Keynote speakers
Dr Vandana Shiva
Founder of Navdanya International
Dr Vandana Shiva trained as a physicist, gained a PhD in that field and later shifted to inter-disciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy.
In 1982 she founded an independent institute, the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in Dehradun, India, dedicated to high quality and independent research to address the most significant ecological and social issues of our times, in close partnership with local communities and social movements. In 1991 she founded Navdanya, a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seed, the promotion of organic farming and fair trade. For last two decades Navdanya has worked with local communities and organisations, serving more than 500,000 men and women farmers. In 2004 Dr Shiva started Bija Vidyapeeth, an international college for sustainable living in Doon Valley in collaboration with Schumacher College, UK.
Dr Shiva combines sharp intellectual enquiry with courageous activism. She is equally at ease working with peasants in rural India and teaching in universities worldwide. Time magazine identified Dr Shiva as an environmental ‘hero’ in 2003 and Asia Week has called her one of the five most powerful communicators of Asia. Forbes magazine in November 2010 identified Dr Shiva as one of the top ‘Seven most powerful women on the globe’. She has contributed in fundamental ways to changing the practice and paradigms of agriculture and food. Through her numerous books she has challenged the dominant paradigm of non-sustainable agriculture and has made visible the social, economic and ecological costs of corporate-led globalisation.
Dr Shiva has contributed intellectually and through campaigns throughout the world in the area of intellectual property rights (IPRs), biodiversity, biotechnology, genetic engineering, organic farming and gender issues. Her contributions have been globally recognised through many awards, including the Alternative Nobel Prize (Right Livelihood Award 1993), the UN’s Global 500 Award, Earth Day International Award, the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace 2009, Sydney Peace Prize 2010, and the Calgary Peace Prize 2011.
Dr Gwang-Jo Kim
Director, UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Asia-Pacific
Born in the Republic of Korea, Dr Kim holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Korea University (1978), a Master’s degree (1984) and a PhD (1994) in Education from Harvard University.
Dr Kim began his senior responsibilities in Korea, where he advised and assisted former President Young Sam Kim in the fields of education and social policy (1995—1997). He played a key role in the planning of the nation-wide education reform initiative, entitled ‘531 Education Reform’ aimed at restructuring the entire Korean education system.
Between 2001 and 2004, Dr Kim was affiliated with the World Bank as Senior Education Specialist at its headquarters in Washington DC.
In 2004 Dr Kim was appointed Director-General of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MOEHRD) in Korea where he led and prepared cross-ministerial human resources development policies, i.e. the Five Year National Human Resources Development Plan. From 2005 to 2008, Dr Kim was Deputy-Minister of Education and Human Resources Development of the Republic of Korea. He coordinated cross-ministerial human resources development policy initiatives and initiated and launched the Global Human Resources Forum in Seoul in 2006.
Dr Kim is a member of various professional associations on education policy, finance and economics, has published works in his area of expertise on education, and has represented the South Korean Government at various ministerial-level meetings.
In 2009 Dr Kim was appointed Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Asia-Pacific, as well as UNESCO Representative to Thailand, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Singapore.
Jody Vassallo
Food writer and publisher, food stylist and consultant
Jody Vassallo trained as a home economist and has been working as a recipe writer and food stylist for the past 20 years. She has collaborated with many leaders in the Australian food industry, including Bill Granger and Donna Hay. Her work has been published both nationally and internationally, in the New York Times, Sainsbury’s magazine, Vogue Entertaining, Good Living, Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Mind Food and donna hay magazine.
Within a year of becoming food editor at Murdoch Books, Jody was promoted to food director where she managed the production of all marie claire cookbooks, Le Cordon Bleu cookbooks, Bill Granger’s Sydney Food and Family Circle Step by Step and mini cookbooks. During this time Jody wrote seven very successful marie claire style cookbooks.
Jody then became a freelance writer and food stylist, travelling the world researching new recipes and creating six books for French publisher Hachette Livre.
