ACT
Contact the Enlighten Education head office on 1300 735 997.
Enlighten's Founders and National Directors
Dannielle Miller, OAM. CEO, Enlighten Education
Bachelor of Education (Secondary), Graduate Certificate in Management (Professional Practice), Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training
“When working with teenagers, it is important to engage them emotionally; if you can capture their hearts, their minds will follow. I am incredibly proud of the work we do and passionate about acting as a catalyst for change.”
Dannielle Miller began her career as a high school teacher, then took on a role as a senior educator to develop an innovative program for students at risk of dropping out of school, The Lighthouse Project.
Dannielle is now the co-founder and CEO of Enlighten Education, Australia’s leading provider of in-school workshops for teens since 2003. Enlighten conducts workshops with more than 25,000 young people each year in Australia, New Zealand, and south-east Asia.
Dannielle has been the parenting expert for channel 9’s breakfast programs, se is the author of five books including the best-selling The Butterfly Effect: A Positive New Approach to Raising Happy, Confident Teen Girls (Random House), a weekend newspaper columnist for the Daily Telegraph, and has written cover features on domestic and family violence for Body + Soul magazine.
Dannielle is also the Director of Education and Special Projects at Women’s Community Shelters and initiated and created both their Walk The Talk schools program, and their new corporate domestic and family violence literacy program which centres survivor’s voices and has a clear call to action. In 2021 she delivered fourteen Walk The Talk corporate programs to over one hundred Partners and Directors at KPMG nationally with outstanding engagement; testament to how well the program was received is the fact that they then asked her to complete an additional series of keynote presentations for the audit team.
Other presenting highlights include delivering keynotes on women’s leadership for Mercer nationally and in Singapore, and presenting at the All About Women festival at the Sydney Opera House twice – once on the main stage alongside Germain Greer, Eva Cox and Tara Moss.
In 2021 Dannielle was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to education, to woman, and youth. In 2018 she was one of four Finalists for the NSW Premier’s Award for Woman of the Year, and the winner of the Suicide Prevention Australia Life Award for excellence in media reporting. She has been named the NSW/ACT Small Business Champion Entrepreneur (2007) and received an Australian Leadership Award by the Davos Foundation (2012).
Giving back to community is important to Dannielle. She has been an Ambassador for various charities, a pro bono board member for a women’s refuge, and also launched a social change initiative, The School Toilet Project which has gone global (this aims at encouraging schools to let students reimagine these often bleak spaces).
Francesca Kaoutal
Bachelor of Education (Secondary)
“My greatest achievements include having a wonderful family and a satisfying career. My aim has always been to inspire in young people a belief in their own potential and a belief that learning can be fun and relevant to their world.”
In Francesca’s teaching career before co-founding Enlighten Education, she combined creativity with technologies expertise. She worked as a Learning Technologies Coordinator and has led curriculum development within various high schools, devised new curriculum for the Higher School Certificate Technology courses in New South Wales, devised a cross-curricular teaching program to integrate social justice into the classroom, and led students to enhance their business IT skills by developing and creating IT-based products and services for the school and business communities.
Francesca has also brought her creativity and her desire to empower students to her role as a costume designer for the annual Rock Eisteddfod. Francesca particularly enjoys sharing her passion and flair for creating and designing in the “Style File” component of our programs. In our “Get It Together” workshops, she specialises in helping young women learn to prioritise, become organised and maximise their potential.
Nikki Davis – Senior Presenter
Bachelor of Arts (Communications)
“I get the most amazing reaction from people when I tell them about Enlighten and what we do. I believe that many people – both genders, all ages and walks of life – are becoming more and more aware of the need for the work Enlighten does with today’s girls. I have never been more proud to talk about my work and the fact that I get to remind all these gorgeous girls just how special they are.”
A trained dancer and former dance teacher, Nikki spent a number of years performing as a dancer and modelling professionally after completing her Communications degree. Her passion for writing led to a position as the editor of a magazine for young dancers, and a scriptwriting role with a production company followed. Then she moved into a producer role, working on the creation of videos and special events, and often appearing on camera as host.
Training to be a volunteer telephone counsellor with Lifeline gave Nikki the opportunity to explore her interest in counselling and psychotherapy, which she continues to study. It quickly became clear to Nikki during her time at Lifeline that she was particularly interested in social issues related to girls and women.
A former high school student of Enlighten’s CEO, Dannielle Miller, Nikki wanted to be involved the moment she saw the work Enlighten was doing in the community. Experienced in front of a crowd, with lots of stories to tell and a special interest in young women, Nikki has a proven rapport with school-aged girls and offers a unique insight into the worlds of fashion, entertainment and the arts.
Testimonials from local schools
The girls had a fabulous day with Francesca today; she had them all eating out of the palm of her hand! The activities were beautifully pitched at their level, and dealt with issues they are facing, or will face in the next few months with their move to secondary school. The program is a perfect complement to our CGGS pastoral care program.
A truly amazing presentation! So inspiring and so pertinent to our students. Best presentation I’ve been a part of in 20 years of teaching! Love your work Gorgeous. Thank you.
We could not have been happier with The Butterfly Effect. Nikki was such a great presenter – connected so well with the girls by sharing stories. She was respectful and calm in managing the group. A large number of the girls were wearing the bracelet in the weeks after the event.
The girls were so engaged by Nicky’s brilliant facilitation. The teachers were all amazed at one person managing 90 children and keeping them enthralled all day. Both schools were thrilled with the content and really pleased to see the girls exposed to ideas of self esteem and critical thinking as well as ways to manage friendships. The teachers are planning to follow up the Enlighten Challenge and stay connected to the themes that resonated with the girls.
I have had lots of girls look up Enlighten on the internet as they can’t wait to find out what other programs they might do next year! The girls simply can’t wait for more!
From my first dealings with Enlighten I was delighted at the flexibility, professionalism and courtesy that I was shown. Dannielle is an excellent presenter and facilitator and it was inspiring to watch her with our girls. Personally my dealings with Enlighten have changed my perspective on life. I first saw Dannielle after she had done a workshop with my daughter. She spoke such sense and with such passion. I fully believe that every young girl needs to experience the enlighten workshops, they are so relevant in today’s society. Thankyou for giving us that experience.
Thanks for an excellent day. This was a highly valuable experience for the girls and it helped allay fears about the move to secondary school.
Robyn Hetherington, Yr 6 Class TeacherCanberra Girls Grammar
This was a wonderful day for our students. The feedback given to us indicated that they now feel much more confident about the transition to secondary school and they feel equipped with the skills necessary to face any difficulties. Thanks for a great day.
Robyn Hetherington, Year 6 TeacherCanberra Girls Grammar School
I feel empowered, knowledgable, informed, motivated and inspired by the Butterfly Effect program… Well done Danni – you are the most engaging and eloquent speaker I have had the pleasure to experience! My little sister was in your workshop day 2 and she felt exactly the same way about it! Go the amazon Princess- you’re just gorgeous!
Jody Sullivan, Barham High School
We are proud to work with these schools
Canberra Girls Grammar
Caroline Chisholm School
Holy Trinity Primary School, Curtin
Kaleen Primary School
Merici College
Namadi School, Kambah
St Clare’s College
Wanniassa Primary School
Wanniassa Hills Primary School