Alumni news

Classnotes

May 2006

Compiled by: Kate Chong and Jennifer Smith

1960s

The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York has conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa on Rodney Mariner (BA(Hons) 1968, DipEd 1969) in recognition of his 25 years of service as a rabbi. Richard Jackson (BSc(Hons) 1968, MB BS 1972) has been appointed foundation professor of medicine at Griffith University School of Medicine on the Gold Coast, Queensland .

1970s

Ellen Sanders (BSc 1977, DipEd 1978) is head of the Disability Policy Advisory Unit at The University of Nottingham, England. Barry Martin (DipAppChem 1973, PhD 1978) has moved from California to Colorado to take up the position of assistant dean at Regis University. After a 30-year career in human services, Suzi Quixley (BA 1978) has decided to explore her creative side and start her own homewares business in Adelaide.

Charles Fortune (BA 1973, DipEd 1974) is a disability support worker with Yooralla Victoria. Christine Lower (BA 1979) has retired as head of humanities at Kilvington Girls School, Ormond. Also enjoying retirement is Douglas Styles (DipElectronicEng 1974), who spent 15 years as principal of Cobden Technical School. In addition to his accounting practice in Malaysia, Arthur Law (BEc 1975) has set up a similar practice in Cambodia.

Duncan Topliss (MB BS 1973, MD 1989) is director of the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes at The Alfred hospital. He also sits on the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee and is chairman of the Australian Adverse Drug Reaction Advisory Committee. After more than 30 years living in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing, Jane Hamilton (BA 1971) has returned to Melbourne and helped start a not-for-profit organisation to assist long-term unemployed women.

Richard Mehan (BEc 1974) has been appointed managing director and CEO of Australia's third-largest iron ore mine, Portman Ltd. Having retired after 15 years as manager (Human Resources and Finances) with the Victorian Education Department, John Varley (BA 1974, BSocWk 1980) is now undertaking volunteer work as an educational consultant specialising in capacity building and interactive linguistic development in South-East Asia and the Caribbean.

1980s

David Box

Geoff Bell (BSc 1982) works as a specialist neurological physiotherapist in his own practice. Leerae Powell (née Hayse) (DipAppSci(Nurs) 1989) is a registered nurse at Silver Chain Hospice in Perth. Based in Queensland, Greg Harper (PhD 1985) helps deliver research and development to the livestock industry in his role as manager of strategic science at Meat and Livestock Australia. Also outside Victoria, Imran Lambay (BE(Civil) 1986) is an asset planning engineer with the South Australian Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure.

Chee Kin Tho (BEc 1987) is a practice manager for Enterprise Content Management solutions with Siemens Malaysia. Film-writer and director Daryl Dellora (BA 1980) has completed an online documentary for ABC New Media about the life of Vice-Admiral William Bligh.

David Box (pictured left) (BE(w/hons) 1987) has been seconded by Orica Chemical's trading division in Chile as business development manager for a new geographic expansion into Latin America.

Based in Sydney, James Kirk (BBus(Mktg) 1984) is CEO of Mainpac -- a provider of IT solutions for the manufacturing, facilities and fleet/logistics industry. Also in a CEO role is Graeme York (BE(Elec)w/dist 1983, GradDipEngMaintMgt 1987), who heads International Power Hazelwood in the Latrobe Valley. Simpson Poon (BSc 1988, GradDipBusSys 1989, PhD 1998) is an assistant executive director of the Vocational Training Council in Hong Kong.

Since retiring from a career in academia, John Miller AO (pictured below, right) (PhD 1984) has concentrated on natural resource management with appointments to alpine resort boards and the water industry. A keen cross-country skier, he has completed more than 30 events on the international cross-country ski marathon circuit.

George Lekakis (BA 1983, BSocWk 1986) has been re-appointed as chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission. Based in Sydney, Andrew Jenkinson (BSc(Hons) 1985) is an environmental scientist at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.

