Angela Falkenberg is an experienced school and community leader whose personal leadership commitment is to support students, educators, and families to have skills of resilience and optimism and for leaders to be and lead well.
She has curated a range of ‘fit for purpose’ high impact culture building and self-care strategies that make a positive difference and shares them with authenticity and humour.
In May 2023, Angela was elected unanimously as the President of the Australian Primary Principal Association by the National Advisory Council. Angela, who previously served as the President of the South Australian Primary Principals Association, has extensive experience in leadership roles within secondary schools and in various system capacities. Her roles have included serving as a behaviour coach, a literacy leadership coach, and overseeing the recruitment and professional growth of teachers for South Australia’s Aboriginal and Anangu Schools.
Her teaching career began in indigenous education in the NT and has included roles in primary and secondary education with a focus on students and families experiencing educational disadvantage. She also led a three-year health care project in the neonatal nurseries of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital and is a past president of charity SIDS and Kids SA. She holds a master’s degree in special education and continues to embrace the joy of life-long learning.
She is grateful that through her upbringing she was supported to develop skills in optimism and resilience – which she describes as including mental toughness and emotional strength as these have been needed through her life, no more than when a house fire took the life of her husband and young son or when a parent pulled out a gun instead of some pithy, well-crafted arguments.
Angela is also rational optimist as she can’t see the point in being anything else.