Leadership

Executive Team
Fiona Johnston
Trish Jakovich
Andrea McNally
Kellie Hasluck
David Scanlan
Luke Callier
Nicole Adams
Doug Loader
Fiona Johnston
Principal
Fiona commenced as the thirteenth Principal of St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls in 2019.
Fiona believes that promoting clear alignment, transparency, trust and respectful relationships are key to growing and nurturing learning communities. She is passionate about fostering personal growth opportunities for all students, young women and staff at St Hilda’s, ensuring that students are prepared for the transitions in life that lie ahead.
Fiona demonstrates a high-impact, open and inclusive leadership style that centres on social, emotional, spiritual and intellectual development. Fiona encourages youth and educators through the processes of personal discovery and education to actualise a better tomorrow. Towards the top of Fiona’s list of responsibilities is student wellbeing and engagement.
Fiona’s passion is growing creative, independent, resilient and socially-adept young people. As the leader of St Hilda’s, she encourages students and young women to “lean in” to their growth and future careers, through personal agency, preparedness and a commitment to fulfilling their academic and personal potential.
In progressing St Hilda’s culture of excellence and adaption, Fiona understands the power of collaboration and values the contributions of others. She makes time and space, integrating lived experiences and fosters a deep rapport with the students, staff and broader community.
Fiona is committed to sustainable improvement and positive growth at St Hilda’s further promoting St Hilda’s unique position as the leading school in Perth.
Trish Jakovich
Director of Junior School
Since joining St Hilda’s, Trish has established a collaborative and dedicated approach to the education of young children. Trish is committed to remaining abreast of leading educational practices and brings to the position of Director of Junior School a Masters in Education and a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling. She was the recipient of the St Hilda’s Council Award in 2018 in recognition of her outstanding commitment to teaching and learning at St Hilda’s.
Trish is a dedicated and visionary leader who strives for excellence and believes in the power of collaboration. Her interactions with others are built on the foundations of justice, care and respect.
She values every member of our school community and identifies and celebrates her colleague’s individual talents and expertise. Trish is committed to putting the needs of our girls and young boys first.
Trish brings to this executive leadership position the ability to communicate a vision and transform an idea to reality. This is evident through her introduction of parenting programs and exceptional attention to detail in all that she leads. She is renowned for her professional integrity, agility and reliability. Her beliefs are strongly aligned with our St Hilda’s values and she is committed to excellence in all that she does.
Andrea McNally
Director of Senior School
Andrea, Director of Senior School, Deputy Principal, has served on the St Hilda’s Executive Team since 2014. Andrea demonstrates daily her ability to inspire and set direction through leading the Senior School in its implementation of the St Hilda’s Strategic Plan; St Hilda’s Reimagined, in line with our purpose, vision and values. She is highly respected and admired by all who work with her. She brings professionalism, warmth, humour and a commitment to personal excellence to the position. She is a compelling and excellent communicator. Andrea has a dynamic Senior School Leadership Team who operationalise the running of the Bay View Campus. She is committed to school improvement, reviewing all facets of the Senior School and is often heard using the tagline of “What went well, better if?”. She is adaptable, flexible and brings to the Senior School a growth mindset and an energised leadership style that engages and grows others.
Andrea also serves as a board member for Kidsafe, an independent, charitable organisation dedicated to the prevention of unintentional death and serious injury to children aged 0 – 15 years. She is also actively involved in building professional network for Senior School Deputy Principals through AHISA (Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia) for schools in Western Australia.
Kellie Hasluck
Director of School Development & Philanthropy
Kellie has a strong community focus, having raised funds for the State Library of Western Australia, the Ability Centre, Sensorium and many other local community groups. Kellie has sat on boards and committees to raise the profile and the financial position for organisations who need support. She brings substantial commercial experience, management, expertise, coaching skills, and communication and brand knowledge to the position.
Kellie Hasluck is one of Perth’s leading communications professionals with over 25 years’ experience in the industry. She is well networked and has engaged with St Hilda’s as an external communications consultant in previous years. Her experience, contacts and business acumen are second-to-none. Kellie has an excellent record in leading and inspiring a team through change. Her skill set and experience is a powerful mix that will assist St Hilda’s to build profile and commercial performance.
