Lifestyle Learning Direct

Teaching Administration

Head Tutor, Robyn Lee Burrows

Responsible for tutor co-ordination and the editor of the Student newsletter, The Knowledge Tree, Robyn has published over 10 books, both fiction and non-fiction. She specialises in writing Australian historical novels and brings experience, common sense and humour to her Head Tutor role. www.robynleeburrows.com

Tutors

Marcus Binns - Reflexology/Aromatherapy/Massage

Marcus brings a wide and extensive range of experience to The Sackville Academy in the areas of Reflexology, Aromatherapy and Massage. After recovering from a major health scare, Marcus became involved in natural health and therapy modalities including Swedish and remedial massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, pre-and post-sports massage, relaxation, reiki, flower therapies and kinesiology. Having a real passion about the natural therapy industry makes Marcus an ideal tutor for students with a yen to learn.

Helen McRae - Fashion Design & Dressmaking

A professional dressmaker by trade, Helen has 40 years experience in the fashion design and dressmaking industry. Starting at the age of 16 as an apprentice dressmaker in a fashion boutique, in her earlier years Helen went on to work for leading Surfers Paradise designers Paula Stafford and Helene in her earlier years, and later for the House of Dower, as well as the Anthony Leigh Dower and Leanne Dower labels.

Bernard Delaney - Private Investigation

As the tutor for our Introduction to Private Investigation course, Bernie works in the industry and has been running his own business for many years. His clients range from individuals and law firms, to insurance companies, finance institutions and business houses. Starting out as a member of the state police force, Bernie spent time as a uniformed police officer and later as a detective in the Vice and the Homicide Squads. After his period of service, he joined the Federal Narcotics Bureau where he gained an excellent grounding in undercover and surveillance techniques. Students working with Bernie can benefit greatly from his amazing experiences and knowledge.

Johnathon White - Garden Design/Landscaping

After finishing school, Jonathon White studied ecology and natural resources at university, while working as a casual gardener on weekends. After graduating, he spent many years working in the nursery industry, eventually starting his own garden maintenance business. Since then he has obtained additional qualifications in horticulture and garden design, and his business has expanded to incorporate garden design and installation.

These days, Jonathon designs and installs all styles of gardens; however, his true passion is native habitat gardens and through their creation he is able to fashion the happy marriage of his two loves - horticulture and the natural environment. He also operates a small wholesale nursery where he propagates and grows an extensive range of native and exotic plants. Many of these plants are used in his design installations, with native grasses being his favourite.

For many years now, Jonathon has shared his gardening knowledge by tutoring adult education courses and he is always fascinated by the diversity of people he meets. He is also frequently inspired by the level of love and devotion so many people invest in their gardens.

Jonathon believes that whether your goal is to obtain a part-time job in a retail nursery, or to develop a large company with many staff, the horticulture and landscaping industry has many opportunities for people with varying aspirations. All you need is a love of plants and a willingness to learn.

His love of gardening started as a child when he grew some vegetables in his parents' backyard. His other love has always been the natural environment.

Lynne Turner - Interior Design & Decoration and Feng Shui

After marrying and starting a family, helping out a friend led to part-time employment as an interior decorator's assistant. It was a exciting and stimulating experience which inspired Lynne to pursue a career in interior design. Hungry for knowledge and aware of the benefits of formal training, she enrolled in a home study course and has never looked back. After eight years in the industry and running her own business, Lynne has worked on commercial projects such as hotels, banks, restaurants and recreational clubs, and in the homes of many clients including architects, draftsmen, project home companies, professional people, Ladies and Knights of the Realm, and Australian stage and screen actors. As you can see, Lynne has a wealth of knowledge to share with the students at The Sackville Academy.

Julia Hebaiter - Cooking & Catering

Julia grew up in an Italian family where food had huge social, cultural, and even healing, functions. Since then, her 21 years' experience in kitchens and food service - in eateries ranging from cafes and bistros to a-la-carte silver service - has been extensive and varied, giving her all-round knowledge of food preparation and presentation, table waiting, event management, staff training, bookkeeping, and sales and marketing. These days she also writes about her experiences. She has catered for weddings, corporate functions, fashion shows and awards nights, and even a footy Grand Final breakfast, and still delights in spending hours in her own kitchen, whipping up endless culinary delights for her family and friends.