John Miller AO

Since 2002 Jenny Bryant (PhD 1984) has been a senior lecturer with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ. Hugh Cameron (BEc 1987) has transferred to London with Goldman Sachs JBWere, where he is responsible for managing Australian and New Zealand equity sales to UK and European investors. Fran Reddan (BA(Hons) 1985, DipEd 1986, BEdSt 1990) has been appointed principal of Mentone Girls' Grammar School.

1990s

Principal of Port Phillip Specialist School Bella Irlicht AM (MEdSt 1993) was named CEO of the Year for 2005 at the Equity Trustees' Not for Profit CEO Awards. Wong Kim Ming (BComp(InfoSys) 1995) is working as a senior systems analyst for Malaysia-based multimedia group ASTRO. Living in Sydney, Cecilia Hilder (BA(Hons) 1994) is an executive at Channel Financial Communication.

Kathy Tierney (MBA 1995) is enjoying working in Washington DC as HR director, global infrastructure services, at Computer Sciences Corporation. After leading middle-years curriculum development and change at Aquinas College, Trevor Dangerfield (GradDipEdAdmin 1996, MEd(SpEd) 2004) is now an educational leader at Elisabeth Murdoch College in Melbourne, sharing responsibility for curriculum and welfare of more than 750 Year 7 to 9 students.

As manager of the Cross Border business unit of The Mauritius Commercial Bank, Joseph Perrine (BBus(Bkg&Fin) 1995, BBus(Hons) 1996) advises on trade and project financing from Madagascar to the Maldives. Rorie Jackson (BA(Hons) 1999) is a humanities teacher at the Business Academy Bexley in London. Sarah Russell (BA 1990, LLB(Hons) 1991) commissions books and software for the primary classroom as a publisher at Thomson Nelson.

Richard Willard-Turton (BA 1997, GradCertIntRel 2005) is an officer of the Australian Army in Melbourne. For the past eight years, Lyn Plummer (MA(VisArts) 1995) has been head of painting at the School of Art in Dunedin, NZ.

Based in California, Melissa Page (BA 1995) continues to develop her music career and has formed an indie record label, GOE records. She also works as a PA at nutritional supplement company Gematria Products.

Patricia Tanizar (MPracAcc 1999) is an accountant at Asean Express Finance in Hong Kong. Margaret Gray (BBus 1997) teaches economics and business studies at the Australian International High School in Sydney. Matthew Loughnan (BEc 1994) has been appointed head of brand and marketing for Macquarie Bank. Working in Singapore, Shirley Wong (BBus(Acc) 1995) is manager of financial reporting and control at Qantas subsidiary, Holiday Tours and Travel.

Also in Singapore, Tay Chiew Sheng (MBusSys 2003) is an investor relations manager for IT company Magnecomp International. Now in his 10th year with ExxonMobil, Danny Chen Heng Siong (BBus(Mktg) 1997) is the lead financial analyst for the Asia Pacific fuels marketing business. After spending nine years working in the finance and operations departments of Blockbuster Australia, Damian Marley (BA(Hons) 1994) has started a new career as a teacher at Springvale South Primary School.

Tien Chye Hew (GradDipBusSys 1994) is head of IS Service Management at Zurich Financial Services Australia. Elizabeth Mathew (BE 1995) is a standards engineer in the Public Transport Division of the Victorian Department of Infrastructure.

In addition to being a lecturer at the Monash University School of Rural Health, Mollie Burley (GradDipBus(Mgt) 1991) is secretary of the International Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practice Nursing Network. She also works with the International Rural and Remote Nurses Network.

Locum work has taken Rhonda Dotson (MB BS 1999) to New Zealand where she is a psychiatric registrar. Working for the African Union in Ethiopia, Grace Kalimugogo (GradDipFamMed 1999, MFM(Clin) 2001) coordinates programs related to the control of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other related infectious diseases. Cathy Roberts (BBus(Mktg) 1991) is the marketing and community relations manager for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service in Victoria and Tasmania.

