Welcome to Goodfellas.
As the co-founder and CEO of Australia’s largest provider of in-school workshops for girls, Enlighten Education, and as an author of three books aimed at supporting young women, I am often asked, “But what about the boys?”
Yes. Boys absolutely need and deserve support. As the mother of a teenage son, this matters to me at a deeply personal level.
Disengagement from school, the pressure to look buffed, feeling like they cannot express the full range of emotions, fall outs with their mates, limiting gender stereotypes… all are issues plaguing our boys. Meanwhile we also need to do the urgent work that is required to educate them in order to help eliminate violence against women.
My years of experience in education, and expertise in designing multi-award winning, engaging programs that can be delivered in schools, lead me to design our debut program – “Myth Busting; busting stereotypes that harm boys.” I also called on the wisdom of colleague and anti-violence campaigner Nina Funnell in producing elements of this – it truly is a considered, positive, and proactive initiative.
And because I believe boys need more strong male role models, I engage highly experienced, qualified presenters with proven track records of working face-to-face with boys and men to lead these conversations that matter.
I am really proud of this initiative, and of my team. I know that together we will help raise some really good fellas.
Dannielle Miller, OAM | Founder of Enlighten Education and Goodfellas.
Our Theory of Change for Boys:
How we create impact and transform the lives of boys and young men, through addressing and debunking myths and stereotypes
Aim: Through the delivery of an evidence based curriculum, Enlighten Educations’s Goodfellas program equips boys with the skills to connect and build strong relationships, advocate for themselves and their peers and become a force for good in a more cohesive year group, reducing behavioural, conflict and engagement issues.
Description: The Goodfellas program is delivered by a professionally trained facilitator, preferably to a whole year group within the school setting. The workshop goes through a series of myths relating to masculinity and progressively debunks these. The workshop builds capacity, knowledge and skills through collective conversation and small group work, using a scaffolded learning approach. Gaining understanding of local context and need prior to the workshop, allows the content to be tailored to deliver the best outcomes for the cohort.
Beneficiaries:
- Boys in grades 5 to 12 (aged 10-18) within the school setting, see impact through participation in the workshops and associated skill and capacity building.
- Teachers who support the workshop delivery see impact through professional learning.
- Schools see impact through more cohesion and confidence in the cohort.
Intended impact: Boys are empowered to move beyond stereotypes, gain skills in conflict management, build connection with their cohort and their school, and develop positive personal wellbeing behaviours.
Meet our presenters.
Jack Ellis is an accomplished actor, educator, artist, speaker and advocate for positive masculinity. As Program Director of Goodfellas NSW and a senior presenter with Enlighten Education, Jack combines his background in teaching, performance and storytelling to create powerful conversations with young men about identity, respect, relationships and what it means to be a good man.
Born in Mount Gambier, South Australia, Jack embraced a wide range of interests throughout his school years, studying drama while also captaining
his AFL football team and training in ballet. His passion for both creativity and education led him to become a qualified primary and high school teacher before pursuing further training at Australia’s prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Acting in 2014.
Jack has since built an impressive career across television, film and theatre. His screen credits include roles in Home and Away, A Place To Call Home, Netflix’s Sweet River, FX’s award-winning series Mr Inbetween and Stan’s Good Cop/Bad Cop. He has also performed Off-Broadway in New York and worked extensively as a performing arts educator, including tutoring actors at NIDA, Sydney Drama School, AFTRS, Sport for Jove Theatre Company and as acting coach for Cirque du Soleil’s Kurios.
While Jack is often cast as complex villains on screen, his real-life passion is helping young people challenge harmful stereotypes and rewrite the script on masculinity. Jack has worked with tens of thousands of young men, facilitating honest, shame-free conversations about respect, empathy, relationships, gender stereotypes and creating change.
Contact one of our team to find out more and to bring our Goodfellas workshops to your school.
Jack was dynamic, passionate, generous and so engaging. My students were in awe and enamoured.
- Leah Pappin, Head Teacher Wellbeing Randwick Boys High School
More testimonials from educators and students
“The day was fantastic! Thank you very much! Jack was so engaging and really kept the boys focused. The learning intention and discussions were spot on.”