Margot Irwin - Calligraphy

Margot Irwin was born in England and her background and training was as a teacher with the Cambridge Institute of Education. During this time she also took part in specialist art classes at the Liverpool College of Art. She immigrated to Australia in 1961 with her husband Jim, and this new country provided many business adventures, combined with the raising of her three children, before Margot resumed teaching once more.

A period in Canada as an exchange teacher brought her into contact with calligraphy (here it was part of general teacher training) and she took it like a proverbial "duck to water" - she had always had an artistic bent and now calligraphy became her passion. Once back in Australia, she began using this creative art in her classes in order to improve the presentation of children's art work and classroom displays. This did not go unnoticed and soon colleagues were requesting lessons within the school system. This was how Margot began her calligraphy teaching, which she enjoyed so much she was soon running several classes with TAFE (Queensland) and ACE (NSW).

This teaching necessitated more learning on Margot's part, and she attended many courses run by world-class calligraphers, including Thomas Ingmire, Sheila Waters, Donald Jackson, Mark van Stone and Denis Brown. She also spent time in England studying with Ann Hechle and Gaynor Goffe. Another recent workshop was with Peter Thornton in Canada. Margot also successfully completed the calligraphy correspondence course from Roehapmpton College in England in the early 1990s.

Margot was the president of the Lettering Arts Society of Queensland for two years, and served on the committee for a further four years before founding the Gold Coast Calligraphy Society Inc. in 1993. After running her own calligraphy studio for many years, she now teaches mainly through the Gold Coast group.

Margot creates artistic books, hand-made paper, and enjoys the historical aspects of calligraphy such as illumination and heraldry. Her calligraphy and books have been exhibited in many shows and galleries around the country.

Jeff Toghill - Writing courses

Jeff is an award-winning author of over 65 books, as well as innumerable magazine and newspaper articles, radio and TV scripts in Australia and overseas. He is probably best known for his travel writing, which has commanded worldwide respect. The Writing School is proud to have Jeff and his wealth of writing knowledge and experience on board.

Olga Byron - Comprehensive Writing

A writer, Arts graduate and librarian, Olga has over 25 years experience in writing, including hundreds of published short stories and articles, radio plays, and television scripts. Olga has worked for 2GB radio station appraising and editing scripts, before she moved to Channel 9 where she was heavily involved in creative and copy writing. She has also written a number of episodes for popular "soapies". She currently runs seminars on Writing for Publication, Television, and Creative Writing around the country. As a past graduate of The Writing School, she exemplifies the qualities of the School and highlights the School's culture of success.

Michael Pyne - Writing courses

With a Masters degree in Education, plus a Master of Arts degree in Australian History, Michael currently has nineteen books to his credit. These mostly comprise English, plus modern and ancient history, texts that cater to the NSW high school curriculum. He also teaches part-time at Sydney University's Centre for Continuing Education in both Vietnamese and Middle-eastern history.

Michael has been with The Writing School for twenty years now and has tutored many students who have gone onto success in writing. He never fails to be impressed by the depth and extent of writing talent that exists here in Australia, and the amount that is yet to be discovered. His own experience with writing has convinced him that writing is a very personal process, providing a means of self exploration as well as a way of communication.

Michael is an avid traveller with a particular focus on Indo-China. He is also passionately interested in politics and enjoys the company of people with similar interests. His love of history complements his interest in politics and he likes to unravel the problems of the present, especially in Australia, by delving into their historical causes. History is his great passion in reading.

Sally Murphy - Editing & Proofreading and writing courses

Sally Murphy has a BA degree in English from the University of Western Australia and a Graduate Diploma of Education from Edith Cowan University. She has worked with writers of all ages - from school children through to adults - and loves to share her love of words. As an author, she has eleven books in print with more to come. These include a picture book (The Floatingest Frog), children's chapter books, reading books and several literacy activity books for classroom teachers. She has been reviewing books of all genres for several years, and runs an online review site, as well as reviewing for print magazines. As a book reviewer, she reads hundreds of books a year and loves to read across genres. She also works on a freelance basis as a proofreader and editor. Her professional memberships include the Federation of Australian Writers (WA), the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and the Children's Book Council of Australia. As you can see, her life revolves around reading and writing and she looks forward to sharing her skills with you.

Dr Aaron Forsayeth - Animal Health/IT/Photoshop

Dr Aaron Forsayeth is the tutor for Lifestyle Learning Direct's Animal and Medical courses as well as Writing a Website in HTML and Photoshop for Beginners.

