Celebrate International Women’s Day

This International Women’s Day we invite you to celebrate the impact of women at ACU through an online panel discussion on Tuesday 8 March, from 12pm–1pm AEDT / 11am–12pm AEST.

The International Women’s Day theme for 2022 is #BreakTheBias, which calls on us to imagine a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. Inspired by this theme, the 'Women who lead' panel discussion will focus on women in leadership, empowering women and how we can support future generations to succeed.

Chaired by ACU Chief People Officer Anna Phillips and Deputy Provost Professor Chris Lonsdale, the event will be an opportunity for you to hear from women across ACU about their experiences.

'Women who lead' panelists

During the event you will hear from a range of women who are leading the way at ACU.

Dr Margriet Wooldridge – Chief of Staff
Margriet Wooldridge has more than 20 years commercial experience, including as COO, director, senior executive and company secretary in the higher education sector, corporate environments of listed and unlisted companies, as well as in the financial sector. Her work experience is predominantly in strategic business initiative development and implementation, operational performance improvement, stakeholder relations and complex business transactions.

Margriet joined ACU in 2015, working in the Office of Planning and Strategic Management as well as the Office of the Deputy Chief Operating Officer. Since November 2021, Margriet has been ACU’s Chief of Staff. As Chief of Staff, Margriet contributes to and coordinates timely high-level advice to the Vice-Chancellor and President, critical in the context of operating in the higher education sector.

Dr Dawn LaValle Norman – Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
Dawn LaValle Norman is a Senior Research Fellow in Early Christian Studies at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry. Her research focuses on the literature of the first to fourth century CE, which proved to be an important period of change for women’s position in society and participation in intellectual life. Her current project looks at the role that women play in philosophical dialogues from Plato to Augustine, tracking how male writers use their voices to speak about the emotions. She is also interested in what can be recovered about the lives of women in the ancient world and recently edited a volume on Hypatia of Alexandria, our most famous ancient female philosopher.

Professor Joy Damousi – Director, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences
Joy Damousi is Director of the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences. She is a Professor of History and immediate past president of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Joy is also the author of numerous books, including The Labour of Loss: Mourning, Memory and Wartime Bereavement in Australia (Cambridge, 1999); Living with the Aftermath: Trauma, Nostalgia and Grief in Post-war Australia (Cambridge, 2001); Freud in the Antipodes: A Cultural History of Psychoanalysis in Australia (UNSW Press, 2005; winner of the Ernest Scott Prize) and Colonial Voices: A Cultural History of English in Australia 1840-1940 (Cambridge 2010). Her current research includes war, trauma and post-war Greek migration to Australia; sound and the two world wars; and child refugees and war.

Fiona Manoa – Manager, First Peoples Directorate
Fiona Manoa is responsible for the management of multiple budgets, administration, reporting and various projects for the First Peoples Directorate. Prior to her career at ACU, she worked extensively in the areas of youth justice advocacy, finance, human resources, community philanthropy and engagement, and corporate insurance.

Fiona’s passion to provide a voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth who had been served with justice orders, as well as their families and communities, saw her lead community to seek social justice and policy change with various authorities including the Minister for Justice and Premier. She went on to recreate her career to better serve her community. This decision led to further education, and she graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Commerce from ACU. Following graduation, Fiona began her new career with ACU in a graduate position.

Outside of work, Fiona dedicates her time to her four children and is active in her community, supporting and advocating when necessary.

Event details

When: 12pm–1pm AEDT /11am–12pm AEST on Tuesday 8 March
Where: Teams Live – click this link to attend the event

We encourage you to add these details to your calendar and make time to join with colleagues across ACU to celebrate International Women’s Day 2022 on 8 March.