Alumni Profiles

By Ian Robertson Alumni Manager

Elizabeth Dann (Class of 1975)

In a girls’ school there were no glass ceilings

Elizabeth has recently retired as CEO of Titles Queensland, previously being the Queensland Registrar of Titles for the past ten years. This followed many years of work as a senior executive in the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments.

Following in the footsteps of her mother Jenny Dann (Jack, Class of 1950) and her sister Jill Edwards (Dann, Class of 1973), Liz attended Korowa from Kindergarten to Year 12. Her time at Korowa instilled in her the belief that girls could do anything. She felt empowered to be who she wanted to be. In her senior years, she studied physics and mathematics, subjects that at a girls’ school like Korowa were considered ‘normal’ for girls to be able to excel in.

Indeed, this 'can do' attitude persevered into a career that eventually broke many barriers, including being the only female doing a surveying degree at the University of Queensland, and graduating as Queensland’s first female surveyor in 1978. Much later, she was also appointed as Queensland’s first female Registrar of Titles and more recently became the inaugural CEO of Titles Queensland when it was separated from the State Government as a private company.

Korowa’s approach to teaching also instilled in Liz a life-long love of learning, leading to additional degrees over the years. She gained a Bachelor of Arts in 1985, an Honours degree in Anthropology in 1987 from the University of Queensland and an Executive Masters in Public Administration in 2005. Whilst she undertook further study, she remained employed in a wide range of different roles, from surveying, to native title, water policy, and land policy and legislation, as well as most recently leading the digital transformation of the Queensland Titles Office.

Join the Korovian Choir?

The Korovian Choir rehearses on the last Thursday of each month during term time from 7.00pm to 9.00pm. It performs at House Chorals and at the Annual Music Concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

Please contact Ian Robertson, irobertson@korowa.vic.edu.au if you would like to join.

Ana Mitsikas (Class of 1990)

A passion for the performing arts

Ana entered Korowa in 1987 and, due to her love of the performing arts, became very involved in Korowa’s music and drama programs. She was made Music Captain in 1990. She was certain that her future career would involve music and she went on to study for a Bachelor of Performing Arts at the Rusden campus of Deakin University. She also gained an AmusA diploma in classical piano performance.

After graduating from Deakin, Ana spent time in the United Kingdom learning from industry professionals and honing her skills. Whilst in the United Kingdom, she was the resident Musical Director for the Diploma course at Brooklands College, Surrey and was voice teacher at Britain's largest part- time performing arts school. In London, she had a recurring role in the popular TV show Family Affairs.

Upon returning to Australia, Ana co-founded Stage Left Performing Arts School in 2006 where she is the Artistic Director. Stage Left’s focus is on Musical Theatre and it has built an enviable reputation as one of Melbourne's leading performing arts schools. It aims to foster young talent and students can learn singing, acting and dancing under the guidance of industry professionals such as Ana. In addition, she has been a member of the advisory team for the AMEB Musical Theatre syllabus and is an examiner for the AMEB.

Ana is an experienced performer having appeared in the national tours of shows such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Sound of Music and The Buddy Holly Story. Musical Director credits include the national tour of Menopause the Musical and Mrs Prime Minister for the Melbourne Cabaret Festival. On screen, Ana has appeared in Neighbours, Newton’s Law as well as various short and feature films.

Ana’s love of music saw her return to Korowa in 2010 and establish the Korovian Choir. The Choir is free to join and is open to all Korovians who like to sing as a part of a group. Ana is the much loved and respected conductor and her knowledge, skill and enthusiastic encouragement is so appreciated by the participants. As one member recently wrote, ‘you make choir so much fun, and I have learnt so much about singing through your leadership. You make the experience such a delight and it is a welcome distraction from a busy career and family life’.