PETE MCAULIFFE (HEAD OF TEAM & SENIOR FACILITATOR) & (HEAD OF UPP IRELAND)

Pete leads and serves the UPP facilitators team and now leads and serves as the Head of - Unleashing Personal Potential IRELAND. He looks forward to continually and deliberately growing himself and this new team.

Pete has been a key member of the UPP team for the past 7 years. Since 2013, he has spoken to and worked with over 150,000 students, parents and staff in schools, universities, church and sports groups.

Pete served as College Captain in 2012, and this experience cemented his passion for authentic leadership and challenging young people to be their best. He had the opportunity to complete two years of youth work, in both cities of Sydney and Canberra. He has since worked for a further two years alongside the Student Wellbeing Team of Iona College, as a Behaviour Management Coach, Wellbeing Coach and Campus Minister. This gave Pete the opportunity to lead, develop and run retreats, programs and camps for young people from age 7 up to 30 years old.

In 2018, he has completed the Discovering Positive Education course, run by Geelong Grammar’s Institute of Positive Education.

Pete’s greatest joy in life is spending time with his wife Niamh and their sons Tobias, Boaz with another on the way.

Over Pete’s time as a presenter, he has come to believe that you can’t change your past, but you can choose your future; and that each student should have the opportunity to be their best.

NIAMH MCAULIFFE (HEAD OF TUTORING)

Niamh McAuliffe graduated as a primary school teacher (B.Ed) from St Patrick’s College, Dublin in 2012. After many years of teaching experience, volunteer work, youth work and world travel, she completed a Masters of Education (M.Ed) in 2018, in Tabor University, Adelaide.

Niamh has worked in Education for over 10 years, teaching in both Irish and Australian schools, in addition to working as a private educational tutor. Niamh was the 2015 Queensland Rose of Tralee and was nominated for an Excellence Award with Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) in 2018. She is highly motivated and passionate about education, and toward finding specific pedagogies that help every child achieve their full potential.

Niamh has recently returned home to Ireland with her husband Peter and two beautiful boys, Tobias and Boaz, with a third little one on the way.

LUKE MCKENNA (FOUNDER & DIRECTOR)

UPP founder, Luke McKenna is an educator and author who specialises in working with schools to build growth mindsets, grit, wellbeing and leadership for all students. Over the last 15 years, he has worked as a classroom teacher, middle leader and Assistant Principal. Luke has worked with educators and students across Australian Primary and Secondary schools from the Independent, Catholic and Public sectors.

He holds degrees in Business and Education, a Masters of Educational Leadership, and a Professional Certificate in Positive Education.

Luke has spoken at The Positive Schools Conference; the Adolescent Success Conference; Griffith University's Professional Development Network Conference; and ACU's Advisory Conferences in Canberra and Brisbane. His work has been published in the Australian Journal of Middle Schooling, Happy Schools and The Positive Times, and he is also the author of "Thrive: Unlocking the truth about student performance" (2015) and Making Wellbeing Practical (2019).