David Scanlan
Director of People and Culture
David joined St Hilda’s in 2020 as the Director of People & Culture. In this role he drives the people development, cultural direction, talent acquisition and compliance functions of the School.
Prior to joining St Hilda’s, David worked in private practice as lawyer. He spent much of his career at international law firm Ashurst in their Perth Employment and Industrial Relations team, starting there as a graduate and leaving as a Senior Associate. Immediately before joining St Hilda’s, he worked as Special Counsel at Bartlett Workplace Lawyers and Consultants, heading up its Perth office. He has broad commercial legal experience, primarily in industrial relations, general employment, occupational health and safety, privacy, matters relating to discrimination, harassment and workplace bullying as well as various other commercial areas.
David also spent several years working in the not-for-profit sector as the Employee Relations Manager at St John Ambulance WA. In this role, David was responsible for providing strategic advice and guidance to the organisation on all employee relations and human resources issues. This included employee engagement issues, leadership training, change management, enterprise agreement negotiations, recruitment and managing performance and disciplinary issues. Given David’s legal background, he was also involved in managing the organisation’s needs regarding legal and compliance matters.
David brings to the role significant experience in the private commercial sector as well as a strong understanding of modern ER, IR and HR practices.
Luke Callier
Director of Business Operations
Luke leads innovation projects across the School, which includes researching, developing and delivering new programs and driving key strategic projects, including the ESSTEAM program, Beyond St Hilda’s, whilst also bringing a lens of reflection, where he leads reviews of past strategic initiatives to ensure they are delivering on the intended outcomes and identifying ongoing improvements. Key to the role is developing the School’s capability and capacity for innovation, and evolving the School’s relationships with external partners to ensure that St Hilda’s continues to be a global leader in girls’ education.
Luke cohosts the Edleaders Australia podcast and is well connected to innovative leaders and schools across the country, keeping up to date with the latest trends in education. Luke is a connector of people and ideas, which when combined with his clear understanding of the academic and business needs of a school and his strategic lens, makes him a valuable member of the St Hilda’s executive leadership team.
Luke has a Certificate in School Leadership and Management (Harvard University), Masters in Business Administration (UWA) Advanced Not-for-profit Governance Certificate (AICD) and a Bachelor of Engineering.
Nicole Adams
Director of Teaching and Learning (JK-12)
Nicole is a passionate educator, pedagogist, innovator and leader. Nicole started with a country posting and moved to single-sex education at Trinity College and Hale School. She then gained international experience at the Australian International School in Singapore before returning to Perth to take on system-wide pedagogy and technology work with the Catholic Education Office. Throughout her time in education, Nicole has nurtured a passion for education technology and how it can transfer teaching and learning. This particular passion continues to thrive today as her company, TalentIn, is a Global Training Partner with Microsoft.
In 2021, before appointed to Director of Learning Re-imagined, Nicole implemented learning opportunities for all staff in relation to the new one-to-one devices and growth of sustainable, ongoing professional learning plan that ensures our technology always supports pedagogy.
Doug Loader
Director of Information & Learning Technologies
Bringing over 15 years of experience working in Australian secondary education, Doug has a broad range of leadership and technical experience. Doug bridges the gap between pedagogy and technology bringing solutions to the school that drive innovation and have a positive impact on the outcomes of our students. With a focus on security and infrastructure Doug leads a team that has already modernised I.T. operations at St Hilda’s.
With a passion for data analytics and data governance, Doug is comfortable leveraging machine learning to draw valuable insight from any type of large data. His expertise was further solidified in 2023 when he obtained a degree in Information and Data Analytics, enhancing his proficiency in this field.
Leadership Team
Cora Algie
Jo Swain
Rachel Stenslunde
Helen Thompson
Sharne Clayton
Karen Donnelly
Maylin Tai
Cora Algie
Dean of Academics and Analytics
Cora has been a member of the St Hilda’s community since 2016, enjoying her time teaching in and leading the Mathematics Department before becoming Dean of Academics & Analytics. Cora taught for many years in the UK and held various leadership roles during this time. Prior to venturing into education, Cora majored in Actuarial Science & Statistics and engaged in data analysis whilst working in the finance sector. Cora is passionate about helping every student shine as they engage in their academic journey at St Hilda’s.
