Kendal Hann
Kendal Hann, Director of the Tallong Campus, has a broad range of experience in schools, TAFE, university and the corporate sector. Education is at the heart of all he does.
Kendal holds a Bachelor of Sports Science degree, a Graduate Diploma in Education, a Diploma in Outdoor Recreation and is a Master in Organisational Learning. Kendal has been an outdoor education teacher and has also taught personal and leadership development to adults in the corporate sector internationally and around Australia. Clients have included CBA, NAB and Optus and his programs resulted in improved team performance and enhanced self-awareness in adults.
Highlights of Kendal’s career so far include educational trips to Tasmania, a ‘surfing safari’ in Queensland, backcountry ski trips around the world and 140 days in one year living in a tent in regional Australia.
After hours, Kendal chooses to spend his time camping with his sons and on river trips with his friends.
Kendal recognises that our lives now contain a certain measure of volatility and uncertainty. The leadership and personal development programs available at Tallong under his management aim to future-proof participants for the complex world ahead of them.
Geoffrey Sylvester
Tallong’s famous chef, Geoffrey Sylvester, has worked as our Head Chef since 2015. Before joining the Tallong team he worked in many restaurants, including as Head Chef of a seafood restaurant in Sydney. At Tallong where he is affectionately known as Chefrey, he has created a wonderful atmosphere inspiring both the kitchen team and visiting students and clients alike. Nourishing the soul as well as the body, Geoff is probably our most popular staff member.
He has established exceptional relationships with our food suppliers to ensure the reliable delivery of high-quality and fresh produce.
Clients’ dietary needs are Geoff’s focus and he makes most of the meals from scratch in Tallong’s commercial kitchen. Yet Tallong meals are like family activities, with home cooking on a grand scale. Geoff takes the time to call parents of children who have special dietary needs to talk through the food preparation and menus with them and with the students.
Geoff’s freshly baked scones are always eagerly anticipated by regular visitors to Tallong while the students’ favourite dinner at Tallong is Geoff’s roast with homemade crackling, followed by sticky date pudding served with homemade butterscotch sauce.
Chris Walker
Tallong’s Coordinator of Outdoor Education and Experiential Learning Chris Walker is an author, teacher, and adventurer who lives and breathes outdoor life. He has rafted the Grand Canyon, sea kayaked Bass Strait, hiked to Everest Base Camp and spent time on the fire ground with the Gospers Mountain bushfire in 2020 as a Rural Fire Service volunteer. He’s a mountain biker, road rider, fire fighter, bushwalker and paddler. He believes in the positive benefits of spending time outdoors, mental and physical fitness, and has a passion for resilience and grit.
Chris coordinates and accompanies students on expeditions, Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Adventurous Journeys and Outdoor Education programs at Tallong. He is a qualified Outdoor Education and Geography teacher (BEd Hons) and believes that ‘extending your comfort zone and spending time outdoors leads to personal growth’.
His expeditions aim to build character and resilience while unleashing the power within individuals to lead them to be the best version of who they are.
Kendal, Geoff and Chris also work with a team of Outdoor Education Instructors, kitchen hands and cleaners.