Academic Council

Professor Shelley Kinash is an executive leader with over 30 years’ experience in tertiary education. Her substantive position is as Universal Higher Education’s Chief Academic Officer. In addition to the Academic Council, she is Chair Academic Board for another private tertiary education provider, enabling benchmarking and cross-fertilisation. Her ongoing research is practice-based, deriving impact on student voice and equity, and graduate career outcomes. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a Faculty-member of the Australasian Council on Open and Digital Education’s Learning Technologies Leadership Institute. As a teaching academic, she facilitated student learning in educational technology, inclusive education, teacher preparation and community rehabilitation and disability studies. As an executive leader across three Australian universities, she has led institution-wide quality, learning, teaching and student experience. This 360 approach to her career journey enables Professor Kinash to lead joined-up collaboration and communities of practice, facilitating high-quality experiences and outcomes for students, graduates, staff and communities.

Dr Florin Oprescu is a health promotion and communication specialist. His formal qualifications include medicine (MD), public health (MPH, PhD), business management (MBA) and education (Grad Cert). He works on initiatives including health promotion education, health communication, injury prevention, and translation of scientific findings into practical and accessible public health content, especially for vulnerable populations and limited resource settings. For example, his doctoral work explored health communication in online communities, including knowledge management and sharing for disability care. A recent health communication research project was in collaboration with the national health promotion charity Hello Sunday Morning led by USC graduate Chris Raine.

Florin’s experience encompasses a range of projects across topics and disciplines including medicine, nursing, paramedic science, occupational therapy, information technology, communication and education. He is currently contributing to programs and research designed to enhance teaching and learning in higher education, particularly in health disciplines. Examples include action research, first-year experience, assessment as learning and use of information technology in education. A research project example is Expert in my pocket: A mobile-enabled repository of learning resources for the development of clinical skills in student health professionals.

Associate Professor Barbara Parker is a Registered Nurse, holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours), Graduate Certificate in Education (Higher Ed) and a PhD (Medicine) from the University of Adelaide and has worked in both health and higher educational systems. Barb joined the University of South Australia in 2005 following an extensive clinical career in both public and private healthcare settings and undertook teaching, research, and leadership roles in the discipline of Nursing & Midwifery until 2017 when she was appointed the inaugural Academic Director: UniSA Online. In this role Barb was responsible for building and leading the academic team and activities in this new unit.

Since 2021 Barb has been the Executive Director: UniSA Online where she is responsible for the overall operation of the University of South Australia’s online unit that has a particular focus on delivering high quality fully online degrees and fostering a customer service culture to continually improve the experience of students. Barb is an experienced researcher and has published in the areas of nutrition, appetite regulation, diabetes, nursing and the use of simulation in education. Barbara is a Fellow of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation program and a member of the TEQSA Register of Experts.

Roberta is a Professor in Business Management at the college of Business, Government and Law at Flinders University. She the past director of the MBA and Masters of Business programs. She is also a past director of the MSc in Wine Business at the ESC Dijon Burgundy School of Business (France) and the Masters in Wine Business program and Chair of the University of Adelaide Wine Future Research Cluster. She has conducted consumer behaviour research and, more specifically, the drivers of premium purchase decisions respective to wine, tourism, international services and a range of other products and services extensively, nationally and internationally, in both established and developing markets. She is widely published in both academic and business publications. Roberta also has led a number of substantial research projects for Wine Australia. Additionally, Roberta has consulted and provided strategic advice to industry, education and government stakeholders across a wide range of business related activities; marketing planning, branding and positioning, export strategies, building business relationships and business planning.

Roberta has extensive international business experience, conducting research and/or consulting in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Singapore, Indonesia, India, China, Korea, Vietnam, Italy, Singapore and Germany.

Ema Davis is a degree qualified Australian Naturopath (BHSc), and an alumni of Endeavour College of Natural Health, Melbourne campus. Practicing primarily via TeleHealth, Ema is a proud member of the practitioner team at The ReMed Natural Medicine Clinic, founded by Director & Naturopath Keonie White. Ema’s clinical interest areas are women’s metabolic health and weight loss, with a keen focus on treating gut dysbiosis, nutritional deficiencies and hormonal imbalance as primary drivers of disease. Ema maintains her own primary naturopathic business, operating under the business name Ema Davis Naturopathy, and is registered through the NHAA.

Commencing her studies towards a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) through Endeavour College, Ema was awarded an Academic School Leavers scholarship in 2019. She was an active member of the Student Partners initiative (formerly known as the Student Representative Council) for four years, from 2019 through to 2022, and was invited to the national TEQSA conference in both 2019 and 2022. She accepted an invitation to join the Academic Council as a Student Representative in 2021 and 2022, and later became an Alumni member of the Council in 2023. Ema graduated with Distinction from Endeavour College in December 2022, achieving a graduating GPA of 6.7 / 7.

Professor Christy Collis brings over 30 years of higher education experience to the role of Endeavour’s Provost. Christy’s career focus is “making learning work”: ensuring that higher education works for all students, and that higher education learning connects to employment outcomes.

Christy has a strong track record in higher education leadership. Roles she has held include: acting Director of the USQ Central Learning and Teaching Unit, Associate Director of Academic Development for USQ, Founding Head of Department of Entertainment Industries at QUT, founding Head of QUT’s Creative Industries work-integrated learning program, Director of Research Quality for QUT’s Creative Industries faculty, Provost of ICHM and Provost of the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. She is a TEQSA Expert.

Christy is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a three-time elected executive member of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA), the peak body representing higher education research in Australia. She convened the 2023 HERDSA conference of over 700 delegates. She is a member of the Independent Tertiary Educational Council Australia (ITECA) National Policy Committee and its Regulatory Affairs Recognition Task Group.

As Dean of Higher Education at Endeavour College, May implements strategic initiatives that elevate curriculum quality and foster dynamic digital learning environments. With over two decades of experience in education, curriculum design, and academic leadership across Australia and internationally, May is dedicated to creating inclusive, engaging, and future-ready learning experiences.

At Endeavour College, May leads the development and implementation of a comprehensive online pedagogy that enhances student engagement in digital learning environments. She oversees the strategic use of the College’s learning management system, ensuring that both the platform and subject content align with contemporary pedagogical standards.

May holds a PhD in TESOL from James Cook University, which underpins her expertise in adult education theory and practice. Her research-informed approach to teaching and learning promotes autonomy, critical thinking, and deep learning. She thrives at the intersection of pedagogy, digital transformation, and student success, and is passionate about leveraging innovative design and technology to empower learners and educators alike.