Meet our team: Bernie

With extensive experience working in the education sector, Bernie is able to leverage her knowledge and expertise leading our Partner Success team that looks after our partner schools. One of things that attracted her to working at Edstart is the common belief that education is a powerful investment, and she’s passionate about helping schools deliver positive experiences and outcomes for students.

Tell us what you do at Edstart and what that involves

I’m the Partner Success Team Lead and have just reached my 3 year mark at Edstart this November. My role involves looking after the team as well as supporting some of our partner schools.

The Partner Success team is responsible for managing the relationship with our partner schools. This includes onboarding new schools by ensuring a smooth implementation and rollout to their parent community, working with our School Support team on operational matters for our existing partners, and tracking to make sure Edstart is delivering for schools.

Where were you working before joining Edstart?

I’ve worked in similar partner success and account management roles for the last 15 years. I love working in the education sector, and previously supported schools provide students with STEM-based excursions. Prior to that, I worked for a not-for-profit agency who helped schools provide students with low-cost laptops.

What made you decide to choose to work at Edstart?

The amazing company culture. After I took a bit of a hiatus from work back in 2009, I made a conscious choice to work for organisations who aim to enhance education and Edstart aligned with this mission.

As part of the Partner Success team, what do you think makes you successful as a team?

Trust. We focus on building meaningful relationships with our partner schools so that they trust us to look after their families. A key focus for us as a team is to provide clear communications, while ensuring we properly listen to any queries or feedback from schools so that we can respond timely and appropriately.

Tell us a little bit about yourself - how do you like to spend time with your kids?

I’ve spent most of my life in Sydney and am a Pymble Ladies’ College alumni. Our family recently relocated to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and we've been busy exploring our new backyard which involves visiting the various beaches and surf clubs. We also got a dog this year - a puppy called Shibuya named after my daughter’s favourite place to visit - so spending loads of time playing with him.

Does being a parent help you with your work - if so, how?

For sure, having kids at school is a constant reminder of why we do what we do. When kids are happy at school, they do well in all areas - learning, grades, extra curricular (drama in our case), and most importantly building their friendship groups and support networks. Keeping kids in the school that fits them most is paramount to me, both a parent and as part of the Partner Success team at Edstart.

What do you find most rewarding about your work?

Working with amazing people who are all here to do a great job and who are constantly looking for ways we can better support our schools and families.

It’s rewarding working in the education sector as I get to see what schools are doing to support their students - whether it’s building facilities to enhance the learning experience, developing programs to support specialist skillsets or providing support to help build resilient, confident caring people. By taking away the pain of managing school fees for schools and providing them certainty with cash flow, Edstart is able to help schools deliver and achieve things that matter to student outcomes.

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