GEELONG COLLEGE - Key Persons
Donald McAllister grew up on a rice, wheat and sheep property near Deniliquin, NSW and attended The Geelong College from 1987 until 1990. He was a boarder in Mackie House, a School Prefect and was Boarding House Vice Captain. During his time at College, he played 1st XVIII Football, Tennis and Cricket. Donald lives in Newcastle, NSW with his wife Sally and sons, Foster (12) and Henry (10). He is currently Operations Manager for Bonvilla Estate Winery in the Hunter Valley, where he coordinates all aspects of wine production, wholesale, wine club, on-site accommodation, marketing and cellardoor operations. An additional 28 villas are earmarked towards the end of next year. Donald attended University of New England where he completed a Bachelor of Economics. He also has Certificates in Wine Making WSET Level 2, Scuba Diving and a fork lift licence. Before joining Bonvilla Estate, Donald established, owned and operated The Source Café Bar, a Newcastle waterfront hospitality business, for 13 years. He is currently director and founder of Source (SDFH) Enterprises. Donald's experience in small business development and operations allowed and inspired him to consult and mentor other local businesses and organisations within the Newcastle area, particularly new start-ups and wine bars. Donald and his family are active volunteers of "Surfing the Spectrum," a not-for-profit surf therapy initiative that works to positively impact the lives of autistic youth and their families, providing free learn to surf events. Foster has a chromosomal condition called NF1 with an additional diagnosis of Autism and ADHD. He attends regularly. Donald plays competitive tennis, futsal and supports the local AFL team Newcastle City and of course the Cats.
Karen is the Student Progression and Welfare Lead for the Doctor of Medicine Course at the School of Medicine, Deakin University. She also chairs the clinical years, Years 3 and 4, of the medical course across 5 clinical schools distributed across metropolitan, regional and rural Victoria. Karen was one of the founding Faculty members of the School of Medicine, commencing in 2007 to design and develop clinical training across all years of the course to ensure graduates are highly competent and work ready - which has become a hallmark of graduating Deakin doctors. She is co-chair of the Australasian Collaboration for Clinical Assessment in Medicine (ACCLAiM), and participates in several Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand (MDANZ) working groups on professionalism; student support; and disability support. Karen has a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (Honours) from the University of Melbourne. Karen is highly involved as a parent at The Geelong College, with three children currently spread across all campuses and one child recently graduated from the College.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Old Geelong Collegians' Association
Nicola has been a Committee Member of the Old Geelong Collegians' Association since 2022. She attended The Geelong College during the 1980s and is part of the third generation of her family to attend the school. Nicola is an academic historian and cultural heritage consultant who completed a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Cultural Heritage at Deakin University and a Doctor of Philosophy in History at Federation University. Nicola is currently a member of the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Committee and is involved with the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP).
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal 's Office / Principal
Dr Peter Miller is an experienced and highly regarded educational leader with outstanding knowledge and skills as an educator of young people. He has a Masters Degree and a Doctorate in education, and understands the needs of educating boys and girls in the 21st century. Peter's experience and knowledge will strengthen our Vision for Learning, drive innovation and ensure we are serving the needs of our young people and the wider community.
Geoff Williams was appointed to the College Council in April 2016 and is a member of the Finance and Risk Committees. Geoff is an Old Collegian (OGC 1987), whose father Brian (OGC 1941) also attended the College, and his sons Jackson and Tom currently study at the College. Geoff is a Chartered Accountant who has worked both locally and overseas. His background is in public accounting but he has also worked in the corporate sector. His focus is on taxation, structuring and general business issues for clients across a broad section of industries and family-owned enterprises. Geoff is currently a Principal at LBW Business and Wealth Advisors.
Job Titles:
- College in 2010 As the Director of Community Relations
- Director of Advancement & Community Relations
- Director of Community Relations and Development
Mike joined the College in 2010 as the Director of Community Relations. His broad experience includes leadership roles in the charity and finance sectors, Mike also ran his own adventure travel company for a number of years. At the College Mike oversees enrolments, marketing, international recruitment, events, alumni relations and publications, and is current parent with 3 boys at the College.
