“Volunteers Matter!”: Educators SA Marks National Volunteer Week by Honouring 140+ Local Educators
On Thursday night, the crucial but often hidden backbone of South Australia’s education system stepped into the spotlight as Educators SA hosted its sixth Volunteers’ Service Ceremony. Held during National Volunteer Week at Port Adelaide’s stunning new Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Yitpi Yartapuultiku, the event celebrated more than 140 dedicated educators who volunteer their time outside of regular school hours to drive the state’s educational landscape forward.
The ceremony officially added a vast new cohort to the Educators SA honour roll, which in its five previous events alone has acknowledged a collective 5,288 years of voluntary service to the South Australian learning community.
“Volunteering is all about legacy, about leaving something behind that is beyond your own self, and having a positive impact on those you engage with,” said Educators SA Chief Executive Lisa-Jane O’Connor. “Through your tireless actions, you have inspired, supported, and nurtured the educators of South Australia, significantly improving the learning lives of our children and young people.”
The evening brought together unique milestones of service across several generations:
Outstanding first-year volunteers were recognised as the future lifeblood of professional educator associations. The ceremony also paid tribute to milestone volunteers spanning 3+, 5+, 10+, 20+, 30+ years of service to the education community. Four educators achieved the remarkable 40+ years of service milestone: Graham Cox from Drama SA, and Mike Chartres, Kerry Hugo, and Rod Nancarrow from PMA MathsSA.
Hamilton Calder, Chief Executive Officer of Volunteers SA & NT, attended as a special guest to hand out certificates and explicitly praise the deep contribution these volunteers make to the ongoing economic and social prosperity of South Australia.
In alignment with the spirit of giving back, the ceremony also served a philanthropic purpose. The Educators SA foundation—Educators Care—officially announced its 2026 support for Operation Flinders. Kim Vanstone from Operation Flinders was present to accept a charitable donation on behalf of the organisation to help support their vital work transforming the lives of young people.
]The formal evening culminated in a powerful room-wide moment where more than 140 educators stood to face the balcony, raising their hands to shout, “Volunteers Matter!”—capturing the true essence of National Volunteer Week’s 2026 theme: Your Year to Volunteer.
Check out photos of the night here!
Outstanding 1st year
Piero Barazin – Language Teachers SA (MLTASA)
Fiona Brown – South Australian Wellbeing Leaders in Schools
Deanne Bullen – South Australian Philosophy in Education Association
Rebecca English – Mathematical Association of South Australia
Ksenia Filatov – South Australian Philosophy in Education Association
Jinghan Guo – The Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia
Demi Hebberman – Home Economics Institute of Australia SA
Sarah Horne – Australian Society for Music Education
Emily Jaensch – Ausdance SA
Kwok Kam – Language Teachers SA (MLTASA)
Louise Lawless – Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf
Jing Luo – Australian Association of Special Education
Beth Lyon – SA HALT Network
Phillipa Marsh – HaSS Association Australia
Penny McAlister – SA Association for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Owen Nicholson – HaSS Association Australia
Catherine Noack – SA HALT Network
David Nutchey – Indonesian Teachers’ Association of South Australia
Stephanie Palmese – Early Childhood Australia SA
Margaret Phiddian – Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf
Taylor Robinson – Ausdance SA
Trudy Surman – Ausdance SA
3+ Years of Service to the Education Community
Briony Ackland – Small Schools Association of South Australia
Catherine Alcock – Visual Arts Educators of South Australia
Joy Bartsch – Business and Enterprise Teachers’ Association of SA
Eleanor Behrens – Early Childhood Australia SA
Jonathon Bishop – Home Economics Institute of Australia SA
Sarah Bragg – South Australian German Teachers Association
Rachel Breeze – History Teachers Association of SA
Fiona Brown – Laboratory Managers Association of South Australia
Tim Budenberg – Mathematical Association of South Australia
Louisa Callus – South Australian Council for Adult Literacy
Stefania Chiro – South Australian Association of Teachers of Italian
Noeleen Curran – Educators SA
Emma de Brabant – Indonesian Teachers’ Association of South Australia
Ashlyn De Haas – Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf
Lucy De Palma – School Library Association of South Australia
Miriam Doull – South Australian Science Teachers Association
Tracy Gamlin – South Australian Council for Adult Literacy
Marisol Garcia – Spanish Teachers’ Association of South Australia
Werner Geldenhuys – Business and Enterprise Teachers’ Association of SA
Annelise Gill – South Australian German Teachers Association
Michael Goh – South Australian German Teachers Association
Kirsty Hart – Agricultural Teachers Association of South Australia
Claire Hughes – South Australian Science Teachers Association
Melissa Kerin – History Teachers Association of SA
Kerryn Lawson – School Library Association of South Australia
David Lepore – South Australian Association of Teachers of Italian
Scarlett Lucero – Legal Education Teachers Association of South Australia
Ana Marques Britto – Mathematical Association of South Australia
