Most education advisors have only ever worked one side of this industry. I built my career on all three: the agencies, the universities and the government department that supports the international education sector.
I graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor in Aerospace Engineering. I always dreamed of studying abroad, but I missed the admissions timeline, so I decided to make good use of the time and get into employment before studying abroad. I worked with two education agencies before I ever set foot in Australia. I was the one sitting across the table from the student. That early work put me inside the commission driven consultancy model that most GCC families still deal with today, and it taught me early where that model does, and does not, serve the best interests of a family.
In 2016, I moved to Sydney to study a postgraduate program in Management, and went to work for the institutions I had once been placing students into. At Macquarie University, I advised international students through the full admissions cycle, from first enquiry to enrolment.
At the Australian National University, I built the international marketing function for the faculty from the ground up, then led an offshore expansion that put the first ANU office on the ground in India. As part of that same role, I also managed a geographically dispersed team of regional managers across South Asia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, working directly with people who understood their markets far better than any head office ever could.
From 2021, I moved into the New South Wales Government, working across Study NSW, a trade and investment arm that was part of the Premier's Department. This is where the picture became complete. I led international education engagement and partnerships work for the state, building government to government frameworks across India, China, Indonesia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Africa. I chaired the Marketing Consultation Committee, convening university, TAFE and peak body leaders around shared state wide strategy. I briefed DFAT and Austrade officials, including newly appointed Consul-Generals and Trade Commissioners, on education priorities for the state.
After a decade inside Australian institutions and government, I moved to Dubai with my family to build something of my own. Ironbark Advisory is independent. There are no commissions from universities shaping what I recommend, and no agent network deciding which options I put in front of a family. I bring the same relationships and government frameworks I built over a decade in Australia, except now they work directly for the people who would like to work with me: the families choosing where to send their children, and the institutions trying to get it right in this market.