Shirley O’Toole (Shel)
Shel has now attended the last three AFN conferences. It was the energy and inspiration she encountered at the conferences that led to her volunteering to convene AFN 2010.
Shel has been facilitating throughout her extensive career in human services and in 2007 established her business which is based in Hobart, Tasmania. Her main passion is facilitating creative and soul based processes that enable people to have a voice, whether that be about their personal life, their place of work or their community.
Shel is a singer/songwriter/storyteller and improviser. She is an advocate of social justice and uses her music to raise social issues such as child abuse, domestic violence and mental illness. She was a member of Hobart Playback Theatre Company until recently, taking on roles of conductor, actor and musician as well as training new members, mentoring and coaching. www.hobartplayback.com.au
Shel believes her most important roles are mother and grandmother and she thrives on spending time with her grand daughters.
Angela Percy
Angela is the Executive Officer to the Director of Housing Tasmania and general all round organiser.
When she’s not enjoying her new house with partner Rob and dog Titan, you can find her in front of a computer organising something!
Angela has been the Treasurer for the Hobart Playback Theatre Company since 2007, a position she was encouraged to take up by her close friend Shirley O’Toole who is a Playback member. Then in July last year Angela took on the role of Executive Officer to the Choir of High Hopes Hobart, a role that keeps her very busy indeed.
Angela isn’t a facilitator or member of the AFN, however, as with her Hobart Playback Theatre work, Shirley encouraged to help out on the creation team.
Angela is passionate about Tasmania having grown up about 40 minutes out of Hobart in the small town of Bagdad, more specifically East Bagdad where her Mother and Father still live, along with her brother and his family who live next door. She now lives a bit closer to Hobart, where she works.
Angela has travelled around the East Coast of Australia and even lived in Cairns for 5 months in her early 20s. She has also spent two glorious weeks in Auckland which included some sailing around the breathtaking Bay of Islands, however says there is still not a view in the world to compare with the beautiful view of the mountains from her mum and dad’s deck.
Michelle Howard
B.Ed., Grad Dip Urban Policy and Planning, Masters Social Science (R.M.I.T), Corporate Member PIA, CPP, Accredited Facilitator with International Association of Facilitators.
My interest in working with groups emerged from my involvement in non-violent social action and group devised theatre in the early 1980’s. I’ve been trying to grow-up since then! But I’m still hooked on the improvisation and the social change elements of my early work. I’m now managing director of Collaborations, involved in community engagement and community planning work around Australia, working with a wide range of agencies from the education, arts and environment sectors, development agencies and government departments to local community groups. It’s wonderful to be ‘coming home’ to Tassie for the AFN conference in 2010 – still my spiritual home!
Keith Ryall
Keith was born in Bendigo in rural Victoria and completed his tertiary education at Melbourne, Monash and RMIT Universities. Originally trained as a Maths and Science teacher, Keith has worked in various internal and external HR consultant levels as well as broader teaching, coaching, mentoring and facilitation work . He is a widower with 2 adult children, lives on a bush block in Research where he facilitated his first Open Space Workshop to assist the Asian Australian Association with their strategic planning; that workshop was subsequently reported on in the KL Straits Times. He has been working in facilitation since the mid 1990’s and received his Open Space training first through Laura Tsu from Taiwan ( at an IAF Asia Region Conference in Penang-Malaysia ) and then through the late Father Brian Bainbridge and Viv McWaters in Melbourne. He completed his Certified Professional Facilitator program with the IAF in 2005 and became an Assessor in 2007. Currently Keith is the Regional Representative for the IAF and has served on the Board since 2009. He regards the Mentor Program as one of his proudest involvements.
He runs his own Facilitation and Training business; Keith Ryall & Associates and is also a Director of The Facilitators Forum. In his spare time, he served on the International House Council at Melbourne University and is District Governor Nominee for Rotary District 9800 in Victoria .
Rhonda Tranks
I’m a Certified Professional Facilitator with the International Association
of Facilitators and an active member of the ANZ Regional leadership group. I
am also the Director of Illuma Consulting Pty Ltd and in this capacity work
in a facilitative way in almost all aspects of my business as a change
consultant, process facilitator, executive and team coach and trainer. I
conduct formal training and development programs for facilitators as well as
my mentoring role with the IAF Regional Facilitator Mentoring program.
My first foray into working in a “facilitative way” was as an organisational
trainer over 30 years ago. From here I moved into broader HR, management and
then consulting roles in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
My interest in working with groups and as a facilitator began many years ago
and this passion for bringing out the best in individuals and in the group
continues to just grow and develop over time. I believe that by getting
people to shift perspective and open up to new ways of thinking, great
change is possible.
Now settled back in my home city of Melbourne I’ve traveled quite a bit in
the past and have worked in USA, Mexico, China and Europe on projects
relating to HR, group facilitation, training and education – plus stints in
working in food, hospitality and tourism.
In my spare time, I take in as much as I can of Melbourne’s rich cultural
life and I love living close to the heart of the action. I also try to make
time for bike rides along the esplanade or the Yarra, for singing and for
cooking.
Special thanks to
Kim Willing from Groundswell
Andrew Smith from Parks & Wildlife
Jonathon Bedloe - Men’s Health DHHS