Tanya McKinna – Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf
Michelle McLeod – Mathematical Association of South Australia
Kate Osbourne – Visual Arts Educators of South Australia
Sally Oxenberry – Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia SA
Tina Photakis – Modern Greek Language Teachers Association of SA
Ron Pippett – History Teachers Association of SA
Laura Potter – Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf
Beth Purdy-Dart – Small Schools Association of South Australia
Vanessa Rawson – Australian Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools
Veronica Scheepers – School Library Association of South Australia
Paraskevi Siafaris – Modern Greek Language Teachers Association of SA
Katie Silva – School Library Association of South Australia
Chengsheng (Alex) Sun – Chinese Language Teachers Association of South Australia
Peter Tie – Business and Enterprise Teachers’ Association of SA
Danielle Toubia – Business and Enterprise Teachers’ Association of SA
Sarah Whitely – Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia SA
Katy Xavier – History Teachers Association of SA
Mitchell Yeates – Business and Enterprise Teachers’ Association of SA
Tanya Zerk – Indonesian Teachers’ Association of South Australia
Xianjie Zhou – The Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia
5+ Years of Service to the Education Community
Valeria Alonso – Spanish Teachers’ Association of South Australia
Josh Bottrall – Agricultural Teachers Association of South Australia
Sarah Boyle – Laboratory Managers Association of South Australia
Karen Butler – EdTechSA
Melissa Campbell – Legal Education Teachers Association of South Australia
Rita Carey – Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia SA
Jill Colton – Australian Literacy Educators’ Association
Alexandra Dalman – Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia SA
Felicity Davies – Australian Society for Music Education
Emily Dollman – Australian Society for Music Education
Suriya Down – Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia SA
Will Ellis – Legal Education Teachers Association of South Australia
Amy Farndale – Australian Literacy Educators’ Association
Judy Hanel – Drama SA
Jarrod Johnson – South Australian Science Teachers Association
Carol Le Lant – Australian Association of Special Education
Juanita Macleod – South Australian Council for Adult Literacy
Lyndsey Martin – Small Schools Association of South Australia
Dina Matheson – South Australian Science Teachers Association
Nicole Miller – South Australian Council for Adult Literacy
Peter Mitchinson – Small Schools Association of South Australia
Mitchell Neeb – South Australian German Teachers Association
Ilana Nicolle – Japanese Language Teachers’ Association of South Australia
Angela Phillips – SA HALT Network
Natasha Slee – Home Economics Institute of Australia SA
Jarrad Strain – Mathematical Association of South Australia
Jenny Wei – Out of School Hours Care Association SA
10+ Years of Service to the Education Community
David Albano – History Teachers Association of SA
Damien Brookes – Agricultural Teachers Association of South Australia
Samara Churchett – Australian Society for Music Education
Sandra Di Fava – Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf
Linda Fahy – SA Association for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Elizabeth Gary-Smith – SA HALT Network
Vicki Hartman – South Australian Council for Adult Literacy
Teresa Howie – South Australian Council for Adult Literacy
Michael Jacobsen – Economic Teachers’ Society of South Australia
Hannah King – Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf
Irene Kiroff – Mathematical Association of South Australia
Chris Morrison – Small Schools Association of South Australia
Samantha Penny – The Music Teachers’ Association of South Australia
Cassie Pope – Australian Band and Orchestra Directors’ Association
Jonathon Rice – Australian Band and Orchestra Directors’ Association
Zelly Ritter – South Australian Wellbeing Leaders in Schools
Frankie Roberts – Australian Literacy Educators’ Association
Dimitra Rozaklis – Modern Greek Language Teachers Association of SA
Aunty Suzanne Russell – Early Childhood Australia SA
Niki Takos – South Australian Special Education Principals and Leaders Association
Bobbie Taylor – South Australian Wellbeing Leaders in Schools
Blake White – Indonesian Teachers’ Association of South Australia
20+ Years of Service to the Education Community
Bruce Baker – Australian Association for Environmental Education
Amy Blaylock – Australian Association for Environmental Education
Paula Hensing – Legal Education Teachers Association of South Australia
Teresa Howie – SA Association for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Susan Jackson – Early Childhood Australia SA
Phil Roberts – Agricultural Teachers Association of South Australia
Tanya Siebert – South Australian German Teachers Association
Jacki Victory – Laboratory Managers Association of South Australia
30+Years of Service to the Education Community
David Doherty – Australian Association for Environmental Education
Penny Hewson – Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia SA
Keith Huxtable – Australian Society for Music Education
Claire Loades – Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf
Matthew Noble – Economic Teachers’ Society of South Australia
40+ Years of Service to the Education Community
Mike Chartres – PMA MathsSA
Graham Cox – Drama SA
Kerry Hugo – PMA MathsSA
Rod Nancarrow – PMA MathsSA
