OFFICERS

Ms Elyssebeth (El) Leigh (President)
Ms Lee Carsley (Vice President)
Mr Richard (Dick) White
Ms Muyesser Durur
Mr Robert Goode (Secretary) admin@solaustralia.org

Dr Elyssebeth Leigh
Elyssebeth has been a member of SoLA since 2001 and on the Board for almost as long. She is currently the President of SoLAustralia.

In her academic guise Elyssebeth has worked with adult learners at the University of Technology, Sydney since 1988. Her primary focus is the design and management of simulations and games for learning. Her favourite simulation is XB - Manual for a Learning Organisation, a longer role play based simulation, where participants create ‘their own learning' through engagement with key management theories, action learning and adult learning. She also works as a consultant on action learning projects for workplace development and change.

"In 2001 I was intrigued by the idea of creating a global event to link people from different cultures and perspectives, and accepted an invitation to travel to Paris to ‘advise' (as I thought). Once there I realised that it was ‘all or nothing' and became involved in creating the First Global SoL Forum (Espoo, Finland 2003) - an adventure that demonstrated the potential of living and working SoL principles in action.

When SoL Austria was selected to host the second Global Forum in 2007 I could not help myself and was again on the team. And - most recently - I helped Gulf SoL presented a hugely successful Third Global SoL Forum in Muscat, Oman in 2008.

Each of these events has enabled a community of people to share ideas, grow capabilities and enjoy the spirit of SoL in amazing surroundings. The most amazing setting was - for me - the huge tent which took 24 hours to erect in the grounds of the Intercontinental Hotel in Muscat.

Being part of the team that brought together a singularly coherent community determined to bridge the gulf between east and west, business and education, teaching and learning was a highlight of my life."

SoLAustralia provides a place to collaborate on activities and ideas that are new and different. We are able to be flexible in our plans and united in enjoying the creativity of collaborative efforts of people from disparate professions and with different perspectives on ‘what works best'.

For me SoLAustralia is a place to go when I want to be challenged. It can be daunting to attempt complex and innovative tasks alone, SoLAustralia provides backup in the form of like minds who will be critical friends and enjoy the challenge with you.'

Elyssebeth has been described as a ‘great teacher' who creates fabulous learning environments and lives her advice on how to teach. Now in an ‘altered state of employment' she loves travel and has no plans to slow down.

Lee Carsley
Lee has been a solAustralia member since 2002, and a Board Director since 2004.  She is currently Vice President for solAustralia.

Lee has spent the past 18 years working across a portfolio of functions - as an economic analyst, human resources director, organisation development executive, stage manager, industrial relations negotiator &  business entrepreneur.   She has a 1^st class honours degree in economics, an MBA, and thinks these have only partly contributed to the way she works. 

"The global sol movement attracted me because at the time I joined it was exploring ways to create sustainable transformational organisations - and who wouldn't want to work in a place like that?" Lee says.  "Of all the networks I have been involved in, this community has always been my first point of contact for fresh, new ideas, and tools for unravelling difficult issues."

"I have had the opportunity over the years to learn from what solAustralia does well, to bring seemingly disparate theoretical and research fields together to provide new insights and ways to tackle the sticky issues of organisation sustainability and renewal.  In particular, I have been interested in how complexity frameworks can be focussed on some of the world's toughest issues - such as environmental and social sustainability.   I believe that solAustralia offers people the opportunity to to create breakthrough thinking and tools to tackle some of the more systemic dysfunctions in the places where we spend most of our time, work, and who knows, one day we may build reslilient happy businesses." 

Friends of Lee describe her variously as mostly honest, forthright, determined, and sometimes silly.  She has been told that her sense of humour is left of field,  and is currently working on her joke telling skills.

Dick White
Dick is an economics graduate and trained teacher with over 20 years experience in public sector manager and director positions in which he has established and managed governance arrangements, corporate and business area planning, budgeting and reporting processes and undertaken significant projects and business improvement initiatives.  He has facilitated and led planning processes for a wide range of public sector, university and specialist education and community groups. 

He says:  "My enthusiasm for solAustralia relates to its focus on collaboration by people with technically different backgrounds and expertise, providing powerful ways to create viable futures and, at the same time, deal with intractable issues.  I see solAustralia as a vital influence in enabling organizations, groups and individuals to adapt, change and transform to succeed in an ever changing world by connecting diverse understandings, effective work behaviours, creativity and technology - formulating futures more than just solving particular problems."