Job Titles:
- Director of Teaching and Learning
Nathan joined the College after seven years at Kardinia International College, as Deputy Head of Senior School - Teaching and Learning. At Kardinia he led a number of curriculum initiatives, including the development of a teaching and learning framework and a contextual definition of High-Quality Teaching and Learning. At the College, Nathan is looking forward to celebrating and embracing the past work and achievements in the area of teaching and learning, and prioritising building the leadership capacity of staff, developing a framework for Professional Learning, and ensuring that strategic decisions around our teaching and learning programs are based on timely data analysis and interpretation.
Simon began his teaching career in 1999 and has significant experience in the independent sector. He joined the College in 2017 from Hale School in Perth after more than 10 years where he held positions as Deputy Head of Senior School, Head of Administration and Students, and Director of Sport. He also spent 3 years as Head of Sport at Radford College, Canberra, where he is an Old Collegian. As part of Simon's practice teaching, he was placed at The King's School in Sydney, The Southport School on the Gold Coast and spent 10 weeks on a residential placement at Rugby School in the United Kingdom. Simon holds a Master of Educational Leadership from the University of Western Australia and has recently completed a Master of Business Administration with Deakin University. He also holds a Bachelor of Education with Griffith University and a Bachelor of Physical Education with the Australian College of Physical Education in Sydney. After four years at the College, in 2021 he was appointed to the role of Deputy Principal where he has also stepped in as Acting Head of Middle School for Term 2 and 3 in 2021.
Job Titles:
- Alumni Relations and Events Manager
Job Titles:
- Director of Early Learning
After completing a Bachelor of Early Childhood at Melbourne University, Julie worked in Early Years settings as a teacher across Melbourne, before settling in Geelong. For the last 17 years Julie has worked at The Geelong College. In that time, she has been fortunate to hold a range of roles, including classroom teacher, deputy director of Early Learning, teacher in charge of soccer before her current role of Director of Early Learning. Julie is a passionate educator who believes in the capabilities of our youngest learners. She has attended an international study tour in Reggio Emilia, as well as many other Reggio conferences across Australia. Julie was part of the leadership team that won the Colette Taylor award for Excellence in Leadership in 2019. Julie thoroughly enjoys working with the children, families and colleagues at The Geelong College.
Since 1997 Leanne has taught English and Physical Education and Health at the College. She has held leadership roles, including Health and PE Coordinator, Year 7&8 Coordinator, Primary Sport Coordinator and Deputy Head of Middle School Welfare and Administration. Leanne believes a strong and sustainable community is central to the operations at the Middle School and that effective teaching and learning stems from positive relationships between students, teachers and parents.
Bridgette is an Old Collegian (OGC 1997). Bridgette was a longstanding OGCA committee member (2007-2020) and held the roles of Vice President (2010-2017) and Honorary Secretary (2018-2020). Bridgette was the founding Chair of the Geelong Community Foundation's Philanthropy 500 committee from its inception in 2016 to 2018 and is a current Director of the Geelong Community Foundation. She was a founding committee member of the Geelong Young Professionals Network (2009-2019). Bridgette is a Principal Lawyer at Harwood Andrews and is a Law Institute of Victoria Accredited Specialist in family law.
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Advancement Manager
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Operations
Shannyn returned to the College as Business Manager in 2010, having completed her studies here in 1995. Prior to the College, she was the Director of Finance at the Collingwood Football Club. Shannyn manages the business operations of the school, including finance, administration, grounds, property services, catering, Information Technology, the Rec Centre and the Uniform Shop. She is currently the Company Secretary of the Geelong College and the Geelong College Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Head of Junior School ( Early Learning to Year 3 )
An educational leader with significant experience, Sondra joined the Geelong College in 2017. She has a Masters in Education and is currently exploring a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Sondra has been teaching for more than 20 years with experience in a variety of different teaching settings and has held key leadership roles where teachers are encouraged to develop a practice where they see the learner at the centre of everything they do. As Campus Principal at Northern Bay College Sondra played a lead role in the redevelopment, working alongside architects and construction companies; all experiences which will be greatly valued during the scheduled redevelopment of the Junior School Campbell House. Sondra relishes the challenge of taking the fear out of change for staff, students and the community, and is excited about the future.