Our team

CYPEP is a multi-disciplinary, multi-method team undertaking research into the social, political and economic factors, forces and trends that affect young people’s lives.

We aim to build alliances with change-makers across sectors and directly engage with young people to produce evidence-based insights, influence policy and inform education practice.

We are based in the Faculty of Education as we believe education is a means to effect lasting change. We also understand that researchers from a broad range of disciplines also seek to understand young people and the key issues which might impact upon their lives. Therefore, members of CYPEP will include researchers from law, economics, sociology, and other fields that share a desire to improve the lives of young people.

How we work

We are committed to working collaboratively. We want to see what can be achieved when we build ‘surprising alliances’ and bring together people and organisations from across different sectors and with different perspectives.

Our external Advisory Board will be critical to this mission. Members will provide strategic advice and thought leadership, help us test our ideas, and connect the centre with other external stakeholders and networks.

We are committed to genuine and authentic engagement with young people to ensure they are active collaborators in our research program. Therefore, we will establish a Youth Reference Group as part of our governance structure. Members of the Youth Reference Group will provide advice to our researchers to ensure the relevance and impact of our work. Representatives from the Youth Reference Group will also be included on the centre’s Management Committee and Advisory Board so that the Youth Reference Group is integrated with CYPEP’s governance and operations and provides professional development opportunities for young people.

Professor Lucas Walsh

Professor Lucas Walsh is Professor of Education Policy and Practice, Youth Studies and the Director of CYPEP.

His research addresses what the world beyond school looks like for young people, and what types of education and training they need to navigate it.

Blake Cutler

Blake Cutler is a Research Assistant in the Faculty of Education.

His research examines issues of social justice and inequality in schools, with a particular focus on the experiences of LGBTIQ+ young people.

Dr Bao Huynh

Dr Zihong Deng

Anna Bui

Assoc. Professor Mark Rickinson (Chair)

Mark Rickinson is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at Monash University and is currently leading The Q Project, a five-year initiative with the Paul Ramsay Foundation to improve the use of research evidence in Australian schools. His work is focused on understanding and improving the use of research in policy and practice.

Professor Paula Gerber

Professor Paula Gerber is a professor at Monash University Law School. She is an expert in international human rights law, with a particular specialisation in children’s rights and the rights of LGBTIQ persons and a former member of the board of the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Professor Asad Islam

Professor Asad Islam is a professor at the Department of Economics at Monash University and the director of the Centre for Development Economics and Substantiality (CDES). His research interests include the economics of education and health, food security, energy, disaster and environment, technology adoption, gender, microfinance, social networks, and corruption.

Professor Lucas Walsh

Professor Lucas Walsh is Professor of Education Policy and Practice, Youth Studies and the Director of CYPEP.

His research addresses what the world beyond school looks like for young people, and what types of education and training they need to navigate it.

Associate Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon

Associate Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon is Director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre and an Associate Professor of Criminology at Monash University (Victoria, Australia). She also holds affiliated research appointments with the School of Law and Social Justice at University of Liverpool (Honorary Research Fellow, 2016-2020) and the Research Center on Violence at West Virginia University (2019). Kate conducts research in the area of domestic and family violence, femicide, responses to all forms of violence against women, children and young people; and the impacts of law reform in Australia and internationally. Kate has advised on homicide law reform, family violence and youth justice reviews in several Australian and international jurisdictions. Kate has secured over $10 million in competitive research funding from a range of sources, including the Australian Research Council, Victorian Government, Commonwealth Government, AAustralian Institute of Criminology and ANROWS.

Ms Katrina Reynen OAM (Chair)

Katrina Reynen is a highly respected and experienced senior executive leader and board chair with a successful career in education and global business management. She is a senior advisor on leadership, innovation and strategy and is the managing director of an education consultancy, Brightest Horizons.

Katrina has held senior decision-making leadership roles across the corporate, government (public administration) and not-for-profit sectors. She has chaired the Skyline Education Foundation as it has grown fourfold over the past five years and been a director on the board of Skyline for 15 years. Her personal legacy in the education sector includes transformational ICT-enabled projects including the design and rollout of wireless networks in all government schools, and the FUSE portal. She was honoured to be conferred with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2020 for service to education.