Jody’s strong interest in nutrition and health became a trademark of her work. She developed recipes for the National Heart Foundation of Australia for their Deliciously Healthy Cookbook, worked as a food consultant to the New South Wales Institute of Sport and worked as food editor for the Australian Institute of Sport cookbooks Survival of the Fittest and Survival from the Fittest.
In 2002 Jody started her own publishing company, Fortiori Publishing. In 2003 Fortiori won the Gourmand World Food Media Awards Best Nutrition Series. Jody has written and styled eighteen books for Fortiori.
Jody is currently engaged as Food Consultant to Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food and continues to work as a freelance food writer and food stylist both in Australia and overseas.
Tahira Hira
PhD, Professor of Personal Finance and EA to the President, Iowa State University
Dr Tahira K Hira is an internationally known leader in the fields of financial literacy, consumer bankruptcy, investment behaviour and financial planning. She serves on numerous US national committees and boards, has published over 100 articles and has made hundreds of presentations worldwide. Her financial expertise and extensive research background make her a highly sought-after commentator and consultant.
Dr Hira is a professor of Personal Finance and is currently serving as Executive Assistant to the President at Iowa State University in the US. She served on the US President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy and is currently chairing the Financial Literacy Advisory Committee of the New York Stock Exchange. She has received numerous awards including the Research Excellence Award of the Japan Society of Household Economics, University of Missouri Alumni Award, Iowa State University Regents’ Faculty Excellence Award, Alumni Faculty Citation, the ISU Wilton Park International Achievement Award, and the Fulbright-Hays Scholarship.
She has published over140 professional papers and book chapters and has given about 240 invited national and international presentations on topics including the US national strategy for financial literacy, social and psychological aspects of borrowing, gender differences in investment behaviour, consumer bankruptcy, gambling and the borrowing behaviour of college students.
Dr Hira’s work has been cited in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Tribune, among many others. She has had numerous media appearances in the US, including on National Public Radio, the NBC Today Show, CNN News, and the CBS Up to the Minute show.
Geraldene B Hodelin, PhD
IFHE President and Certified Professional Home Economist (CPHE)
Associate Professor Geraldene Hodelin is Director of the UTech Academy at the University of Technology, Jamaica. She has been a member of IFHE since 1987 and is the first IFHE President (2008—2012) from the Caribbean.
She was educated at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada (BAA Home Economics), and the University of Minnesota, USA (MA — Home Economics Education and PhD — Education)
At the University of Technology, Dr Hodelin served for eight years as Dean of the Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies and prior to that was Head of Home Economics Education for over 10 years. As Director of the university’s UTech Academy, she has key responsibilities for University Access and Outreach.
With over 15 years experience in academic administration, Dr Hodelin is well known in the Caribbean as an education consultant and advocate to Jamaican and regional educational institutions in the disciplines of home economics education, quality assurance in education, technical vocational education, teacher education and training and leadership. She is co-author of several textbooks for Caribbean and African schools.
Dr Hodelin’s professional and research interests focus is on family and community development and her research approach is phenomenology. She has had numerous papers published in professional journals and has presented in a wide range of contexts: as invited key speaker at regional and international conferences and symposia; trainer and moderator for education workshops; and in community development, staff development and leadership forums.
She is a Past President of the Jamaican Home Economics Association and a member of the Caribbean Association of Home Economics (CAHE), with previous responsibilities for education and research portfolios. She is editor of the Caribbean Journal of Home Economics.
Dr Hodelin is a recipient of an Outstanding and Distinguished Service Award from the University of Technology, Jamaica, and a Distinguished International Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota, College of Education and Human Development.
Professor Donna Pendergast, PhD
Dr Donna Pendergast is Dean and Head of School, Education and Professional Studies at Griffith University, Australia. She is Vice-President of the International Federation for Home Economics (IFHE) representing the Pacific region and editor of the e-journal, the International Journal of Home Economics. She is convenor of the IFHE Think Tank Committee responsible for the formulation of the Position Statement for Home Economics for the 21st Century, which was launched at the World Congress in 2008. The committee is currently leading a future-proofing strategy centred on the rebranding of the profession at a global level.
