People who work in Teachers for Educational Equity

Dato’ Kathleen Chew

Dato’ Kathleen Chew is the Group Legal Counsel of the YTL Group, and Programme Director of the YTL Foundation, a foundation working to provide equitable access to quality education and development of capable values driven leaders. She was Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2016 and a Local Ambassador for the British Council’s Study UK Alumni Awards 2018. She sits on the boards of various Malaysian and UK charities, the Asia Philanthropy Circle in Singapore and Acumen Fund, Inc, New York. She is also Chairperson of Hospis Malaysia and Alpha Malaysia.

Stanley Tan

Stanley is a proud and happy father of two daughters; a businessman; and a committed humanitarian. With more than three decades of real estate investment experience in Singapore, New Zealand and Australia, his portfolio comprises townships, commercial, retail, industrial and residential developments. He currently chairs the South-Central Community Family Service Centre, =DREAMS Asia, =DREAMS Singapore, Asia Community Foundation and Co-Founder of the Asia Philanthropy Circle and a member of the Honorary Advisors of the Asia New Zealand Foundation. Stanley was previously Vice-Chairman of Singapore Red Cross Society, member of the Charity Council, Chairman of Beyond Social Services, and Chairman of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre. He also co-founded The Hope Fund, MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) Fund, Community Foundation of Singapore and the Centre for Non-Profit Leadership.

Professor Kevin Myers

Kevin is the Learning and Teaching Lead for the programme. Kevin joined the University of Birmingham in 2000. He works on the history and sociology of education and has specific interests in the application of psychological knowledge in school systems. He serves on editorial boards for the journals Education Review, History of Education and Paedagogica Historica.

Dr Donna Dawkins

Donna has had varied career experiences which have led to her current position at the University of Birmingham. From research scientist via industry to secondary school teaching and currently teaching in Higher Education (HE). She has taught Science and Biology and, most recently at the University of Birmingham, she was a Teaching Fellow responsible for the development of early career postgraduate teachers.

Additionally Donna has engaged with Teaching and Learning development at the transition from school to university in collaboration with researchers in the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham, and through outreach activities working with undergraduates and pupils.

Dr Nicola Smith

Nicola is an Associate Professor in Primary and Early Years Education and the Director of Primary ITE. Nicola worked as a teacher and leader in primary schools in Worcestershire and Birmingham, before becoming an adult education tutor and then a Higher Education lecturer on childhood studies and ITE programmes. Her research interests include mentoring of ITE students, children and families with English as an additional language and children as researchers.

Dr Paul Richardson

Paul has recently joined the team from Bath Spa University, where he was a Senior Lecturer on the PGCE Primary and Early Years course. His doctorial research was on the relationships between small rural primary schools and multi-academy trusts in England. He has previously worked as a primary school teacher in the UK and has taught English as a second language in Thailand, Vietnam and Czechia.

Michelle Low

Michelle is the Programme Manager, Special Projects of the YTL Foundation and the Programme Liaison and R&D Partner of the Teachers for Educational Equity Initiative – an initiative co-developed by YTL Foundation and the University of Birmingham. An Egyptologist by trade, she pivoted into the world of education to redefine the way we learn History, to create educational spaces for people to collaborate and to advocate for the rights and wellbeing of teachers. Michelle is also a first year PhD researcher at the University of Birmingham’s School of Education, exploring the role of archaeogaming in the reparative future of Malaysia’s imagined community.

Claire Bylo

Claire works for the Teachers for Education Equity programme as its Project and Portfolio Manager. She has wide ranging experience in managing and developing project-based activity. Her recent assignments include contract and programme validation management for the National Institute of Teaching, a secondment to the National College of Advanced Transport and Infrastructure to establish their governance structures and acting as Business Manager for phase one of the University’s Education Equity Initiative.

An agile project specialist, she worked for the University’s ambitious CORE programme to replace its central IT systems, acting as the subject-matter-expert for document management, GDPR compliance and programme governance.

Louisa Whitehouse

Louisa works for the Teachers for Education Equity programme as its Executive Officer (Finance). In her substantive role, she is Executive Officer for the School of Education, University of Birmingham and is responsible for the administration and management of the School’s financial processes and provides executive support to the Head of School and senior management team.

Prior to this role, she was the Project and Finance Officer for the Developmental Leadership Program, a research project focusing on the links between leadership, power and political processes to successful development, which was also based out of the University of Birmingham and funded by the Australian Government. She is a mathematics graduate from the University and has previously worked in the banking and financial service sector.

Ursula Turley-Heron

Ursula is the programme’s Senior Education Administrator and is responsible for educational support. Ursula joined the University in January 2023, working as Education Support Administrator for the Initial Teacher Education team on the Secondary and Primary teaching programmes and was appointed to the role of Senior Education Administrator for the ITE PGCEi Malaysia Programme in July 2023.

Administrative and general enquiries can be sent to Ursula via the following mailbox internationalmalaysia@contacts.bham.ac.uk She will endeavour to answer your question directly or to signpost you to the right person as soon as possible.