Alumni Profiles

Peter Kell Senior Scholars

“Australia and the US are two of the most active participants in transnational and global education.”

Peter Kell is Professor and Head of the School of Education at Charles Darwin University. His work has a focus on global student mobility, the internationalisation of education and training in the Asia Pacific. He will study at the College of Education in the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) from January-June 2015.

His study is centred on internationalising the learning experience of postgraduate education in the Northern Territory through a collaborative Master of Education online program. The evaluation of the design, protocols and learning frameworks within this program will be used to initiate a global network in postgraduate learning in education involving the US and Australia.

“Australia and the US are two of the most active participants in transnational and global education. The next frontier is postgraduate education. This project will enable an active exploration that will assist students, academics and university administrators to understand how to use the new technologies of learning across the globe in new and innovative ways for mutual benefits.”

Matthew Crowley Professional Scholars

Matthew is currently General Counsel within Western Australia’s Department of Commerce, and practises extensively in regulatory law, and consumer protection in particular. Matthew is a lawyer admitted to practise in New York, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, the High Court of Australia, and Victoria, and has appeared as counsel in federal, State, and Territory courts and tribunals across Australia, including the highest State courts. Matthew holds undergraduate degrees with honours in English & History, and in Law, from Monash University in Melbourne, a Master’s degree in law from Monash, and is completing a doctorate in law at the University of Western Australia in Perth, where he is also a Visiting Lecturer from time to time. Matthew’s professional career and interests have been unusually broad, covering taxation, administrative law, customs & trade, family law & child support, employment, criminal law, property & leasing, banking & finance, native title, and ‘law enforcement’, and he has represented at least a dozen federal agencies in court. Matthew is also a reservist Legal Officer with the Royal Australian Navy.

Matthew is particularly interested in regulatory law systems, and in consumer protection regulation and modes of regulatory enforcement. Regulation is now the dominant mode of governance in developed economies, corresponding broadly with a withdrawal of government as provider of goods and services. The incapacity of legislatures to respond effectively to complex market systems has led to the rise and rise of ‘the regulator’. Matthew is also particularly interested in ‘civil penalty’ litigation as a mode of enforcement of regulatory systems. The ‘rediscovered’ civil penalty mode of enforcement, ancient in origin but with modern appeal, is a flexible and efficient tool in the regulator’s toolkit – a hybrid of criminal law-type sanctions and civil procedure – which has seen it being introduced into a wide range of regulatory schemes, which schemes are being introduced more widely. This ‘rediscovery’ in Australia has placed pressure on the courts to develop a consistent jurisprudence across jurisdictions, crystallized by its hybrid nature. In the United States a mature civil penalty jurisprudence already exists, yet many of the similar issues have never been entirely satisfactorily settled, and in fact have turned full circle. The United State’s Federal Trade Commission is arguably the world’s leading and most sophisticated exponent of regulatory law, including in particular consumer law and anti-trust (competition) law, which celebrated its centenary in 2014.

Matthew will be joining the Federal Trade Commission at its headquarters in Washington DC as an International Fellow. This will provide him with an opportunity to examine first-hand one of the world’s leading and most sophisticated regulators at a time in which the Global Financial Crisis has invited considerable public debate in the United States and Australia. This debate about regulators and regulatory systems has also focused on  the actual application of civil penalty litigation in the United States. Matthew will progress his doctoral work, a comparative analysis of civil penalty litigation in Australia and the United States as a Visiting Scholar, and hopes to meet with experts  in New York who preside over some of the biggest civil penalty cases in the world. He also hopes to meet American colleagues interested in cooperating on a forum for United States – Australia comparative law. Matthew can’t wait to share this experience with his fiancée and young family.

Timothy McEvoy Professional Scholars

“There are currently no treaties, whether bilateral or multilateral, by which judgments of Australian courts can be easily enforced in the U.S. and judgments of U.S. courts can be easily enforced in Australia. The absence of formal arrangements for the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments sits uncomfortably with the close political and economic relationship that exists between Australia and the U.S. It is time to take reform of this area of the law out of the too-hard basket.”