In 2009 Donna was awarded a Fellowship of the Home Economics Institute of Australia (HEIA) in recognition of her outstanding contributions to home economics. She has conducted a number of national research projects related to school education including:
- Beyond the middle: Literacy and numeracy in middle schooling
- Lifelong learning and middle schooling
- Longitudinal study of teaching and learning in Queensland state schools
- Evaluation of the Virtual Schooling Service.
Donna has several books published of relevance to contemporary teacher work, including Teaching in the middle years (2005) The millennial adolescent (2007) and Groovy chicks and blokey blokes: Rethinking home economics (2001). Her latest books are Tourism and Generation Y (2010), and a second edition of Teaching middle years (2010).
Yukiko Kudo
Chief Senior Specialist for Home Economics, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan
Ms Yukiko Kudo is the Chief Senior Specialist for Home Economics, Elementary and Secondary Education, at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. She also serves as a Vice President of IFHE, representing the Asia region. Ms Kudo obtained her master’s degree in home economics at Ochanomizu University. She specialises in the philosophy of home economics, family resource management and gerontology.
After spending eight years overseas, she started her career as a researcher at the International Longevity Centre (ILC — Japan) in 1994, becoming a senior researcher in 1997. As a senior researcher, Ms Kudo led a number of international research projects to promote quality of life for the elderly and members of the new ‘longevity society’. Her research has included: ‘Decline of fertility and population ageing in East Asia: A comparative study between Japan, China and Korea’; ‘Living environment, health and wellbeing for the elderly: A cross-national perspective’; ‘Japan—Australia partnership program in community care’; and ‘World cities project: Comparing four mega cities in the world’, all of which were done in collaboration with ILC — US, ILC — Japan and ILC — Europe.
Ms Kudo took a role as an associate professor at Musashino University from 2000 to 2002 and currently teaches at the Graduate School of Musashino University. Since October 2011 she has been a member of the Science Council of Japan.
Ms Kudo was appointed to her current position in 2002. As a Chief Senior Specialist for Home Economics Education, she oversees textbook examination processes for elementary, junior high and senior high school textbooks. Ms Kudo is responsible for ensuring all textbooks are in compliance with the national guidelines set forth by the Ministry in order to maintain and improve nationwide education standards.
Amanda McCloat
Amanda McCloat
Head of Home Economics Department, St Angela’s College, Sligo
Amanda McCloat is a home economist, having graduated with a BEd Home Economics honours degree, an MA (Education) and an MSc (Food Policy). She is Chair of the Young Professionals Network (YPN) of IFHE and Head of Home Economics Department at St Angela’s College, Sligo, Ireland. Amanda was Co-chair of the organising committee for IFHE Council 2010 which took place in Sligo.
Amanda lectures in the area of food studies and family resource management and is Program Director for the Masters of Education (Home Economics). She is an active member of a number of national committees and organisations including: the Safefood Scientific Advisory Committee; the National Executive of Association of Teachers of Home Economics (ATHE); and the Junior Cycle Home Economics Committee (National Council Curriculum and Assessment). Her research interests include food and culinary skills, nutrition and food education, and education for sustainable development.
Gwendolyn Hustvedt
Gwendolyn Hustvedt
Assistant Professor of Textiles and Fashion Merchandising, Texas State University
Gwendolyn Hustvedt is an Assistant Professor of Textiles and Fashion Merchandising at Texas State University and the graduate adviser for the new Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies in Sustainability. She teaches textiles, sustainable consumer economies and textile product analysis.
Her research focuses on LOHAS (lifestyle of health and sustainability), a term that captures the ambiguity of consumer motives for purchasing organic products. This includes work on sustainable laundry systems, sustainable fibre production and the marketing of local food and fibre products. She is the secretary of the IFHE Program Committee on Household Technology and Sustainability.
We will keep you up to date as we secure keynote speakers for this event. We have some very exciting plans in the pipeline.
