Education
- University of Melbourne, Bachelor of Arts, 1987 – 1990
- Università per gli Stranieri, Intermediate and Advanced courses in Italian language, history, cinema & art, Florence, 1988
- University of Melbourne, single unit, Fine Arts, 1991
- La Trobe University, single unit enrolment in Drawing and Life Drawing, Bachelor of Visual Arts, Mildura, 2005
- Hospitality related courses including Hospitality Certificate III & IV, 1998; Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training, Sunraysia Murray Group Training, Mildura, 2001; The Hospitality Supervisor, Eldred Hospitality, Melbourne, 2006
- La Trobe International College, Cambridge CELTA Course, Melbourne, 2010
- La Trobe University, single unit enrolment Introduction to Sociology, Bachelor of Arts, Mildura, 2011
- RMIT, Associate Degree, Professional Writing and Editing, Melbourne, 2016 – current
Employment
Mildura Grand Hotel, 1991 – 2000. A family-run business in which I gained extensive experience in all areas of hospitality, including experience in the overseeing of the renovation of a commercial property.
- Front receptionist and hotel reservations, two years
- Front-of-house Manager, Stefano’s Restaurant, six years
- Functions Manager, three years
- Café Manager, 27 Deakin, four years
- General management including accounts, human resources and recruitment
- Agent and assistant to Stefano de Pieri, celebrity cook, restaurateur, arts enthusiast and environmentalist
Stefano’s related businesses 2000 – 2010. I continued to fulfil the above roles, but now as a proprietor and director of Stefano’s Restaurant, The Avoca Restaurant, Stefano’s Café Bakery, Cellar Door and Bar, and Gallery 25.
Sunraysia Institue of TAFE, April 2010 – December 2010. Employed as a sessional teacher of English Language in the Language, Literacy and Work Skills Department.
Language teacher for DIAC #2 – program developed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to introduce work skills and language to migrants (in this case, Afghan men).
La Trobe University, Mildura Campus, September 2010 – December 2010. Employed as program coordinator and teacher of University Bridging Program – An Introduction to Tertiary Studies, Student Services Division.
Mildura Brewery and Stefano’s Restaurant, August 2012 – present. Owner of both businesses in partnership with Stefano de Pieri. (Mildura Brewery was sold in February 2017).
Arts related interests & other activities
- Volunteer, Migrant Home Tutor Program, Melbourne 1989
- Member of the Dante Alighieri Society, Mildura branch, 1992 – 1996
- Founder, with Stefano de Pieri, of the Mildura Wentworth Arts Festival, began 1995
- Chair, Mildura Writers Festival, 1995 – present
- Co-founder, Gallery 25, Mildura, 2003 – 2016
- Board member, artsmildura, 2004 – 2009
- Co-curator with Luci Callipari-Marcuzzo, EveN, an exhibition of works by women artists with links to the Sunraysia region, held during Mildura Arts Festival and reviewed by Steve Naylor, Sunraysia Daily
- Volunteer, Murray River International Music Festival, 2005 – 2009
- Artistic advisory committee member, Mildura Wentworth Arts Festival, 2006 – 2008
- Organiser of Italian cultural weekend festival, ‘Con Brio’, Mildura, February 2008
- Curator of photography exhibition, ‘Portrayed’, Stefano’s Gallery 25, 2008
- Committee member, Palimpsest Mildura, 2009 – 2011
- Interviewer, Mildura Writers Festival, In Conversation with Kate Jennings, July 2010
- Curator of poetry (Jillian Pattinson) and photography (David Pattinson) exhibition, ‘The Still Point’, Stefano’s Gallery 25, July, 2011
- Interviewer, Mildura Writers Festival, In Conversation with Evelyn Juers, July 2012
- Curator of photography exhibition, ‘Frank’s View: photography from the studio of Frank Zaetta (1908 – 1993)’, Stefano’s Gallery 25, December 2012
- Curator and moderator, Living Well, a panel discussion featuring experts on mindfulness, yoga, education, and the Slow Food movement, 2015
- Committee member of visual & written submissions, & events, Visible Ink Collective, 2016
- Text Coordinator and contributor to Kororoit Creek Shared Trail Sculpture Commission with Geoffrey Ricardo, 2017
Publications
- Co-editor with Paul Kane, Vintage, Celebrating Ten Years of the Mildura Writers’ Festival, 2004, Hardie Grant Books
- Co-editor with Paul Kane, Letters to Les, A Collection of Prose and Poetry in Celebration of Les Murray, 2005, self-published
- Co-author with Stefano de Pieri, Beyond the Great Divide, pp 139–146, Reflected Light, La Trobe Essays, Black Inc., 2006
Articles
- ‘The Past Made Present’, review of The Seal Wife, Mildura performance by the Old Van Theatre Company, RealTime Arts Magazine, Issue 85, 2008
- ‘Holding Pattern’, book review of Two Greeks by John Charalambous, Australian Book Review, no 335, October 2011,
- ‘Motherjoy’s List’, book review of Bite Your Tongue by Francesca Rendle-Short, Australian Book Review, no 338, February 2012,
- ‘Nine Days’, book review of Nine Days by Toni Jordan, Australian Book Review, no 344, September 2012,
- ‘The Kumano Kodo’, http://mildurapalimpsestbiennale.com/blog/unmapping-the-end-of-the-world/, 2015
- ‘Looking Forward to July’, overview of the Mildura Writers Festival, PEN Melbourne Quarterly, Nos 2 & 3, 2016
- ‘No Refuge’, book review of No More Boats by Felicity Castagna, Australian Book Review, no 392, June – July 2017
- ‘Mungo Healing’, overview of artist project, Imprint, Volume 52, number 4, Summer 2017
- ‘Letterpress: The Wimble Legacy’, New England Art Museum annual print festival, Imprint, Volume 52, number 1, Autumn 2018
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