Life Members

Sue Sundstrom became a Careers Adviser in 1986, retraining the same year through the Department of Education Retraining Course. Sue completed a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education at the University of NSW. She joined the CAA Executive in 1992, and was President from 2009.

Sue has been on the Executive Committee for 24 years, and she was President from 2009 until 2017. Sue has been one of CAA’s quiet achievers. She works hard to ensure Careers Advisers and our concerns are heard while also working full time as Careers Adviser and VET Co-Ordinator at Picton High School, all without us being aware of the hours she puts in. Sue has worked continuously behind the scenes to champion the cause of Careers Advisers in schools with relevant parties at both the State and Federal levels of government, while getting on with her own role. Sue also represented CAA over many years at the Professional Teachers Council and liaised with the Careers Industry Council of Australia as they worked to develop our industry Standards. Her attention to detail with issues that arise is commendable.  She shows a compassion for individuals that expresses an exceptional understanding of the bigger picture both for her students and the members of the CAA.  Her extensive experience and knowledge has been an asset to the CAA as we have grappled with the numerous challenges that the governments put up as they have looked to evolve and develop the Education system both at State and Federal levels over the years. Sue has worked tirelessly in her various roles on the Executive and in 2009 reluctantly took on the role of President, but in her own low key way, has worked with the Executive to grow and strengthen our membership and relevance and presence in the Education system to ensure that we continue the original purpose for which this Association was established. She has attended countless numbers of meetings with Government Ministers, and been fundamental in the organisation of professional development days and Conference for 22 years.

Margaret Gambley worked tirelessly in the early 1970’s to have the Department of Education establish the position of Careers Adviser in NSW schools, and was fundamental in having this position created. Margaret is also regarded as the architect of CAA, and was responsible for the creation of our Association in 1973. Her contribution to the development of CAA was continuous and enthusiastic over the next 30 years. In her retirement Margaret continues to support both Careers Advisers and our Association. Margaret has not missed one Conference since the Association was established, and in retirement, continued to come to every conference dinner.

From its inception, the Careers Advisers Association was committed to providing support for all Careers Advisers and students irrespective of their school sector or location. This fundamental principle was embedded in the Constitution through the appointment to Executive of two Vice-Presidents, with one position representing Government Schools, the other, Non-Government Schools. This was done with the specific intentions of encouraging an inclusive and cooperative approach to all Association activities. The first person elected to the position of Vice President, Non-Government Schools was Judy Stinson, the Careers Adviser at Bethlehem College, Ashfield.

Whilst Judy was Vice President, her strong representations ensured that the needs of Careers Advisers in Non-Government schools were addressed in all Association policy deliberations.

Then as now, the disparate nature of the Non-Government school sector made Judy's role an incredibly challenging one, a role she prosecuted with great forcefulness and enthusiasm. For many years, she was a member of the Annual Conference planning committee where her Liberal Party connections proved invaluable in identifying potential keynote speakers and workshop presenters. Indeed, her deeply held conservative values and opinions meant that Association meetings could never be described as dreary!

In 1979, Judy moved to Saint Agnes Catholic High School, Rooty Hill and then to Tara Anglican School for Girls, until her retirement.

At the personal level, Judy had a lifelong passion for classical music and also served in the Australian Army Nursing Corps.

One of the challenges facing Careers Advisers in their efforts to establish a new professional Association was the need to understand the intricacies of a bureaucracy such as the Department of Education. At this time, Alf Hinshaw, as Principal Guidance Officer, was responsible for overseeing State-wide counselling and careers advising services in NSW Government schools.

While school counselling was well established with formal training qualifications and specific appointments, Alf was very conscious of the inadequacy of the tokenistic approach of the Department to careers advising. At the time, the position in schools was allocated on an ad hoc basis to a male and a female teacher with a period allowance of 3-6 periods a week, depending on student numbers in year 8. There was no formal training.

At one stage, Alf shocked his professional colleagues by writing a parable "the Careers Adviser and the Dunny" to illustrate the inadequacy of the existing system (cistern?). Words can only go so far and in spite of his advocacy, nothing changed, except that in some schools the role became unisex.

Having seen the effect a professional association had had on the development of school counselling, Alf actively supported the grass root initiatives (1974-1975) to establish a Careers Advisers Association which could speak with an official voice and represent Careers Advisers within the system.

Once the Association was established, Alf provided strategic advice and guidance to Executive members on their campaign to establish a trained full-time Careers Adviser in every high school. The breakthrough came in 1977-1978, when the Department offered surplus social science teachers the opportunity to retrain as Careers Advisers. Without Alf's" behind the scene" support, such a successful outcome might not have been achieved.

Alf continued to contribute to the ongoing development of Careers Advisers through his involvement in the retraining program and regional in-service activities. He also participated in an evaluation of Career Education initiatives in the Western Region.

