Professor Greg Leigh

BEd (Griffith), MSc (Washington), PhD (Monash), FACE
Director, RIDBC Renwick Centre and Conjoint Professor of Education, University of Newcastle

E-mail: greg.leigh@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0372

Biography

Conjoint Professor Greg Leigh began his career in education of the deaf at the Queensland School for the Deaf in Brisbane in 1979. He holds degrees in Special Education from Griffith University; a Master of Science (Speech and Hearing) degree from Washington University (Central Institute for the Deaf) in the USA; and a PhD in Special Education from Monash University. In 2001 he was made a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators.

Professor Leigh held a variety of positions in the education of deaf children in Queensland before entering academia. He was co-ordinator of the program in education of the deaf at Deakin University from 1987 until taking up the position of Senior Lecturer and foundation Head of Renwick College in 1993. In 2003 he was International Visiting Scholar at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (Rochester Institute of Technology), New York. As Chair of RIDBC Renwick Centre, he is a member of the executive management team of the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children.

Professor Leigh is active in research and has published widely on aspects of education of deaf children and related areas. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of Deafness and Education International and Phonetics and Speech Sciences. He serves on several Australian Government consultative committees including the New South Wales Ministerial Standing Committee on Hearing and the National Neonatal Hearing Screening Working Party. He is currently chairman of the Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening Committee. He is a former National President of the Education Commission for the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf and is Chair of the International Steering Committees of both the Asia-Pacific Congress on Deafness (APCD) and the International Congress on Education of the Deaf (ICED).

Research interests

• Newborn hearing Screening - implementation and standards for delivery
• Communications access by deaf and hearing impaired children and adults (captions and related media accessibility)
• Teachers' use of simultaneous communication
• Children's reception and use of simultaneous communication
• Literacy development in deaf children and adults

Dr Jill Duncan

BSc (Speech Pathology and Audiology), MEd (Deaf and Hard of Hearing) (Cincinnati), MEdMan, PhD (Western Australia)
Head of Graduate Studies, RIDBC Renwick Centre and Conjoint Senior Lecturer, University of Newcastle

E-mail: jill.duncan@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0331

Biography

Dr Duncan studied Speech Pathology, Audiology and Deaf Education with the esteemed Professors Richard and Laura Kretschmer at the University of Cincinnati. She has been a practicing auditory-verbal therapist since 1988 when she worked at the Helen Beebe Speech and Hearing Centre where she was privileged to work alongside Helen Beebe in Pennsylvania, USA.

She has held an academic position at Deafness Studies Unit, University of Melbourne where she worked with the highly regarded Professor Field Rickards. Dr Duncan has been the senior administrator in two well known programs for children and students with hearing impairment - the Cora Barclay Centre in South Australia and Soundbridge in Connecticut, USA.

Research interests

• Measuring student outcomes
• Complex skills development
• Adolescents with hearing impairment

For information on Auditory-Verbal Practice and the programs Jill teaches, please visit the Auditory-Verbal Practice website.

Dr Breda Carty

BA (Qld), DipEd (Monash), MA (Gallaudet), PhD (Griffith)
Conjoint Lecturer

E-mail: breda.carty@ridbc.org.au
Phone/TTY: (02) 9872 0241

Biography

Before taking up this position in 2002, Breda was a Research Fellow at Griffith University for 12 years, and a teacher of the deaf in Victoria and the United States. She has had many years' experience developing Deaf Studies workshops for the Deaf community, and as a consultant with a variety of educational and community-based groups. She has co-authored a widely-used Deaf Studies Program for schools and a variety of other educational materials.

Breda has had extensive involvement in Deaf community organizations, and is currently Secretary of Deaf History International and a member of the World Federation of the Deaf's Expert Group on Deaf culture.

