Our Team
Professor Rebecca Spence | Director
As the Director of International Capacity Building at the University of New England Rebecca is responsible for the design and implementation of all training programs.
Rebecca has over 30 years’ experience in the International Development sector, beginning her career as a volunteer in Cape Town at the end of apartheid before completing a Ph.D. on peace-building in Northern Ireland. Through her peace-building consultancy, Rebecca has advised government agencies including the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australian Defence Force in hot-spots including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.
Rebecca has learned first-hand how to foster collaboration and create consensus, vital leadership skills that she brings to the International Capacity Building group. Rebecca recognises that many of the women involved in the fellowships and programs her team deliver are at the forefront of disrupting gender norms in their communities and is passionate about delivering these women the skills they need to successfully navigate challenges and barriers that they may face.
As a facilitator Rebecca’s empathetic approach and warm, open nature help to establish a trusting atmosphere where genuine personal growth can be achieved.
Associate Professor Philip R Harrell | Training Lead
Dr Phil Harrell (B.A., M.Litt., MBA., DBA., Cmgr IML) is a sought-after public speaker, educator and consultant. He has been presenting his unique and engaging style of leadership and management development programs throughout the Asia Pacific for over thirty years.
Associate Professor Harrell is responsible for the co-design, development and execution of the broad range of ACIAR funded UNE International Capacity Building Programs. These include: the John Allwright Fellowship: Executive Leadership Program (JAFel), the John Dillon Fellowship (JDF) conducted with groups in the Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Pacific, and the Gender Equity in Agricultural Research and Development (GEARed) programs.
Phil is proudly involved in supporting gender mainstreaming in the Asia Pacific, and in addition to recently co-facilitating the Laos Australia Institute funded ‘Gender Mainstreaming in the Public Service’, he mentors multiple female leaders throughout the region.
Associate Professor Harrell is an internationally acknowledged leader in the field of Values-Based Leadership (VBL) and an accredited Master Coach in Leading, Managing and Coaching by Values. Phil has a passion for helping people reach their full potential and firmly believes that through understanding and harnessing your personal values you can create a truly focused and rewarding life.
Prof Tamsyn Crowley | Trainer
Associate Professor Tamsyn Crowley, is the current Director of Poultry Hub Australia (PHA) (the successor body to the Poultry CRC). Tamsyn, who has an extensive background in poultry research, currently leads PHA based at the University of New England, while also maintaining her poultry research laboratory at Deakin University.
She graduated her PhD in 2007 at Deakin University and has since had roles within CSIRO and a number of academic institutions. Associate Professor Crowley’s research interests include gut health, biomarker discovery, epigenetics and bioinformatics. As director of PHA, Tamsyn is tasked with improving all sectors of the Australian poultry industry through applied research, education and training. Her current role enables her to liaise with all sectors of the industry from farmers to poultry research scientists. Tamsyn is passionate about poultry, education and science and her current role enables her to bring all these passions together.
Julia Day | Trainer
Julia Day has more than 20 years’ experience in tertiary legal education. Julia predominantly teaches and researches in the areas of Tort Law and Social Media Law. In addition, she has published extensively in a wide variety of legal areas. Julia is also a recipient of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning. This citation was awarded ‘for inspiring students to develop a passion in law by incorporating research, social policy and skills-based approaches in an easy to understand manner.’
Julia is passionate about the accessibility of education. In order to promote this idea, Julia is currently completing a PhD with the University of New England under the supervision of Professor Rebecca Spence and Associate Professor Phil Harrell. Her PhD by Innovation, which is entitled ‘An Exploration of Student Attitudes Towards Utilising Social Media to Activate Student Engagement’, investigates the impacts of social media integration in legal education.
Aside from being a legal academic, Julia is an experienced social media strategist and content creator. Julia uses her ‘Academically Blonde’ social media sites to discuss current legal issues in her areas of interest.
Donna Leigh Holden | Trainer
Donna Leigh Holden brings three decades of expertise in the design and evaluation of international development across the Asia and Pacific region. Her experience spans diverse sectors including governance and policy reform, social inclusion and gender equality, health, economic development, conflict and fragility, disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response.
She has worked with a wide range of public and civil society organisations, research organisations, bilateral and multilateral donors and held executive leadership roles in organisations in Australia and internationally. This coupled with her post graduate qualifications in management equip her with a strategic perspective that integrates theoretical knowledge with practical insights. She is a committed capacity builder and seasoned cross-cultural trainer.
Donna's accreditation as a Partnership Broker and role as a Practitioner Trainer for Partnership Brokers Association highlights her strong commitment to meaningful collaboration and equitable partnerships to support transformative change. When not travelling, Donna lives by the sea in Kaurna Country, South Australia with a tribe of dogs and assorted adult children. She enjoys printmaking, cooking and live music.
Dr Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni | Trainer
Seeseei is the Manager of the Plants & Post-harvest Technologies Division of the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (SROS). She holds a Doctorate in Molecular Bioscience from the Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand), and currently leads the ACIAR CS 2020/191 Project on Adopting a gender inclusive participatory approach to reducing horticultural post-harvest loss in the Pacific. Seeseei is a Meryl Williams Fellow and is passionate about staff development and capacity building. She is a mother of two who enjoys gardening and Zumba.
