commercial model, and was pleased with the event as an important professional development, brand-building and networking opportunity. As always, the calibre of presentations was very high, with many renowned Australian experts delivering keynote presentations, as well as Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, a globally recognised academic and thought leader in the field of Positive Psychology.

PESA membership at December 31 totalled almost 1200 across the individual, institutional and student categories. Members predominantly comprise educators and school leaders from the independent, government and Catholic sectors, as well as academics, health professionals, parents, charities, philanthropists and other community members committed to an evidence-based approach to school community wellbeing.

Most PESA members hail from Australia, with the balance based abroad including UAE, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand, USA, Singapore, Thailand, China and Taiwan.

The reduction in membership numbers compared to 2018 was partly the result of ‘passive’ members who received memberships as part of their 2018 national conference ticket purchase who did not renew when their memberships fell due. There was also a level of churn, which we believe was partly caused by members changing employers (and consequently email addresses which is our primary means of communication with members) as well as changes to credit card details for some members, which meant many automatic renewals were not processed. A campaign to encourage lapsed members to renew their memberships was commenced in 2019 and will continue of course in 2020.

Over 2019, our Association continued its focus on supporting our State and Territory Chapters which serve our members across Australia. As a national organisation, PESA is very aware of the need to provide support and assistance to members at a local level. State and Territory chapters are operated by voluntary committee members and report to the CEO regularly. They run professional development events which are free for PESA members, and some now run state conferences, which is greatly appreciated.

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PESA has now established chapter committees in every state of Australia as well as the ACT, and in 2019 over 80 individuals served voluntarily on our committees, which is an extraordinary contribution. The Board recognises the dedication and spirit of generosity of these volunteers, and the substantial contribution they make to the growth and reach of PESA across the country, as well as relevance to local communities. On behalf of our Board and CEO, I wish to express our deep gratitude to each individual serving on our chapter committees.

Two changes in Board composition took place in 2019, with Janis Coffey retiring by rotation at the 2019 AGM, and Professor Lindsay Oades joining the Board as a co-opted director.

Remaining on our Board since 2019 are:

Treasurer: Leonie Abbott (Berry Street Childhood Institute, VIC) Joanne Alford (Deputy Principal of Wellbeing, Saint Francis Xavier College, VIC) Simon Murray OAM (Founding Chair – retired from this office in September 2020, but remaining on the Board) Professor Lindsay Oades ( Centre for Positive Psychology) Warren Symonds (Principal, Mt Barker High School, SA) Charlie Scudamore (Vice Principal, Geelong Grammar School, Vic)

I too remain on the Board.

In 2020, we were joined by Simon Martin and Robert (Bob) Easton, as co-opted directors, and we are confident they will bring a wealth of business, financial and philanthropic expertise to our Board.

By way of background, Simon Martin is a private wealth manager at EL&C Baillieu, with over 32 years’ experience in the discretionary management of client investment portfolios. Part of Simon’s role involves advising clients how best to establish financial structures for charitable support. Simon has supported PESA for many years, attending annual conferences, and donating to positive education programs in schools, as well as through his family foundation providing a staff member in 2016 for 6 months when PESA’s original Executive Officer, Phil Doll, retired. We are delighted to have someone with Simon’s financial acumen and commitment to philanthropy and community wellbeing serving on our Board, and I know you will join with me in welcoming him.

Bob Easton is currently the Chairman and Senior Managing Director of Accenture across Australia and New Zealand, He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Victoria University (NZ), a Graduate diploma in Psychology from Massey University (NZ), Master of Defence Studies from Deakin University (Aust), MBA from Macquarie University (Aust), and a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania (USA). He is working towards his PhD at Case Western Reserve University (USA), where he has two fellowships. Bob is also currently completing a PhD on the subject of the human flourishing of individuals and workplace collectives, and serves on the global board of the David L. Cooperrider Centre for Appreciative Inquiry. Welcome Bob.

Our Board is an effective and committed group of experts, who each bring a diverse and wise perspective to governance of our Association. I warmly thank the members of our Board for their dedicated service.

As many of you will know, Simon Murray, our Founding Chair decided to step down from the role of Chairman of PESA from September this year, but remains on our board.

It’s my great joy to pay tribute to Simon Murray – and I present an award to Simon for his pivotal role in the establishment and growth of PESA and his outstanding contribution to the development of Positive Education across Australia, with gratitude. We thank Simon for his extraordinary contribution, not only as our founding Chair, but also because Simon was the driving force behind the creation of this association, and I, together with Charlie Scudamore, were privileged to be among those who were also part of those early deliberations and planning meetings with Simon in this exciting initiative that has now evolved into an amazing association.

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I am pleased to share some background information on Simon. As well as being our founding Chair, Simon has led the growth and development of Positive Education nationally, not just through PESA but also through his role as a headmaster, particularly of St Peter’s College, . This year, Simon was appointed IPEN Global Chair. In 2018, Simon was awarded an OAM for services to secondary education and professional associations. Simon is a board member of the CPP at the University of Melbourne. In 2019, Simon was one of just 5 honourees recognised for his pioneering work, contribution and internationally recognised leadership in the field of Positive Education by the Positive Psychology Centre at the University of Pennsylvania. Simon has also contributed to scholarship in the field, co-editing two books.

