Meet the Committee

Shannon is a school psychologist who has worked in education for over 15 years and is a keen advocate for the profession.

Shannon loves to learn and is passionate about education, and the promotion of the wellbeing of young people in schools and the wider community. She has experience working across the Department of Education, Catholic Education and Anglican/Independent school systems in WA.

Shannon is a registered teacher and has also completed her Masters of Psychology (Counselling) at Curtin University. Shannon is a Past President of the School Psychologists Association of Western Australia (SPAWA) and has been a board member of the Australian Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools Association (APACS) twice in the past and is feeling excited and very fortunate to be back for a third time, stepping into the President’s role.

Shannon is currently working as a Wellbeing Consultant for Catholic Education WA, working to assist Catholic schools to promote Wellbeing across the state.

Coosje is a trained teacher and registered psychologist. She currently works part-time as a senior psychologist for the Department of WA and as an educational consultant on various school projects. Coosje is on the Editorial Panel of the APACS Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors, for which she provides regular peer reviews. Coosje previously served as AGCA/APACS President 1998-2000. She provided leadership in the Commonwealth funded AGCA MindMatters Plus initiative and has also served as APACS membership secretary and WA representative

David is an AHPRA registered psychologist who works as a School Psychologist under the Anglican school's commission. Prior to working in education, David worked in the disability sector. He has been a member of the School Psychologists' association of Western Australia (SPAWA) since 2019 and is excited about the opportunity to contribute at a national level through APACS.

Laura currently works in the Perth for the School Psychology Service in the Department of Education. She has spent 18-months living and working in the Gascoyne and Coral Coast servicing remote and rural schools such as Carnarvon, Burringurrah, Gascoyne Junction, Shark Bay and Useless Loop. Her passion is diversity, equity, equality, and making a difference in the lives of young Australians.

Laura has been a member of the School Psychologists Association of Western Australia (SPAWA) since 2021 and is pleased by the opportunity to contribute at a national level through APACS.

Dr Meegan Brown AFEHA (Indigenous), is a Senior Lecturer in School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), where she teaches and is the study area co-ordinator for the Master of Education School Guidance and Counselling.

Prior to working at QUT, Meegan has taught from Pre-Prep to Year 12, a small school principal, Guidance Officer and Senior Guidance Officer in Queensland.

Meegan’s research focuses on trauma-informed practices in schools, rural and remote education, and school counselling.

Dr Elizabeth Edwards is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at The University of Queensland, where she teaches into the Master of Educational Studies (Guidance, Counselling and Careers).

For over two decades, she has worked as a primary classroom teacher, special education teacher, guidance officer, psychologist and academic, in Australia and UK. Her collaborations span education, psychology, and medical education and her research interest is in the link between anxiety and cognitive performance.

Her latest work focuses on the translation of lab-based science into treatments for clinical problems, for example, using novel cognitive training for reduction of anxiety in children and adolescents.

Jeneane has been on the QGCA executive for nearly 20 years and was recently awarded QGCA Life Membership. She has served as President, Vice President, Newsletter Editor and her current role of Secretary.   She is now retired after a career as a primary teacher, guidance officer, senior guidance officer and Regional Coordinator of the National More Support for Students with Disability Project.

She continues to enjoy contracts in schools working as a guidance officer, and has professional interest in psychoeducational assessment, supervision and learning disabilities.

Honorary Associate Professor Susan Colmar is the Editor of the Applied Practices section of the Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools. Initially, Susan was the NSW representative on the National Committee. In 2011, she successfully proposed establishing Applied Practices and was elected as editor.

She attends APACS committee meetings regularly in this role, contributing at meetings and as part of relevant working parties. Susan is a registered psychologist and an endorsed educational and developmental psychologist. She trained school counsellors, who are psychologists in NSW, at Western Sydney University for eight years and set up a new degree at Masters’ level and trained school psychologists at The University of Sydney for seventeen years. Susan retired in July 2020 but has remain committed to continuing working with APACS and continues in an Honorary role at The University of Sydney. Susan is also a key member of the Memory Mates team, which includes a website with books and resources freely available. Susan has published over ninety research articles and books from 1983 to the present.

At the 2021 AGM Susan was elected as a Life Member of APACS for her considerable contribution to our organisation.

Denise is an AHPRA registered psychologist and qualified teacher currently working in the role of School Counsellor for the NSW Department of Education. She has also worked in the roles of Relieving Senior Psychologist, Education and as a supervisor and mentor to intern and early career school counsellors.

Prior to working in education Denise worked in the disability sector as a service manager, project coordinator and caseworker across government, NGO and private organisations.

She was a member of APACS NSW for eight years, serving on the committee in 2019-2021. Denise has been an APACS national committee members since 2020.

Denise is passionate about improving professional practice in schools and in 2018 co-presented at the International School Psychologists Association (ISPA) conference in Japan on evidence-based practices in psychotherapy delivered in schools.

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April has been a school psychologist at a Catholic College on the North-West Coast of Tasmania since 2022. She was delighted to move into a school-based role after discovering a passion for adolescent mental health whilst working in private practice. Prior to starting in private practice, April worked in the health industry whilst completing her studies remotely through Deakin University. Having grown up on the coast, April feels privileged to live in such a scenic part of the world and she enjoys being part of community events that promote a healthy lifestyle and support wellbeing. April is proud to represent a wonderful group of school psychologists in Tasmania.

Amy is an AHPRA registered psychologist who currently works as a school psychologist with the Department of Education in Western Australia.

She has been a member of the School Psychologists' Association of Western Australia (SPAWA) since beginning work as a school psychologist in 2011.

Erin is a guidance officer currently working in the Brisbane Metro North Region. She has worked in regional areas in Queensland as a teacher and guidance officer and has a (long past) background in Information Technology. Erin is a proud member of the Queensland Guidance Counselling Association executive committee.

Jo began her career with the Federal Department of Employment, Education and Training as an Education Officer in 1987 then moved to the Tasmanian Department of Education as Teacher, Careers Adviser and Student Counsellor before ‘seeing the light’ and commencing as a School Psychologist in 1991.

She found leading the Critical Incident Management Team particularly rewarding.
After a five-year stint in private practice, primarily working with adult clients, Jo again returned to schools, this time in the Catholic system.

Jo is a registered Psychologist and has teaching qualifications. She has been a member of AGCA (Tasmania) since 1991 and has been on the Tasmanian School Psychology Association Committee since 2017. She is a Fellow of the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists and joined the APACS Committee as State Rep for Tasmania in 2022.