Meet Our Staff
A former teacher, Colin has worked in the field of educational travel and community volunteering for over a decade. He has seen interest in this area of travel grow and is aware of what local communities need and what volunteers are looking for. The trick lies in marrying the two, something to which Colin and his team are committed through Antipodeans Abroad for school, gap year and uni student travel as well as Charity Challenge.
With a background in Outdoor Education and Leisure Management, as well love of adventure travel, we knew that Danielle would be perfectly suited to the team at Antipodeans Abroad. Danielle headed the Operations for our Expedition groups from 1999 to 2007 and is one of our most experienced staff members. She now organises operations for the UniBreak and GapBreak programs placing young people in gap and volunteer placements in the developing world.
Lucy is a very experienced manager of our volunteer program for young people - GapBreak - which places young people in developing countries volunteering for up to three months. She also works with the UniBreak program and brings knowledge and enthusiasm to our team of experienced managers. Lucy has travelled widely in South America, Asia and Africa.
Kirsten coordinates our gap and tertiary sales and works closely with schools and Australian universities to send students overseas on our GapBreak and UniBreak Volunteer, Groups and Professional Internships programs. She is an experienced tour leader and has worked in the Middle East, Asia and East Africa and as a freelance writer and photographer specialising in travel and adventure. Kirsten also works as a Leader for our school Expedition program.
Joe has a wealth of experience leading and organising trekking and mountain biking charity fundraising challenges to destinations in South and Central America, Asia, Europe and NZ. When not in sales mode, he leads our personal development expedition teams of students to Asia, Africa and South America.
Wayne has extensive experience as an outdoor educator and is currently a full-time lecturer at the University of Sydney. He has travelled extensively in Asia and Africa, setting up community projects and leading groups. Wayne's role with Antipodeans Abroad is to provide a co-ordinated approach to Risk Management procedures and systems. He is a regular Leader of expeditions and has taken many young Australians to the far corners of the earth.
Maureen is responsible for the day-to-day operations of our popular Language Immersion Program, which places students in years 9-11 in a homestay in either France or Germany over the Christmas holidays. She travels to France or Germany each year to oversee the program and has an intimate knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a young student on a homestay program far from home.
Andrew brings a great deal of knowledge and experience to the Antipodeans Abroad team. He has worked in the field of outdoor education for over 10 years and has travelled widely both as a volunteer and guide. His role as Operations Manager is to bring together all the elements that make up an expedition or tour - training, logistics, community projects plus the appointment of Leaders for all expedition teams and tours.
After spending several years working in Asia, Fiona, originally from the UK, now calls Sydney her home. She manages the Charity Challenge program working closely with charities and individuals across Australia to meet their fundraising and volunteering needs. With a passion for responsible travel, Fiona ensures that all travellers receive thorough pre-departure preparation and professional support during their placement as well as ensuring the communities benefit from the clients' presence.
Georgia Royle, Sales and Marketing Coordinator
After completing degrees in journalism and advertising at QUT in Brisbane, Georgia joined Antipodeans Abroad as one of our Sales and Marketing Coordinators. Georgia now takes care of all our written content, our website and promotions for our UniBreak Groups and Charity Challenge programs. Georgia’s passion for foreign culture and travel started from early age when she travelled and lived with a host family in Japan at the age of 12. Since then, Georgia has lived and studied in Belgium and France and worked in new business development at the Marketing Store in Paris.