We thank Simon for all he has given PESA and his unswerving commitment to our association. He has led with passion and good humour, and it is a great privilege to have had the benefit of his leadership. We wish Simon well and are grateful he will continue on our Board. Also having worked closely with Simon as Deputy Chair for a number of years I also thank him for his collegiality.

As a fitting tribute to the Simon’s legacy, I am delighted today to announce the Simon Murray Emerging Leader Scholarship. This scholarship will be offered annually to a ‘rising star’ – someone who is a change leader, and an innovator, making a difference in their school or community. Further details will be provided later in the year.

I would also now like to pay tribute to another important contributor who is also retiring from our Board, Charlie Scudamore. Charlie was part of the very early planning to explore the possibility of PESA, back in 2012, well before PESA was founded.

Charlie is the Vice-Principal Geelong Grammar School and he joined our Board officially in 2015. Charlie has also contributed a great deal of expertise and passion and always offers a fresh perspective on Positive Education from a strategic point of view. In 2016, his work was recognised by Professor Martin Seligman when he was presented with a Pioneer Award in Positive Psychology. Since 2006, Charlie has been responsible for the development and implementation of Positive Education at Geelong Grammar School and has been very ably involved in our association. Charlie has presented on Positive Education at a great deal of conferences in Australia and internationally, including a keynote address at the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology Summit held in Philadelphia in 2014, and he also contributed to the summit in 2019. He visited Finland to meet key Ministry of Education and University of Vassa Education Department personnel to discuss Positive Education and wellbeing. In 2016, he gave pre-conference and conference workshops at the 2016 European Positive Psychology Conference in Angers, France, and was invited to attend the UNESCO Asia Pacific Education Forum in Seoul, South Korea to advise on UNESCO’s Happy Schools Framework. Charlie, together with Justin Robinson and David Bott, was important in ensuring the success of the PESA national conference hosted by Geelong Grammar School in 2018, where over 800 delegates attended.

Charlie is unfortunately not able to be with us today, but I would like to pay tribute to him for his tremendous leadership and all he has done for PESA over the years. We wish him well. We know he will continue to make a difference in the field of Positive Education.

PESA has continued its relationship with two key bodies – IPEN (International Positive Education Network) and IPPA (International Positive Psychology Association). PESA presented a ‘conversation hour’ at the IPPA World Congress in 2019 in Melbourne which raised our profile at this internationally attended event.

As you may also be aware, Simon Murray now serves as the Global Chair of IPEN and I am also a member of the IPEN Board. I have no doubt this will further cement the relationship of IPEN and PESA as two preeminent international bodies in the field of Positive Education. PESA has been given the opportunity to speak at the forthcoming IPEN conference this month.

In 2019, Simon Murray and I were humbled to be recognised among just five educational leaders globally for pioneering work, contribution and internationally recognised leadership in the field of Positive Education since its inception. I also was recognised for this. We were invited by the University of Pennsylvania and Eisenhower Fellowships to attend an invitation-only Positive Education Summit held in Philadelphia.

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The Summit was led by Professor Martin Seligman and Jim Hovey (Chair of Eisenhower Fellowships) and was held to celebrate the contribution of honourees Simon Murray, Stephen Meek, Steve Pilch, Sir Anthony Seldon (and myself). A second objective of the summit was to explore the future of Positive Education, and we were given the opportunity to present, as was Charlie Scudamore.

On behalf of our board, I would like to warmly thank Marita Hayes-Brown, our outstanding CEO. Thank you for your amazing dedication and passion to the field. You contribute so much, so positively, and with such agility – particularly this year! We are thrilled to have the benefit of your leadership of this organisation. We appreciate your care and compassion, thinking about everyone, and about matters pertaining to equity.

PESA’s staff comprises a full-time CEO, Marita Hayes-Brown, who has served in this role since 2016. We also employ a casual administration assistant, Kylie Edgar, whose role principally involves responding to member queries and maintaining the membership database. Matt Smith has also joined us as casual content coordinator, replacing Cheryl Mortimer, who we thank for her thoughtful contribution to this role. Matt is charged with the responsibility of sourcing resources for distribution to the membership. Each of our casual staff is engaged for around 8 hours per week and we thank them for their significant contribution to PESA.

PESA again partnered with Upper Hunter Where There’s a Will in 2019 to roll out Australia’s second Positive Education Day, with schools across the country participating in November. Donations raised from the day will be aggregated with the balance of funds raised during the 2018 Positive Education Day, and applied towards providing scholarships for a number teachers from disadvantaged schools to attend the PESA National Conference in 2021.

PESA continues to keep its cost base low with all staff working remotely, thus avoiding overheads such as commercial premises rent and fit-out costs. Very helpful - particularly this year!

On behalf of the PESA Board it is an honour to continue to serve PESA, and to support our members in our shared mission of embedding Positive Education in our schools and communities, to enable our young people, school staff and the wider community to flourish.

I would like to conclude by thanking our brilliant PESA board for all they contribute so selflessly, and for sharing their gifts and talents.

To all of our members, thank you for your support. The work you do is so important, it is impactful, and I have no doubt it will reap long term benefits for our schools and communities throughout generations to come.

Anne Johnstone PESA Chair 20 October 2020

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