About Us
Our Principles
Effective critical thinking and communication are essential for the personal development of young people. These skills are also valued across most professions. Supporting students to master these essential aspects of their learning underpins our educational philosophy.
We continually evaluate our pedagogy to improve the resources and programs we create, seeking to engage and challenge students. We believe fun is the friend of effective learning. We are passionate about providing opportunities that extend a student’s understanding of the world, their sense of self, and their ability to contribute positively to their community.
To realise these goals, the Consensus Education Foundation funds access to a range of programs for students and schools in need. Addressing educational disadvantage is a core goal of our charity.
Contact Details
Have a question? Our details are below — or you can send us a message now.
EMAIL: info@consensuseducation.org.au
PHONE: 0422 530 846
Our Mission
-
Providing opportunities for the development of critical thinking and communication skills for school students aged 9—18
-
Offering continuous professional development for teachers in communication and critical thinking skills.
-
Fostering engagement with, and raising the profile of, higher order thinking and speaking skills within Australia.
-
Providing students and schools facing disadvantage with sponsored programs in an effort to advance educational equity.
Our Sponsors
We greatly appreciate the generous support for Consensus from across the Australian community.
Our Charity’s work is made possible by time donated by our staff and volunteers, by individual donations from the families of our students and from the public, by funding from our paid courses and services, and through large grants from the following organisations:
Braidwood and Bungendore
Community Bank
Our founding sponsor — funding tuition for ThinkTank and in-person workshops for the Southern Tablelands since 2022.
The Federal and State Governments through the Office for Regional Youth
Funding in-person workshops and an online course for the South-East of NSW in 2023.
The Queanbeyan Palerang
Regional Council
Funding an in-person workshop for the Southern Tablelands in 2023.
Mary MacKillop Today
Funding in-person workshops across regional
NSW in 2024.
Julian Davies and James Smith, our founding staff, have both worked closely with schools over the last fifteen years using a combination of explicit teaching and guided dialogue to run classes and workshops in critical thinking, debating, public speaking and media studies. The understanding gained through this work, and our many discussions with teachers and school leaders, has helped us appreciate the clear need for broader and deeper education in creative critical thinking and communication skills.
The development and maintenance of very high standards of instruction are key to the Foundation being able to effectively reach and assist as many students as possible. Continuing to train a squad of tutors in the pedagogic skills and techniques that equip them for high-level teaching is an essential aspect of our work.
We value interacting with professional educators, and have worked with many schools, as well as with peak educational bodies such as the NSW Department of Education, Australian Independent Schools, the Catholic Education Office, the ACT Teacher Quality Institute, and the NSW Educational Standards Authority.
Our Team
Management Team
Julian Davies | Executive Officer
Julian has worked both professionally and as a volunteer in schools for more than 15 years, teaching public speaking, debating, media studies—all with a particular focus on critical thinking. Between 2018 and 2020 he planned and taught what may well be the first dedicated critical thinking course to be run in an Australian school. He has achieved consistent success in mentoring students from regional schools through to state finals in public speaking and debating. For the Primary Schools State Debating Championships state finals in 2023, he coached the Illawarra South-East Primary State Debating Squad who went on to become state champions. Away from teaching, Julian is the author of seven novels and co-author of two non-fiction books. He is also the publisher at Finlay Lloyd, an independent, non-profit press.
James Smith | Education Officer
James is the one of the most experienced school debating, public speaking and critical thinking educators in Australia and has run programs and workshops in these skills for the last 17 years. Teams he has coached have won every division of the Premiers Debating Challenge multiple times. He has served as the Chief Adjudicator for the Greater Public Schools Debating Competition, the Schools Debating Network, and as a NSW Combined High Schools selector. James has adjudicated multiple state finals for debating and public speaking and is the current coordinator for the Plain English Speaking Award in the ACT. He is the current selector for the Northern Sydney Regional Junior State Debating Squad and the coach of the Hunter Central Coast Primary State Debating Squad, who were undefeated at the State Championships in 2022.
Haddie Davies | Lead Educator
Haddie has worked as a public speaking and debating adjudicator for the NSW Department of Education, a debating coach, and a private tutor. At school, she reached the state finals of the Premiers Debating Challenge for Years 7&8, and represented her region in the finals of Junior State Debating Competition for Years 9&10. She was also a semi-finalist in the Legacy public speaking competition, and twice a state semi-finalist in the Plain English Speaking Award. She has completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney as a Dalyell Scholar and is currently studying a Master of Film and Television at the Victorian College of the Arts.
At Consensus, we take our duty of care seriously.
We believe that all steps should be taken to ensure that students learn in a safe and supportive environment. Download our Duty of Care Policy here.
Tutoring Team
Jack Wasson | Lead Tutor
Jack is studying Social and Economic policy at UC and currently co-authoring an article with a professor on campus about the pricing of digital currency. He represented his university at the annual Nudgeathon competition last year where various uni’s and thinktanks competed to suggest a policy solution to a pressing issue. He is a debating coach, an adjudicator for the NSW Department of Education, and the Northern Sydney regional selector for the Junior State Debating Championship. Jack has plans to start teaching in tertiary education as well as being involved in research around educational policy.
Josh Herridge | Tutor
Josh is a Tuckwell Scholar at ANU studying Maths and Physics. He’s had extensive debating experience, reaching the state finals of the Premiers Debating Challenge in 2023, and has taught numerous debating workshops with Consensus Education. Josh has a breath of teaching experience as an academic mentor at his residential college, a high school tutor for the past three years, and a coach of his college ultra trail-running team. He’s currently working on a body of research to collate data on people and nature relations in the ACT in order to evaluate environmental policy decisions.
