HPCD Team

Bill Davoren

Bill has been involved in High Performance sport within Australia since 1991 in a range of leadership, management, and coaching roles across both the Olympic and professional sports environment. After beginning his career as Sports Performance Manager at the Tasmanian Institute of Sport, Bill relocated to the Gold Coast in 1999 to coach Triathlon fulltime and in 2002 became Performance Director and Head Coach for Triathlon Australia. Bill led the Triathlon HP program and coached multiple medalists across a period considered to be Triathlon Australia’s “golden” era. Post Beijing 2008, he joined the AFL environment as a Performance Manager and over a 9-year period worked with players, coaches and performance support staff at the Western Bulldogs, St Kilda and Collingwood.

In 2018 he returned to Olympic sport as Pathways Manager for Hockey Australia. In 2021, Bill assumed his current role as Director of the AIS HP Coach Development Program, where he is charged with leading the development of a national HP Coach Development Program for Olympic funded sports. Bill has a reputation as a dynamic and relationship-based leader who understands the complexities and demands of high-performance sport.

Alan McConnell

Alan is the HP Coach Development Lead (NSWIS).He has extensive experience across the Australian Sporting System supporting coaches and athletes. A former AFL and AFLW head coach Alan was the first employee at GWS Giants and hence has extensive experience in establishing and driving High Performance environments. His career spans teaching, talent pathways, national academies and major consultancy roles, including reviews for Cricket Australia and Football Australia. A recipient of the AFL’s Neale Daniher Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Life Member of the GWS Giants Alan remains committed to continual learning and developing Australia’s next generation of high‑performance coaches.

Belinda Stowell

As AIS Coach Development Lead with WAIS, Belinda works closely with those coaches in WA and across the national programs. Together with the team, she works with the AIS National Gen 32 Coach program, supports the Womens Talent program and leads the AIS Summit Coach program. An Olympic Gold Medallist in sailing in Sydney 2000 in the 470 class, Belinda transitioned to coaching in the role as Head Coach of the WAIS Sailing program for 18 years, leading the program and supporting the development of Olympic gold medal winning sailors before moving into Coach Development. She joined the AIS HP Coach Development team in 2022, and has a passion for making a positive difference, helping coaches grow and perform at the highest level.

Claire Lambe

Claire Lambe is the High Performance Coach Development Lead at the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS). She works closely with coaches across Victoria and national programs, contributing to the AIS National Gen 32 Coach Program, supporting the Women’s Talent Program, and leading the Enhancing Performance Teams project.

A former Olympian, Claire represented Ireland in international rowing for eight years. She studied engineering and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge, before transitioning into a career in sport. Over the past seven years, she has worked in coach development with Rowing Ireland and on initiatives supporting women in coaching with Sport Ireland and World Rowing. She joined the AIS High Performance Coach Development team after relocating to Australia in 2022.

Jenni Banks

Jenni is the AIS HP Coach Development Lead – Paralympics. She is responsible for Project Para - a suite of initiatives designed to increase the capability, capacity and numbers of coaches working with Para athletes. Jenni has extensive experience in both the Australian and British HP sport systems, in coaching and HP management roles. She coached athletes to multiple Paralympic and World Championship medals across multiple cycles. She also spent more than eight years at the Australian Paralympic Committee as Director of Sport and then HPM, helping design and deliver the Paralympic Preparation Program. During this time, Australia progressed from seventh at Barcelona 1992 to first at Sydney 2000 Games. Her competition experience spans 7 Paralympic and 1 Olympic Games and 16 World Championships. She retired from coaching in 2024. Jenni holds a Masters degree in sports science/ human movement from The University of Western Australia and is a lifelong learner. She is passionate about providing the opportunities, environment and space that help others become their best and now focuses on developing world-class Para sport coaches in Australia.

Michael Nelson

Mick is the AIS High Performance (HP) Coach Development Lead at SASI, where he leads the AIS HP Coach Mentorship Program—an initiative designed to support high performance coaches through a national network of Australia’s Coaching Elders.

