Meet our board - Excelsia University College
Source: https://excelsia.edu.au/about/meet-our-board
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:19
Meet our board - Excelsia University College
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Board of directors
Academic board
Board of directors*
Mr Phillip Cave AM (Chairman)
BBus FCPA
Mr Cave is Executive Chair and founding member of Anchorage Capital Partners and has been
investing in operational turnarounds for over 40 years, prior to the establishment of Anchorage.
He is currently Board Director of David Jones Limited and GBST and of the not-for-profit,
Koorong
.
Mr Richard J Grellman AM (Deputy Chairman)
FCA
Mr Richard J
Grellman
AM has been a professional non-executive Director with a
variety of
companies since 2000. Previously, he worked with accounting firm KPMG for 32 years. Richard
serves as Lead Independent Director of The Salvation Army in Australia.
Emeritus Professor Alan Bowen-James
BA(Hons) BLitt(Hons) MBBS MBA MA MSc(Education) MInfoTech MBEnv MCogSc LLM MJuris MPH MScComms MSc(Info Science) PhD ScEdD
Emeritus Professor Alan Bowen-James provides leadership and direction for the senior academics in achieving Excelsia’s vision of transforming lives through excellence in Christian higher education.
Alan holds postgraduate qualifications in a number of disciplines, including medicine, philosophy, law, cognitive science, informatics, business, education and the history of ideas. Alan has held senior academic and managerial appointments with the University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of New South Wales, Deakin University, NextEd Ltd, and Cengage Education (formerly Thomson Education).
Mr Neville Cox OAM
FPNA FCIS FFin GradDipCM
Mr Neville Cox has had an extensive and diverse commercial career, including
numerous
turnarounds. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Bank and a
Director of 26 companies in the Commonwealth Bank Group. He was Chair of AMP Bank Limited
and Australian College of Ministries, and is Chair of Christian Super,
Advertiles
Corporation Pty
Ltd, and Vision Christian Media. He is a Director of Focus on the Family Australia and Chair of the Sydney Prayer Breakfast.
Mr Rev Karl Faase
Bth
Karl Faase is a well-known Australian Christian communicator, media presenter, leader and social commentator. He is the CEO of Olive Tree Media, the organisation through which he produces programs of excellence for Christian media and local church use internationally.
Karl moved to Olive Tree Media after 20 years as the Senior Pastor of Gymea Baptist Church in Sydney’s southern suburbs. Karl is the Board chair of the Sarmatians Purse and BGEA Australian Boards. He is also on the board of the Sydney Prayer Breakfast. Karl was the co-founder of the Australian Arrow leadership program and the co-founder of the Jesus All About Life campaign. Karl is a registered minister of religion with the Baptist churches of NSW and holds a Bth.
Mr Jeyan Jeevaratnam
B Eng (Hons 1), MBA, M Eng Sc, MAICD
Jeyan is a Non-Executive Director and Asia Pacific Executive with over 10+ years of board-level experience working across Technology and Not-For-Profit sectors with the likes of AT&T, Avanade, AiiA, Northcott Disability and Orangeline.
He is an Executive at Avanade Asia. Previously he was Executive at Microsoft for 7 years. Prior he was Chief Operating Officer for Avanade North America, Managing Director for Avanade Australia and Managing Director for AT&T Australia & NZ.
Jeyan is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mr Peter McKeon (CEO / Managing Director)
BBus
Mr Peter McKeon held the role of Managing Director Oceania at Sony. He has also held senior
management roles in Australia and overseas for over 35 years with companies such as Sony,
Telstra, Panasonic, Sharp, Bridgestone,
Citizen
and Philips. He is currently a Board Director at Gift
of Life Foundation, former Board Director of Australia-Japan Society and AMTA (Australian
Mobile Telecommunications Association) and a former Governor of the American Chamber of
Commerce. Peter is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
Ms Felicity Natoli
LLB, GradCert (Legal Practice), DipEd, GAICD
Felicity is a senior lawyer and regulatory specialist with extensive experience across private practice, corporate, and government sectors. Felicity currently serves as a Senior Manager in the Strategic Surveillance, Banking and Data team at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, responsible for supervision of retail banking and running cross-sectoral surveillance.