“As a large comprehensive High School we find it difficult to find presenters and workshops that engage boys in that Yr 9/10 age bracket. The boys usual response is to rubbish it before it starts. In the middle of the year we enlisted ‘goodfellas’ to work with over one hundred boys. We deliberately did not tell the students too much about the day as we did not want them coming in with pre-conceived ideas about the level of relevance to them. After 10 minutes Ben Barber who ran the program had them hooked. This level of engagement flowed onto the rest of the workshop and we even had the boys asking if we could have them back at another time. For me a lot of the presentations I book are a bit like washing your car, you know when you have done it, but you don’t see much evidence after a month. Although the group of boys were not bad in any way they needed a lift and some identity to the school and I can say that the ‘goodfellas’ program has done that nine months down the track, and we can still see the effects of this program. I recommend ‘goodfellas’ to any school looking for a worthwhile positive program for teenage boys.”
“The Goodfellas presenters were brilliant – so engaging and approachable! Many of our students find school a challenge but the feedback they gave us showed they connected to the program in a deep, and thoughtful way. Our event was simply amazing!”
“Jack was great and the boys really enjoyed his presentation. Their feedback was very positive and they were inspired to change their thinking as a result of his messages. I would definitely like to book you in again next year…”
“I thought it was going to be worthless, but it was excellent. I didn’t have a favourite bit because I think all of it was awesome. I learnt about many different myths that affect boys today.”
“I have been involved in the AFL for over 25 years and had the privilege to learn from and be educated by many keynote speakers. Only a small handful leave a lasting imprint, and Jack Ellis is one of those. He leads and engages with authenticity, humility and courage. He brings a realness to the conversation and lives day by day with gratitude. If you are looking for someone to educate on stereotypes of masculinity, relationships, consent and being an ally, Jack is the perfect person for this.”
“Thank you Jack and Dannielle – what an extraordinary day in the lives of our young Year 10 men. Our key words for the cohort this year are respect and integrity. Today, Jack, you demonstrated to them exactly how that looks. It was incredible to see how engaged and attentive they were and I look forward to seeing their ideas in action as the year progresses. Such powerful messages delivered with such authenticity.”
“I just wanted to convey how outstanding Jack’s presentation was this morning. He was a captivating presenter and the boys were engaged from start to finish. I noticed a number of students go up to Jack for a handshake and a conversation following the presentation.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you for such an outstanding day yesterday. Seeing the students engaged and lost in the words of your presenters was truly inspiring. The fun, kind-natured personalities of your presenters made for an enjoyable day for staff and students. You can tell the love and passion that you have for such an important issue.”
“My favourite part of today was when we got up and did stuff because it’s so fun to create things and make it funny. Today I learnt that myths are not helpful and that both genders can be similar.”
“I learnt that Jack is a really good teacher who makes you feel like you can be true to yourself and a better person. I hope that he can teach my little bro the same valuable lessons that he taught me today.”
“Thank you so much for the student feedback- it is fantastic to read. Jack had a great day with the boys, they were very engaged and responsive to his message. Jack did an amazing job with them!”
“The Goodfellas Program recently trekked to Queensland to visit our school at Redbank Plains State High School. From pre-event organisation to program delivery on the day and follow up post visit, the Goodfellas team was nothing short of amazing – they presented to a cohort of our Year 9 boys and delivered engaging and insightful information into debunking a number of damaging myths young men face and deal with regularly during their journeys through adolescence. I had the pleasure of sitting in on presentations by both Ben and Jack – two respectable young men who captured the attention of our cohort and engaged our students throughout their presentations. What a fantastic supplemental program to our social wellbeing and resilience program that we deliver at Redbank Plains State High School! A big thank you to the team at Goodfellas for value adding and providing our young men with not only strategies to debunk further myths they may face, but key messages about the importance of being a strong male in society – a ‘Goodfella’. We look forward to you returning to our community. Thanks.”
“The presenter… Jack was sensational. He had so much enthusiasm and passion. The students absolutely loved him. The content presented was also fantastic and very relevant. I really felt that each and every student took something away from this and I would absolutely recommend this for every school. Many thanks!”
“I wish all adults would understand (like you do) that boys also feel pressure. Girls might seem all weak, (which is sexist) but even boys have emotions. We aren’t all those buff power houses like everyone thinks.”
“My favourite parts were the interactive ones. I learnt that we aren’t all heartless Neanderthals, violence against women goes unnoticed and not all guys just want sex. I would like adults to know that we aren’t as dumb as we are depicted.”