Aaron graduated from University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Hons) in 1996 and after working in outback Queensland as the region's vet for his first year, moved to the Gold Coast where he took up a position at a busy Animal Hospital.

Since graduating with his degree Aaron has also completed additional study in Emergency Animal Medicine and most recently gained membership to the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists after completing his membership in Veterinary Dentistry.

In January 2006, Aaron accepted a permanent position specialising in Veterinary Dentistry.

As well as being a qualified Veterinary Surgeon, Aaron is also a skilled web designer and graphic artist. Since being of school age, Aaron has always had a flair for sculpting, drawing and design. Aaron has continued to develop these skills over the past few years and has turned his talents to developing websites, digital photography and graphic design. Samples of Aaron's work can be found at: www.ryankettlephotography.com.au, www.animalhospital.com.au, www.petdental.com.au, www.asyourcelebrant.com.au.

Steve Taylor - Writing courses and Small Business Management

Steve has been involved in several small business ventures over the years, ranging from film production to retail, to Performing Arts School, theatre companies and a freelance writing orientated operation. Along the way, he has completed Certificate IV courses in Small Business Management and in Workplace Training and Assessment in order to further his knowledge and qualifications.

Regardless of what kind of business you're in - from pest control to pottery making, from garden maintenance to graphic design - most of the fundamental aspects of operating a small business remain the same. You have to be something of a 'jack-of-all-trades' because you'll be involved in marketing, budgeting, customer relations, staffing, scheduling and a whole range of other activities. You're the boss. The buck stops with you. There is no one to whom you can delegate separate responsibilities, as there would be in a large organisation with defined departments and structures.

The demands on you can be much greater than they would be if you were simply someone else's employee, but the rewards in terms of independence, self-determination and satisfaction can also be far greater.

Planning, preparation, research: the more you can do before actually embarking on your venture, the better your chance of success.

Deborah Bates - Life Coaching and Love, Sex & Relationships

As a teenager, Deborah embarked upon an exciting 20-year travelling, working, personal growth, studying and living journey across Australia. She then went on to develop herself further through drama, dancing, theatre, light opera, writing, publishing, philosophy, people, additional study and the community.

Currently she works as a community worker where she successfully co-ordinates placements of people within local community organisations. In addition to this, she mentors, counsels and tutors individuals in life management and relationship challenges. She also conducts personal growth workshops and holds discussion groups, and has written and published several workbooks and manuals.

Her professional qualifications are:

Dr Peta Stapleton - Psychology courses

Dr Peta Stapleton is a registered psychologist in the state of Queensland, Australia and has completed a Bachelor of Arts, Postgraduate Diploma of Professional Psychology and Doctor of Philosophy. She has spent 8 years lecturing at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, and is currently involved in private practice, specialising in addictions and eating disorders. She is also currently working for the Medical School at Griffith University, investigating how to develop the skills of clinical educators.

Peta is passionate about research and is well known in her area of specialty within Queensland. She is consulted regularly by national radio, television and print media for her expert opinion. She has also been awarded many honours, including the Australian Psychological Society's Elaine Dignan Award for research into women's issues.

Peta's first book DIY: Change Your Life Subconsciously was released in August 2005. Her second book Attract Money Subconsciously: DIY was released in May 2006.

Peta is married with two daughters and resides on the sunny Gold Coast, Australia. To find out more about Peta, check out her web site at www.petastapleton.com.

Tony Aldridge - Writing courses

Tony Aldridge was born and raised in the far west of NSW in the city of Broken Hill, and he has always had a great appreciation of the outback in all its forms. His earliest interest in literature was derived from Lawson and Patterson, and other celebrated writers of the nineteenth century such as Richardson and Boldrewood. At university he was tutored by Thea Astley, who was also interested in the relationship between art and Australian history. These influences helped develop his preference for a direct and uncomplicated writing style: a style he has attempted to maintain in his work.

He has authored and co-authored a number of books dealing with subjects as diverse as the challenges of youth, myths and legends and sport, and has reviewed a number of books for publishing companies. He has also tutored HSC students at all levels of study in English and History, and been a senior examiner for the HSC.

