Greater Sydney Area
Toni is a highly experienced senior leader in the higher education sector with extensive experience as a member/chair of boards and committees both within the university sector and in professional organisations. She has demonstrated ability at the organisational and sector levels in strategic planning, governance, change management, financial management, quality assurance (including regulatory compliance and risk management), project management and stakeholder engagement, particularly with governments, professions, and Indigenous organisations and communities. Through sustained scholarship and engagements with professions, Toni has improved educational outcomes in universities and schools in the effective use of digital technologies in education, gender, and technology; teacher education policy and practice; and through a history of commitment and activism in social justice and Indigenous Reconciliation. Toni's scholarly work has included numerous research and professional projects; over 70 publications; many keynote addresses; professional presentations and workshops; and over $1 million in research grants and consultancies. Toni is a distinguished speaker about digital technologies, gender, and curriculum, having delivered keynote addresses at conferences in Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK, Europe and Asia. keynote addresses, professional presentations and workshops and over $1 million in grants and consultancies. She has been a keynote or distinguished speaker at international conferences in New Zealand, US, England, Switzerland, Hungary, PNG, Thailand, Hong Kong, Wales, China, Finland and Norway. In 2011 Professor Downes was made a fellow of the Australian Teacher Education Association and the Australian College of Education for her career-long achievements in teacher education and the field of ICT in education.