Felicity is passionate about using her qualifications and skills to benefit the community and has served on various governance Boards and committees. Felicity is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is also on the Board of The Salvation Army Australia.
Rev Rex Rigby
BA(Min) DMin
Reverend Dr Rex Rigby is currently the National Superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist
Church of Australia. He is the first Indigenous National Head of a denomination in Australia. Rex
has been in pastoral ministry for 37 years, serving in Brisbane,
Melbourne
and country
Queensland. He has planted four churches and overseen the planting of a further 10. Rex is also
an Adjunct Lecturer in Pastoral Ministry with the Eva Burrows College & The Nazarene
Theological College.
Professor Rachel Wilson
BSc, GradDipAud, GradDipHEd, PGCE, MSc, DPhil.
Rachel Wilson is Professor of Social Impact at UTS Business School. Rachel’s expertise lies in research for social impact and education. With a background in psychology, research methods and teaching, Rachel has developed a strong track record in timely, industry-partnered research for media, policy, practice and broader social impact. Rachel is interested in understanding system architecture, data and policy frameworks in the education industry. In analysing systems, she always endeavours to keep stakeholders, especially students’, teachers’ and communities’ interests and social equity at the heart of her work.
Rachel has a wealth of experience in training and supporting research students; specialist skills in educational pedagogy, assessment, and education databases; and in organisational and system-level learning, educational innovation, and reform. She has many years of experience teaching research methodology, particularly quantitative and qualitative analysis, and in
program evaluation methods. She is a strong proponent of mixed methods and mixed designs. Rachel has taught and researched at the Universities of Oxford, Melbourne and Sydney and held positions in government, corporate and not-for-profit organisations. She currently sits on two Boards.
Dr Beng Yeoh
MA MSc PhD
Dr Beng Yeoh has served as World Vision’s regional leader in the Middle East and Eastern
Europe after having led the international development and humanitarian organisation in the
East Asia region. Previously, he served as Asia Pacific Vice President of Leading
The
Way, a
not for-profit
Christian media and broadcasting organisation, and held several CEO and
M
anaging
Director roles in international telecommunications, information technology services and IT
education in Asia and Australia. He has postgraduate degrees in engineering, management, an
d
theology.
* Excelsia University College (ACN 110 639 435) is a registered public company limited by guarantee in the State of New South Wales, Australia, under the Corporations Act 2001.
Academic board
Professor Ray Roennfeldt (Chairman), External Senior Academic
RN BA(Theology) MA(Religion) PhD(Systematic & Historical Theology)
Professor Ray Roennfeldt has recently retired as President and Vice Chancellor of Avondale University College where, for 11 years, he provided leadership as Avondale transitioned to Self-Accrediting Authority status and then to Australian University College. Ray has worked as a nurse, pastor, theological educator in Papua New Guinea and Australia, and as a higher education administrator. During the past three decades he has been very engaged in course development, academic governance, and institutional direction and strategy. In retirement, Ray continues to engage with the higher education sector through involvement with a number of independent providers and as a higher degree by research supervisor.
Ray also presently chairs the Human Research Ethics Committee at Sydney Adventist Hospital. He is enthusiastically committed to fostering the continued advancement of Christian higher education in Australia.
Professor Jane Fernandez, Provost
Professor Jane Fernandez holds the position of Provost at Excelsia. Jane was until recently also Vice-President, Quality & Strategy at Avondale University College (2011–April 2020). In her role at Avondale, Jane successfully led Avondale’s University College and Self-Accrediting projects. She led in the set-up and management of Avondale’s Joint-Conferral Scheme with Charles Sturt University. Jane also founded and continues to lead the national-based Higher Education Private Provider Quality Network (HEPP-QN). Jane is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is also a member of the TEQSA Register of Experts. She is committed, through collaborative practice, to contributing to the national reputation of higher education in Australia.
