Our Staff


Sydney

Chi Man Lau

Chi has worked as an independent contractor for many years specialising in RTO compliance, assessment validation, designing high quality customised training programs within the Transport and Logistics, Business Services and Training and Education Training Packages and delivering training and conducting assessment.

Chi holds a Bachelor of Education (Adult Education) Human Resource Development major, UTS; Certificate IV TAE and Certificate IV in Transport & Distribution (Road Transport). Chi has also worked for 10 years as a Principal Instructor for Safety Strategies Pty Ltd, a specialist provider of personal safety programs to the government and private sectors.

A passionate trainer with a genuine interest in helping candidates, Chi is a great example to trainee trainers of what skills a well-rounded vocational trainer should possess.


Deanne Whiteley

Just prior to joining CBD College, Deanne had spent the last two years working with a major RTO developing and facilitating classroom based training and assessment for TAE40110. She has also been a long distance student tutor/trainer and assessor for TAE40110. She has also managed and assessed the TAE upgrade process and been involved in review and validation of learning and assessment material.

Prior to this Deanne spent several years with consulting companies in Victoria and spent several years before that in Boston, USA at a local community education centre offering a range of courses for adults. Deanne taught a range of short courses covering job search, career development and resume writing.

Deanne's primary role with CBD College is assessor of both the classroom-based student TAE submissions and also RPL submissions. Her specialty is TAA to TAE upgrades. She is also an occasional TAE trainer.

Deanne holds a Bachelor of Business (double major - Human Resources Management and Catering and Hotel Management) as well as a TAE40110 Cert IV in Training and Assessment.


Joanne Power

Joanne is one of our highly skilled team of TAE trainers and assessors. Based in Sydney, she is responsible for liaising with students regarding their assessments, training on a regular basis and is actively involved in continuous improvement strategies across the courses in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Joanne comes from a workplace training background. She spent 12 years at Adecco Group where she worked her way up to be National Training Manager and was responsible for national training needs analysis, delivery and facilitation across the network of branches including sales, service delivery and product knowledge. Her previous positions have also included Training Co-ordinator at Clarins and senior HR positions in a number of large companies.

Jo holds the TAE40110 Cert IV in Training and Assessment.


Joanna Gee

Joanna graduated with a Degree in Education from the University of Newcastle (1994) and a Masters in Education from the University of Sydney (2005). She spent the first few years of her teaching career as a foundation teacher in a new independent school north of Newcastle, followed by a stint overseas teaching for four years in London, before returning to Australia and teaching at St Catherine's School, Waverley and at Wahroonga Public School. Joanna also spent several years teaching undergraduate students in their final years of a Bachelor of Education degree at Macquarie University.

Joanna's strong interest in educational research and trends and in particular, her views on student centred learning and learning by doing, have helped to shape the unique TAE course that CBD College offers. As well as her degrees, Joanna holds her Cert IV TAE. She is an assessor, and occasional trainer for CBD College in Sydney.

Jo holds the TAE40110 Cert IV in Training and Assessment.

In 2001 she was the recipient of a NSW Minister for Education and Training and Australian College of Education Quality Teaching Award.

Steve Barrett

Steve has spent his whole working career in occupational health and safety, starting at WorkCover New South Wales. He worked there for seven years before leaving for similar roles in private enterprise.

There is not much with regards to safety that Steve has not seen or been involved in, in his long career. Highlights include acting in the position of National OH&S Manager of a major Australian company, conducting countless training/auditing/site inspections, delivering general and site specific OH&S inductions in the field.

Steve finds great stimulation in training others and he enjoys the passing on of his years of knowledge of safety procedures and OHS legislation to future safety officers.

Steve holds a Bachelors Degree in Occupational Health and Safety. Steve also holds a Cert IV TAE.

Perth

Kerry Couchman

Kerry Couchman trains our Certificate IV in Training and Assessment courses in Perth. She has also been assessing this qualification for the last few years for CBD College. Her student feedback is amazing and talks of her ability to explain topics clearly and being a fine example for students to follow when they are out training and assessing others.

Kerry is also a specialist first aid trainer. First Aid trainers with the qualifications, vocational experience and natural aptitude with students are hard to find, but Kerry possesses all of these things. She is a nurse of 17 years experience and has more recently worked for many years as a first aid trainer and area manager for St John Ambulance. She has also owned and operated her own restaurant.

Kerry has a passion for training and for helping others. Her professional interests include occupational health and safety and investigating alternative assessment methods for students with special needs.

Kerry Couchman

Kerry has been involved in the development of OHSMS systems and is very experienced in facilitating induction programs for a number of organisations. She is skilled in developing team knowledge of and compliance of OHS/WHS policy and procedures and has been actively involved as a HSR and has been a member of a health and safety committee.

