DONNA BUCKLEY
PRESIDENT
Email: president@mawa.edu.au
Education is Donna’s passion. She believes that with a creative and curious education we can inspire the future generation, dream of solutions, build equity amongst people and improve society. Her leadership purpose is to build the technical and mathematical capabilities of people to live well, protect the integrity of our society, and improve the environment. Her work connects the dots between industry needs and the education community.
A level three mathematics teacher at Bob Hawke College, she was the 2023 recipient of the Australian Prime Ministers Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools for her work to inspire students with diverse, creative backgrounds, by applying mathematics to real-world problems and introducing them to future career opportunities in STEM.
SARAH BARNES
BOARD DIRECTOR
Sarah currently teaches Mathematics at Perth Modern School and brings over 25 years of diverse experience in Mathematics Education. She holds a Master’s degree in Computational Intelligence and has taught across a wide range of settings in both the UK and Western Australia—from primary school classrooms to training naval officers at Britannia Royal Naval College.
A dedicated and versatile educator, Sarah is passionate about fostering a growth mindset and promoting lifelong learning. She encourages both students and colleagues to explore mathematics through investigation and discovery, while developing reflective practices that build confidence and capability.
ROBERT BERWICK
BOARD DIRECTOR
Robert has over 20 years of teaching experience having taught the majority of these in the Great Southern region where currently he is the Head of Department at Albany SHS. Rob’s aim is to create classrooms where mathematics is made sense of and errors are valued. He believes that all students can learn, and that mastery is possible with the appropriate effort and time. Rob enjoys using low-floor/high-ceiling task with students and is constantly amazed where students go mathematically with these tasks. Being the MAWA Regional Ambassador for the Great Southern region provides Rob with a great opportunity to connect with the wonderful maths teachers in the area. He would like to foster greater collegiality between the mathematics teachers in the district who have a wealth of experience and expertise and to assist in providing opportunities for students to have positive experiences in mathematics through the support of MAWA.
SHEILA GRIFFIN
BOARD DIRECTOR
Sheila is a Primary Mathematics Consultant based in Mandurah, Western Australia. She has an extensive and impactful career in primary mathematics education, having served as a classroom teacher, Numeracy Coach, Deputy Principal, Project Officer for Money Smart (financial literacy), tutor, and Numeracy Consultant. Sheila’s dedication to enhancing mathematics teaching and learning is evident through her diverse roles and achievements.
Sheila has been recognized for her excellence in teaching, receiving the prestigious CHOOSEMATHS awards for Excellence in Teaching and Outstanding Primary Teacher of the Year from the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI). She also received a Commonwealth Bank award for her work on a whole-school approach to teaching financial literacy.
Beyond the classroom, Sheila shares her insights on podcasts and at conferences around Australia, further enriching the mathematics teaching community. She has also collaborated on publications like “Teaching Mathematics Through Story Books” and “Mathematics and Picture Books in Early Childhood,” showcasing her innovative approach to making mathematics accessible and engaging for young learners.
Sheila is a board director of the Mathematical Association of Western Australia and a panel member for the Ecstra Foundation Financial Education.
ADAM INDER
BOARD DIRECTOR
Adam Inder is a Senior Researcher at the Australian Education Research Organisation. He has led work developing research and guidance for schools to support students who enter secondary school without having developed foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Starting out as a maths and science teacher, Adam went on to become a secondary school deputy principal in socioeconomically disadvantaged Perth schools. He has been a School Board Deputy Chair, a TEDx speaker, and is currently working towards a PhD, researching at how generative AI can support disadvantaged schools. In 2023, Adam was awarded the Australian Council for Educational Leaders’ “WA Certificate of Excellence in Educational Leadership Award”.
Twitter: @AdamInder
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adaminder/
KYLIE JONES
BOARD DIRECTOR
Kylie is a Lecturer in Mathematics and Science Education at Murdoch University and teaches across the undergraduate and postgraduate primary and secondary education courses. Kylie is committed to supporting pre-service teachers to become passionate, knowledgeable and creative mathematics teachers. Her research interests lie in finding ways to address mathematics hesitancy and to bridge gaps in mathematics knowledge and skills in students at the beginning of their tertiary education, to ensure they are well-prepared for success in their chosen fields of study.
ALAN SADLER
BOARD DIRECTOR
A Londoner by birth, Alan attended Bristol University and taught in the Bristol area for a number of years, quickly rising to Head of Department. Moving to Perth, he taught at Rossmoyne SHS for many years. Alan is the author of over 50 school mathematics books and has presented many sessions at MAWA conferences and elsewhere.
RACHEL THEUNISSEN
BOARD DIRECTOR
Rachel is a Secondary Mathematics teacher at Lesmurdie SHS. She has been a volunteer for the Australian Mathematics Trust since 2012, is currently the WA State Director of the AMC and is working on the Discovery Series as a presenter. Rachel also teaches an online Gauss class for the WA Maths Problem Solving Program, which is a great initiative of MAWA. She has run workshops at different times, for students and teachers, including presenting at State and National Conferences, and her main focus is problem solving. Early in her career Rachel co-wrote a series of text books and more recently has been involved with writing worked solutions for current Year 12 text books.
She has 19 years experience teaching students remotely. Her work has seen her teach students all over Western Australia, as well as those studying the WA Curriculum but living in Europe and the US. One of Rachel’s goals each lesson is to ensure that students are actively involved in Mathematics, that they are doing concrete activities in class and moving around the room to different workstations or to participate in diverse activities. It is Rachel’s aim to engage students in Problem Solving, building skills that they will carry with them when they leave school. In 2020 Rachel joined the MAWA Board and is looking forward to being part of the Student Activities Committee.