Ms Katherine Ellis

Katherine is CEO of Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic), the peak body and leading advocate for young people and the youth sector in Victoria. Her previous roles include director of youth affairs at the Commonwealth of Nations, working on youth empowerment policy and programming across 53 countries; CEO of youth development organisation the Reach Foundation; and periods consulting to other organisations such as Teach for Australia and the Foundation for Young Australians. Prior to this, she spent over a decade in the private sector, working both in Australia and internationally in a variety of analysis, strategy and corporate social responsibility roles.

Katherine believes that it is vitally important to recognise young people as experts in their own lives, and make sure their unique needs and perspectives are at the heart of the policies, decisions and programs that affect them.

Mr Stephen Fraser

As Deputy Secretary, School Education Programs and Support (SEPS), Victorian Department of Education and Training, Stephen leads policy and program development to improve learning and wellbeing outcomes for all students, regardless of their background. Stephen has extensive experience in education policy-making and implementation. He has held a range of senior roles in Victoria, including regional director for the South Western Victoria Region and Executive Director for Implementation. He has also served as a seconded senior advisor to the Victorian Minister for Education and Deputy Premier.

Stephen also served as deputy chief executive for the Education Endowment Foundation, an independent charity in the UK dedicated to breaking the link between family background and educational attainment through the generation and use of high-quality evidence about what works to improve outcomes for students experiencing disadvantage.

Professor Michael Mintrom

Michael Mintrom is the inaugural director of Monash University's Better Governance and Policy research focus area, and a professor of public policy at Monash University.

An authority on public policy processes and advocacy, Michael advances knowledge of effective policy development, how policies can have strong, positive impacts, and how academic research can better inform practice. His models of strategic policy development have had significant impact across various areas of government activity. Michael previously chaired a taskforce on early childhood education for the New Zealand government, creating An Agenda for Amazing Children.

Assoc. Professor Mark Rickinson

His work is focused on understanding and improving the use of research in policy and practice.

Professor Lucas Walsh

Professor Lucas Walsh is Professor of Education Policy and Practice, Youth Studies and the Director of CYPEP.

His research addresses what the world beyond school looks like for young people, and what types of education and training they need to navigate it.

Professor Neil Selwyn

Professor Neil Selwyn is Deputy Dean Research in the Faculty of Education, Monash University. Neil’s research and teaching focuses on the place of digital media in everyday life, and the sociology of technology (non)use in educational settings. Neil is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences, and media commentator on issues relating to digital technology and education.

Professor Alan France

Alan is Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences Te Pokapū Pūtaiao Pāpori at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

He was a co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth at the University of Sheffield (2002) and between 2006 and 2010 he was Director of Centre for Social Policy at Loughborough University.

His research interests are on the sociology of youth and the youth question. He has published on a wide range of areas such as; youth and citizenship; youth crime; youth and risk taking and youth policy.

Sarah Ramantanis

As Marketing Officer at Philanthropy Australia, Sarah aims to highlight the contribution of the philanthropic sector to the community, as she is driven by the desire to promote the welfare of others.

Within the charitable sector, Sarah has a wide range of philanthropy and advocacy experience, as she is Co-Chair of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, Founder of KOS Magazine, a board director of Kids in Philanthropy, and the Communications Lead at Nexus Australia.

She is completing her Master of Marketing and Communications at Monash University.

Yuqi Lin

Yuqi Lin received her master's degree from Monash University, Faculty of Education. She is interested in the globalisation, internationalisation of higher education, and the well-being of international students.

Andrew Leap

Andrew is a recent VCE graduate currently studying a Bachelor of Commerce & Global Studies at Monash University. He has a growing history of working, volunteering and advocating in the education and health sector, and has been involved with many initiatives to support young people. This includes speaking to or working with various stakeholders such as policymakers to represent their voices.

Yuqi Lin

Rebecca Walters

Rebecca is studying a dual Bachelor of Science (Ecology & Conservation Biology)/Global Studies (International Studies) at Monash University. She seeks to support youth agency with experience facilitating and participating in youth consultations and summits at state, national, and international levels. Rebecca is excited by the YRG as a platform to amplify the voices of young people in youth policy and education practice.

Mark Yin

Mark (he/him) is a 22-year-old third culture kid living on Wurundjeri country. He is completing his Honours in criminology at the University of Melbourne, and is an avid fan of Mariah Carey.

Steven Banh

Steven is studying a Bachelor of Commerce (Majoring in Economics and Management) at the University of Melbourne. He is passionate about supporting and working with young people from different backgrounds. He hopes to work one day in the education sector, whether that would be in teaching or education policy