Jo Swain
Dean of Student Wellbeing (7-12)
Jo is a dedicated staff member, having served at St Hilda’s since 2004. Jo is a highly regarded educator and colleague who has been a Head of Year for 12 years and coordinated the Pilgrimage to Fiji for 13 years.
Jo managed the Wellbeing team which included the six Heads of Year, psychologists, nursing staff and Head of Community Service. This amazing team works closely to ensure each student is supported in their social, emotional and psychological development and wellbeing.
Jo is passionate about girls education and committed to ensuring all students are individually known, nurtured, advocated for and guided as a member of the St Hilda’s Community.
Rachel Stenslunde
Dean of Boarding (7-12)
Promoting a home away from home where staff and students share mutual respect, care, trust and concern; providing and managing the necessary expectations in terms of the girl’s behaviour, creating opportunities for boarders to develop personal responsibility and facilitating appropriate social, cultural and other activities both within and outside the school, are all areas of focus of the Dean of Boarding, Rachel Stenslunde. Rachel believes that providing an environment for the girls that acknowledges the incredible history and traditions of the St Hilda’s community while also being able to balance with a contemporary flavour equips the girls to thrive in our current landscape.
Rachel has been at St Hilda’s since 2018 and has held the Dean of Boarding position since 2019. Prior to St Hilda’s Rachel has spent time in Karratha, Sydney and Brisbane working in both the resource sector in the North West and the Financial Planning Industry for NAB/MLC Funds Management. She has managed large national teams where the development of the personnel within these teams was critically important to the deliverables the team was working towards. Her diverse experiences with a client focus have aided her ability to build strong relationships with people and ensure the girl’s personal development is at the forefront of all decisions.
Rachel Stenslunde lives on campus with her husband and three children.
Helen Thompson
Dean of School Operations and Cocurricular
Helen is an accomplished Science educator with 25 years experience in the Senior School and is highly respected by both students and colleagues alike. She commenced at St Hilda’s in 2003 and has undertaken in that time the roles of Head of Year (2 years) and House Coordinator for 9 years. Through these roles and time in the classroom, she has developed a deep understanding of how St Hilda’s operates and will bring her energy for girls’ education to develop the varied co-curricular opportunities available to the students.
Helen engages closely with the House coordinators and Heads of Co-Curricular including Sport, Outdoor Education, Music, Dance and Drama programs. She works collaboratively to ensure all students can shine in areas outside the classroom. She is empathetic and takes great pride in her relationships with students. Helen encourages all students to grow, develop and take advantage of all opportunities available to them.
Sharne Clayton
Dean of Junior School
Sharne is a dedicated and passionate member of staff, joining the team in 2014 as a primary years teacher. She has since held positions spanning Junior Kindergarten to Year 12 including Head of Community Service, teacher of early years literacy enrichment, and Acting Head of Years 7, 10 and 11. She has been actively involved in many aspects of the school and sat on the Uniform Committee, attended P&F meetings and was involved in the development of the Belonging program. Sharne has firsthand experience in the Year 9 Wandering Spirit program and Year 10 Wooleen Expedition and designed and implemented a suite of service immersions in rural Western Australia. In her role as Head of Community Service she developed and curated education programs that were and continue to be relevant and meaningful to the whole school community through partnering with providers who enhance learning in developmentally appropriate ways, built standing community engagement programs and launched the ‘Helping Hands’ Newsletter.
Sharne has a Bachelor of Education and Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Education. She is an Old Scholar and former parent of the school. Sharne drives connection amongst all stakeholders leading from strong interpersonal skills. She is passionate about all aspects of a St Hilda’s education and the wellbeing of our girls and staff.
Karen Donnelly
Head of Academics and Analytics
Karen is a passionate primary practitioner with a strong understanding and vision of contemporary education. She advocates for all students to pursue academic excellence and to be prepared for future challenges by developing a global outlook, alongside collaborative and innovative problem-solving skills. She has been a staff member at St Hilda’s since 2014, originally as a Year 6 teacher and more recently as STEAM Coordinator and Maths Enrichment teacher at the Junior School.