Dr Timothy McEvoy, a member of the Victorian Bar, will spend the Fall Semester of 2011 in the School of Law at the University of Virginia and at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. through one of two 2011 Fulbright Professional Scholarships in Australia-U.S. Alliance Studies sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. DFAT sponsored a second scholarship for 2011 as part of the celebrations for the 60th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program.

“There is increasing recognition that the absence of formal arrangements between Australia and the U.S. for the recognition and enforcement of judgments is a major impediment to the developing trade relationship between the two countries. By increasing the uncertainties associated with enforcing legal rights, the absence of formal judgment recognition and enforcement arrangements impacts adversely on investment decisions. It has a chilling effect on the expansion of trade relations and ultimately the economic growth and prosperity of both countries”, Dr McEvoy said.

“The Australia US Free Trade Agreement is alive to the problem which the absence of formal arrangements for the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments represents. It expresses a bilateral commitment to exploring the possibility of greater mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments obtained by the regulatory authorities of both countries in consumer protection cases.”

Dr McEvoy’s research will assess the desire for greater mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments expressed in the AUSFTA, and consider the potential form of a bilateral treaty for the recognition and enforcement of judgments between Australia and the U.S. An important part of his research will be consultation with key US stakeholders on the desirability and possible structure of a judgments recognition and enforcement convention with Australia.

Dr McEvoy has an LL.B (Hons) and an LL.M from the University of Melbourne, together with a BA in politics and history. In 1999 he received an SJD (Doctor of Juridical Science) from the University of Virginia. From 1998 to 2001 he was a member of the Australian delegation of experts to the Special Commission of the Hague Conference on Private International Law which drafted a global jurisdiction and judgments convention. He has been a Visiting Professor in the School of Law at the University of Virginia annually since 2001, and is currently the Senior Tutor in Law at Ormond College in the University of Melbourne. He sits on the board of the Parenting Research Centre and is married to fellow 2011 Fulbright Scholar Elizabeth Maynard. They have two daughters.

The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind, created by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and the U.S. Government in 1946. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it operates between the U.S. and 155 countries. In Australia, the scholarships are funded by the Australian and U.S. Governments and corporate partners and administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission in Canberra. Dr McEvoy is one of 26 talented Australians to be recognised as a Fulbright Scholar in 2011.

Dr Belinda Russon Professional Scholars

Belinda is a passionate adult education activist and is the CEO of Australia’s oldest indigenous education provider, Tranby.

Belinda’s Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Vocational Education and Training (VET) will examine the positive emotional, cultural and social factors associated with Indigenous learners in the VET sector, which contribute to resilience, self-motivation and academic success. Belinda will collaborate with Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and will evaluate the proven success of U.S. College leadership and mentoring programs. Findings from her research, will be used to engage and retain indigenous students across the Australian VET sector leading to higher graduation rates. Belinda seeks to promote the positive benefits of VET education and the inarguable impact that the acquisition of job-related and technical skills have on the lives of Indigenous learners and their communities. Her Fulbright Scholarship is a means to start a dialogue on the value of adult education and to create further opportunities for Indigenous adults in Australia.

Dr Jessica Lockery Postdoctoral Scholars

Jessica is a clinical informatician who is passionate about using data to improve community health and wellbeing. She completed her medical degree at the University of Adelaide and is currently undertaking a PhD at Monash University investigating ‘big data’, medicines and ageing.

Jessica will use her Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship to work with experts at the National Cancer Institute to investigate the relationship between aspirin, genetics and bowel cancer, a disease that affects many Australians and their families. Aspirin prevents bowel cancer in younger people, but recent research indicates that this effect may change with age. Using genetic data Jessica will study how certain genetic abnormalities alter the effect of aspirin on bowel cancer development – specifically in older people. This project is a key step towards identifying individuals who are likely to benefit from aspirin based on their genetic profile and provides a springboard for further research into ‘precision’ (genetic based) prevention. 

