PESA’s Vision for 2025: Advocating, Educating & Collaborating for Wellbeing
I am honoured to accept the board’s nomination as Chair of PESA. Since joining the board in 2017, my focus has been ensuring that educators across all sectors have a voice in the wellbeing education space. That mission remains unchanged, and the entire PESA board is committed to making wellbeing education more accessible, especially in the parts of our vast country where access is often limited.
Over the past year, the board, under the stewardship of the previous Chair of PESA Warren Symonds, has dedicated time to refining our strategic direction. As a volunteer group, their commitment to meeting in person and shaping PESA’s future has been extraordinary. We see our responsibility as threefold: to advocate, educate, and collaborate – all in pursuit of embedding wellbeing education and practices across Australia.
As the peak body for wellbeing education, PESA is focused on equipping educators with evidence-based training and fostering connections with trusted organisations delivering wellbeing programs. We are also engaging deeply with the intersection of wellbeing science, positive education, neuro-diverse education, and trauma-aware practices. While different approaches may have alternate frameworks and language, at their core, they share the same goal: wellbeing outcomes that best meet the needs of our students. I am acutely aware how often strategies and research are aligned. So often it comes back to what we say, how we say it and what we do as educators that can shift the experience of wellbeing for all of our students.
We know that educators play a crucial role in shaping student wellbeing, and PESA is here to support you in that mission. We encourage all educators, policymakers, and wellbeing advocates to engage with our work, contribute insights, and help us create a stronger, more connected wellbeing education community.
February 2025