IPEd’s Standing Committee on Professional Development (SCPD) this month welcomes a new chair.
Sandra Duncanson AE has served with SCPD since December last year. “I’ve been in and out of the editing world over the last decade,” she explained, “but renewing my accreditation last year reminded me how proud I am of the AE after my name. It was time to be a bit more hands on helping other people feel the same.”
She brings a wealth of editing and training experience, and has already had a significant impact on SCPD’s work. Initially trained as a high school teacher, teaching English and running school-based writing and publishing projects, Sandra undertook formal editing training at RMIT University, and gained IPEd accreditation in 2014. She has worked mainly in educational publishing, with a special interest in the humanities. After working as publisher at Wiley, she spent a period working in edTech and then with Deloitte before returning to Wiley with her current position, as marketing manager for the Jacaranda brand. She holds a Masters of Education and has been a sessional editing teacher at RMIT University.
“Studying and then teaching editing at RMIT changed the course of my life in a very literal sense by showing me how I could combine the 2 things I love most – education and ‘doing words good’ – into a viable career beyond the classroom,” she notes.
Sandra is a past member of the Editors Victoria committee and has worked on the accreditation exam team. With SCPD, she has developed a robust user-friendly database for tracking workshops and speaker presentations across IPEd, and she is working on improved resources and feedback for IPEd trainers.
At its most recent meeting, SCPD also welcomed new member Ben Dorman, new branch representatives Keely (NSW) and Aidan Demmers (Victoria), and – stepping into the now-formalised role of minute secretary – Lee Lockyer.