Mr Peter McKeon, Chief Executive Officer
BBus
Mr Peter McKeon held the role of Managing Director Oceania at Sony. He has also held senior
management roles in Australia and overseas for over 35 years with companies such as Sony,
Telstra, Panasonic, Sharp, Bridgestone,
Citizen
and Philips. He is currently a Board Director at Gift
of Life Foundation, former Board Director of Australia-Japan Society and AMTA (Australian
Mobile Telecommunications Association) and a former Governor of the American Chamber of
Commerce. Peter is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
Associate Professor Colette Alexander, External Senior Academic
BEd(Prim) GradDipEd(Teacher-Librarianship) MEd(Hons) PhD
Dr Colette Alexander has served Christian education since she commenced her career as a primary school teacher. She has been engaged in the higher education sector for over 25 years, commencing first as a sessional lecturer at Christian Heritage College (CHC) in Brisbane. Over this time, she quickly moved into higher education full-time and has taken on a wide range of leadership roles in course review, development, accreditation and implementation in both the private and public sectors. She served as the inaugural Chair of CHC’s Teaching and Learning Committee, during which time she oversaw the development of teaching and learning policies, and the introduction of eLearning. Since completing her PhD studies with the University of Adelaide in 2016 in the area of political policy, reform and standards in initial teacher education, Colette has been working at the Australian Catholic University where she has led accreditation for the Faculty of Education and Arts. She currently leads the implementation of the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA) Project for the national School of Education. Recently she has developed her profile as a researcher through opportunities to work as a Research Fellow with the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education. She has continued to develop her research interests and publications in policy and reform through the lens of the assessment of professional practice in alignment with educational standards.
Adjunct Professor Barbara Rugendyke, External Senior Academic
BA DipEd PhD
Adjunct Professor Barbara Rugendyke served as Professor and Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at Southern Cross University. Prior to that, Barbara was Head of School of Arts and Sciences at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, following an appointment as Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of New England. Before taking up leadership roles, Barbara was a teaching and research academic in human geography at the University of New England. Her research and publications focused on community development and sustainable development, primarily in Indigenous communities in Australia and Vietnam, the work of non-government organisations in improving livelihoods, and the advocacy of NGOs with the aim of poverty reduction. Most recently, Barbara’s collaborative work with Anglicare North Coast on improving the circumstances of culturally and linguistically diverse women in non-metropolitan areas, mostly humanitarian arrivals, has been recognised in awards, locally and nationally. Barbara continues to be an active researcher, currently working on research related to service provision for homeless persons. A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Barbara has served as a non-executive director on a number of not-for-profit boards.
Professor Jennifer Clark, External Senior Academic
BA(Hons) DipEd PhD
Professor Jennifer Clark is currently Head of Humanities at the University of Adelaide. Before that she was Academic Director of Teaching and Learning for Arts and Sciences at the University of New England. She is a historian by training with research areas in American and Australian history, especially automotive history, memorial culture and the history of post-war Australian society. She also publishes on museology and history teaching in the tertiary sector. She has been recognised for her teaching at the local and national levels and currently holds an ARC Linkage Grant for research into the social history of Holden. Her most recent book is the co-edited volume
Teaching history for the contemporary world: Tensions, challenges and classroom experiences in higher education
(Springer, 2021).
Dr Peter Stiles, External Senior Academic and Board Member
PhD
Dr. Peter Stiles graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Arts and then a Master of Arts in English Literature. During those years he was pursuing a teaching career in NSW government primary schools (having graduated from Armidale Teachers College, where he won the Poetry Prize). In 1979 he transferred to teaching English in secondary schools, and subsequently became Head of English in two state high schools. He then undertook a Master of Education degree at the University of NSW.
After pursuing theological studies at Regent College, Vancouver, in 1987, he undertook a Doctorate in Literature and Theology at the University of Glasgow. On his return from Glasgow, Peter chose to move into the private school sector, where he had executive roles at two leading private schools. Since 2016, he has been lecturing at Excelsia College, for several years in the role of Senior Lecturer in Education.
Peter’s first collection of verse, ‘Trumped by Grace’, was shortlisted for Christian Book of the Year in 2017. His poetry has been published widely in Australia and the United States. His second collection of verse, ‘Surprised by Jack’, a poetic response to the life and work of C. S. Lewis, was launched late last year at Excelsia.
