Sydney, Australia – 29 May 2023: The Public Education Foundation welcomes David Riordan as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), commencing today.

Mr Riordan brings a wealth of experience as a former primary school teacher and from his 30-year career in the vocational education and training (VET) sector, mostly as a senior executive. He has held several high-profile roles, including CEO of the NSW Department of Education International, Director of Sydney TAFE one of the largest TAFE institutes in the country, CEO of the NSW Office of Communities and Director of City Services at the City of Sydney.

“Following an extensive and extremely competitive recruitment process, I am delighted to have David Riordan join the Public Education Foundation team in this key leadership role. We look forward to working with him as the Foundation continues delivering a great range of scholarships and advocating for a high quality, widely respected public education system,” Board Chair, Mr David Friedlander, said.

The Public Education Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing life changing scholarships to young people in public education, as well as their teachers and principals. It also, in partnership with the sector, advocates for the value of public education across Australia.

Mr Riordan begins in his role with the Foundation on the day of its annual NSW scholarship awards ceremony, which will be held tonight at Sydney’s Town Hall with expected attendance of approximately 1,000 people.

During his executive career, Mr Riordan actively promoted Australian public education across the globe. He said: “It’s a privilege to be appointed to this role at the Public Education Foundation and I look forward to supporting and enabling public education even further. Education is a passport to a brighter future for all Australians.”

Mr Riordan will continue his board roles at the Tamworth Community College and the NEAS (National English Language Teaching Accreditation Scheme).

The Public Education Foundation has been extremely privileged to have been led by its previous CEO, David Hetherington, for 6 years. During that time, the Foundation’s reach and scale has increased significantly, as well as the level of philanthropic support that it has received for its important work. Mr Hetherington made a very significant contribution to the Foundation and intends to continue supporting public education and the Foundation in a number of ways in the future.

Mr Friedlander also thanked Paul Somers for his dedication and great work as Acting CEO while the search for Mr Riordan was being completed. Mr Somers will return to his role of Chief Operating Officer.

For more information please contact:

Paul Somers Tel: 02 7814 2806

Email: paul@publiceducationfoundation.org.au

Public Education Foundation: http://www.publiceducationfoundation.org.au