Research interests

• Deaf history, culture and community
• Learning styles of Deaf people
• Auslan/English bilingualism in children and adults
• Deaf Studies curriculum development

Dr Robyn Cantle Moore

BMusEd (Sydney), CertTeach (Secondary), DSCM (Performance) (Conservatorium/Sydney), MSpecEd (Sensory Disability) (Newcastle), MEdStud (Newcastle), PhD (Newcastle)
Conjoint Lecturer

E-mail: robyn.moore@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872-0204 or (02) 9872-0339
Fax: (02) 9873-1614

Biography

Robyn Cantle Moore has over 20 years experience as an educator in the fields of hearing impairment and sensory disability with appointments including: Conjoint Lecturer (University of Newcastle), Research Fellow (Renwick Centre), Senior Teacher of the Deaf / Consultant, RIDBC Early Learning Program and Specialist consultant, RIDBC Assessment and Resource Team.

As a full-time academic her present responsibilities include course lecturing and research in the areas of language development, and family-centred collaborative approaches to early childhood intervention for sensory disability (HI and VI).

Research interests

• Audition, speech and language development of infants using CI / HA in Deaf family environments (a series of unique case studies)
• Developing a parent-report/education instrument for infant-HI monitoring and assessment (2010 normative study validating the Infant Monitor of vocal Production (IMP)
• Evaluating the "auditory diet" of young children with impaired hearing (Language ENvironment Analysis - LENA)

Rebecca Bull

BA (Ling) (Macquarie), MClinAud (Macquarie)
Research Fellow and Audiologist

E-mail: rebecca.bull@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0806

Biography

Rebecca Bull joined the RIDBC Renwick Centre as a part-time Research Fellow in Audiology in 2010. Prior to this, Rebecca worked as an Educational Audiologist at the RIDBC Garfield Barwick Centre, and provided diagnostic, assessment and management services to infants and children at the RIDBC Jim Patrick Audiology Centre.

Rebecca has been working in the hearing services field for approximately 10 years. Before joining RIDBC in 2007, Rebecca practiced audiology at Australian Hearing and Macquarie University, and was an Associate Lecturer in Audiology at Macquarie University.

Research interests

• Evaluation of hearing for speech in children
• Assessment of functional listening abilities of children with hearing impairment
• Educational Audiology

Kim Ter-Horst

BSc (Hons) (NSW), GradDipAud (Macquarie), MAudSA (ccp)
Research Fellow and Audiologist

E-mail: kim.ter-horst@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0740

Biography

Before joining RIDBC Jim Patrick Audiology Centre in 2003, Kim was a Paediatric Audiologist with Australian Hearing for 10 years, and a research audiologist with the National Acoustic Laboratories. She has had many years' experience in the Audiological diagnosis, assessment and management of infants and children. Kim joined RIDBC Renwick Centre in 2009 and continues her involvement in other RIDBC programs, including children's services (HI), and indigenous health.

Research interests

• Remote assessment of hearing, ear health and auditory skills in children
• Audiological aspects of indigenous health

Professor Philip Newall

BA (Hons) (Keele), MSc (Surrey), MSc (Salford)
Professorial Fellow/Conjoint Professor

E-mail: philip.newall@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0749

Biography

Conjoint Professor Philip Newall began his work in audiology in the National Health Service in the U.K in 1971. He has a Bachelors degree in Biology and Psychology (Joint Honours) from the University of Keele, a Master of Science in Biomechanics from the University of Surrey and a Masters of Science in Audiology from the University of Salford (in the United Kingdom). He was awarded the Certificate of Outstanding Service by the Audiological Society of Australia and is a Fellow of the Society. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology.

After working as a clinical audiologist in the Northern Regional Health Authority in the United Kingdom for nine years, Professor Newall came to Australia in 1980 to run the postgraduate audiology program in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University in Sydney until his retirement form the position in 2007. He is a Professor Emeritus at Macquarie University.

Professor Newall was responsible for the AusAid-funded International Developments Project which led to the first training program for audiologists in Beijing. He has been involved in setting up Masters in Clinical Audiology programs at the University of Santo Tomas and at the University of the Philippines in Manila where he is a visiting professor. He has also been a visiting professor and an external examiner for the National University of Malaysia audiology program in Kuala Lumpur and at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

He is an editorial consultant for the Australian Journal of Audiology and the Malaysian Journal of Public Health, an assistant editor for the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, an expert committee member for the Chinese Scientific Journal of Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation. He is a Board Member of the Carabez Alliance which is committed to improving services for hearing-impaired children in the Pacific Islands. He was appointed as a Senior Consultant to the China Research and Rehabilitation Centre for Deaf Children in 2008.

