Wesley College Council Members

Bsc (Hons) MSc PhD FAA

Professor Rachel Webster AO has taught Astrophysics, Astronomy and Physics for more than 20 years and is a member of faculty at the University of Melbourne. Professor Webster is a well-respected member of her field, the author of more than 200 academic publications and a regular presenter at international conferences. Professor Webster currently leads an astrophysics research group at the University of Melbourne, consisting of more than 60 research students and staff.

Professor Webster has also been awarded a place on the Victorian Women’s Honour Roll, is a board member of Astronomy Australia Limited and an honorary fellow of the Astronomical Society of Australia.

BA (Hons) PGCertEd MTheol (Hons) CertApplLing AdvDipMin PhD

Sunny Chen is the current Vice President of the Wesley College Council, and was appointed in April 2014. He is a Presbytery Minister of the Uniting Church, overseeing approximately 70 church congregations, and a lecturer and an honorary researcher at the University of Divinity.

Passionate about education, he currently chairs the Synod’s Ministerial Education Board, which oversees the Uniting Church’s theological college. Sunny was originally a secondary school teacher in Hong Kong before completing his theological studies in the United States. Sunny is acquainted with a number of Old Wesley Collegians through his connection with Queen’s College at The University of Melbourne, where he is a former college chaplain and council member. Sunny serves on the Strategy Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Ethics and Governance Committee.

BA(Hons), Dip Ed, MEd, MACE (OW1985)

Nicholas Evans is Wesley’s 17th Principal. Nick has a long association with Wesley College both as a student and in teaching and leadership roles spanning 20 years. Following five years as Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School at Melbourne Grammar School, Nick returned to Wesley as an accomplished leader.  He has experience in contemporary curriculum development, in the implementation of academic and cocurricular programs to complement a holistic education and in building connected relationships with staff, students and community. Nick also brings to Wesley extensive experience in coeducational and residential schooling, teacher appraisal and the development of programs to support teaching excellence.

BEc CA F Fin (OW1987)

Cameron Bacon has been a Financial Advisory (Mergers and Acquisitions) Partner at Grant Thornton since late 2010. Prior to that Cameron worked at KPMG in the Corporate Finance and Audit divisions. While at KPMG he undertook a secondment to the KPMG Chicago office.

Cameron is the Chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee and serves on the Strategy, and Remuneration Committees. He has one son currently at the College.

BA (Hons)  MPsych MAPS (OW1990)

Nicki Lefkovits has been involved in the Wesley College Foundation since 2012 and has served as Chair of the Foundation since 2018.  She has been a member of Financial and Risk Management Commitee and a parent representative member of Council. She has previously served on not-for-profit sporting boards. Nicki has also advised company board directors in various industries on a range of professional issues.

Nicki has been a Psychologist for over 25 years with a broad range of psychological experience across many disciplines. She owned and ran her own private practice for many years. Much of Nicki’s current work is in the education sector, working with students, school staff and parents.

Nicki is a passionate (OW1990). She has two daughters and a son. Her eldest daughter has graduated and her two younger children remain at Wesley.

BA History

Melinda Geertz joined the Wesley College Council in May 2016. She serves on the Strategy Committee and the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee. Melinda has had a long career in the communications industry in the USA and Australia. She was CEO of Leo Burnett Australia for five years, preceded by 15 years as CEO of the agency in Melbourne. Leo Burnett is a leading creative communications company, known in Australia for its award-winning creativity, progressive culture and commercial impact. Late last year, Melinda stepped down from her role, after 38 years with the company.  She remains active in the industry as a mentor, coach and consultant, and was recently the recipient of an industry Lifetime Achievement Award. Over the years, Melinda has served on advisory councils in a variety of sectors. She was also a director of the Advertising Council Australia for six years and the Publicis Groupe Australian Leadership Team for five years. She is currently a director of Make-a-Wish Australia.

Melinda moved to Australia from the United States 32 years ago with her husband, Jeff. They have three children, all of whom completed their studies at the St. Kilda Road campus.

Peter Mastos (OW1990) joined the Wesley College Council in 2020. Peter is a senior business leader with more than 25 years of experience in management consulting, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate transformations. He is a Founding Partner at Sayers (founded in 2020), a modern advisory and investment business designed for the new economy, backed by Australian and US private capital. Prior to joining Sayers, Peter was a Senior Partner at PwC Australia, and was a member of PwC’s Global Deals Leadership team. Peter has been a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia since 1996, and has completed the INSEAD Executive Leadership Program in 2010. He is also a current member of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Development Board.

BArch (Hons) BPlanDes (OW1981)

Tim Jackson is a founding director of Jackson Clements Burrows Architects (JCB), established in Melbourne in 1998. JCB have delivered a diverse range of projects throughout Australia and overseas, and their work has been widely recognised through the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) and Industry Awards programs, with award-winning projects including the St Kilda Foreshore Promenade Redevelopment, Monash University Faculty of Science North-West Precinct Redevelopment, and the Architizer A+ Award Winner for Upper House (Multi Unit Housing – High Rise, 16+ Floors).

Tim is an advocate for innovative design in the built environment and has established an impressive portfolio of award-winning commissions for JCB. He maintains a commitment to the research of multi-residential and domestic scale housing for the improvement of habitation and social interaction. Tim has chaired various AIA and Industry Award juries, and participates in guest critiques at major tertiary institutions across Australia.

Tim is a member of the Property Committee. His daughter completed her studies at Wesley in 2016 and his son completed his studies at Wesley in 2018.

BComm LLB CA CTA GradDipAppFin GradDipLegalPrac

Simon Rooke joined the Wesley College Council in February 2016. He is a Lawyer and a Chartered Accountant. Simon joined the corporate tax group in PwC (then Price Waterhouse) in 1995 and has been with the firm since then. Simon’s main practice areas are accounting, mergers and acquisitions, international tax and litigation. He spent time on secondment in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group of PwC London from 1999 to 2001. He has extensive experience with governance in listed companies, large private companies and government entities.

MBBS BSc (OW1991)

Hugo Stephenson is a medical doctor, technologist, biotech services entrepreneur and founder of many businesses in the clinical trials and health technology industries. Hugo worked in Princeton, New Jersey, and later in Paris, France for almost 10 years leading Global Late Phase and Drug Safety for Quintiles, now part of IQVIA - a Fortune 500 company. Hugo went on to found DrugDev, a leading US-based developer of cloud-based clinical trial management systems, which he ran as Executive Chairman until its sale in 2017. Hugo is currently a non-executive director of Induction Healthcare, a publicly listed developer of cloud-based health software that he founded in 2018 to facilitate virtual delivery of care between doctors, care teams and patients.

Hugo sits on the Ethics Committee and has had two sons and two daughters attend the St Kilda Road Campus.

BBus (Property), MBA

Sarah Conron joined the Wesley College Council in February 2019 after serving as member of the Nominations Committee. Sarah is a Director of Neurologic Plus and has been working as a management consultant for the past 16 years, working with Atkinson Consulting. Prior to this Sarah was General Manager of property.com.au.

Sarah is a long serving member of the Women for Women Committee at Sacred Heart Mission. Sarah has four children, two who have completed their schooling at the college and two daughters who are current students.

Joanna joins Council in 2022 after serving on the Finance Audit and Risk Subcommittee through 2021.

She is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience as CFO and Company Secretary for ASX listed and multinational life sciences and pharmaceuticals companies.  She has 2 daughters who are currently enrolled in the Senior and Middle School at the Glen Waverley campus.