Sarah Boyd Postgraduate Students

Sarah is a gender equality policy specialist, Principal of The Gender Agency, and a Practitioner Fellow at Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre. She has worked as a diplomat, development practitioner, women’s rights activist and researcher for the Australian government (AusAID and DFAT), the UN, international NGOs and women’s rights organisations, including in postings to Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal and Timor-Leste. Sarah is passionate about the potential of feminist foreign policies to advance women’s rights and their representation in foreign policy and national security decision-making.

Through a Master of Public Administration, Sarah intends to sharpen her policy and leadership skills to address the global challenge of gender inequality. She will use her Fulbright scholarship to build academic, practitioner and policy linkages between the US and Australia, and create an Institute for Feminist Foreign Affairs to increase women’s leadership in foreign policy, international development and national security decision-making in the Asia-Pacific. Sarah earned a Bachelor of Commerce, Diploma of Modern Language (Chinese) and Master of Development Studies from the University of Melbourne, and is currently studying at the Melbourne School of Government.

Monique Chilver Postgraduate Students

Monique is a PhD candidate and program manager for the national influenza surveillance system – the Australian Sentinel Practices Research Network (ASPREN). Monique began working as the ASPREN program manager in 2009 during the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Her work has seen the surveillance system evolve from a simple, paper and web-based data collection system to include virological testing, automated data extraction, and point-of-care testing. Monique is passionate about improving the health of people in underserved populations. Her latest project, working with the University of Washington on the Australian arm of the Seattle Flu study – flu@home study – involved the assessment and enhancement of an in-home test for influenza, coupled with an app that collects patient symptom and risk-factor data. Through support from the Fulbright Commission and The Kinghorn Foundation, Monique will work with Professor Matthew Thompson and Associate Professor Barry Lutz at the University of Washington. Her work will focus on further enhancement of the flu@home app in a bid to create a cheap and accurate test for influenza that could be utilised by individuals without access to healthcare, or as a surveillance tool in countries that cannot afford traditional methods of surveillance. In addition, she will forge collaboration and research opportunities at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Through understanding how U.S. disease surveillance systems work, Monique plans to further enhance Australia’s influenza surveillance systems.

Amy Dennison Postgraduate Students

Amy works for the Northern Territory Government in energy and environment policy. She is interested in how government and industry can ensure the ecologically sustainable development of non-renewable resources. Amy has a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering with first class Honours and the University Medal and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales. She placed first and received the Dean’s Medal for her Master of Laws in Mineral Law and Policy from the University of Dundee in the UK. Amy has worked as an environmental engineer in India, a corporate lawyer in Sydney and New York, and with traditional Aboriginal owners as a land rights and native title lawyer in the Northern Territory.

Amy will use the Fulbright Scholarship to undertake a mid-career Masters of Public Affairs at a leading Public Policy school in the United States. Her long-term goal is to lead the development of policies and laws that will ensure the sustainable development of energy and resource projects in Australia.

Joshua Dunne Postgraduate Students

Joshua graduated from the University of Western Australia in 2018 with a Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours), having written his Honours dissertation on the subject of competing French and Chinese political influence within the North African state of Algeria. Joshua will utilise his Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a Masters’ Degree in International Security, consolidating his understanding of the modern threats and challenges facing states throughout the developing world, while retaining his personal focus on the ever-changing yet always relevant region of the Middle East and North Africa. Joshua hopes to apply his understanding of regional security challenges in a professional setting through a role within the Australian diplomatic corps, drawing upon his passion for interstate relationships and cross-cultural cooperation to help surmount the obstacles and challenges facing the developing world in the 21st century.

Stephen McAnearney Postgraduate Students

“Innovation and entrepreneurial drive within technology organizations has helped shape the world we live in. With a strong history of innovation and a continued commitment to this focus, the United States provides a positive environment in which to explore the elements necessary for successful and meaningful innovation. I hope to build on this experience and contribute to Australia’s leadership as an innovator in the biotech and healthcare industries.”

Stephen McAnearney, a recent graduate of the University of Western Australia has won a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to go to Columbia University in New York. Stephen is planning to undertake a Master’s degree in Management Science and Engineering focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation in high tech organizations, specifically within the healthcare and biotech industries.

