ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Dr Mark Keough
Executive Director & Co-Founder, SkillsAware
Mark is a learning solutions leader with over 25 years of experience in online learning systems and content development, bridging conceptual design with technical know-how in information science and systems architecture.
In addition to holding senior roles in public and private vocational educationinstitutions, he founded one of the world’s first Learning Management System (LMS) enterprises as well as learning solutions for US jobs giant, Monster.com.
Mark brings a wealth of insight from his years in the education sector and with Qantas, ANZ Bank, Westpac, and Le Cordon Bleu among others. Mark combines business experience , with his scholarship as an Adjunct Academic in Education at Flinders University and industry participation in vocational training to steer steadily and decisively at the helm of SkillsAware.
Yasmin King
Director & Co-Founder, SkillsAware
A forward-thinking leader, Yasmin brings years of experience in negotiation, stakeholder management, and policy to her vocation of improving workforce and educational outcomes for all potential workers.
Yasmin is CEO of SkillsIQ, board member of the Australian Health Care and Hospitals Association, Chair of the University of South Australia MBA Advisory Board, member of the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA)’s NSW/ACT Advisory Committee, former NSW Small Business Commissioner, and former Associate Commissioner for the ACCC. Her expertise in these roles, built on the foundation of experience and education in business administration and economics, makes her an invaluable leader at SkillsAware.
Deb Carr
Skills Recognition Expert, Independent Researcher and PhD Candidate
Deb Carr is an International skills recognition expert. As a PhD candidate and consultant, she specialises in designing skills recognition systems at regional, national and institutional levels, informed by research and benchmarked against international standards like ISO 17024. Her work spans policy, research and compliance, assessment design, and training across diverse sectors, including for military veterans and refugees.
Her research focus is on the how recognition can be an empowering experience building individual agency. Deb is an advisory board member and editor for the journal Prior Learning Assessment Inside Out (PLAIO), and she has contributed to global initiatives with UNESCO, Palladium Group, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Commonwealth of Learning. Her insights help national systems and organisations navigate the complexities of skills transferability, recognition, and reform.
Wendy Palmer
Director, Lifelong Learning Practice
Wendy Palmer is a senior leader in digital learning and lifelong education with over 30 years’ experience across corporate and academic settings. She is the author of Lifelong Learning Edge and Director of Lifelong Learning Practice, where she works with organisations to design innovative learning strategies that connect skills, careers, and education.
From 2018 to 2024, Wendy led Deakin University’s Global Studio, pioneering microcredentials and social learning at scale, including the world’s first fully online postgraduate degrees on a MOOC platform. Her expertise spans large-scale transformation, stackable learning design, and creating practical pathways that meet the evolving needs of learners and industry.
Margo Griffith
Principal Skills Consultant, Edalex
Margo’s in-depth knowledge and experience of skills, the skills ecosystem and digital credentials is the result of working in and with higher education providers and edtech leaders, nationally and internationally for 30+ years. She is passionate about the positive impact of technology within education and the enablement of lifelong learning, learner agency and mobility. Margo is a convenor of the Australian micro credentials Network and consults with Government, industry and education sectors around a skills first approach to learning and workforce. Her recent publications include “Creating the University of the Future: A Global View on Future Skills and Future Higher Education” (Contributor) (Springer 2024) and “Technology Enablement of the Skills Ecosystem” Naomi Rose Boyer and Margo Leanne Griffith (International Journal of Information and Learning Technology ISSN: 2056-4880, 2023).
Jon Mason
Associate Professor, Charles Darwin University
Dr Jon Mason is an Associate Professor in Education in the Faculty of Arts & Society at Charles Darwin University (CDU), where he lectures in the broad area of digital technology in education. He first joined CDU in 2012 as Director of e-Learning for the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development after pursuing an earlier career at the nexus of government digital services, education, and international standardization. Among his academic roles as a lecturer and researcher at CDU he is also a member of the newly formed NT Academic Centre for Cyber Security and Innovation. With a longstanding interest in international collaboration, he also holds adjunct positions at Korea National Open University and East China Normal University. Since 2000 he has led delegations from Standards Australia to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC36 and in 2022 became chair for this international committee. He is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Asia Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE) and is vice-chair of the NT Branch of the Australian Computer Society. He serves on several journal editorial boards and has performed editorial roles for international projects and books. His research encompasses most things where digital technology and learning intersect while also pursuing a keen interest in question formulation, sense-making, the scholarship of teaching & learning (SoTL), and the role of wisdom in education.