He has over 100 publications and has been a chief investigator on over $3 million worth of research grants including five from the National Health & Medical Research Council.

Research interests

• Amplification for the hearing impaired
• Epidemiology of hearing loss
• Audiology in developing countries

Associate Professor Norm Erber

BS (Engineering), MA/PhD (Audiology) (Washington)
Teaching/Research Fellow

E-mail: norm.erber@ridbc.org.au
(02) 9872-0806 or (03) 9489-2825
Website: www.hearingvision.com

Biography

Dr. Erber's academic background includes ergonomics/engineering, experimental psychology, education of hearing-impaired children, and rehabilitative audiology. He has been a Research Associate at Central Institute for the Deaf (St. Louis, MO, USA), where he developed assessment and therapy procedures for children. More recently, Dr. Erber held positions as a Research Fellow in Special Education at the University of Melbourne and Associate Professor in Communication Sciences at La Trobe University, where he lectured in rehabilitation, supervised clinics, and developed communication therapy concepts. He has been a consultant to schools, rehabilitation services, aged-care facilities, and the Australian Government. Dr. Erber has published over 80 research articles/book chapters and 7 textbooks.

Research interests

• Developing communication skills in children with impaired hearing
• Simulation of hearing loss/vision loss for training parents and teachers
• Accessibility of television to children with impaired hearing
• Adaptive assessment of speech-perception in hearing-impaired children

Dr Mike Steer

BA (Sir George Williams), DipEd (Exeter), MSc (Southern Illinois), MEd (Boston College), MA(Hons) (Melbourne), PhD (Syracuse)
Conjoint Senior Lecturer

E-mail: mike.steer@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0814

Biography

Mike Steer is Senior Lecturer in Vision Impairment at the Renwick Centre and Adjunct Professor at Deakin University. Prior to 1996, Director of the NSW Office on Disability in Government's Social Policy Directorate, previously, Principal Advisor on Disability Policy for Community Services Victoria, and Director of the Integration Unit for the Victorian Ministry of Education, Principal, Montreal Association School for the Blind (1968-72).

Mike holds a PhD (Special Education Administration) from Syracuse University, with Masters degrees in Public Policy (Melbourne), Vision Impairment (Boston College) and Education (Southern Illinois).

Mike is involved in a range of professional associations including South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (Life Member), Council for Exceptional Children (USA), Phi Delta Kappa (USA) and Royal Society (NSW). He is currently Editor of the Australian Deaf Blind Council Bulletin, the Journal of the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment, the International Journal of Orientation and Mobility , Consulting Editor to the Australian Journal of Special Education and Australian Correspondent to DbI Review.. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Research interests

• Disability, advocacy and human service policy reform
• Integration and inclusion of students with sensory disabilities in the generic education system
• Educational issues in deafblindness
• Public attitude towards people with sensory disabilities

Frances Gentle

BA, DipEd (Macquarie), BEd (Special Education) (New England), MSpecEd (Sensory Disability) Hons (Newcastle)
Conjoint Lecturer

E-mail: frances.gentle@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0808

Biography

Frances Gentle is a Lecturer in Vision Impairment at the RIDBC Renwick Centre. In this role, she is responsible for the delivery of a number of courses on vision impairment in the University of Newcastle Masters and Graduate Certificate degree programs, as well as undertaking research into current issues relating to vision impairment. Frances is currently completing her doctoral studies and her topic is inclusive education of children with disabilities in Timor-Leste.

Frances has worked in the education and disability fields for almost 30 years. Prior to 2006, she worked for 11 years at St. Edmund's School for Students with Vision Impairments and Other Special Needs in Wahroonga, Sydney. In her capacity as Vision Services Coordinator at St Edmund's, she was responsible for educational services for students with vision impairments enrolled at St Edmund's and also provided consultative support to staff and students with vision impairments in Catholic Independent schools in NSW. In 1994-5, Frances taught at the American School in Japan (ASIJ) and the Tokyo International Learning Centre for international students with special needs. She also established an English language teaching program for Japanese adults with severe vision impairments at the Vocational Development Centre for the Blind in Tokyo. Prior to 1994, Frances taught in regular and special educational settings in Sydney, within the government and Catholic education sectors.