Dr Daniel Johnston, Vice Provost Academic
Associate Professor Daniel Johnston received his PhD from The University of Sydney and holds a Masters degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge. In addition, he has earned relevant education qualifications in Learning and Teaching from UNSW. For 15 years, Daniel fulfilled teaching and leadership roles across various prestigious Australian higher education institutions. He also served as Principal Lecturer and Quality Lead at Sheffield Hallam University. Daniel has a strong background in learning and teaching with a focus on facilitating quality and student-engaging experiences. Daniel’s expertise, leadership and professional experience are a strong foundation to transition into the role of Director of Learning and Teaching.
Associate Professor Harold Culala, Director of Learning and Teaching
Associate Professor Harold John Culala is the Director of Learning and Teaching at ExcelsiaUniversity College, with over 20 years of higher education leadership across Australia and Asia. His previous roles include Vice President for Academic Services, Dean of Teacher Education, and Senior Lecturer in Academic Development, with expertise in academic development, teaching and learning, assessment, and governance. He holds a PhD in Education (Curriculum Studies) from Taylor’s University and an MA in Education (Curriculum and Instruction). He has published in the areas of curriculum reform, academic identity, and higher education practice, and has supervised and examined PhD and Master’stheses. He is a Senior Fellow of UK Advance HE (SFHEA), Associate Editor of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, and Board Secretary of the Open Access Publishing Association.
Learn more
Ms Nathalie Vamben, Director of Quality and Risk
Ms Awo Kwakwa, Registrar
Dr Andrew Levula, IT Program Director
PhD, MICT, PGD, GCTE, BA | MACS (Snr), MACS (CP), MAICD
Associate Professor Andrew Levula has been an ICT professional, research and academic. He is the IT Program Director at Excelsia and was instrumental in the development and accreditation of the Bachelor of Information Technology at Excelsia. He is MACS (SNR) member certified by ACS, he brings over 15 years’ experience in IT Project Management, Academic Leadership and IT Curriculum and Course Development. Associate Professor Levula is committed to enhancing students learning experience and his teaching philosophy is that education should be an enjoyable and exciting journey. He is an advocate for education as a catalyst for change in people which is Goal 4: Quality Education of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Learn more
Dr Natalie Brand, Head of School of Education
Dr Natalie Brand is Head of School of Education at Excelsia University College and an active researcher with committee membership in the Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education (CRECE) at Macquarie University. She is an expert in very young children’s social interactions and learning in early childhood centres, with a focus on infant-toddler play-based pedagogies and toddlers’ use of learning-oriented language. Natalie is also an experienced Early Childhood Teacher (ECT) with strong professional connections to the sector. Her latest project, MQ Toddler TaLK, investigated toddlers’ learning-oriented talk and aimed to develop freely accessible professional resources for educators, currently available at toddlertalk.org.au.
Dr Sarah Eyaa, Head of School of Business and Director of Research
Dr. Sarah Eyaa has been an academic in the field of business management for over 20 years in higher education institutions in Uganda and Australia. Over the course of her career, Sarah has served at different levels of higher education academic administration in addition to lecturing. In research, Sarah has published on a range of topics in her areas of research interest, supervised several postgraduate research theses and reviewed journal articles as well as book chapters.
Learn more
Professor Lisa Hodge, Head of School of Social Work
Associate Professor Lotte Latukefu, Head School of Creative and Performing Arts
Associate Professor Lotte holds a PhD in Music Education from the University of Wollongong, Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music (NY) and a Bachelor of Music from the ANU School of Music. Collaborative Learning in Music, in particularly singing, has been a particular research interest for Lotte for about seven years. In her PhD thesis she examined the work of Lev Vygotsky and socio-cultural theorists who have followed in order to address questions concerning the nature of learning singing in collaborative settings. Her thesis demonstrated that there is a rich resource of learning to be found in the way that students interact with each other and learn from each other. Forming a nexus to this research is her own creative practice as a mezzo-soprano.
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© 2026 Excelsia University College. All Rights Reserved.
ABN 50 360 319 774 | TEQSA PRV12064 ‘University College’ | CRICOS Provider Code: 02664K
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Meet our board
Excelsia
>
About
> Meet our board
Board of directors
Academic board
Board of directors*
Mr Phillip Cave AM (Chairman)
BBus FCPA
Mr Cave is Executive Chair and founding member of Anchorage Capital Partners and has been
investing in operational turnarounds for over 40 years, prior to the establishment of Anchorage.