Her OHS/WHS training experience includes currently delivering Cert IV and Diploma of OHS/WHS for CBD College and has previously been a contract trainer for introduction to OHS for the Diploma and Cert III in children’s services at Holmesglen TAFE.

Kerry’s experience extends to managing large teams with a focus on utilising the resource of the experience of the team to promote a positive approach to OHS and problem solving.

Kim Savage

Kim has been working as a first aid trainer with the Australian Red Cross in the Northern Territory for the past four years. She has extensive experience training indigenous people in Apply First Aid, First Aid for Parents and Caregivers, Anaphylaxis, CPR and Occupational First Aid. Prior to that time, she worked as an ambulance paramedic, providing emergency medical care to people for over 15 years. Her combined skills and experience in training and paramedic work make her uniquely qualified to impart first aid lessons from real life circumstances she has actually encountered. She is passionate about the field of health and education.

As well as a wealth of first aid qualifications, Kim holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment.

Vanessa Fisher

Vanessa is a Paramedic with a Bachelor of Health Science in Paramedicine. Along with working as a full-time Ambulance Paramedic for 10 years in the Perth Metropolitan area, she has also manned Medical Clinics off shore and in the remote north of Western Australia.

Along with being an on-road tutor of full-time student ambulance officers, Vanessa also has extensive experience in training people in varying medical courses. Vanessa’s background in emergency medicine makes her an ideal and passionate educator in first aid with the ability to draw on examples she encountered as a Paramedic. Vanessa holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment.

Katrina Atkinson

Katrina is a Paramedic with an Advanced Diploma of Health Science in Paramedicine. She has extensive experience in providing emergency medical care to people as a Paramedic for 15 years in the Perth Metrolpolitian area and 6 years manning Medical Clinics in the remote North West of Australia and offshore in the Bass Strait for major mining companies.

Along with being an on-road tutor of full-time student ambulance offices and Katrina’s vast experience in emergency medicine makes her an ideal and passionate educator in First Aid with the ability to draw on real life situations she has encountered as a Paramedic.

Katrina holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment.

Melbourne

Brian Uren

Brian has had vast experience in training and mentoring over the past 30 years though a variety of senior management roles. He has held positions as Sales Director and General Manager of a number of different marketing companies, both privately and publically listed, as well as long periods as CEO/ Director of Sales/Marketing and Internet Marketing businesses respectively.

We are lucky to have Brian training our TAE training courses in Melbourne as well as assessing completed student assessments.

Kerry Couchman

Kerry Couchman trains our Certificate IV in Training and Assessment courses in Melbourne. She has also been assessing this qualification for the last few years for CBD College. Her student feedback is amazing and talks of her ability to explain topics clearly and being a fine example for students to follow when they are out training and assessing others.

Kerry is also a specialist first aid trainer. First Aid trainers with the qualifications, vocational experience and natural aptitude with students are hard to find, but Kerry possesses all of these things. She is a nurse of 17 years experience and has more recently worked for many years as a first aid trainer and area manager for St John Ambulance. She has also owned and operated her own restaurant.

Kerry has a passion for training and for helping others. Her professional interests include occupational health and safety and investigating alternative assessment methods for students with special needs.

Ian Freeman

Ian Freeman holds an Advanced Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety, an Advanced Diploma of Management, a Diploma of Hospitality Management and a Cert IV TAE. Ian originally came from the hospitality industry where he spent many years as a safety officer and Kitchen Manager. Since then, Ian has had extensive experience training Diploma and Cert IV OHS as well as Diploma and Cert IV Hospitality management. This strong training background has seen him develop skills in mentoring students, designing and delivering off site training workshops and developing training and assessment material for Certificate III to Advanced Diploma level classes.

In his most recent position as OHS Manager and Trainer at the Australian National Institute of Business and Technology, Ian was responsible for completing safety audits, risk assessments and producing health, safety and wellbeing programs for internal and external stakeholders. He was also responsible for resource development on a significant scale.

Ian comes on board with CBD College as our permanent OHS trainer in our new training room in the Paramount Centre, Melbourne.

Kerry Couchman

First Aid trainers with the qualifications, vocational experience and natural aptitude with students are hard to find, but Kerry possesses all of these things. She has been with CBD College in Melbourne for two years and has been an integral part of the First Aid and TAE teams.

Kerry is a nurse of 17 years experience and has more recently worked for many years as a first aid trainer and area manager for St John Ambulance. She has also owned and operated her own restaurant.

Kerry has a passion for training and for helping others. Her professional interests include occupational health and safety and investigating alternative assessment methods for students with special needs.