Professional qualifications include a Masters Degree in Special Education with Honours, (Sensory Disability), University of Newcastle; Bachelor of Education (Special Education), University of New England; Bachelor of Arts, Macquarie University; and Diploma of Education, Macquarie University. Current professional associations include Pacific Chairperson, International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI); Member of the UEB Examinations Board, Australian Braille Authority, ICEVI representative for South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI), Co-Editor of SPEV E-news, and Member of the Editorial Committee of Journal of South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (JSPEVI).

Research interests

• Contemporary issues associated with educational standards and pedagogy
• Braille literacy and numeracy development
• Curriculum and expanded core curriculum access and provision for students with vision impairment
• Development of educational services for children with disabilities in the South Pacific and East Asia regions

Sue Silveira

MHScEd (Sydney), DipAppSc (Orth)
JAFF Research Fellow

E-mail: sue.silveira@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872-00248
Fax: (02) 9873-1614

Biography

Sue has over 20 years experience as a paediatric orthoptist and in an academic role. She has taught widely in the areas of paediatric eye disease and vision surveillance and vision screening. She is currently the chief investigator on the project which is developing and implementing the Australian Childhood Vision Impairment Register.

Research interests

• Prevention of vision impairment and blindness in Australian children
• Reduction of eye injury in Australian children
• Online teaching and learning

Jill Watson

Centre Secretary

E-mail: jill.watson@ridbc.org.au
Phone/TTY: (02) 9872 0303
Fax: (02) 9873 1614
Office hours: Tuesday to Friday

Biography

Jill is the Renwick Centre Secretary and provides administrative support for all staff.

Jill is responsible for monitoring and maintaining all student records, provides information to students about programs offered at the Renwick Centre, as well as using the University of Newcastle student record system. Jill liaises with the University with enrolments, grades and graduation.

Jill worked at another University prior to commencing employment at the Renwick Centre in 2001.

Julie Thorndyke

BA (LibSc) KCAE, BA (EngLit) (Macquarie), MCW (Sydney), AALIA
Manager, Library and Information Services

E-mail: julie.thorndyke@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0396

Biography

Julie is responsible for managing our library and information services, which are designed to meet the information needs of Renwick Centre staff and students, whether they be on-campus or remote library users. With a career in librarianship spanning thirty years, Julie's wealth of research experience comes from a variety of roles in school, university and TAFE libraries. She will readily guide you through the maze of print and electronic resources available to postgraduate students. Email or phone her any time during office hours for helpful hints on journal access, borrowing, referencing and any other library queries.

Marijana Miletic

BSc (UNSW), GradDipIM - Librarianship (UNSW)
Senior Librarian

E-mail: marijana.miletic@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0352

Biography

Marijana is part time senior librarian at the Renwick Centre. In this role she is responsible for the information needs of Renwick Centre students enrolled in on-campus and distance learning modes; the professional information and research needs of Renwick Centre faculty, as well as those of the professional staff of the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children; and also supporting parents of children enrolled in RIDBC programs in their information quests.

Marijana has worked in the information field for 13 years in medical, public, TAFE, school and now university libraries. In March 2007 she took up her current position. Professional qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (In Science & Technology Studies) and a Graduate Diploma in Information Management - Librarianship both from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. She is available on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Jason Morgan

BA (Wri) (Southern Cross)
Library Technician

E-mail: jason.morgan@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0818

Biography

Jason's responsibility as a library technician at Renwick Centre includes the processing and maintenance of information resources. He is also committed to assisting staff and students with their information needs. Jason holds a Diploma in Library and Information Services and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Writing and Media studies. He works three days a week, and is always enthusiastic to answer reference enquiries or questions about online resources or borrowing.

Jason is available Wednesdays to Fridays.

Trudy Smith

Dip Jazz (Tenor Saxophone) (Qld Conservatorium of Music), BSpEd (Hearing Impairment) (Griffith University), MEd (Language and Literacy) (Deakin University), LSLS Cert AVT
Manager, Continuing Professional Education

E-mail: trudy.smith@ridbc.org.au
Phone: 0408 403 829 or (02) 9872 0302

Biography

Trudy is the Manager of Continuing Professional Education at the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) Renwick Centre.

