School Board

Our School

School Board

The Board is responsible for all aspects of the governance of the school.

The Board of Christ Church Grammar School is responsible for all aspects of the governance of Christ Church Grammar School, as a not-for-profit organisation, and a company limited by guarantee.

This includes, but is not limited to:

Succession planning with respect to the Principal and the Board and Committee members
Liaising with the Parish Council of Christ Church South Yarra, the Diocese of Melbourne, and other statutory and regulatory bodies, as required
Ensuring the school meets its obligations with respect to all aspects of compliance and accreditation
Collaborating with senior management on strategic and master planning processes
Undertaking risk assessment and management
Maintaining the school’s financial sustainability
Working with the Trustees of the Christ Church Grammar School Foundation and senior management to attract philanthropic support for scholarships and capital projects
Assisting senior management to promote, market, and position the school within the education sector; and
Supporting the Principal and the senior management team in exercising their delegated responsibilities with regard to the day-to-day running of the school

Board Structure

The Board comprises up to 12 Directors and is Chaired by Michael Urwin.

The remaining Directors are appointed with reference to a skills matrix as follows:

Three Christ Church Grammar School community nominees
Three Director nominees
Three Parish Council nominees
One Vicar nominee

Chair

Michael Urwin, Chair

Directors

Alicia Sellars-Jones (current parent)
Sandra Treadwell-Monk
Amanda Powell
Professor Jenny Proimos (former parent)
Nick Sankey (current parent)
Melissa Vallence (current parent)
Anjali Woodford (Current parent)
Duncan Webster (current parent)
Li Weber (current parent)

The Company Secretary is Mark Licciardo, Managing Director of Mertons Company Services.

Standing Committees

Four Standing Committees support the work of the Board:

Governance
Finance, Audit and Facilities
Risk
Strategic Planning Steering

Each Standing Committee is chaired by a Director, and includes co-opted members from the wider community, of whom there are currently seven.

Ad hoc committees or working groups are created from time-to-time to meet particular needs.

Board and committee members have professional skills and experience in the fields of education (primary, secondary, and tertiary), business, finance, strategic planning, law, risk management, health sciences, corporate and not-for-profit governance, project management, marketing, pastoral care, and public policy.

The Board regularly undertakes reviews and training with the assistance of Independent Schools Victoria (ISV).

Board Members

Michael Urwin
B.A. (Hons), Dip.Ed. (Melb), FACE

Michael joined the Christ Church Grammar Board this year. He taught Mathematics and Chinese and was Headmaster of Brighton Grammar School for eighteen years, finishing in that role at the end of 2013. During that time he filled a number of external roles including Chair of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Heads of Independent Schools Association, and Trustee of the International Boys Schools Coalition.

He also served on the Australian Anglican Schools Network Board of Management.

Michael is a parishioner at the Anglican Parish of the Parks, St Silas and St Anselm. He is a member of the Melbourne Anglican Diocesan Schools Commission Board and is Chairman of the Board of Benetas, an Anglican-affiliated aged care company.

Alicia Sellars-Jones
BComm (U of WA)

Alicia attended the University of Western Australia where she completed a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing and Business Law. She worked in Event Management in both Perth and Melbourne at major sporting events, dance festivals and community events. Alicia now works with her husband in their clothing business, encompassing three brands.

Alicia has been a parent at CCGS since 2010 and joined Friends of Christ Church Grammar School in 2012. She became President of Friends of CCGS in 2020.

Alicia has five children who have all attended Christ Church Grammar School. She now has two boys in years 2 and 4.

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Amanda Powell
BSc LLB

Amanda is a Parish Council nominee to the Board and has been a Director since June 2015. Amanda currently chairs the Governance Committee and is a current member of the Risk Committee.

Amanda is a law and science graduate and has a background in public policy and the legislative process. She is keen to ensure good public sector governance and accountability, having worked in both the New Zealand and Queensland Parliaments, the New Zealand Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and for the New Zealand Auditor-General. She also has a strong interest in ensuring good educational outcomes in early childhood, and currently works at the Victorian Department of Education and Training in the regulator of early childhood education and care services.

Prof Jenny Proimos
MBBS MPH GAICD FRACP

Jenny is an academic paediatrician and adolescent health physician working at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. She is a member of the Governance and Risks Committees.

She specialises in adolescent developmental and behavioural disorders, and school avoidance and disengagement. She has spent the past decade working as an advisor to the Victorian Government on child and adolescent health and wellbeing, focusing on health promotion at the health/education interface.

She is the mother of two Christ Church Grammar School alumni: Jonathan, who is studying science at The University of Melbourne, and Poppy who is at St Catherine’s School. Both children developed their love of music, debating and community service at Christ Church Grammar.

Nick Sankey
BComm BA MAppFin (Melbourne) GAICD

Nick joined the Board in 2017 and is a member of the Finance and Facilities Committee. He is an institutional banking and finance executive specialising in project and infrastructure finance. Nick is a past Global Head of Project & Specialised Finance for Commonwealth Bank and has held various corporate and institutional banking roles at Commonwealth Bank, TD Securities and ANZ Bank.

Nick is a past Director of Sustainable Business Australia, a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds a masters degree in Applied Finance and bachelor degrees in commerce and arts, all obtained from University of Melbourne.

Nick is married to Angela and their three children – Arielle, William and Juliet – have attended, or are currently attending, Christ Church Grammar School.

Anjali Woodford

BA (MEDIA & COMM) LLB (HONS) (MELB)

Anjali joined the Board in February 2023. She is a member of the Governance Committee and is currently the Secretary of Friends of Christ Church Grammar School.

She is a Partner at global law firm Kennedys, practising in healthcare. She represents medical practitioners and medical defence organisations in malpractice litigation, Medical Board investigations and Coroners inquests. She is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria’s Public Liability and Medical Negligence Committee.

Anjali is married to David and they have a daughter, Cosette, in Year 2.

Duncan Webster

Appointed Chief Financial Officer of Mars Wrigley Australia in August 2020, Duncan leads both the operational and financial management of the treats and snacks business.

Not your everyday “bean counter”, Duncan embraces his role as a modern CFO. Principles-driven and forward-looking, Duncan is known for his ability to deliver effective change and sustainable growth by playing a dual role of COO/CFO.

Duncan brings over two decades of financial leadership experience working with some of the world’s largest consumer goods companies in Australia and abroad. He first joined the Mars business in 1998, joining the Petcare division, and has since worked across various Mars segments at a global and market level.

Duncan’s strategic foresight, ability to create long-term value creation plans and a belief that Finance plays a critical operational role within businesses is what saw him awarded CEO Magazine’s CFO Of The Year Award in 2022.

Most recently, Duncan spent three years in Chicago as the Global Chocolate Business Unit Finance Director of Mars Wrigley where he played a lead role in the development of value creation plans for our iconic brands.

Prior to this, Duncan was the Chief Financial Officer for Mars Chocolate Australia delivering strong performance and record successive growth over that time.

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