Management Committee 2024

Anne Wood - President

Anne was elected President at the 2024 AGM. Anne has 25 years' experience as an English Teacher. She has taught in both New South Wales and Queensland, in the State, Independent and Catholic systems. At her current school A B Paterson College, Arundel she is the English Curriculum Leader.   Her passion is Australian literature, in particular poetry. She is currently studying a Doctor of Education at Queensland University of Technology researching poetry writing pedagogy in Queensland.

Julie Arnold - Vice President

Julie has taught English for 22 years, 17 as Faculty Head and 2 as Literacy Coach. She chairs the PD Committee for ETAQ and is a QCAA District Panelist Julie currently leads an inspirational, enormous, amorphous, wonderful English team at Corinda State High School. She is also working on a Masters research project: Examining the transformation of linguistic subject knowledge to writing instruction.

Belinda Hampton - Secretary 

Belinda has been a teacher in Queensland secondary schools since 1997. She currently works with senior English students, and is a Head of Department in a Far North Queensland State School.  Belinda is interested in student writing practices and supporting teachers in fostering effective feedback pedagogies.  She has presented at a range of state and national conferences. Belinda is currently engaged in study at QUT with a focus on the QCAA syllabus suite for English.  Belinda's professional interests are in functional grammar, educational policy, and representations of teachers. Her unprofessional interests are chickens, Harry Styles and long distance running.  

Adam Myers - Treasurer

Fiona Laing - Director of Professional Learning

Fiona is currently the Director of Professional Learning at ETAQ. She was president of ETAQ from 2014-2022. She has taught English at a range of Brisbane high schools, enjoying taking on debating as well as a range of leadership roles with her schools. She has studied at UQ and then at QUT.  She is currently HOD English at Forest Lake State High School. She has a passion for offering students the chance to grab the most from life's opportunities.  ETAQ has been a very important part of her English journey and has allowed her to contribute in a range of ways to the English professional community. 

June Balfour

June has been a teacher, leader and mentor in Queensland State and Independent schools for 30 years and is proud to say she has taught English each and every year.  She is passionate about the well-being of teachers, especially Early Career, and English teachers.  In her spare time she reads voraciously and writes poetry, plays and some prose; and sometimes can be found playing back stage and on-stage at various Community Theatres around Brisbane.  She is excited about this new opportunity to work with ETAQ, an organisation she holds in high esteem.

Garry Collins

Starting in 1969, Garry taught English at Gladstone and Ferny Grove State High Schools and was an English department head for over 30 years. He also taught in the US and Canada on year-long exchanges. After retiring from Education Queensland in 2009, he was a part-time teacher educator, first at the Australian Catholic University and then at The University of Queensland. Since becoming surplus to requirements at UQ at the end 0f 2017, he has been busily retired - from paid work that is. Garry's pre-service education was a BA, Dip Ed course at UQ and in the mid 1990s he completed an MEd at QUT. He succeeded Dr Karen Moni as ETAQ President in mid 2005 and served in that role until handing over to Fiona Laing at the 2014 AGM. He served on the council of the national English teacher body, the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE), for 12 years, mostly as the ETAQ delegate but also as the national president in 2014-15. He was made a Life Member of ETAQ in 2017.

Carley Elliott

Carley has been an English teacher for over 20 years and a HOD for over 10 years, in Catholic and Independent schools in Central Queensland and now in the Southeast corner. With a Master of Letters in creative writing, Carley has a passion for learning and writing imaginatively in English classrooms. She has presented at numerous ETAQ events, written for Wordsworth and is learning Korean in her spare time.

Candice Green

Candice is the Coordinator of Essential English at St. Joseph's, Nudgee College. She has taught in country New South Wales and urban Queensland for over 20 years. Candice enjoys the challenges of designing and implementing curriculum to engage students of all abilities. Building a strong rapport with her students drives her teaching practice. Having taught at Nudgee for 15 years-and being a mother to boys- she has a strong interest in and passion for boys' education.

Antoinette Mizen

Antoinetteis an English and History teacher at John Paul College. She is Assistant Head of Faculty for Languages and is passionate about developing a love of reading in students. Antoinette has pursued her interest in writing improvement, through her research within a Master of Education -Literacy. She is an avid reader and harbours a love of collecting books.

Debbie Owens

Deb is the editor of Words'Worth and has a long history of teaching subject English. Her first experience of a Queensland English syllabus was in 1988. Since that time her experiences include the opportunity to spend 7 years as a member of the B35 State panel. Deb has, in the past, published in Words'Worth and in refereed academic journals. She has presented at an ETAQ conference, along with other national and international conference presentations linked to what was her PhD candidature. Here is a truncated timeline of her professional experiences:
Victoria: trained and taught English and Humanities for 10 years;
Queensland (Capricorn Coast region): 15 years as English teacher in a 7 12 boys' day/boarding school, became Head of Performing Arts, PE & LOTE followed by Head of English and Drama; PhD candidate (Gendered Identities in the Drama Classroom); 5 years as Deputy Principal and English teacher at a girls' day/boarding school P -12; 2 years as an independent Curriculum Consultant Phase 1 Australian Curriculum implementation; Head of Academic Performance and English teacher at a co-educational college; Head of English and LOTE and English/Drama teacher at a girls' day/boarding college

Trish Purcell

After a career as a Business Education teacher at Wallumbilla Secondary Department, Lockyer District SHS, Noosa District SHS, Pine Rivers District SHS and Head of Department at Hendra SHS (now Aviation High) and Dakabin SHS, interspersed with blocks of time as acting Deputy Principal, Trish was invited to succeed Jim Buckley as Administration Officer when Jim wished to step down. Never one to shirk a challenge, she also took on the position of Treasurer in 2012. She is enjoying meeting and working with so many keen English teachers.

Elyse Smallacombe

Elyse currently teaches English at Somerville House and is also studying a Master of Arts (Writing and Literature) with Deakin University, specialising in Literary Studies. She has previously worked at Moreton Bay Boys' College and St Laurence's College, teaching a range of English and Essential English classes from grades 7-12.

Kelly Whiteway

Kelly has been teaching in the Gold Coast and Darling Downs regions for more than 10 years. She teaches across Years 7-12 and loves the challenges that each year level brings. Most of all, she enjoys sharing her passion for books and reading with her students. Kelly is currently studying Master of Education (Contemporary Literacies) at Charles Sturt University. 

Cate Wilson

Cate  has been teaching in South-East Queensland for 15 years. She is a lover of literature and literacy, a hoarder of texts, and a grammar tragic. Cate loves encountering new pedagogies to enrich the teaching of English in her classroom and sharing learning adventures with her colleagues. She is Head of English at the wonderful Wynnum State High School