Chriso Chindilas | Tutor
Chriso has worked as a critical thinking tutor, debating coach and adjudicator for over 5 years with students across NSW. He has a passion for sharing creative ways of thinking with a practical focus on how to use skills in the real world. He studied a Bachelor of Commerce and Law at the University of Sydney. During university, he’s represented teams at the national and state level for debating, mock legal negotiations, and business consulting competitions. In his spare time he enjoys writing about films, and reading about economics and philosophy.
Jorja Casamento | Tutor
Jorja is currently studying a Bachelor of Political Science and Bachelor of Economics at ANU as a Tuckwell Scholar. She has extensive experience as a debater in ISDA, SND, and Archdale competitions, winning the 2023 Asia-Pacific Debating Championships, alongside being a representative public speaker. She is currently working as an adjudicator for the FED competition, has previously coached high school debating teams, and has established a North Sydney-based Model United Nations competition.
Tara Broso | Tutor
Tara currently works as a program assistant for the Foundation for Young Australians running a civic engagement and education program in Wollongong. This saw them coordinate the first youth for youth election in NSW. They were an accomplished debater and public speaker throughout high school and assisted coaching younger students. This year they completed a Diploma of Arts and Humanities from UOW. Outside of work they facilitate community learning initiatives concerning disability justice and advocacy.
Jared Atherton | Tutor
Jared Atherton is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Western Civilisation as a Ramsay Scholar at the Australian Catholic University. During high school, he was actively involved in the debating scene, culminating in his team reaching the finals of the 2023 NSW Premier’s Debating Challenge. Beyond his academic pursuits, Jared is an accomplished violinist, having achieved his AMusA diploma in 2025. He performs regularly with both the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Lawyers Orchestra, and also teaches violin to primary and high school students.
Makenzie Mayne | Tutor
Makenzie is currently pursuing a double degree in Business and Law at the University of Technology Sydney. As a dedicated member of the UTS Debating Team, she will be representing the university at the 2025 Easters National Tournament. Beyond her studies, she has extensive experience in debating and public speaking, working as a coach at Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College. She has competed in debating competitions such as ISDA, SDN, and Archdale, and as a qualified adjudicator, she has been able to further contribute to the debating community.
Joel Huxley | Tutor
Joel has extensive experience in both music and debating, having tutored students to achieve success in AMEB examinations and the Premier’s Debating Challenge. He is currently studying Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney and aspires to pursue Medicine as a postgraduate degree. Joel represented North Sydney at the Junior State Debating Championship, captained his high school team to regional success, and currently works as a debating adjudicator for the Department of Education. Upon graduating in 2024, he received the All-Rounder’s Award for Academic Excellence.
Eric Moore | Tutor
Eric is a first year Politics, Philosophy, and Economics student at ANU, and a 2025 recipient of the Country Education Foundation grant. He is an experienced debater and public speaker, as a regular member of his high school’s debating team from 2019-2024 and state semi-finalist in the Plain English Speaking Competition 2024. Eric hopes to become a political analyst, a comedian or a musician. As an educator, Eric’s specific passion is to share his love of creative and zany verbal performance with students and peers.
Sammy Lee | Tutor
Sammy is currently studying a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering honours and a Bachelor of Arts at UNSW. She has had extensive debating experience in high school, as an ISDA, Archdale, SDN, and IGSA representative debater, as well as in university, as a debater at Easters and adjudicator at AWGMDC. Her teaching experience includes working as a primary and high school tutor, as well as a public speaking and debating coach for FED, Archdale, and SDN competitions.
Annie Taylor | Tutor
Annie is currently studying a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) at the University of Sydney as a Dalyell Scholar. In high school she completed the IB Diploma Programme, graduating with distinction, and enjoyed debating as an extracurricular activity for several years. Most notably, she competed in the ISDA and Archdale debating competitions, and was a regional finalist in the Plain English Public Speaking Award. She also has experience coaching younger students in debating, supporting the development of their public speaking and critical thinking skills.
Elise Boyle | Tutor
Elise is currently studying a Bachelor of Science (Advanced) at the University of Sydney as a Dalyell Scholar. She is an experienced debater having participated in the ISDA, SDN and Archdale competitions and has competed as an IGSA debating representative. She received a distinction in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and was awarded the North Shore Medal. Elise has a passion for fostering students’ critical thinking, evidenced through her experience as a high school tutor and debating coach.
Comments about our Tutors
Our Board
Dr Bidda Jones AM
Dr Bidda Jones AM GAICD is the cofounder and Director of Strategy and Research at the Australian Alliance for Animals. Previous to that, she was the Chief Scientist and Strategy Officer at RSPCA Australia for twenty-five years. She is an Honorary Associate at the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney. Bidda has a long-term interest in public education and is the partner of Consensus Executive Officer, Julian Davies.
Dr Joel Armstrong
Joel Armstrong is a doctor based in the Riverina region of NSW. He was a recipient of the Rural Doctors Network Cadet Scholarship. Since 2015 Joel has also worked for the NSW Department of Education in the speaking competitions office and has adjudicated competitions across metropolitan and rural NSW. He also volunteers teaching medical students at the University of NSW Wagga Wagga campus.
Dr Meredith McKinney
Dr Meredith McKinney is currently an Honorary Associate Professor at the Australian National University. She lived and taught in Japan for 20 years, and since returning to Australia has published numerous translations of classical and modern Japanese literature. She volunteers tutoring school-age students.