Tony completed a Masters degree that presented writing challenges of a different type, and he found it was good to focus on the discipline necessary to be successful in the expressive rather than the poetic writing mode. His experiences have shown him that writing is a very personal journey, providing a means of self-exploration as well as communication. It is important to remember that writing is a process, not only an outcome, and this process should be enjoyable and satisfying.

Fiona Atherton - Writing courses

Fiona's journalistic career included writing reviews for the legendary Rolling Stone magazine, press releases for political campaigns and editorial features for the Gold Coast Bulletin. She worked as a copywriter for many years in advertising and marketing, with international agencies such as Singleton Ogilvy Mather Pty Ltd, where it was necessary to have a wide variety of skills such as proofreading, editing, scriptwriting, and creative and documentary writing.

She wrote campaigns for clients such as Coca-Cola and Levi Jeans. From one client came her first documentary - the history of one of Australia's most famous icons: Kiwi Shoe Polish. This led to further documentaries for film and television. Recently she edited a series of lifestyle books and DVDs - "Simply Magic", "Pilates, the Authentic Way" and "Yoga Class".

Fiona's professional qualifications include:

She is a mentor for the Griffith University Mentor Program, which provides industry guidance for students as they find their career pathway.

Louise Carter - Bookkeeping courses

Louise grew up in country NSW, during a time when young women had limited choices for their future careers: they could become hairdressers, nurses, teachers, secretaries or receptionists. Consequently she completed a secretarial studies course and her first job was as a receptionist/typist with a firm of accountants.

As she travelled around Australia, she worked her way up to the position of computer supervisor in the accounting field, and subsequently believes these beginnings contributed to her life-long journey of learning.

As a stay-at-home mum, Louise decided she wanted to contribute financially to the family income, so, at the age of 30 with three children under the age of 7, she returned to study. She finished a Certificate IV in Accounting, in preparation for starting her own home business as a bookkeeper specialising in MYOB. Her journey has also led her to study community services work through the TAFE system in 2004 and a Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training in 2006.

Over the years Louise has worked with many small businesses and the experience has been valuable and varied. Even today, her journey of learning continues in many levels, including personal and professional. She wants to share that love of learning and encourage others to follow their dreams, no matter what stage they are in life or how big or small their dreams are. Louise encourages her students to simply "go for it" and she offers her support in their endeavours.

Pam Collings - Editing & Proofreading

Pam has a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing from NMIT Greensborough, in Victoria. She also has certificates in proofreading from CAE Victoria and corporate editing from RMIT Victoria.

Pam currently works as a freelance editor and proofreader and finds this work very enjoyable. She is also a writer of fiction for young adults and children, and has had short stories and poetry published in several anthologies and magazines.

In her spare time Pam leads a local writers' group, where she has often tutored the members on various aspects of writing. She appraises and edits manuscripts for the group members, as well as for other local writers. She enjoys working with writers of all ages - from school children through to retirees - and loves to help others succeed in the writing and publishing industries. She has a great passion for these fields, and understands how difficult it is to be successful in them.

Pam's professional memberships include the Victorian Writers Centre, Fellowship of Australian Writers (Victoria), Melbourne Poets Union and the Victorian Society of Editors. She looks forward to helping you achieve your goals, whether it is for your own personal satisfaction or to gain new skills in your chosen profession.

Rosemary Davies - Landscaping/Horticulture courses

Rosemary Davies is passionate about plants. Her involvement in the industry ranges from being a contributor and initial selector/interviewer for the development of Australia's Open Garden Scheme, designing and guiding tour packages for garden tours through England and Europe, and writing and publishing five books on gardening (and co-authoring four others).

Also a gardening columnist for several newspapers and gardening magazines, Rosemary has worked as a gardening radio presenter for over 25 years, and has tutored horticultural and floristry courses in the Victorian Colleges of Advanced Education system. As a horticultural/landscape consultant and manager, her responsibilities have involved nursery retail sales, landscape plan development and consultancy to private and commercial clients, preparing documentation for the Australian National Training Authority, as well as building an ongoing client base in Melbourne for her own consultancy business

Rosemary was the first female Victorian Department of Agriculture staff member to be appointed to the Department's Garden Advisory Service. For four years she jointly managed a local community education organisation delivering over 500 short courses in a wide range of subject areas to up to 5000 students a year. She also wrote and ran correspondence courses in horticulture for over 20 years, so she is familiar with the needs and demands of correspondence students from many walks of life and countries.

