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The Chair of Council is appointed by the Synod of the Uniting Church on nomination of the Council.

Our Council is responsible for the governance of St Stephen’s School and appoints the Principal to take responsibility for the leadership and management of our School.

St Stephen’s School Council members are volunteers who passionately contribute their exceptional professional skills to the good governance of the School. The Council members provide a broad range of corporate skills and experience at a senior level – including financial, governance, educational, legal, planning, and technical.

Meet the Council

John Sobolewski

Chair of Council

B.COMM, CA, GAICD

John is currently the Chief Financial Officer with Lithium Universe Limited, and has held numerous executive level roles including Chair, Managing Director, CEO, CFO and Company Secretary within the mining industry.

John has also served on the Boards, and as Chair, Deputy Chair and President for several sizeable NFP entities.

John is married to Melissa, and they have a son in year 12 at St Stephen’s.

Michael Schrick

BSC MECH ENG, MBA (UWA), AICD

Mike joined Council’s Governance Committee in 2016 as a member and is currently the Convenor of the Planning Committee
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Mike is the founding principal of 80 Twenty, a leading business improvement consultancy based in Perth.

Mike is an experienced professional with over 12 years senior operational experience in both large and medium sized companies. In addition to holding senior operational and general management positions within large and SME businesses in both the UK and Australia, Mike has also owned and operated a niche manufacturing business in Australia.

Mike has over 15 years consulting experience in the area of Business Improvement and Turnaround serving various size companies across a range of industries.

Mike is married to Plum and they have two adult children, both having attended St Stephen’s School.

Brett Dorney

Council member

MNGT CERT (FLINDERS), MNGT DIP, AICD

Brett joined Council’s Governance Committee in 2017 as a member.
Brett is the General Manager at North Metropolitan TAFE who oversees a diverse team of professionals who are responsible for the College’s financial management, ITC, people, culture and safety and facilities management.
During Brett’s tenure at West Coast Institute of Training as an Executive Director, his primary focus was on the strategic positioning, business and strategic planning, board governance, business development, marketing, quality assurance and continuous improvement of the Institute.
With Brett’s extensive experience in the various aspects of the management and administration of a TAFE college, these skills are directly transferable to a school setting and an asset to St Stephen’s School.

Sheel Gor

Council member

UCL SCHOOL OF PHARMACY – LONDON MPHARM HONOURS

Sheel joined Council’s Planning Committee in 2019.
Sheel is a registered pharmacist in Australia (AHPRA and SHPA) and is currently working on projects including research and co-authoring on a paper for review on the current practices in clinical rotation in the field of laboratory medicines.
As Director for Teaching and Learning  and Lecturer at Curtin University, Sheel managed and coordinated focus groups in various fields of medicine and organisations ranging from the Department of Health to Telethon Kids Institute.
Sheel is a Member of the Athena Swan Charter, committed to the encouragement, recognition and advancement of the participation of women involved in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine in higher education and research and is also a member of HERDSA – Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia.
Sheel and her partner Kushal have a son attending St Stephen’s School at Carramar campus.

Daniel Wright

Council member

Daniel joined Council in 2023 having been a member of the Governance Committee since late 2021. Daniel is an officer in the Australian Defence Force and an experienced management professional, specialising in strategy and risk. He has worked in a number of sectors including defence, oil and gas, mining and health and is currently the Commanding Officer of the 10th Light Horse Regiment in the Australian Army. He is also Director of Strategy for Executive Risk Solutions and a board member of Soldiers and Sirens, a not-for-profit organisation supporting police and defence veterans.

Jaco van Staden

Jaco joined the Planning Committee in 2021 and joined Council in October 2022. Jaco has a wealth of commercial, industrial and residential property development and construction experience spanning across Australia and South Africa, including managing construction projects in remote WA.

As the Operations Manager of Thomas Building,  Jaco is responsible for delivering many major projects including large integrated residential, hospitality and commercial projects. Jaco is also a Registered Building Practitioner in WA and serves on the Board of a not-for-profit Aged Care Facility.

Jaco and his wife Alana have two boys at the Duncraig Campus, they worship at Grace Reformed Church in Joondalup.

Rev Dr Ian Tozer

Ian was installed as Moderator of the Uniting Church WA during the opening worship of the 47th Annual Meeting of the Synod of Western Australia on Friday, 8 September 2023.

Ian is a Western Australian who grew up in Mumballup in the south west and went to school in Collie. He studied English and Philosophy and then trained for Ministry at Perth Theological Hall.

Ian has been a member of the Uniting Church since union, and was ordained in 1982. Since then he has ministered to congregations in rural and suburban locations, as well as central city placements in both the Synod of Western Australia and of South Australia. Ian has also worked in Presbytery and Synod roles, and has been a chaplain in school, hospital and aged care settings.

Ian also attended Notre Dame University, Fremantle, and a United Methodist Seminary in Denver, USA. His most recent placement has been in congregational ministry at All Saints Floreat Uniting Church from 2018 to 2023.