Ambassadors of Leadership are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Each year they share their stories and inspire thousands of students at our Altitude Day programs.

Register your students to be inspired and motivated by our Ambassadors.

 Rowena Szeszeran McEvoy

The ‘MAX’

Rowena is the founder of THE MAX, a group of six International Fitness and Business Colleges. Twice Rowena’s business was listed in the Top 100 fastest growing companies in Australia. She is an International Speaker, from the Education Queensland Principals’ Conference to the ‘Teachers Matter’ conference in NZ - “I have a chat with folks all over the world”. She has written three books, is the editor or the MAXimum RESULTS health and ­fitness magazine and has run 13 marathons. This year Rowie was a guest speaker at:

Matt Kershaw

A life of servitude and developing others

Matt is an enthusiastic young Australian with a burning passion to make a difference to this world. He is an inspiring, engaging and dynamic speaker. Throughout his short, but rich life he has had a myriad of experiences in education, sport, music, travel, leadership and community service, all of which have contributed to the person he is today. Matt's story in itself is one of inspiration, he takes students on an unforgettable development experience. Matt holds tremendous value in family, friends, health and serving others and has developed wisdom and maturity beyond his years. Matt's story in itself is one of inspiration, however when combined with the processes of yLead, he takes students on an unforgettable development experience.  This year Matt was a guest speaker at:

Alissa Phillips

Connecting Communities

Alissa Phillips, founding Director of s.p.a.c.e, Social Entrepreneur and driving force behind s.p.a.c.e., holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Creative Industries and a Masters in Music Therapy. She applies her qualifications specifically to disability services through her innovative programs BEAT, BIG Night Out and Bust A Move.

Alissa has won numerous awards for her work in improving the quality of life for people affected by a disability, including 2007 Lord Mayor’s Youth Citizen of the Year, University of Queensland’s Young Alumni 2008 and most recently she was named one of 10 Emerging Leaders in the category of Society for the Weekend Australian. This year Alissa was guest speaker at: 

Skye Bortoli

Eco Warrior

When Skye Bortoli speaks, the world listens. At just 17-years-old Skye has a list of achievements that any diplomat would be proud to claim.  At eleven she quickly decided on her primary goal; the total protection of whales.
 
Dedicated and determined, Skye is an effervescent realist and conservationist with a passionate interest in positively shaping the world around her. In her first book, Eco-Warrior, Skye tells her remarkable story so far, including family tragedy, her Aboriginal heritage and how she started the organisation Teens Against Whaling in 2006.
 
Her passion and commitment to the environment, and whaling in particular, has taken her to Alaska, Japan, Chile and Antarctica. She has won audiences with International Whaling Commission Chairman William Hogarth, Mr Tsutsui, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, Peter Garrett & Malcolm Turnbull, and Jorge Palmeriem, the IWC Portuguese commissioner who invited Skye to convene her own youth forum alongside the IWC in Portugal next year. Her appearances include The Today Show, Enough Rope with Andrew Denton and Mornings with Kerri Anne. 2010 began well for Skye as she was invited to be one of the VIPs at the lunch with Prince William in Sydney. This year Skye was a guest speaker at:

Priya Pavri

Dedicated to alleviating poverty with education 

An enthusiastic young Australian passionate about education. Now 18, she grew up knowing what extreme poverty looks like from her many family visits to India. Determined to make a difference to the lives of people she encountered, she decided to “think global and act local” and became heavily involved with her local community through the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) and the United Nations Youth Association (UNYA) in South Australia. In 2010 she began studying law and development studies at the University of Adelaide with a view to pursuing her long-term dream of establishing an educational program in India called ‘Sahana’.  Her passion and drive in working towards this goal are an inspiration to young leaders everywhere, and your students will benefit enormously from hearing how someone so young can make a real difference. This year Priya was a guest speaker at: 

Ducky Larkings

Harden Up!

Ducky Larkings has a secret: he never believed he would amount to anything. For the first 24 years of his life he simply didn’t care: about himself, about others, about what came around the corner, about whether he saw tomorrow. A difficult youth and adolescence led to a series of bad choices, and ultimately a prison sentence. Fortunately, he says, “jail pulled my head out. I was in there with such good men who said to me, ‘Mate, you’ve got a chance to get out and make something of yourself. We don’t.’ So I did.”

Now a personal trainer in Taigum, Ducky’s story has been featured in QWeekend and has been an inspiration to many. Initially embarrassed that his life story was in the paper, he had a revelation when he realised that his story actually got to people. He has had strangers approach him to tell him how proud they are after reading the article about him, and received numerous invitations to speak to young people. “The thing I’ve learnt from all this is if you are honest about your life, people are more accepting than you think.”

Ducky has been head boxing coach and personal trainer at Goodlife at Carseldine, and has also been involved with Bikers United Against Child Abuse. He has an eight-year-old son, Tyson. About his family he says, “They are the reason I make myself a better man every day”. Now he shares his message with anyone who will listen, that change is always possible, and that every young person has the ability to do something positive with their life. “There’s no such thing as can’t. You can do anything,” he says. This year Ducky was a guest speaker at:

Register your students to hear some of the amazing stories these young people have to share at an Altitude Day near you!