Our Team
Leadership Team
David chiem
FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE CHAIRAN & GROUP CEO
David and his family arrived in the Australia when he was 9 as ‘boat people’ after fleeing war-ravaged Vietnam, surviving a close encounter with murderous pirates and enduring life in a Malaysian refugee camp. Labelled ‘stupid’ by one of his classmates on his first day in school because he couldn’t speak a word of English, David went onto become the first Asian cast in a lead role on mainstream Australian television, in the internationally acclaimed drama series Butterfly Island. He also published two critically acclaimed novels, ‘Only the Heart’ and ‘The Full Story’, which were nominated for three prestigious Australian literary awards. Together with internationally acclaimed author and literacy expert Brian Caswell, David is authored ‘The 3-Mind Revolution’, the groundbreaking book that lays out a revolutionary new worldview for Global Leaders, Educators and Parents. His research and work in in developing the 3-Mind philosophy underpins the MindChamps movement, providing children with the mindset and learning tools to be the best they can be and to thrive in an AI-dominated world.
Brian Caswell
Dean of Research & Programme Development
Brian is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning author, researcher, educator and songwriter, with a passion for early-childhood education and a special interest in the psychology and neuroscience of the learning brain. Partnering with David Chime since the very beginning of the Mind Champs Movement ins Sydney in 1998, Brian’s work with the MindChamps Global Research, Advisory & Programme Development Team comprising of world-leading educationists, developmental psychologists, language acquisition specialists and neuroscientists from 4 continents, has been instrumental in the development of MindChamps' educational philosophy and neuroscience-based learning strategies - including the SMILESTM Early Learning methodology. MindChamps’ proprietary breakthrough curriculum and pedagogy, which has been hailed as a learning revolution, is used in all MindChamps Early Learning & PreSchool centres worldwide. Brian was also mentor to the team that developed the celebrated MindChamps Reading programme, personally writing over 200 reading and phonics books and 40 songs for use in the programme. Over the past 35 years, Brian has spoken live to over 300,000 people on the subjects of Creativity, Literacy, Writing Education and Early Childhood Development. Brian's published writing ranges from cutting-edge Young Adult novels and short-stories to instructional volumes for parents and educators, and from picture books for beginning readers to numerous articles and book chapters on literacy, creativity, education and parenting.
Neuroscience Advisory
EMERITUS PROFESSOR ALLAN SNYDER FRS
Chancellor & Chair of the MindChamps Global Research, Advisory & Programme Development Team
Fellow of the Royal Society (the prestigious scientific fellowship that counts Newton and Einstein as its former fellows). Founder, Centre for the Mind (University of Sydney). Holds the 150th Anniversary Chair of Science at the University of Sydney. Winner of the 2001 Marconi International Prize, the world’s foremost prize in communications and information technology.
DR FIONA KERR
SENIOR FELLOW & DIRECTOR OF MINDCHAMPSAIR
MPsych PhD (Eng,Nsc) FTSE. Founder of The NeuroTech Institute and FocusNTI. Renowned expert in human connectivity, synchronisation, and the integration of technology with adaptive human systems. Consults with governments, defense departments and major corporations on the neurophysiology of interaction – between humans, and with and through technology.
Education Advisory
EMERITUS PROFESSOR STEVEN SCHWARTZ AM, FASSA
Senior Fellow
Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2013. Former Chairman of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority International award-winning researcher. Named as one of the 100 highest cited researchers in his field. Former professor with Harvard and Stanford. Won the Brain Research Award, British Red Cross Society Australian Academy of Science – Royal Society (London) Exchange Fellowship. Former Vice-Chancellor of: Macquarie University, Brunel University and Murdoch University
MR STEVEN ANDREWS
Chief Academic Officer
Former Senior Education Advisor to the UK Government (Tony Blair Administration). Former Director of Schools, Greenwich, UK. Former Group Chief Education Officer, Cognita International Schools. Former Group CEO, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore.
MRS CARMEE LIM
Mentor Principal
Former Principal of Raffles Girls’ School, one of Singapore’s top schools. Former Senior Inspector of Schools in the Ministry of Education, Singapore. First Executive Director of the Academy of Principals, Singapore.
MRS LOUISE MULLIGAN-ANDREWS
Director General of Education
Former Director of Schools, The Department for Education, UK. Responsible for improving student exam performance in Nottingham City at double the national rate.
Prof. Trevor H. Cairney, OAM
Fellow
Awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2012. Adjunct Professor at the University of New South Wales, Department of Education. President of the New South Wales Business Chamber. Has written nine books and over 200 reports, articles and book chapters on early learning, training, language acquisition and development.
Libby Gleeson
Fellow
Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007. Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, Department of Education and Social Work. Award-winning writer for picture books and fiction titles, including Hannah and the Tomorrow Room, An Ordinary Day, and Amy and Louis. Chair of WestWords, Western Sydney’s Literature Development Organization for Young People.
DR JAMES MUEKE
SENIOR FELLOW
2020 Australian of the Year. Former Lieutenant Governor of South Australia. Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012. World-renowned Ophthalmologist and blindness prevention
Psychology Advisory
Prof. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek
Senior Fellow
Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, USA. Director, Infant Language Laboratory, Temple University, USA. Recipient of numerous awards. Author of 12 books including Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children, Einstein Never Used Flash Cards and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool. Has published over 200 articles and research papers.
Prof. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff
Senior Fellow
Director, Child’s Play, Learning, and Development Laboratory, University of Delaware, USA. Recipient of numerous awards. Author of 14 books including Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children, Einstein Never Used Flash Cards and A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool. Has published over 150 articles and research papers
Theatre Advisory
Dr Scott Hicks
Senior Fellow
Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award-winning director and screenwriter. Director of the Academy Award-winning films Shine, Snow Falling on Cedars and box-office hits including No Reservations and The Lucky One. Member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. SA Australian of the Year recipient in 2008.
MR AUBREY MELLOR
Senior Fellow
Awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1992. Former Director of the world-renowned National Institute of Dramatic Art, Australia. Renowned theatre teacher to a generation of acclaimed Australian Academy Award winners