1. Where were you before this and what persuaded you to join Concordia College?

For the past five years, my role was Principal of Aspect Treetop School located in Ashford, catering for autistic students. Aspect is the shortened name for the not-for-profit organisation, Autism Spectrum Australia. It was an amazing experience and I have come away with a deeper understanding of autism and the importance of inclusion in all school settings. Being Principal in a highly specialised environment was both exciting and challenging. After five years I was ready to move in a new direction and amazingly the advertisement for an Inclusive Learning Coordinator here at Concordia popped up on my LinkedIn page, and the rest is history.

2. Three words to describe you.

Creative, insightful, compassionate.

3. What is your motivation or inspiration in your role?

Working to support our incredible teaching staff and our students is a constant motivation for me and my inspiration comes from always thinking about what’s possible. I love the opportunity to problem solve and my role gives me the opportunity to do this ongoing.

4. If you had a superpower, what would it be?

To be able to travel through time and see what the past was like but also the future.

5. Who would you invite to a dinner party of six guests and why? Alternatively, tell us something you might like to share that we could not possibly know?

My favourite guests at my dinner parties are my family members as we are spread across four states. Something you may not know about me is the origin of my name, which explains why it is just ‘Manda’, not Amanda nor Mandy! My mother named me ‘Manda Reggae’. Manda came from a perfume in the 1970s called ‘Aquamanda’. Mum liked the ‘Manda’ part of that name and she saw the name Reggae in a magazine and thought it would fit well. Mum’s an artist with a very creative imagination - so enough said!