Prof Renato Andrin Villano | Researcher & Trainer
Renato (Rene) is a Professor and Chair of the Research and Research Training Committee of the UNE Business School, University of New England. He is an agricultural and development economist with over 25 years of experience conducting research for developments projects across Asia, Pacific and Africa focusing on the analysis of farmer behaviour; farming systems research; gender, poverty and food security; agribusiness; impact evaluation and poverty and social analysis. Recently, he was a member of a multi-disciplinary Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)-funded projects in Indonesia, South Africa, India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
He is a passionate teacher and teaches a diverse array of courses in applied economics, econometrics and data analytics. He has supervised students at various academic levels. He is also an active academic mentor and collaborator of the Merryl Williams Fellows (MWF) and the ACIAR Alumni Research Support Facility (ARSF).
Beyond his academic endeavours, Rene is devoted to community engagement and capacity-building initiatives, empowering farmers and rural stakeholders through training programs and knowledge dissemination activities. His passion is to advance agricultural economics, empowerment, and commitment to improving rural livelihoods in the pursuit of a more prosperous and sustainable future for rural communities globally.
Dr Peter McNamara | Trainer
Peter is a designer and facilitator of interactive learning and development programs in Leadership, Management, Change, Innovation and Continuous Improvement. He has collaborated with a range of organisations addressing the complexities of profound transformation.
Peter’s doctoral research focused on ‘The time management behaviours of small business managers.’ In recent years, he has delivered MBA programs at the Sydney Business School and the University of Adelaide. Peter has also worked closely with NSW Health in the design and facilitation of the Next Generation of Leaders and Managers Program and the People Management Skills Program.
Peter is passionate about empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds to reach their full potential. He is an engaging presenter who incorporates humour, story-telling and personal reflection into his workshops.
Skye Creevey | Program Manager
Skye provides high level executive support to the International Capacity Building team across the range of programs and activities. She is responsible for a wide array of logistical support and care for both the team and participants in the JDF training program.
Skye was born and raised on a cattle station in western Queensland and has strong family ties and a research background in both agriculture and business. She has worked in a range of roles that have taken her throughout the agricultural, business and education sectors. Skye is passionate about supporting people in skills-based learning and expanding knowledge on the interconnectivity of sustainable agriculture systems within the commercial context. She understands the importance of education, training and relationship building in ensuring growth and resilience throughout the sector and strives to support and strengthen people in these goals.
Andrew Edwards | Project Manager
Andrew is an international development professional and has been working in a multicultural context for the past ten years. Andrew coordinates all course activities and is the principal point of contact for all operational aspects of GEAReD programs including pre-training registration, travel and accommodation, plus health and other personal issues.
Andrew has a research background in molecular biology and veterinary parasitology and is a devoted family man. As the father of two girls, he is particularly passionate about the impact GEAReD has and is proud to be working towards greater gender equity.
Dr Ei Mon Thida Kyaw | Workshop Development
Ei Mon earned her doctorate in April 2023 from the University of New England and is a former John Allwright Fellow (ACIAR). Her research covers advanced business analytics, big data technologies and agricultural economic modelling.
Originally from Myanmar, Ei Mon was serving as an instructor and researcher within the Department of Agricultural Economics at Yezin Agricultural University after which she came to Australia as a scholar in 2017. Due to the ongoing political turmoil in her home country she has remained in Australia and was awarded an Alumni Research Support Facility (ARSF) grant to continue her research in the subject of Natural Resource Management in October 2022.
In addition to working as an academic staff member at the UNE Business school, Ei Mon joined the International Capacity Building team at UNE in September 2023 and assists in workshop development, acquisition of new programs and the executive leadership program attached to the John Allwright Fellowship (JAFel).
Alice Armitage | Communications & Publishing
Alice is a farmer’s daughter and serial entrepreneur with a background working in the venture capital space. Having worked and studied in metropolitan Australia and abroad, Alice has recently returned to her hometown in Northern NSW, focusing on supporting grassroots initiatives and innovation happening in regional Australia and founding The Pandaemonium Paper.
This contemporary, quarterly newspaper showcases the innovators, creatives and self-starters living outside the metropolitan mould. Her experience in communications for agriculture and publishing are valuable additions to the International Capacity Building team and delivered as part of the media training modules of the JDF Fellowship.
Mike Terry | Communications
Mike has a background in journalism, arts education and anthropology. He earned a BA in Mass Communication at the University of Utah in 2011 and a MA in Visual & Media Anthropology from the Freie Universität Berlin in 2013.
Mike’s photography has been published internationally in publications including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Der Spiegel, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Elephant, and Monocle Magazine. His most recent film project ‘ROLA: Stone’ was the winner in the Geo-Science Professionals category at the 2022 UNESCO-supported Earth Futures Film Festival.
In addition to producing film and photo features on agricultural research at UNE he manages communications for a variety of ACIAR supported fellowships on behalf of the university’s International Capacity Building group.
Let’s Work Together
Our team is committed to delivering the highest quality capacity building facilitation across a range of industries and experiences. If you and your organisation are interested in expanding the leadership and management capabilities of your team, we look forward to hearing from you.