Karen’s academic qualifications include a Masters in Education and Graduate Diplomas in Educational Leadership, Behaviour Management and Information Communication Technology. She has worked at schools in Western Australia for the past fifteen years as a teacher and curriculum leader. She previously taught at a British international school in Bangkok, and at several schools in the UK.
Maylin Tai
Head of Academic Growth
School Council
St Hilda’s is well served by a volunteer Council consisting of 13 highly skilled people from a range of professions. Nominating bodies include the Synod of the Diocese of Perth, the Diocesan Council, the Archbishop, the School Council, the Old Scholars’ Association and the St Hilda’s Parents’ and Friends’ Association.
The role of the Council is to oversee the medium and long term strategic direction of the School. It meets a minimum of 8 times during the academic year to discuss strategic issues and to monitor financial and other governance matters. Council members are also assigned to one or more of the working committees according to their particular skills. The current Council committees are: Finance, Infrastructure and Development, Governance and CIRG.
Council Members
Anna Casellas
Chair of Council
Anna Casellas is a highly experienced professional employment law, industrial relations and safety issues. She is a Partner at Clayton Utz, leading the National Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety Group. As Chair of Council she brings her expertise to support the School’s governance and development. Anna also serves as a non-executive director at the Black Swan State Theatre Company. Anna is a third-generation St Hilda’s graduate.
Bachelor of Law
Masters in Law
Felicia Brady
Deputy Chair of Council and Chair of Infrastructure and Development
Felicia Brady is a property management consultant with more than 25 years of experience in project management, strategic asset planning and development management. As a Director at FTB, she has led significant projects in both residential and commercial sector. Felicia is an Old Scholar and has two daughters at St Hilda’s.
Bachelor of Arts, Town Planning
Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
Treffina Dowland
Treffina Dowland has had a long-standing relationship with St Hilda’s as an Old Scholar, a parent, and as President of the Old Scholars Association. She was heavily involved with the School’s philanthropic causes including the Spreading Our Wings campaign that raised capital to establish the Chidley Campus. She is an exceptional leader, managing a variety of stakeholders and volunteers at the Old Scholars Bazaar and the Art Exhibition over many years.
Father Matthew Smedley
Fr Matthew commenced as Rector of the Parish of Mosman Park in February 2020 and is an Archbishop’s appointment to the School Council. Before moving to Perth, he has served in the Diocese of Grafton and has served as Mission Support Officer (Northern Ministry Region), Clerical Canon of The Cathedral Church of Christ the King, Chair of Anglicare North Coast, and Deputy Chair of The Buttery, among other roles. Prior to ordination worked in the banking and tourism sectors, a not-for-profit organisation, and a state government department.
Honours Degree in Economics, German and Russian Language Studies
Master of Divinity
Diploma in Ministry
Joanna Millard
Joanna Millard is a highly accomplished professional in the corporate sector. She is an Executive Director of the John Hughes Group, a multifaceted business including automotive, finance and property interests employing nearly 600 people. Joanna brings extensive experience in entrepreneurship, finance, investment, and strategic business management. Joanna is an Old Scholar and has a daughter at St Hilda’s and two sons at Scotch College.
Master of Business Administration
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Commerce
Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
Prof Tanya Fitzgerald
Tanya Fitzgerald is a distinguished Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Western Australia. With a PhD in Education and extensive experience in leadership roles across multiple countries, she is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK).
PhD, (History of Education)
Robert Merrick
Chair of Governance
Rob Merrick is a highly experienced lawyer specialising in energy and natural resources. As a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills, he focusses on acquisitions, divestments and project financing. Rob is recognised as one of Australia’s leading energy lawyers. Rob has a daughter at St Hilda’s.
Bachelor of Laws
Michael Palassis
Michael Palassis is Managing Director at Paxon Group, an international advisor providing financial and commercial advice for infrastructure projects. With over 20 years of experience, he has advised on over $20 billion worth of projects and is known for developing new infrastructure in the education sector. Michael is a former Senator of the University of Western Australia and is Honorary Treasury for the Australia College of Health Service Management. Michael has a daughter at St Hilda’s and two sons at Scotch College.