He is currently Board Director of David Jones Limited and GBST and of the not-for-profit,
Koorong
.
Mr Richard J Grellman AM (Deputy Chairman)
FCA
Mr Richard J
Grellman
AM has been a professional non-executive Director with a
variety of
companies since 2000. Previously, he worked with accounting firm KPMG for 32 years. Richard
serves as Lead Independent Director of The Salvation Army in Australia.
Emeritus Professor Alan Bowen-James
BA(Hons) BLitt(Hons) MBBS MBA MA MSc(Education) MInfoTech MBEnv MCogSc LLM MJuris MPH MScComms MSc(Info Science) PhD ScEdD
Emeritus Professor Alan Bowen-James provides leadership and direction for the senior academics in achieving Excelsia’s vision of transforming lives through excellence in Christian higher education.
Alan holds postgraduate qualifications in a number of disciplines, including medicine, philosophy, law, cognitive science, informatics, business, education and the history of ideas. Alan has held senior academic and managerial appointments with the University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, the University of New South Wales, Deakin University, NextEd Ltd, and Cengage Education (formerly Thomson Education).
Mr Neville Cox OAM
FPNA FCIS FFin GradDipCM
Mr Neville Cox has had an extensive and diverse commercial career, including
numerous
turnarounds. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Bank and a
Director of 26 companies in the Commonwealth Bank Group. He was Chair of AMP Bank Limited
and Australian College of Ministries, and is Chair of Christian Super,
Advertiles
Corporation Pty
Ltd, and Vision Christian Media. He is a Director of Focus on the Family Australia and Chair of the Sydney Prayer Breakfast.
Mr Rev Karl Faase
Bth
Karl Faase is a well-known Australian Christian communicator, media presenter, leader and social commentator. He is the CEO of Olive Tree Media, the organisation through which he produces programs of excellence for Christian media and local church use internationally.
Karl moved to Olive Tree Media after 20 years as the Senior Pastor of Gymea Baptist Church in Sydney’s southern suburbs. Karl is the Board chair of the Sarmatians Purse and BGEA Australian Boards. He is also on the board of the Sydney Prayer Breakfast. Karl was the co-founder of the Australian Arrow leadership program and the co-founder of the Jesus All About Life campaign. Karl is a registered minister of religion with the Baptist churches of NSW and holds a Bth.
Mr Jeyan Jeevaratnam
B Eng (Hons 1), MBA, M Eng Sc, MAICD
Jeyan is a Non-Executive Director and Asia Pacific Executive with over 10+ years of board-level experience working across Technology and Not-For-Profit sectors with the likes of AT&T, Avanade, AiiA, Northcott Disability and Orangeline.
He is an Executive at Avanade Asia. Previously he was Executive at Microsoft for 7 years. Prior he was Chief Operating Officer for Avanade North America, Managing Director for Avanade Australia and Managing Director for AT&T Australia & NZ.
Jeyan is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mr Peter McKeon (CEO / Managing Director)
BBus
Mr Peter McKeon held the role of Managing Director Oceania at Sony. He has also held senior
management roles in Australia and overseas for over 35 years with companies such as Sony,
Telstra, Panasonic, Sharp, Bridgestone,
Citizen
and Philips. He is currently a Board Director at Gift
of Life Foundation, former Board Director of Australia-Japan Society and AMTA (Australian
Mobile Telecommunications Association) and a former Governor of the American Chamber of
Commerce. Peter is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
Ms Felicity Natoli
LLB, GradCert (Legal Practice), DipEd, GAICD
Felicity is a senior lawyer and regulatory specialist with extensive experience across private practice, corporate, and government sectors. Felicity currently serves as a Senior Manager in the Strategic Surveillance, Banking and Data team at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, responsible for supervision of retail banking and running cross-sectoral surveillance.
Felicity is passionate about using her qualifications and skills to benefit the community and has served on various governance Boards and committees. Felicity is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is also on the Board of The Salvation Army Australia.
