Our Educators

Shai Coggins

Learning and Teaching Innovation Manager, SA

Shai Coggins joined Lumination as one of its first educators and is currently the Learning Design Lead. Passionate about technology and futures education, Shai enjoys designing and implementing learning programs that empower educators to use emerging technologies across the curriculum. Shai is a registered teacher with a Master’s degree in Teaching, as well as a Master’s degree and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Before joining Lumination, Shai was a classroom and technologies teacher at an elite IB PYP school for girls, a classroom teacher and STEM Coordinator at an independent school, and has taught at various state and independent schools. She was also a tutor in the Department for Education’s pilot Learning+ maths program. Prior to becoming an educator, Shai worked in different industries, including running her own business working with clients like Microsoft. Her work in industry has been acknowledged in various media, including being featured in Fast Company’s list of most talented Women in Tech (2009).

Jolanta Stephens

Learning Design Lead

Jolanta has been in education for 20 years. She is an experienced Middle School and Primary School Classroom teacher with specilaised training in the Arts, Digital Technology, and Creating Cultures of Thinking (Harvard Project Zero). She has held numerous positions of responsibility, including IBMYP Coordinator, Year Level Curriculum Coordinator, Middle Years Learning Leader, Interdisciplinary Learning Lead, and Vice Principal of the Adelaide Lithuanian Ethnic School. Currently, she is the Learning Design Lead at Lumination, overseeing education support deployment for Lumination Learning Labs with a team of Learning Designers.

Jolanta works with her team of Learning Designers to support the implementation of immersive learning technologies in schools around Australia. Along with this, she works to develop learning tasks and develop teacher practice in embedding immersive technologies into a robust and rigorous curriculum.

Jolanta’s educational philosophy is underpinned by an attitude of taking risks and pushing boundaries. She enjoys pushing herself beyond comfort zones in educational practices and considers herself a lifelong learner.

Naomi Guglielmo

Beacon Program Lead & Learning Designer

Naomi is an enthusiastic primary school educator with a passion for technologies, performing arts and literacy. She has over six years of teaching experience across four schools in Adelaide and the Barossa Valley. Student agency, wellbeing and engagement are at the forefront of Naomi’s pedagogical approach. Naomi began her teaching career as a Science and Performing Arts specialist across R-6, then moved into Junior Primary classroom teaching for three years. During this time she became ICT Coordinator, supporting school staff in implementing various new technologies for teaching and assessing (such as SeeSaw and Accelerus). Naomi moved to teaching middle years in a Year 5/6 classroom for two years before joining Lumination as a Learning Designer.

Zeinab Jafari

Learning Designer

Zeinab is a dedicated educator, with a Bachelor of Education from University of South Australia and four years of experience as a primary school teacher. She shows a commitment to fostering a positive and collaborative culture where students, and teachers, feel empowered to explore, question and discover their potential through the use of XR technology. In the past four years, Zeinab has shown commitment to ongoing professional development and adapting her teaching method to stay abreast of new research and programs. She began her XR journey as a Lumination Lab Champion at her school, and can therefore provide a unique perspective in incorporating the technology within the curriculum. Now a Learning Designer at Lumination, Zeinab is excited to work with fellow educators, to not only support their journeys in teaching the next generation, but to also inspire the of leaders, thinkers, and innovators of the future.

Vicki Mennillo

Education Resource Creator

Vicki graduated from the University of South Australia in 2014 and has been working as a Primary Teacher for the past seven years. Throughout her teaching career she has taught predominantly upper primary. At her last teaching position she was the coordinator of the Literacy Committee and the SRC. She also took part in opening a new primary campus for the college. Looking to take a different direction within education, Vicki started her Masters of Education in Leadership and Learning through the University of Technology, Sydney.  Vicki has a love for different technologies and a deep curiosity into how education will change in the future. This led to her role as Education Resource Creator at Lumination.

Sara White

Learning Designer

Sara is a dedicated educator with just under a decade of teaching experience in both NSW and the UK. She has worked as both a Science subject lead and most recently an Innovation Project Leader.

Having worked as a Primary Science & Technology specialist in a prominent NSW private school, Sara is deeply committed to enhancing student learning through technology integration. She believes in making technology an embedded part of the curriculum rather than just an accessory.

Sara loves designing STEM projects that encourage students to tackle real-world problems, fostering critical thinking and creativity. She also enjoys sharing her teaching insights and resources with fellow educators.