In responding to a request to contribute to the 2001 CAA annual conference, Alf wrote, in retirement, of his fond memories of " the impact the Association had had, through brilliant submissions and industrial action, on the Director- General and Minister in endeavouring to change the structure of Careers Advising from a part-time job of limited value to students, to one which involved full-time professionals, career education and work experience". He went on to give his congratulations on what the Association had achieved and to remind members that their work continued to be invaluable to the youth of the day.

As the foundation President of the Careers Advisers Association, Jo Howard has left behind a legacy which cannot be overestimated.  She played a critical role in the grass roots movement that led to the formal establishment of the Association in June 1975.

The following year, having set the wheels in motion, Jo decided to step aside to allow a new President, Angela Glover, to become the driving force for improved professionalism.

Jo remained on the Executive as Communications Officer, where in 1976 she produced the first association Journal, subsequently known as ‘Prospects’ She identified communication with members as being critical for the success of the Association and encouraged the free exchange of careers ideas and teaching strategies through newsletters and reports.

Jo also holds a unique place in the history of the association as the pioneer of work experience programs in NSW secondary schools. While she was Careers Adviser at Northmead High School in 1973, she heard about a pilot program in which students with special needs were given opportunities to spend time in the workplace. Realising the potential of such a scheme for secondary school students, Jo set about challenging the workplace laws and conventions operating at that time,  by starting her own program.

Not surprisingly, her radical proposal met with a strong resistance from a number of different sources. "What about issues such as exploitation, safety and worker’s compensation?";  Jo was asked, to say nothing of the concerns of other teachers about the disruption it would cause to school routine. However, the opponents were unable to match Jo's tenacity and networking skills. The ‘Northmead Program’ was a success and in 1976, following an Interdepartmental Review, guidelines were approved for the operation of work experience in all secondary schools.

In 1978, Jo joined the Careers Section in the Department which gave her greater freedom and the opportunity to share her knowledge and experience with other Careers Advisers across the State.

The move to appoint full-time Careers Advisers led the Department to establish the first formal training courses, initially restricted to surplus social science teachers.  Jo played a key role in the development of the training program and presented many sessions. In particular, she focused on the place of Career Education in the Curriculum in meeting the special needs of all students.

Many will remember the case study she developed with Beverley Bowyer on the fictional ‘Unslow High School.’

When she retired from the Department, Jo's pioneering  spirit took her to China where she taught English for many years while providing her students with a liberal dose of careers assistance. A Careers Adviser to the very end!

While there was widespread dissatisfaction with the nature of Careers Advising in the 1970s, good will and enthusiasm were not in themselves sufficient to satisfy students' needs. What was required was a major change in philosophy and practice.

In one of the many "happenstances" that characterised careers  at that time, Dr Keith  Underwood from the Student Counselling and Research Unit ( S.C.R.U) at the University of New South Wales had identified the career decision making process as an area of special interest. His research involved a detailed analysis of the latest approaches to vocational development in both the U.K and the U.S.A. Thus he was able to draw on the best of these overseas findings and to blend them into a vocational development framework suitable for the Australian school setting.

His timing could have not been better. As he was seeking opportunities to trial his ideas, Careers Advisers (and the Department) were struggling to find a new way forward. In fact it was Keith's body of work that provided the philosophical and practical underpinning of the careers retraining program as well as their rationale for the enhanced role of the Careers Adviser.

Keith's specialist knowledge and expertise meant he was greatly in demand as a presenter at all the Retraining programs and as a keynote speaker at in-service courses across New South Wales. He gave generously of his time and resources, producing several booklets to assist career advisers develop their programs. These publications were printed by the Department and distributed free of charge to all secondary schools

Titles Included:

• Career Education: Explanatory Notes for a course based upon the Vocational Development Framework 1977;
• Career Planning Activities for the Junior School 1977;
• Career Planning Activities in the Exploratory Stage of Vocational Development 1978;
• Vocational Development Activities for Secondary Students with a Language Handicap 1981.

In spite of his academic qualifications, Keith remained a modest and self-effacing person with a wicked sense of humour. He took great delight in the acronym of his place of work ( S.C.R.U ), a rather risqué undergraduate term in the 70s.

For Careers Advisers in  New South Wales, Dr Keith Underwood was indeed the right man, with the right message at the right time.

Lyn Camp was the face and the voice of the CAA Executive since the early 2000’s through to 2011. She has grown the membership significantly and the association has gone from strength to strength as Lyn with her Careers background, was able to solve every problem and offer lots of advice. Her excellent organisational and people management skills have meant the association has run smoothly and organisations queue to provide sponsorship and purchase exhibition space at every annual conference. 

Life Membership of CAA was awarded to Lirria Larimore for her service to the Association over more than 20 years. Liri has filled just about every role on the Executive Committee during that time and has been a valued member of CAA. She has dedicated her time and efforts over such a long period of time to the advancement of Careers Advisers in schools and the growth of CAA. On behalf of the CAA Executive and all CAA members, we thank Liri for her service to colleagues, the Association and the profession.