“The program is designed to be broad based with the option to take courses in various departments including the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Business School, the School of International and Public Affairs and the Law School. This emphasizes a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to healthcare and technology innovation” Stephen said. Stephen hopes to explore the interaction between the healthcare industry and the emerging Web 2.0 technologies such as social and digital media organizations, cloud computing and high-speed internet services and the potential of these new technologies in improving clinical outcomes.

“Australia already has a history of innovation within the biotech industry and is now prioritizing the opportunities provided by the internet and other technologies at the Federal level. It is a crucial time to investigate the interaction between the healthcare industry and these technologies within the entrepreneurial context. This would help develop new products, services and organizations which provide meaningful and lasting improvements to patient outcomes and the wider community” Stephen said. Stephen has recently completed a BSc and BEng with First Class Honours at the University of Western Australia. He received various awards and scholarships including the Engineers Australia Sir Russell Dumas Medal for the top ranked final year student in the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics and the Convocation, UWA Graduates Association Prize for the most significant contribution to the Faculty. He also undertook a semester abroad at University College London and an internship at Harvard Medical School. While at UWA, he co-founded a student volunteer group, Engineering Happiness, dedicated to providing fun, science based programs for children in hospital and primary school students around Western Australia.

Dr Pallavi Prathivadi Postgraduate Students

Pallavi is a practicing family physician and PhD candidate at the Department of General Practice, Monash University. She is the Chair of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) Women-In-Medicine Committee and was named the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) National Registrar of the Year in 2019. Pallavi is passionate about improving safe pain management and palliative care worldwide. As a Fulbright Scholar, Pallavi will undertake her final two doctoral studies at the Stanford School of Medicine. This research will inform the development of a multifaceted intervention targeted at General Practitioners to encourage evidence-based prescribing of opioids in pain management. 

Celia Winnett Postgraduate Students

“Despite heightened debate in recent years over the prospect of a national bill of rights for Australia, there seems to be insufficient community or political will to introduce such a reform in the near future. The reality for lawyers is a challenging one: to protect the legal interests of minorities and other disadvantaged people, they must instead creatively harness the legal system we have.”

Ms Celia Winnett, a lawyer and former Associate to the Hon Justice Susan Crennan AC, High Court of Australia, has won a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to go to the U.S. for a year to further her legal career. Celia will examine the protection of civil liberties under the American Constitution and the scope that exists for drawing on these protections in the Australian context.

Celia says that the approach taken in the U.S. is an essential reference point for Australian lawyers and judges seeking to understand the liberty-protective properties of our own Constitution.

“Our federal structure was directly inspired by the U.S. model, and beyond the broad philosophical similarities between the two systems for the separation and division of powers amongst institutions and between governments, many Australian constitutional provisions echo aspects of the American Constitution,” Celia said.

Celia believes that greater protection of the legal interests of minorities in Australia can and should be achieved by developing the jurisprudence on the “negative liberties” contained in the Australian Constitution. These include the freedom to practise a chosen religion, hold property and engage in political discussion without undue interference from the federal government, and the safeguards flowing from the role of courts in the federation – liberties that were shaped by the American Constitution.

“By studying an LLM in American constitutional law at a leading U.S. university, I hope to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to Australian public life as a constitutional law barrister, advocating for an interpretation of the Australian Constitution that advances its negative liberties for the benefit of the vulnerable members of our community,” Celia said.

Celia has an LLB (Hons 1) and BA from ANU and a Grad Dip Legal Practice from the College of Law. She has won many awards and prizes including the University Medal in Law 2009, ACT Supreme Court Judges’ Prize 2009, India AUS Assoc ACT Prize 2009, ACT Bar Assoc Prize 2008, Thompson Prize 2007, George Knowles Prize 2005, ACT Baha’i Community Prize 2005 and Daphne Olive Prize 2005. She has also published a paper in a leading law journal on constitutional issues affecting Indigenous property, and was an intern at Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation, a native title representative body, in Geraldton (W.A.). In her spare time Celia enjoys netball, creative writing (poetry), French films, reading, singing and travelling.