Rev Rex Rigby
BA(Min) DMin
Reverend Dr Rex Rigby is currently the National Superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist
Church of Australia. He is the first Indigenous National Head of a denomination in Australia. Rex
has been in pastoral ministry for 37 years, serving in Brisbane,
Melbourne
and country
Queensland. He has planted four churches and overseen the planting of a further 10. Rex is also
an Adjunct Lecturer in Pastoral Ministry with the Eva Burrows College & The Nazarene
Theological College.
Professor Rachel Wilson
BSc, GradDipAud, GradDipHEd, PGCE, MSc, DPhil.
Rachel Wilson is Professor of Social Impact at UTS Business School. Rachel’s expertise lies in research for social impact and education. With a background in psychology, research methods and teaching, Rachel has developed a strong track record in timely, industry-partnered research for media, policy, practice and broader social impact. Rachel is interested in understanding system architecture, data and policy frameworks in the education industry. In analysing systems, she always endeavours to keep stakeholders, especially students’, teachers’ and communities’ interests and social equity at the heart of her work.
Rachel has a wealth of experience in training and supporting research students; specialist skills in educational pedagogy, assessment, and education databases; and in organisational and system-level learning, educational innovation, and reform. She has many years of experience teaching research methodology, particularly quantitative and qualitative analysis, and in
program evaluation methods. She is a strong proponent of mixed methods and mixed designs. Rachel has taught and researched at the Universities of Oxford, Melbourne and Sydney and held positions in government, corporate and not-for-profit organisations. She currently sits on two Boards.
Dr Beng Yeoh
MA MSc PhD
Dr Beng Yeoh has served as World Vision’s regional leader in the Middle East and Eastern
Europe after having led the international development and humanitarian organisation in the
East Asia region. Previously, he served as Asia Pacific Vice President of Leading
The
Way, a
not for-profit
Christian media and broadcasting organisation, and held several CEO and
M
anaging
Director roles in international telecommunications, information technology services and IT
education in Asia and Australia. He has postgraduate degrees in engineering, management, an
d
theology.
* Excelsia University College (ACN 110 639 435) is a registered public company limited by guarantee in the State of New South Wales, Australia, under the Corporations Act 2001.
Academic board
Professor Ray Roennfeldt (Chairman), External Senior Academic
RN BA(Theology) MA(Religion) PhD(Systematic & Historical Theology)
Professor Ray Roennfeldt has recently retired as President and Vice Chancellor of Avondale University College where, for 11 years, he provided leadership as Avondale transitioned to Self-Accrediting Authority status and then to Australian University College. Ray has worked as a nurse, pastor, theological educator in Papua New Guinea and Australia, and as a higher education administrator. During the past three decades he has been very engaged in course development, academic governance, and institutional direction and strategy. In retirement, Ray continues to engage with the higher education sector through involvement with a number of independent providers and as a higher degree by research supervisor.
Ray also presently chairs the Human Research Ethics Committee at Sydney Adventist Hospital. He is enthusiastically committed to fostering the continued advancement of Christian higher education in Australia.
Professor Jane Fernandez, Provost
Professor Jane Fernandez holds the position of Provost at Excelsia. Jane was until recently also Vice-President, Quality & Strategy at Avondale University College (2011–April 2020). In her role at Avondale, Jane successfully led Avondale’s University College and Self-Accrediting projects. She led in the set-up and management of Avondale’s Joint-Conferral Scheme with Charles Sturt University. Jane also founded and continues to lead the national-based Higher Education Private Provider Quality Network (HEPP-QN). Jane is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is also a member of the TEQSA Register of Experts. She is committed, through collaborative practice, to contributing to the national reputation of higher education in Australia.
Mr Peter McKeon, Chief Executive Officer
BBus
Mr Peter McKeon held the role of Managing Director Oceania at Sony. He has also held senior
management roles in Australia and overseas for over 35 years with companies such as Sony,
Telstra, Panasonic, Sharp, Bridgestone,
Citizen
and Philips. He is currently a Board Director at Gift
of Life Foundation, former Board Director of Australia-Japan Society and AMTA (Australian
Mobile Telecommunications Association) and a former Governor of the American Chamber of
Commerce. Peter is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD).