She has travelled widely and also lived in both rural and metropolitan areas, which gives her the added advantage of an excellent understanding of climatic conditions, soils and other factors that can be vital to the success of students' understanding of wider aspects of horticulture and the environment. Rosemary's academic qualifications include:

Petrina Jones - Beauty courses

Petrina graduated from the Ella Bache School of Beauty Therapy in 1989 with a Diploma of Beauty Therapy. After a short stint working behind the counter at David Jones, she was employed by a large hair and beauty salon before opening her own salon - Facial Impressions - in Avalon on Sydney's northern beaches in 1992.

During her 11 years with Facial Impressions, she trained two apprentices and employed up to five therapists at a time. The business provided all aspects of beauty therapy, including facial treatments, massage, acrylic and gel nails, make-up tuition, solarium and oxygen therapy, and she worked with many professional skincare ranges.

In 1994, she attained a Certificate of Aromatherapy at Nature Care College in Sydney. In 2001, she completed her Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training and began lecturing at the Australasian College of Natural Therapies for students studying for the Diploma of Natural Beauty Therapy. The birth of her daughter in 2003 prompted her to sell her salon; however, she continues to lecture part-time and performs beauty treatments from home for her loyal clientele.

Kay Stephen - Editing & Proofreading

Kay has always been a stickler for accuracy and presentation, and when she took a break from full-time work to raise her children, she decided she wanted to work from home as an editor/proofreader. She commenced operating her own business; building up clients took some time, but after a few months she had accumulated a return clientele of university students who supplied the bulk of her work.

After her children were grown and she had relocated to the Gold Coast, she also gained a part-time position that involved typing, editing and proofreading the correspondence and manuscripts of a well-known natural therapist and author. In conjunction with this, she began formal studies in editing and proofreading, and now manages her own editing, proofreading and typing business.

Kay says the rewards of her career are many, and what keeps her happy doing what she does is the fact that she's helping authors produce the best material possible.

Louise Chilton - Photography courses

Louise began her career in photography by taking pictures of the back of the eye for a Sydney eye specialist and his team of research staff. The parameters of diagnostic photography involved making posters and slides for medical lectures, and taking pictures of blood specimens, laser beams, eye operations, vitamin structures, and so on.

Eventually Louise found the work too restricting, so she took up the position of medical photographer at Royal North Shore Hospital. The photographs here were used for teaching, publication, research and publicity, and the surgical theatre photography was the highlight of Louise's job.

In 1988, Louise started as a scientific photographer with The Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (C.S.I.R.O.), which is Australia's national research institute. Most of Louise's duties at the C.S.I.R.O. were basically the same as medical photography, but because the photography department serviced so many different divisions of C.S.I.R.O., the work was varied. Subjects ranged from photographing DNA through a microscope lens, to a coal truck, to kiwi fruit ice cream.

Catherine Gibson - Event Management and Project Management

Catherine Gibson is Lifestyle Learning Direct's tutor for the Event Management and Project Management courses. For the past five years she's worked part-time as a project manager in the field of information technology. The job involves multi-tasking and meticulous planning - while at the same time keeping communication flowing! - and requires many different skills. Catherine finds the work both demanding and rewarding, and believes it's a diverse area to get into, so there's no limit to where your career as a project manager might take you!

Meanwhile, for the past four years she's also worked part-time in education marketing, and event management has been involved in much of that - open days, fund raising events, competition draws and opening nights, as well as smaller weekly events. Event Management is a dynamic, exciting area and brings many welcome challenges. Whether you're an organisational master or you have a weakness for fun, this is a rewarding career to pursue.

Rachel Smith - Health courses

Rachel completed a Bachelor of Human Movement (Science) - with a second major in Biomedical Science - in 2002 at Central Queensland University, Rockhampton. During her studies she realised her passion for nutrition and decided to combine this interest with her experiences and knowledge of health and exercise.

Rachel also works part-time for the Australian Drug Foundation, co-ordinating their alcohol and sport management "Good Sports" program in the Gold Coast and Beaudesert regions. This allows her to continue an important involvement in community grass-root sports: the backbone of Australia's elite sporting prowess.

Rachel is still involved with Advanced Sport, providing their nutritional support while at the same time setting up her new business venture - Easy Step Nutrition. In her spare time she enjoys being active, utilising the Gold Coast's spectacular beaches, and loves great food and cooking new and fabulous recipes for her fiancé and friends.