Meet the Speakers
Alison Scott
Executive Head Bellavista
Alison Scott is an experienced educator with over 36 years of service across early childhood, primary and secondary education. She holds postgraduate qualifications in remedial education and is the Executive Head of Bellavista, leading its school, professional training centre (Bellavista S.H.A.R.E.), child development clinic (Bellavista S.E.E.K.) and iThemba, a global centre for cognitive education practice. A founding member of the Institute of Specialist Practitioners in Inclusive Education, Alison is also a textbook author, speaker and regular columnist. Solutions focussed and committed to hope, Alison’s focus is rooted in the South African context, while engaging with global research and best practice. She speaks from practice, research and lived experience, with a clear focus on child centred systems, professional integrity and sustainable impact. Alison describes her work life as a continual learning experience and her vocation as a great privilege.
Karen Archer
Deputy Principal I Director Bellavista S.H.A.R.E.
Karen Archer started her career in education as a mathematics teacher in the senior primary classroom in 2005. Realising her passion for the social-emotional wellbeing of learners she went onto graduate with her Master in Educational Psychology in 2014 and joined Bellavista School, working across the primary school in various capacities of therapy and assessment. Since 2020, Karen has led the Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. team – the professional development arm of the school – training educators and allied health professionals across Southern Africa. Karen is Deputy Principal of Bellavista, a mother to three and an avid camper.
Lauren Davis
Deputy Principal I Director Cognitive Education
Lauren Davis is the Director of Cognitive Education at Bellavista and the Clinical Director of Bellavista iThemba. Her work as an experienced speech and language therapist focuses on cognitive education.
Lauren works with children, teenagers and adults. She is passionate about human modifiability and helping individuals and families to recognise learning potential, build cognitive functions and always find hope. Lauren is an accredited FIE Basic Trainer at Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. and is trained in administering the LPAD assessment. She is a strong advocate for the role of parents, teachers and therapists as mediators of learning and development in a child’s life. Lauren is committed to sharing her work in cognitive education with the broader South African community through Bellavista iThemba.
Tamara Victor
Occupational Therapist & Lead Safe Harbour Consultant
Tamara Victor is the Lead Safe Harbour Consultant at Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. and an experienced Sensory Integration trained Occupational Therapist. She has worked in a remedial primary school environment for over a decade. Tamara is trained in the Feuerstein’s Instrumemtal Enrichment programme and has a passion for bringing cognitive education into all aspects of her work. She is also the training lead for the Issie Senses methodology, using multisensory therapuetic environments optimally, as well as consulting on multisensory room design. Tamara follows the belief system that every human being has the propensity to learn and be meaningfully modified. She enjoys working with learners, caregivers, educators and healthcare professionals. Tamara is passionate about bringing the language of thinking and learning to life, so that all learners have the vocabulary and toolkits of strategies to help them learn optimally.
Jessica Cassidy
Fourth Year Foundation Phase Student, Stellenbosch
Jessica Cassidy grew up in Johannesburg and is currently in her fourth year of studying Foundation Phase Teaching at Stellenbosch University. Coming from a family of passionate educators, she was inspired from an early age to pursue a career in teaching. Equally influential was her own schooling journey. Having experienced some learning difficlites firsthand, Jessica gained a deep appreciation for the transformative role teachers can play when they take the time to understand, support and connect with their learners. These experiences continue to shape her philosophy of education and inspire her to become the kind of teacher she once needed- one who nurtures confidence, encourages growth and believes in the unique potential of every child.