Associate Professor Colette Alexander, External Senior Academic
BEd(Prim) GradDipEd(Teacher-Librarianship) MEd(Hons) PhD
Dr Colette Alexander has served Christian education since she commenced her career as a primary school teacher. She has been engaged in the higher education sector for over 25 years, commencing first as a sessional lecturer at Christian Heritage College (CHC) in Brisbane. Over this time, she quickly moved into higher education full-time and has taken on a wide range of leadership roles in course review, development, accreditation and implementation in both the private and public sectors. She served as the inaugural Chair of CHC’s Teaching and Learning Committee, during which time she oversaw the development of teaching and learning policies, and the introduction of eLearning. Since completing her PhD studies with the University of Adelaide in 2016 in the area of political policy, reform and standards in initial teacher education, Colette has been working at the Australian Catholic University where she has led accreditation for the Faculty of Education and Arts. She currently leads the implementation of the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA) Project for the national School of Education. Recently she has developed her profile as a researcher through opportunities to work as a Research Fellow with the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education. She has continued to develop her research interests and publications in policy and reform through the lens of the assessment of professional practice in alignment with educational standards.
Adjunct Professor Barbara Rugendyke, External Senior Academic
BA DipEd PhD
Adjunct Professor Barbara Rugendyke served as Professor and Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at Southern Cross University. Prior to that, Barbara was Head of School of Arts and Sciences at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, following an appointment as Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of New England. Before taking up leadership roles, Barbara was a teaching and research academic in human geography at the University of New England. Her research and publications focused on community development and sustainable development, primarily in Indigenous communities in Australia and Vietnam, the work of non-government organisations in improving livelihoods, and the advocacy of NGOs with the aim of poverty reduction. Most recently, Barbara’s collaborative work with Anglicare North Coast on improving the circumstances of culturally and linguistically diverse women in non-metropolitan areas, mostly humanitarian arrivals, has been recognised in awards, locally and nationally. Barbara continues to be an active researcher, currently working on research related to service provision for homeless persons. A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Barbara has served as a non-executive director on a number of not-for-profit boards.
Professor Jennifer Clark, External Senior Academic
BA(Hons) DipEd PhD
Professor Jennifer Clark is currently Head of Humanities at the University of Adelaide. Before that she was Academic Director of Teaching and Learning for Arts and Sciences at the University of New England. She is a historian by training with research areas in American and Australian history, especially automotive history, memorial culture and the history of post-war Australian society. She also publishes on museology and history teaching in the tertiary sector. She has been recognised for her teaching at the local and national levels and currently holds an ARC Linkage Grant for research into the social history of Holden. Her most recent book is the co-edited volume
Teaching history for the contemporary world: Tensions, challenges and classroom experiences in higher education
(Springer, 2021).
Dr Peter Stiles, External Senior Academic and Board Member
PhD
Dr. Peter Stiles graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Arts and then a Master of Arts in English Literature. During those years he was pursuing a teaching career in NSW government primary schools (having graduated from Armidale Teachers College, where he won the Poetry Prize). In 1979 he transferred to teaching English in secondary schools, and subsequently became Head of English in two state high schools. He then undertook a Master of Education degree at the University of NSW.
After pursuing theological studies at Regent College, Vancouver, in 1987, he undertook a Doctorate in Literature and Theology at the University of Glasgow. On his return from Glasgow, Peter chose to move into the private school sector, where he had executive roles at two leading private schools. Since 2016, he has been lecturing at Excelsia College, for several years in the role of Senior Lecturer in Education.
Peter’s first collection of verse, ‘Trumped by Grace’, was shortlisted for Christian Book of the Year in 2017. His poetry has been published widely in Australia and the United States. His second collection of verse, ‘Surprised by Jack’, a poetic response to the life and work of C. S. Lewis, was launched late last year at Excelsia.
Dr Daniel Johnston, Vice Provost Academic
Associate Professor Daniel Johnston received his PhD from The University of Sydney and holds a Masters degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge. In addition, he has earned relevant education qualifications in Learning and Teaching from UNSW. For 15 years, Daniel fulfilled teaching and leadership roles across various prestigious Australian higher education institutions. He also served as Principal Lecturer and Quality Lead at Sheffield Hallam University. Daniel has a strong background in learning and teaching with a focus on facilitating quality and student-engaging experiences. Daniel’s expertise, leadership and professional experience are a strong foundation to transition into the role of Director of Learning and Teaching.
