Specialist, experienced and accredited consultants  

Dr Kerry Ferguson

EdD, MEd (Counselling), BAppSc (OT), MVAFT

Director and Principal Consultant 

Dr Kerry Ferguson has over thirty year's experience in tertiary education. She has led large and diverse portfolios and managed and led complex organisational change.  She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and for the fifteen years proceeding 2014, she held a Pro Vice-Chancellor position with a major focus on Equity and Student Services. Prior to this, she held a variety of academic leadership positions in Health Sciences.

Her portfolio of responsibilities included being a member of the University Threat Assessment team and Crisis Intervention team, complaint management and resolution, diversity and equal opportunity for staff and students, student services, student equity, social inclusion, Indigenous education, child care services, student enrichment and engagement, counselling services and developing the Mental Health strategy for the University.

Kerry's formal qualifications include a a Professional Doctorate in Education,  a Masters of Education in the field of counselling and a Bachelor degree  in Occupational Therapy. Kerry has practised as a Family Therapist and is a nationally accredited and experienced mediator in conflict resolution. 

Ms Janet Beard

BAgSci, MBus, GradCertQA, GAICD

Senior Consultant 

Ms Janet Beard has more than thirty years of experience in management roles at three Australian universities (Melbourne, La Trobe and Sydney) and undertaken consultancies and reviews of administrative, technical and academic support services in Universities, nationally and internationally (South Pacific, New Zealand and Indonesia). 

Most recently, she has managed and coordinated major change programs  at the University of Melbourne to design and implement improved administrative services across the University. Her special interests are in organisational analysis  and diagnosis, planning and design, organisational development, continuous business process and system improvement, benefits measurement and tracking, facilitating and engaging diverse stakeholder groups, and taking people through a change management experience. Her business improvement and change management expertise is informed by a successful track record in managing large and complex faculties as well as university-wide change programs.

Janet’s qualifications include a Master of Business, a Graduate Certificate in Quality Assurance and she is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has undertaken a senior leadership course at Stanford University.