The Beans Team!

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 President

Julie has taught and written materials for students and teachers in U.K Australia, Canada USA.

Her leadership roles include Head of Education at the Australian Museum, Manager,  Academic Learning Centre, International College of Management Sydney and General Manager of the Peer Support Foundation. 

She founded Leading and Learning which developed projects for charities, businesses, and schools.  She loves reading, writing, singing, art  bushwalking  and travel. 

Her novel Nowt But Drippin’ was published in 2019. She is working on 'Sisters' an anthology of short stories.

Treasurer

My working life led to such diverse experiences as teaching, teacher education, educational research and school administration in United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the United States.  

I love to sketch, cycle, bush walk and cook.  Travel is my passion and I have visited over 30 countries.  

My creative writing journey has only just begun, which is why I joined ‘Spill the Beans”!

Secretary & Public Officer

Erica is a passionate environmental scientist who has worked locally and internationally on a range of environmental projects. 

She is now semi-retired, enjoying teaching Land Conservation at TAFE and trying to focus more on her writing. In addition to writing short stories and micro-fiction, she is currently translating and writing her Grandmother's memoir.

Challenge Editor

Adelaide Hunter’s love of stories began very early when she listened to her father reading The Little Matchgirlby Hans Christian Andersen. The rest is history.

Adelaide writes in a variety of genres and is published in the anthology Weaving Words and ink Magazine She belongs to the writing group Write on Water, participates in the Self-Publishing Australia community and is a member of Sydney Authors Inked.

Grants and Fundraising

I joined Spill the Beans to get motivated with my writing, as well as to meet people with a similar interest. It is great to see the wonderfully diverse stories written by members – who come from all walks of life.

I find the writing challenges are fun and really look forward to them.

I have lived in the Manly area for 30 years but am not a Northern Beaches native, having migrated to Australia as a child and grown up in western Sydney. I have lived in Queensland and on the NSW mid-north coast and have a daughter who lives in Melbourne.

For the past two decades, I have worked in local government, mainly in community development.

I am interested psychology, music and art and enjoy walking in nature and swimming.

I hope to put my skills to good use for the Beans and help raise funds for the group.

Social Media

When I reflect on my decision to volunteer with Spill the Beans, I admit that it came with a bit of procrastination on my part. Then one morning, while swimming at the beach, I spotted a T-shirt that read, “JUST DO IT!” That simple message reminded me that sometimes all it takes is a little nudge to take action. So, on a whim, I decided to join that very day. 

What I love about volunteering, is the flexibility it allows and the freedom to engage in work I genuinely enjoy.

As a social media promoter for Spill the Beans, I’m able to tap into my creativity by crafting engaging content. With the occasional reminder to 'use the colour orange!'(an inside joke) we like to keep things light-hearted and fun. 

Lois is a native New Yorker living Down Under since the early 2000. She is passionate about nutrition, health and wellness and is convinced that a good dose of humour is the best medicine.

Her interests include daily ocean swims, grounding in nature, and puttering in the garden.

Photographer & Poet

Laurie Wilson grew up on the Northern Beaches and spent most of his working life as a research scientist, specialising in physics and computer science in medicine.  

He worked at the Universities of Sydney and Oxford and later led research groups in CSIRO in medical imaging research, with a focus on clinical ultrasound.  

Since retiring, he has revived a strong interest in photography, and is now a frequent speaker to U3A (University of the Third Age) and other community groups on his interests in science and photography. 

We are looking for volunteers to help with membership,  events and maintaining our website a

Could that be you?

Send an email to spillthebeans321@gmail.com