Photo Credit:
Jemima Brackley ~ 3 May 2023
Significant Engagements
For the past 2 years, Ailsa has undertaken senior publishing work for Wolters Kluwer Health. In mid 2021, Ailsa also worked on content creation for online recruitment via campaign marketing at Federation University.
In early 2020, Ailsa conducted curatorial support and concept development work for the 2020 Ballarat Heritage Weekend Festival. In 2018, she was a venue manager for the Biennale of Australian Art, working at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, the premier venue.
Ailsa spent 3.5 years as a University educator in adult learning and teaching, working as a sessional Course Coordinator, lecturer, tutor, content creator, examiner and moderator of partner providers for upper level undergraduate Marketing courses. She coordinated Product Management for four consecutive years. She has also coordinated and taught Services Marketing and Marketing Research within Federation Business School. Ailsa coordinated and moderated Consumer Behaviour for off-shore partner providers. During 2015, Ailsa worked part-time as a specialist Learning Designer in Digital Futures for six months with CLIPP at Federation University.
Ailsa was the Artistic Director of the 2016 '10th Anniversary' Clunes Booktown Festival for Creative Clunes. She was responsible for programming, theming, identifying and contracting festival participants: writers, speakers, entertainers, performers and biblio-artists, managing evening events and all of the marketing and promotional aspects of the Festival. The role involved nurturing strategic alliances with cultural, literary, arts and educational partners and sponsors, as well as local government and community based organisations. On 30 April -1 May 2016, Ailsa delivered the engaging 10th Anniversary Festival, with A Grade speakers, attracting approximately 17,500 people, and igniting significant media interest. She also outlined preliminary plans for the 11th Festival. This short-term contract was successfully completed 31st May 2016.
For twelve months, from March 2015 until end of February 2016, Ailsa was contracted as the Marketing Communications Manager of Open Door Studio for the architectural team 'Here Studio' at Civic Hall Site, a prime central precinct destined for major and multi-faceted redevelopment in the City of Ballarat. She managed the strategic communications, marketing collateral, media liasion, social media and publicity for community participation and sustainable urban regeneration. Within this role, Ailsa chaired public seminars on 'Libraries of the Future' and 'Sound & Light', and was the author of futuristic character narratives for 'Transition Exhibition 10to5'. For six months, she was the Managing Editor of Civic Hall Site's fortnightly newsletter.
Publishing Expertise
Not that long ago, Ailsa worked full-time as a senior educational publisher for a 14 year period. In that role she was responsible for publishing over 162 actualised marketing, management, business, social science and humanities text books, as well as countless accompanying digital teaching and learning items. She was the signer and product manager of over 65 first edition products, conceptualised, contracted and brought successfully to fruition: building constructive and productive author and client relationships is a key strength area. In this role, Ailsa hired and trained 40 or more in-house staff and also travelled extensively, across Australia & NZ as a talent scout and conference attendant.
Ailsa's publications have been the category winners of 7 'The Australian and A.P.A. Awards for Excellence in Educational Publishing', plus 3 'Highly Commended' awards, 2 'The Australian Publishers Association Book Design Awards and 4 'McGraw-Hill Companies International Sales Awards' for Higher Education.
Ailsa's professional purpose as a senior level publishing industry professional was to strategically commission, manage and enable the strategic creation of market-leading products that offered distinct points of difference, content integrity and consumer appeal. As Senior Publisher for Oxford University Press (ANZ) and McGraw-Hill Higher Education (ANZ) Ailsa ensured her talent stable and product portfolio offered sustainable advantage, profitability and revenue raising longevity over and abovecompetitors. Prior to this, Ailsa worked in sales and writing roles for the Sydney book trade.
Earlier Experience
Last Century, Ailsa spent 10 years with big brand name companies in three other industries: broadcast media (radio announcing, music mixing and commentary & television policy research and writing); tourism (international travel sales and tour guiding); hospitality (5-star service management for Intercontinental Hotel, A.N.A. Hotel, Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide Festival Centre, and in high-end private catering).
Current 'National Police' Clearance Certificate
& 'Working with Children' Card Holder.
Ailsa has lived and worked in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and Ballarat, with some professional stints in New Zealand, Japan and the United States.