St Hilda’s School is a Diocesan-owned school, the governing body of the school is Diocesan Council.
Diocesan Council Members
St Hilda's School is a Diocesan owned school which is established under the School's Regulation Canon. As such, the governing body is Diocesan Council. It is from this relationship that the school takes its corporate status.
The members of Diocesan Council are:
The Right Reverend Cameron Venables (Administrator)
The Right Reverend Jeremy Greaves
The Right Reverend John Roundhill
The Reverend Canon Nicole Colledge
The Venerable Geoffrey Hoyte
The Reverend Dr Rodney Wolff
The Reverend Dr Ceridwen Wynne
Ms Jennifer Basham
Ms Amy Norman
Mr Dan O’Connor
Judge Kevin Lapthorn
The Hon Justice Debra Mullins (Chancellor)
Mr David Sneesby
The Reverend Adam Lowe
Diocesan Council delegates certain governance functions to the School Council via the school’s Charter. In circumstances where the directors of the governing body must be provided with a report about sexual abuse or likely sexual abuse the Diocesan Council has, pursuant to Section 366B of the Education (General Provisions) Act, delegated that role to Ms Sherril Butterworth, Executive Director, Anglican Schools Commission.
School Council Members
St Hilda’s School is owned by the Diocese of Brisbane and the School Council is appointed by the Archbishop in Council.
The major functions of the School Council are the appointment of the School Principal, the annual budget and school policy. The day-to-day running of the school is the responsibility of the Principal, acting in the role of Chief Executive Officer.
Professor Susan Brandis - Chair
The Reverend Dan Talbot - Deputy Chair
Mrs Debbie Buckley
Ms Samantha Hogan
Mr Michael Beddoes
Mr Paul Salter - Secretary/Director of Operations
Professor Susan Brandis - Chair
PhD, B.Occ.Thy., B.Bus(Health Admin.), FCHSE, CHE
Appointed to School Council 2000 and Chair from 2014.
Susan Brandis is an experienced health administrator, practitioner and researcher, and Head of Bond University's Occupational Therapy program.
During a 37-year career, she has held high profile positions including Manager of the National Falls Prevention Project for the Commonwealth and Executive Director of Allied Health at Gold Coast Health.
She has worked in various roles in both the public and non-government sectors including Director of Occupational Therapy; Director of Allied Health, Geriatric and Rehabilitation Services; and Executive Officer Medical Aids Subsidy Scheme, and has been an adjunct lecturer at various universities in Queensland over almost two decades.
Susan has had a personal interest and passion for St Hilda’s School since her daughter attended, and has been keenly involved on the School Council ever since.
The Reverend Dan Talbot - Deputy Chair
B. Bus (M’Mnt & Mkt), GradDipTheology, MArts(Theology)
Appointed to School Council 2012.
Fr Dan Talbot has been the Priest in Charge at the Anglican Parish of Jimboomba since 2007, having previously served as Assistant Priest at the Anglican Parish of Surfers Paradise from 2004-2007. He is also the Pastor to Emmaus College, Part-time Police Chaplain Logan District, and Area Dean of Logan.
Fr Dan serves as the Archbishop’s Nominee on St Hilda’s School Council.
Mrs Debbie Buckley
Appointed to School Council 2018.
Debbie is an Old Girl who attended St Hilda’s for 11 years before a career in nursing and general practice management. She married John Buckley at St Hilda’s School Chapel in 1985 and has four children, the girls attending St Hilda’s and the boys TSS. After working in General Practice for 25 years, Debbie now has her own businesses Your Life My Time and Downsized Living where she supports professional women and manages the relocation of elderly retirees.
Debbie was involved with the Old Girls' Association as Vice President and then President for 10 years, retiring in 2015. Debbie is a passionate St Hilda’s Old Girl and has been honoured to serve on the School Council since 2018.
Ms Samantha Hogan
BCom(Accounting), BProperty(Valuation)
Appointed to School Council 2022.
Samantha is a St Hilda's Old Girl and is currently the Program Manager for Scheduled Care and Contracts for the Division of Surgery and Critical Care at Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, where her role involves providing strategic, managerial and analytical support to the General Manager of the division across various health agendas, including the Clinical Subcontracting (Outsourcing) program for the health service, elective surgery waitlist management and project management.
Samantha earned her degrees in Commerce (Accounting) and Property and Sustainable Development (Property Valuation) from Bond University and worked initially as a Senior Accountant at KPMG prior to moving towards financial and data analyst roles in both the private and public healthcare sectors in Queensland.
In addition to her day job, Samantha is a keen artist and illustrator, and started her small business ‘Samantha Hogan Illustration’ in 2020 to honour her creative passions. Choosing to use predominantly pencils and pigmented inks, her style is a contemporary blend between fashion and realism with a fun and flirty energy becoming a central theme of her work. She aims to capture special moments in life via bespoke commission-based artworks for individuals, commercial partnerships, and live event illustrations. Samantha is inspired by bold, creative individuals, fashion, travel and current affairs.
Mr Michael Beddoes
Appointed to School Council 2009. Reappointed 2021.
Michael graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with First Class Honours and has been working with his clients for close to 30 years providing accounting, taxation and financial planning advice.
Michael has been a Partner of MBA since its inception in 2001 and during this time he has seen long-term growth in this business. His client base is diverse and covers many different types of businesses, industries and professions.
With a special interest in self-managed superannuation funds and retirement planning, he enjoys developing strategies to help clients manage their funds and meet their retirement goals.
In his spare time, Michael enjoys surfing, watching his favourite NRL team, the Canterbury Bulldogs and hanging with his favourite four-legged friend, Elli.
Mr Paul Salter - Secretary/Director of Operations
GradCertMgmtTech, GradDipMgmtTech, A/DipBusAcc, MPM, GCertTh, GAICD, GMC(Bond)
Appointed as Secretary 2011.
Paul Salter is the Director of Operations at St Hilda’s School and Secretary of the School Council. He is also the Executive Officer/Secretary of the St Hilda’s Foundation and Executive Officer of Carey Lane Early Learning Centre.
Paul has worked in Senior Executive roles for almost 30 years, with extensive experience in managing medium to large, multifaceted organisations in a range of industries including education, local government, and private sector utilities. His areas of expertise have focussed on Governance, Strategy, Finances, Legal, Risk, Project Management, Change Management, and Culture.
With an outstanding ability to think critically, strategically and systematically to evaluate and solve complex problems, he has a proven track record of achieving project deliverables.
Married to Natalie, he has two adult children and one grandson.