Associate Professor Harold Culala, Director of Learning and Teaching
Associate Professor Harold John Culala is the Director of Learning and Teaching at ExcelsiaUniversity College, with over 20 years of higher education leadership across Australia and Asia. His previous roles include Vice President for Academic Services, Dean of Teacher Education, and Senior Lecturer in Academic Development, with expertise in academic development, teaching and learning, assessment, and governance. He holds a PhD in Education (Curriculum Studies) from Taylor’s University and an MA in Education (Curriculum and Instruction). He has published in the areas of curriculum reform, academic identity, and higher education practice, and has supervised and examined PhD and Master’stheses. He is a Senior Fellow of UK Advance HE (SFHEA), Associate Editor of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, and Board Secretary of the Open Access Publishing Association.
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Ms Nathalie Vamben, Director of Quality and Risk
Ms Awo Kwakwa, Registrar
Dr Andrew Levula, IT Program Director
PhD, MICT, PGD, GCTE, BA | MACS (Snr), MACS (CP), MAICD
Associate Professor Andrew Levula has been an ICT professional, research and academic. He is the IT Program Director at Excelsia and was instrumental in the development and accreditation of the Bachelor of Information Technology at Excelsia. He is MACS (SNR) member certified by ACS, he brings over 15 years’ experience in IT Project Management, Academic Leadership and IT Curriculum and Course Development. Associate Professor Levula is committed to enhancing students learning experience and his teaching philosophy is that education should be an enjoyable and exciting journey. He is an advocate for education as a catalyst for change in people which is Goal 4: Quality Education of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Dr Natalie Brand, Head of School of Education
Dr Natalie Brand is Head of School of Education at Excelsia University College and an active researcher with committee membership in the Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education (CRECE) at Macquarie University. She is an expert in very young children’s social interactions and learning in early childhood centres, with a focus on infant-toddler play-based pedagogies and toddlers’ use of learning-oriented language. Natalie is also an experienced Early Childhood Teacher (ECT) with strong professional connections to the sector. Her latest project, MQ Toddler TaLK, investigated toddlers’ learning-oriented talk and aimed to develop freely accessible professional resources for educators, currently available at toddlertalk.org.au.
Dr Sarah Eyaa, Head of School of Business and Director of Research
Dr. Sarah Eyaa has been an academic in the field of business management for over 20 years in higher education institutions in Uganda and Australia. Over the course of her career, Sarah has served at different levels of higher education academic administration in addition to lecturing. In research, Sarah has published on a range of topics in her areas of research interest, supervised several postgraduate research theses and reviewed journal articles as well as book chapters.
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Professor Lisa Hodge, Head of School of Social Work
Associate Professor Lotte Latukefu, Head School of Creative and Performing Arts
Associate Professor Lotte holds a PhD in Music Education from the University of Wollongong, Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music (NY) and a Bachelor of Music from the ANU School of Music. Collaborative Learning in Music, in particularly singing, has been a particular research interest for Lotte for about seven years. In her PhD thesis she examined the work of Lev Vygotsky and socio-cultural theorists who have followed in order to address questions concerning the nature of learning singing in collaborative settings. Her thesis demonstrated that there is a rich resource of learning to be found in the way that students interact with each other and learn from each other. Forming a nexus to this research is her own creative practice as a mezzo-soprano.
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Study
How to apply
FAQ
Fees and Scholarships
Course Brochures
International Students
Current Students
Student Success & Wellbeing
Student Handbooks
Timetables & Enrolment
Calendar
Library
Orientation
Graduation
Alumni
News
About
Events
Our mission
Contact
Meet our board
Emergency
Acknowledgement of country
Accreditation
Academic Staff
Resources
Staff
Facilities
Donations
Partners and Community
Careers @Excelsia
Research
Research Seminars
Higher Degrees By Research Policies
Staff Research
© 2026 Excelsia University College. All Rights Reserved.
ABN 50 360 319 774 | TEQSA PRV12064 ‘University College’ | CRICOS Provider Code: 02664K