At the ACTA Annual General Meeting in April 2020, ACTA Councillors elected Margaret Corrigan as the new ACTA President.
Margaret is Vice President of VicTESOL and is CEO of Carringbush Adult Education, a not-for-profit training provider delivering a range of EAL and work readiness programs in Melbourne’s Richmond and Collingwood. She is a fellow of the International Specialised Skill Institute, with her area of research being Best practice models of professional development for teachers of adult EAL/Literacy learners. She has many years’ teaching experience in a range of educational sectors and settings in Australia, Asia and the Pacific.
Margaret shares her thoughts on the role of ACTA in the coming year:
I would like to thank the ACTA councillors for electing me as President for the coming year and to congratulate the other members of the Executive on their election: Helen Moore (Vice President), Deb Icely (Secretary) and Jennifer Mayers (Treasurer). I would also like to thank the councillors for nominating to play a role in this year’s council. I very much look forward to working with you all.
I would like to pay special tribute to the outgoing President, Michael Michell, who served in this role for five years. He is to be congratulated for the wonderful contribution he has made, particularly in the area of advocacy for the sector. Through his efforts, ACTA has influenced the development of policies which directly affect the lives of refugees and migrants in Australia and I look forward to his continued efforts, as he remains an ACTA councillor.
This year is proving to be a year like no other in living memory! I anticipate that ACTA will play an important role in bringing together the various State and Territory Associations, in order to maximise the possibilities of sharing our work in creative ways. Over the coming months, when face-to-face professional learning opportunities will not be possible, webinars and other on-line conferencing will be of vital importance to teachers across Australia, in order to stay professionally engaged, learning and connected.
The year ahead may be a challenging one in many ways, but it may also one be one which offers us all opportunities to create, to share and to collaborate more effectively than ever before.
With every best wish,
Margaret Corrigan
To see a list of 2020 ACTA Councillors for each state and territory association, see the Contact Us page of the website.