Patrons of the Alliance of Girls' Schools

Patron-in-Chief of the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia

Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce, AC
Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
BA. LLB (Qld). Hon LLD (Macquarie). Hon DLitt (Charles Sturt). Hon DUniv (Griffith). Hon DU (QUT). Hon LLD (Qld)

Quentin Bryce was born in Brisbane in 1942 and spent her early years in Ilfracombe, a small town in Central Western Queensland. In 1965, she graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from The University of Queensland and, in the same year, was admitted to the Queensland Bar. She has since enjoyed a rich and distinguished career as an academic, lawyer, community and human rights advocate, senior public officer, university college principal, and vice-regal representative in Queensland, and now Australia.

Ms Bryce’s former roles – some, among firsts for women in this country – include:

• Lecturer and Tutor in Law, The University of Queensland, 1968-1983
• Convenor, National Women’s Advisory Council, 1982-1984
• Inaugural Director, Queensland Women’s Information Service, Office of the Status of Women, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 1984-1987
• Director, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Queensland, 1987-1988
• Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1988-1993
• founding Chair and CEO, National Childcare Accreditation Council, 1993-1996
• Principal and CEO, The Women's College, University of Sydney, 1997-2003
• Governor of Queensland, 2003-2008

Quentin Bryce’s contribution to advancing human rights and equality, the rights of women and children, and the welfare of the family was recognised in her appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 and a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2003. Also in 2003, she was invested as a Dame of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.

Ms Bryce was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Macquarie University (New South Wales) in 1998, an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by Charles Sturt University (New South Wales) in 2002, and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by The University of Queensland in 2006. She was conferred with the degrees of Honorary Doctor of the University by Griffith University (Queensland) in 2003, and Queensland University of Technology in 2004.

In her civic role as Governor of Queensland, Ms Bryce continued her work with women, families and young people while extending her influence across the State’s broad and diverse spectrum, including the rural, regional, aged, indigenous, migrant, and disability sectors.

As a mother and grandmother, Quentin is a role model and mentor to women at every stage of their lives. She values and encourages women’s capacity to form strong and enduring bonds of friendship, intellectual and emotional enrichment, and mutual support in their roles within the family, workplace and community.

On 5 September 2008 Quentin Bryce was sworn in as Australia’s twenty-fifth Governor-General. As the first woman to take up the office, she remains a pioneer in contemporary Australian society, and yet one who brings more than forty years of experience in reform, community building and leadership to the role.

Quentin Bryce and her husband, Michael, were married in 1964. They have two daughters and three sons, and six grandchildren.

Professor Jeanette Hacket
BJuris, LLB, LLM, PhD, MAICD, FAIM, Legal Practitioner
Vice-Chancellor, Curtin University of Technology
Perth, Western Australia

Professor Jeanette Hacket was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Curtin University of Technology in April 2006. Prior to this appointment she held the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, a role that she had undertaken since 2004. Professor Hacket has a interest in international higher education and quality assurance and has undertaken numerous roles in international education leadership including Pro Vice-Chancellor International and Enterprise at Curtin University.

Professor Hacket holds undergraduate and masters degrees in law and a PhD in Strategic Management. She has worked as a legal practitioner and later as a legal academic with a particular interest in international law and health law.

Professor Hacket's board memberships have included IDP Education Australia Ltd, IELTS Australia, Open Universities Australia, Future Directions International, the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association, the Australian Universities Quality Agency and the Universities Australia Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council. She is also a Councillor on the Australia Business Arts Foundation.

Eve Mahlab AO is the Co-Founder and Convener of the Australian Women Donors Network which is part of a global movement building philanthropic funding of projects which invest in Women and Girls.

She trained as a lawyer but moved into business, founding the Mahlab Group of Companies, which provided recruitment and other services to the legal profession. A committed feminist, she was an early member of the Women’s Electoral Lobby, the first woman elected to the Council of Monash University and the first woman Director of Westpac. She also served on other commercial and non-profit boards including Film Australia Inc and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. She also founded and led the Know-Biz Project, which promoted careers in business to young people.

In 1982, she was named Australian Businesswoman of the Year. In 1988 she was awarded the Order of Australia (AO) for services to government, business and the community, especially women. In 1997 she accepted an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Monash University .She has been a subject of several books and television documentaries, including Tall Poppies, the Fabulous Fifties and the Woman in Question.

She has been married to Frank Mahlab for 50 years and they have 2 daughters, Karen and Bobbi and a son Ken. They also have 5 grandsons and 1 granddaughter all of whom are future Nobel Prize Winners.

Jenny Shipley, while a former Prime Minister of New Zealand, is today a Director, Advisor and Keynote Speaker with a special interest in business, economic and social development as tools to build shared societies globally.

She is an Independent director of China Construction Bank, one of the big four major state owned banks in China. She is Chair of Genesis Energy, one of the NZ publicly owned power companies. She is Chairman of Senior Money International and Mainzeal Construction. She is an Independent Director of Momentum and ISI.

She was Prime Minister from 97 to 99 and in the preceding 7 years she was a Senior Minister in the New Zealand Government and a driving force in the successful decade of economic and social reforms in NZ. She retired form NZ politics in 2002.

She is now a very regular visitor to China in her role as a director, a keynote speaker and in association with her consultancy. She is on a number of advisory boards including the International Economic Advisory Board of the City of Rotterdam. She advises companies and governments on including geopolitical, demographic, economic and social mega trends and speaks all around the world on these and a wide range of other topics.

She was an Initiator of the Education Forum for East Asia, now held in Beijing annually. She is an active member and is involved in a number of projects with the World Women’s Leadership Council and is Vice President of the Club of Madrid, a group of former leaders who promote democracy and transparent economic development, globally. These activities take her to all corners of the world on a regular basis.

Jenny Shipley is married to Burton Shipley and has two adult children. Anna 33 is Director of Communications for Nokia for the UK and Ireland. Ben is 31 and is the Creative Director for Hill & Knowlton, a PR company in Sydney.

dale spender AM FRSA
BA DipEd MA LittB PhD DUniv
ds@dalespender.com 0408 703 882
July 2009

dale spender has been an author, a feminist and an educator (and public speaker) for most of her life. She started her career as a high school teacher, went on to become a university lecturer (at James Cook), and received her PhD from the University of London. She taught ‘teachers to teach’ at the London University Institute of Education and became a professional writer and lecturer.

In recent years she has researched, written and taught in the area of learning and the new technologies and has developed professional courses from school to university level on education and IP. She has worked with AOL, Microsoft, Apple and Fujitsu particularly in areas of teacher training and support. dale spender has served on numerous boards and advisory bodies in the public and private sector. A former Chair of CAL (Copyright Agency Limited) she is currently a member of the board of the State Library of Queensland.

She has lectured at many universities at home and overseas (including MIT and Cambridge) and given more than 300 international keynote addresses. She has written/edited more than 30 books – including Nattering on the Net – one of the first books to examine internet culture and its impact on education and society.

She is currently working at Djarragun College and has made a video on the success of indigenous students with computers. She is also researching policy directions for digital literacies with James Cook University. She plans one more book on education in the 21st century – Use the Save Key!

dale spender is a founding member and current chair of the Second Chance Program that raises money for homeless women.