Expert Presenters and Panel Members

Wicked Problems: Innovative Solutions

Course Co-ordinator

Kerin's passion lies in building students employability and professional identity through industry placements, internships and networking. She co-designed Wicked Problems Innovative Solutions with students for its launch in 2016 and it includes many innovative teaching techniques popular with students.

Professor Guy Johnson

Unison Professor of Urban Housing and Homelessness Centre for Applied Social Research RMIT University

Guy has been involved in the area of homelessness for over two decades, initially as a practitioner and more recently as a researcher. Guy’s research is focused on theoretical and applied questions relating to the dynamics of homelessness – why some people become homeless, why some people remain homeless, and why some people exit homelessness.

Guy has co-authored a number of books including ‘On the Outside: Pathways in and out of homelessness’ and ‘Young People leaving state out-of-home care: Australian policy and practice’ and has published over 50 reports and refereed papers, as well as 8 book chapters. In 2009 he was awarded the Norman Smith Publication Award for the best research article in Australian Social Work for his paper Homelessness and substance abuse: Which comes first? (with Chris Chamberlain).

Jeanette Large

CEO: Women's Property Initiatives

Women's Property Initiatives is a not-for-profit that provides affordable, long-term homes for low income women and children facing homelessness. In my time with WPI, our housing stock has increased from 11 dwellings to 68, and we will soon add 15 more properties to our portfolio. At this time we will accommodate more than 200 women and children, allowing them to live with dignity and contribute to their communities. My role combines the satisfaction and reward of empowering women to rebuild their lives by giving them access to stable, long-term housing with the challenge of fostering the growth that WPI needs to become a self-sustaining organisation. As part of this quest for growth, I have overseen the establishment of a for-profit, social enterprise real estate agency. Property Initiatives Real Estate profits are directed to WPI to enable it to continue to build long-term, affordable homes for women and children in need.

Robert Pradolin

Property Development, Strategic Advisor,

Housing All Australians

It is understanding the drivers of housing affordability and the importance of housing for all – rich or poor – that has ignited a passion to drive change. Through General Management roles with one of Australia’s largest property developers, to working directly with government ministers, policy makers, community housing providers and their support services, I have worked tenaciously to increase awareness that “housing for all” is essential economic infrastructure and underpins Australia’s prospects for stable, long term economic growth.

I believe Australia needs more affordable housing and more social housing. I also believe that we need to unlock institutional investment in this sector. We need to think differently and create new and innovative funding mechanisms similar in principle to those adopted in the UK and the US.

Part of the solution is to also disrupt the construction sector with new ways of building.