Known as an innovator and problem solver, Mick is passionate about creating safe, supportive environments where people can grow, develop, and thrive. He brings over 14 years of international coaching experience, achieving early success in his career, including coaching beach volleyball at two Olympic Games before the age of 30. Mick holds an undergraduate degree in Sports Management and a postgraduate certificate in Sports Coaching.

Michelle De Highden

Michelle is a High Performance Coach Development Senior Lead at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). She leads a project focused on improving the representation and experiences of women in high-performance coaching. She is a high-performance coach and coach development facilitator with expertise in optimising coach development at the elite level, nationally and globally.

With more than 35 years’ experience, Michelle has coached athletes across development pathways through to World Championship level. She holds a Master of Sport Coaching (2021) and completed the ICCE/NSSU Coach Developer Academy in Japan (2020). She applies this experience and international best practice to the design and delivery of national and international coach development programs.

Pip Taylor

Pip is Senior Lead in the High Performance Coach Development team, where she leads national initiatives that strengthen the capability and cohesion of Australia’s high-performance coaching workforce. A former professional athlete and AIS/NSWIS scholarship holder, Pip also brings a practitioner’s lens as an Accredited Sports Dietitian to system-level thinking — bridging strategy, program delivery, and cross-sector collaboration. Her professional experience spans elite sport, executive government, and board leadership.

Ross Pinder

Ross is an experienced skill acquisition and learning design specialist focused on supporting HP coaches to enhance their capability and capacity to design learning environments that are intentional, individualised, imaginative and evidence‑informed. Ross’ approach emphasises empathy, curiosity, collaboration and problem‑solving, working alongside coaches to co‑create practical solutions that enhance athletes’ skilled performance in competition. Ross is currently the Learning Design Lead for the Australian Institute of Sport, where he is on a two-year secondment from Paralympics Australia, to lead the scoping, design, and implementation of a national action plan for skill acquisition and learning design for HP Coach Development.

Sue Jenkins

Sue is a High Performance (HP) Coach Development Advisor with more than 25 years of experience in elite sport. She plays a pivotal role in both the National Generation 2032 Coach Program (Gen 32 Program) and the HP Coach Development Initiatives Grant Program and has a long-standing involvement in contemporary and future focused coach development initiatives and programs. In addition, Sue is an active volleyball coach, bringing practical insights and Olympic and World Championship experience to her work.

Erin Evans

Erin is a HP Coach Development Adviser, providing leadership in the development and delivery of HP Coach Development initiatives that supports Australia’s High Performance 2023+ Sport Strategy. Working in partnership with senior executives and Australian HP system stakeholders, she leads evidence‑informed programs and policy initiatives designed to build and enhance coaching capability, align whole‑of‑system priorities, and deliver sustainable HP outcomes. Erin also contributes to major strategic reform projects, supports effective governance and risk management, and promotes insight‑led decision making, collaboration and continuous improvement across the Australian HP sport system.

Sarah Larkham

Sarah has worked as a Project Officer at the AIS since 2019. With a background as an Executive Assistant, she has worked across diverse industries including corporate banking, branding and design. After having a family, moving to Australia and returning to work, she gained experience working in sport at the AFL and consolidated experience as a tennis coach supporting her husband and ex-Fed Cup player Annabel Ellwood setting up a school tennis program. She is proud to have been a volunteer at the Sydney Olympics for IBM recording tennis statistics.

Ruby White

Ruby works as a Project Officer with the High Performance Coach Development team, contributing to the delivery of national initiatives that support coach capability and system development. She has worked at the AIS for several years, including the past three in high performance sport, with experience across program delivery, grants management and project coordination. Ruby holds a Bachelor of Health Science from the Australian National University and has an elite middle distance running background having represented Australia in Cross Country and Track & Field along with competing in the NCAA Division I on scholarship with Florida State University.