Bachelor of Commerce
Bachelor of Laws
Masters of Applied Finance
Fellow of Financial Services Institute of Australia
Stuart Meade
Stuart Meade is a dedicated educational leader with over 45 years of service in the industry. He retired recently after seven years as the Principal at Matthew Flinders Anglican College and prior to that Hale School. He successful led key projects including the Flinders Masterplan. Since his relocation back to Perth he consults in education.
Bachelor of Arts, Dip ed, Economics, Geography
Master of Education, Education Administration
Amanda Burt
Amanda is a legal practitioner and has a role as a Regional Legal Counsel, Asia Pacific at a global consultancy. Previous legal roles include as an Associate for a Justice of the Court of Appeal, at top tier law firms, and in-house, and her particular expertise is in projects, infrastructure, mining, safety and sustainability. She has previously served as Chair of a school fundraising committee whilst living in Melbourne.
Amanda has many connections to the school and has served on the OSA Committee from late 2017 having been elected to the position of President in October 2024. Her daughter has recently graduated from the St Hilda’s.
Juris Doctor, Doctor of Philosophy
Bachelor of Agricultural Science
Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
Foundation
The Foundation is a body incorporated under the authority and upon the initiative of the School Council of St Hilda’s in 1987 to secure the School’s financial independence.
The main focus of the Foundation Board is the prudent investment of the Foundation funds in order to establish a firm base for the long term financial security and independence of the School. The School makes available a proportion of the confirming fees to assist in increasing the corpus. It is also the beneficiary of generous bequests.
Foundation Members
Damian Collins
Chair of Foundation
Damian Collins is a highly respected property investor and the Managing Director of Momentum Wealth, a Perth-based property investment consultancy. He is also the Chairman of Westbridge Funds Management and has served on the REIWA Council since 2011 including a term as President until 2022. Damain is known for his extensive experience in advocacy in the local real estate community. Damian has a daughter who graduated from St Hilda’s and a daughter currently at the School.
David Fleming
Having retired from a 30-year career in law with premier international law firm, Baker McKenzie, in Australia, England and Hong Kong, David has an active career in executive coaching and non-executive director roles. His consultancy Springboard Advisory provides executive performance coaching, business consulting and advice on commercial projects. David has had two daughters who have now graduated from St Hilda’s and a daughter currently studying at St Hilda’s.
Li Choo Tay
Li Choo Tay has over 20 years of experience in finance and banking. She has held senior roles at HSBC Private Bank, MUFG Securities and JP Morgan. Li Choo is a CFA-certified professional with an MBA from INSEAD and a PPE degree from Oxford. She sits on the INSEAD Foundation and is currently studying for her PhD at the University of Western Australia. Li Choo has two daughters at St Hilda’s and a son at Christ Church Grammar School.
Anna Casellas
Chair of Council
Anna Casellas is a highly experienced professional employment law, industrial relations and safety issues. She is a Partner at Clayton Utz, leading the National Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety Group. As Chair of Council she brings her expertise to support the School’s governance and development. Anna also serves as a non-executive director at the Black Swan State Theatre Company. Anna is a third-generation St Hilda’s graduate.
Bachelor of Law
Masters in Law
Joanna Millard
Joanna Millard is a highly accomplished professional in the corporate sector. She is an Executive Director of the John Hughes Group, a multifaceted business including automotive, finance and property interests employing nearly 600 people. Joanna brings extensive experience in entrepreneurship, finance, investment, and strategic business management. Joanna is an Old Scholar and has a daughter at St Hilda’s and two sons at Scotch College.
Master of Business Administration
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Commerce
Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
Heather Rowell
Heather Rowell brings a wealth of international experience in strategy, business performance and transformation consulting to her role on the Foundation Board. Currently a Director at Nous Group, Heather is a Chartered Accountant and qualified executive coach with extensive experience across the higher education, mining and FMCG sectors in Australia, the UK, and North America. A fourth-generation St Hilda’s graduate, Heather is also an Old Scholar with three nieces currently enrolled.