Trudy has been a Teacher of the Deaf since 1998. She spent several years working in inclusive classroom settings before becoming the Advisory Visiting Teacher: Hearing Impairment for the Mount Isa and Longreach Districts in Queensland. She worked as an Auditory Verbal Therapist, supporting children and families in rural and remote settings and became a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist Cert. AVT in 2007. Trudy then took on the role of State-wide Education Advisor: Hearing Impairment for the Department of Education in Queensland which she held for three years.

Trudy is the current Chairperson of the National Association of Australian Teachers of the Deaf (NAATD).

Research interests

• Adult learning styles
• Models of professional support
• Evidence based practice in inclusive classroom settings
• The role of the Teacher of the Deaf

Philippa Madden

BA (EngLit and ModHist) (Sydney)
Administrative Officer

E-mail: philippa.madden@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0207

Biography

Philippa Madden is Administration Officer at the Renwick Centre for Professional Education and Research. Philippa commenced working at RIDBC in October 2011, having previously worked in other Australian universities in various capacities within student administration, international student support and student recruitment.

In her current role, Philippa informs RIDBC staff about professional development opportunities, and coordinates the needs of all staff who attend these courses, programs and conferences. She also assists the Renwick Centre Continuing Professional Education calendar planning and delivery.

Claire Farrington

BA (NSW), GradCertAdEd (New England), MLMEd (Newcastle)
Coordinator, Graduate Student Affairs

E-mail: claire.farrington@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0811
Office hours: Tuesday to Thursday

Biography

Claire Farrington is Co-ordinator, Graduate Student Affairs at the Renwick Centre for Professional Education and Research. Claire has supported the professional development and academic programs of Renwick since 1995 and has co-ordinated distance education and the broader graduate studies program since 2001.

In her current role, Claire assists the Head of Graduate Studies in the delivery of postgraduate programs from initial annual planning to implementation. Claire also provides support to all academic staff in regard to the delivery of graduate programs to a growing distance student population.

Kay Hooper

CertTeach, DipEd, GradDipAdEd
Practicum Coordinator

E-mail: kay.hooper@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0321

Biography

Kay joined RIDBC Renwick Centre in February 2011 as Practicum Coordinator. She comes to this position with over thirty years of experience in working in the field of sensory impairment. Kay has been working with RIDBC since 1988 in the Early Learning Program and more recently in Teleschool providing services to families and children with sensory impairments who live in regional and remote areas. She has a special interest in working collaboratively and in mentoring teachers.

The Practicum is one of the courses students can enrol in as part of their studies at RIDBC Renwick Centre. In her role as Practicum Coordinator, she is available to Students and Supervising Teachers, during the practicum and liaises with Department of Education Coordinators.

Dr Teresa Williamson

BSc (Hons) (Liverpool) PhD (Plymouth)
Curriculum Media Designer

E-mail: teresa.williamson@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0258

Biography

Teresa joined the Renwick Centre in October 2006, and has 11 years teaching experience in Higher Education. Previous roles involved the design and development of e-learning programs and resources for postgraduate study programs in geographical science and Medicine.

Teresa manages the design and development of multi-media learning resources for Renwick Centre programs, including graphic design, promotional media, e-newsletters, website design and updates, e-learning course delivery and digital video production and filming.

Teresa is normally available between 8am - 2.30pm, Mondays to Fridays.

Cathy Yu

BE (Sydney), BCom (Sydney), GradDipPsych (Monash)
P/T Web Developer

E-mail: cathy.yu@ridbc.org.au
Phone: (02) 9872 0296

Biography

Cathy is part time web developer at the Renwick Centre. In this role, she is responsible for the design and development of websites and databases. This includes community forums, special groups registrars, e-learning platforms and other content / relationship management databases, supporting various programs in the Renwick Centre. Before joining RIDBC in March 2010, she worked in the IT industry for over 10 years.

Cathy is normally available between 8:30am - 6:30pm, Mondays and Tuesdays.