Dr Annette Rome FACE, FACEL, B.SC (Hons), Dip. Ed, PhD
Dr Annette Rome, Principal of St Margaret’s Berwick Grammar (SMBG) was previously on the senior executives of a number of high performing schools in Melbourne. Though trained as neurophysiologist, her interests includes the education of young people to operate globally, ethically and knowledgeably. Her PhD, International Mindedness and the International Baccalaureate’s Theory of Knowledge, led to the establishment of a ‘Certificate of Global Responsibility’ at SMBG, nominated for a national Educator Innovation in Curriculum Award in 2020. She is an IB Jeff Thompson Research Award winner for research on changing understandings of Indigenous ways of knowing by non-Indigenous students.
She was member/coordinator of the Centre for Strategic Education (CSE) International Education Action Group and CSE Indigenous Education Focus Group and an adjunct lecturer at The University of Melbourne (Education). She has written a number of science and education texts, articles and resources and has presented at over 25 national and international conferences.
In 2018 she was named on The Educator’s Hot List in Australia, in 2019 was in the Knowledge Review Top 10 Influential Educators in Australia and in 2023 was nominated for Principal of the Year – Non-government in the Educator’s Australian Education Awards. In her time at SMBG, the school has been shortlisted for The Educator Best Strategic Plan (2019), The Educator Innovation in Curriculum Design (2020) and The Educator Best Student Wellbeing Program (2023) and named an Educator Australian Employer of Choice (2021 and 2022)
Annette is an active member of The Australian Council of Educational Leaders (ACEL), Australian College of Educators (ACE) and is honoured to be a National Fellow of both. Currently, she is Chair of the editorial committee for Independence Magazine, the national magazine of AHISA. She was also involved in the Practising Principals Certification, guiding other principals, through the Australian Council for Educational Research. She has served on the national boards of ACE and The Songroom. She is a founding member of the JMB Foundation for young people with acquired brain injuries and was an active campaigner for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, implemented in 2015. Annette is also delighted to be a national Epilepsy Smart Ambassador.
Annette’s passion in education is for the development of young people so that they may become the best they can be for all humanity and the planet.