As director of technical vocational education and training with the Department of Education in Papua New Guinea, Winsley Degoba (MEPA 1993) helps to deliver skills training in economic development and recovery. Hew Chye (GradDipBusSys 1994) has been appointed a director on the board of the Fairfield Community Resource Centre in Sydney. John Raciti (BA(Craft) 1997) has been elected a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

2000s

Patrick Ackermann

Alexander Young Flores (BMBC 2004) is a procurement manager for packaging materials at Masterfoods Australia New Zealand. Based in Laos, Patrick Ackermann (pictured right) (MEd(IntEd) 2001) is involved in organising workshops and participating in UN inter-agency meetings on good governance as an associate expert with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Kate Ashmor (BA 2005, LLB 2005) has been elected to Glen Eira City Council as a councillor for Tucker Ward. Samantha Lim (BComn 2005) is a membership executive at Tropicana Golf and Country Resort in Malaysia . Lawrence Goh (BBus 2000) has been appointed head of investment management of the SAVER-Premium Fund in Singapore's Ministry of Defence.

A teacher in the Arts and Media Faculty at Hunter Institute TAFE, Carla Edwards (BA(Comn) 2004) received the 2005 NSW Premier's TAFE Scholarship for English Literature, Languages and Communication. She spent five weeks in the UK and Germany researching journalism teaching methods at Lincoln University . Melinda Warnecke (BComn 2003) is enjoying working in special events for the Monash University Medical Foundation.

At Monash Medical Centre, Brett Aimers (BNurs 2003) is a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit where Gian Bhogal (GradDipNurs(Psych) 2000) is the nurse electroconvulsive therapy coordinator. In Malaysia, Hun Teh Kong (BNurs(PostReg) 2004) is a nurse at Hospital Sibu, Sarawak. Nadya Sknar (MIntBus 2003) works across central Asia as a relationship manager at business consultancy, the Enterprise Development Project.

Spenser Kao (MIT(Res) 2005) is a computer engineer in the National Media Graphics Unit at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne. Also in the computer industry is Adrian Gibas (BComp 2003), who has started his own web development business. Based in Sri Lanka, Nirmal De Silva (BBus(Mgt) 2003) is a sales manager at IT logistics company Ingram Micro Lanka.

Michelle Wee (BBus(Mgt)/BBus(Mktg) 2003) is a product manager at Bacou Dalloz, a multinational safety organisation that manufactures protective clothing. Based in Sydney , Claude Joseph (GradCertFoodBus 2005) is an IT project manager at Woolworths Limited. Also in Sydney, Ting Ting Janet Kwok (BBus(Acc)/BBus(Bkg&Fin) 2005) has secured a graduate accountant position at Nestlé Australia.

Karen Wang (BBus(IntTrade) 2000, GradDipIntBus 2001, MIntBus 2002) is an export customer service coordinator at Visy Paper. Colin Campbell McKellar (DipArts( Vis ) 2000) teaches piano and trumpet from home and in his spare time enjoys composing music and painting. An electrical engineer at Bassett Consulting Engineers, Megan Sutherland (BE(Elec&Comp)(Hons) 2005) has been elected secretary of the Institution of Electrical Engineers Victorian Young Members Section.

Patricia Beale (BAdultLrng&Devt 2003) has started her own company consulting to industry in health and safety compliance and change processes. She is also a partnership trainer and senior consultant for the Centre for Occupational Health and Safety training at Swinburne University . Bianca Wooldridge (BPsychMgt/Mktg) 2004) has left her sales role at L'Oréal in Melbourne to pursue a marketing career in London . Suyog Mahajan (PhD 2005) is a process engineer with Orica Australia. In Jordan, Hani Nawafleh (PhD 2005) is the assistant dean for community and training for the Faculty of Nursing at Mu'tah University.

As an internal auditor with the South Australian Department of Health, Collette Ordish (BBusCom 2005) audits the record-keeping practices of all hospitals and community health organisations within the South Australian Hills, Mallee, Southern Fleurieu and Riverland areas. Ardi Sastrohartoyo (BE(Chem) 2005) has joined Orica Mining Services as a process risk engineer based at Orica's Newcastle plant. Richard Wilkinson (LLB(Hons)/BBus(Mgt) 2002) has taken up a position with Freehills, advising in major projects, construction and engineering law.