Ready for a breath of fresh air at your next event?
Marian Wright | Education Speaker
Systems Thinking, Futures Literacy and Design-Led Change
About Marian as a Speaker
Insightful, warm, and deeply authentic, Marian Wright is a speaker who brings lived experience as a teacher, school leader and systems designer to every stage she steps onto. She has a rare ability to reframe what we think we know about future-focused innovation, drawing audiences back to the most human question at the centre of education: what are schools actually for, and who are they designed to serve?
Marian challenges her audiences to see that if we want to reimagine how we do schooling, we have to change the way we see it first.
Marian delivers keynotes, learning sessions and practical workshops for school leaders, educators and the organisations that support them.
Topics Marian speaks on
Reimagining isn’t about what we do, it’s about how we think.
When we think about reimagining how we do schooling for an era of unprecedented disruption and change, our default setting is to often jump in and change something, or to innovate. This talk examines the mental models we individually and collectively hold about the purpose and function of schooling, and why surfacing those mental models is the first and most critical step of reimagining.
Everything is connected to everything.
School improvement and change has a fragmented history - and fragmented approaches produce fragmented results. Drawing on the philosophy and practice of systems thinking, this talk explores how schools can move from isolated initiatives and innovations to coherent schooling design - across strategy, operations and even curriculum.
The future is speaking, but are we listening?
Futures literacy isn't just about scanning signals out in the world, it's about learning to read the signals already present inside your school community. This talk makes the case for futures thinking as a regular leadership practice, and explores how those signals can become the material for designing change from the inside out.
Thinking about what schooling might look like in the future is an exciting thought, but the past holds more insight than we give it credit for. This talk explores how modern schools came to be designed the way they are, why they are so difficult to change, and how understanding that history gives us important insight we need to design schooling that’s truly human-centred.
How did we get here? Looking back to look forward.
The presentation was incredibly insightful and delivered in such an entertaining way. Our delegates were full of praise!
Oliver Cawse - Professional Learning & Events
Adolescent Success Symposium, 2025
Book Marian to speak at your next event.
Frequently asked questions
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Marian speaks on systems thinking in education, futures literacy in schools, human-centred school design, design-led change and the mental models that shape how we reimagine schooling. Her talks explore coherence in education, the future of schooling, and what it takes to move beyond isolated innovations toward whole-system change that is deep, not just more initiatives that churn. Each topic is grounded in research and in the lived reality of schools.
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Marian speaks to school leaders, educators, middle leaders, heads of learning, and system leaders across Australia. She regularly presents at education conferences, leadership symposiums, and professional learning events for schools and educational organisations. Her talks are designed for anyone who is thinking seriously about the future of education and what it takes to design schools that work for young people.
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Yes. Marian is available for education conferences, leadership events and symposiums across Australia and internationally. She has presented at national education conferences and is available for keynotes, workshops and panel discussions. If you are looking for an education speaker in Australia with expertise in systems thinking, futures thinking and reimagining schooling, you can get in touch via the booking form above.
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Marian approaches the future of schooling through the lens of futures literacy, systems thinking and human-centred design. Rather than offering predictions, she helps school leaders and educators develop the capability to read signals, surface assumptions and design change that is coherent around what matters most: young people and their futures in life and work. Her work sits at the intersection of the complex realities schools are navigating right now and the evolution for a changing world.
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Marian draws on systems thinking, human-centred design and futures thinking to help schools see beyond isolated challenges and innovations. Her approach is grounded in the work of Donella Meadows, Peter Senge and Michael Fullan, among others. She works from the belief that everything in schooling is connected, and that coherence in education requires zooming out to see the whole system before zooming in to design change. This is what distinguishes her work from traditional school improvement approaches.
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You can book Marian for keynotes, workshops and panels via the enquiry form on this page. Marian speaks at education conferences, school leadership events and professional learning days across Australia. To discuss your event, audience and topic, get in touch and we will set up a conversation.