The operations, finances and governance of St John’s College are overseen by the College Council.
The Council meets at least three times per year.
The conduct of the College and the welfare of residents is paramount to the Council.
The College Council
John Peden KC (Chair)
John Peden KC is a Brisbane based barrister. He has been in private practice since 2000, having been made Silk in 2017. Before that he was a solicitor in Brisbane and London. John graduated from The University of Queensland with degrees in Commerce and Law. He attended St John’s College between 1984 and 1986, during which time he served on the O-Week Committee and on the Student Executive as Treasurer.
He was appointed to the College Council, as Chair, in October 2018. Prior to this he was a director of the College Foundation from 1996 to October 2018. He served as the Foundation Chair from 2013 until resignation.
The Right Rev’d John Roundhill
Bishop John Roundhill was ordained in 1994 and has vast experience in parish, school and international ministry. His extensive international experience includes working in a parish in England, as a school chaplain in Scotland, where he taught Physics amongst other things, and as Sub-Dean of St John’s Cathedral in Hong Kong.
Bishop John returned to Queensland to be appointed Bishop of the Southern Region in 2018, after working in the regional Diocese of Bendigo as Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral since 2012. Prior to this he served in Brisbane as Rector of Aspley-Albany Creek, and as an Area Dean and Archdeacon.
Bishop John has a keen interest in social justice, and is committed to the mission of God and in seeing that mission expressed in contemporary ways.
Hamish Bonifant
Hamish Bonifant graduated from The University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Economics in 1989 and is a stockbroker at Ord Minnett, a position he has held since 1996.
Hamish has been an active member of the St John’s College community since the late ‘80s, having spent three years as a resident while an undergraduate. During that time, he held the roles of Student Club Executive Social Convener and President of the St John’s College Surf Life Saving Club. Hamish’s time at St John’s College enriched his life greatly, leading him to give back through various service roles.
Hamish has been an Old Johnians’ Association (OJA) committee member for over twenty years and served as its Treasurer and President. He is also a current St John’s College Foundation board member.
Dr Alan Campbell
Alan Campbell has served as a Director on the Board since 2017. Alan has broad experience, and extensive qualifications as a teacher, school leader, director and manager in the education profession.
Following a number of teaching and leadership roles in schools throughout Queensland, Alan commenced as Headmaster of Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) on 1 January 2014.
Beyond his role as Headmaster of Churchie, Alan is a Director on the Board of Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ), the peak state body for the independent schools’ sector providing advocacy, support and governance to some 213-member schools throughout Queensland.
Alan has also developed philanthropic experience in the education profession as a Director of the Churchie Foundation. This work has been complemented with programs in school leadership at Harvard University and theology at St Francis Theological College, Brisbane. Alan has held several other honorary positions on working parties and committees in the Anglican Schools Commission of the Diocese of Brisbane and the Australian College of Educators.
Kate Charters
Kate Charters is a Director of Management Solutions (Qld), a professional development and training company with a particular focus on regional public policy issues and their implementation. She is a founding member of Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia, (SEGRA), recognised as the most credible independent voice on issues affecting regional Australia.
Kate is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Institute of Land Water and Society, Charles Sturt University.
With extensive experience at senior levels of government in both service delivery and policy development roles, Kate has a strong interest and understanding of the interaction of government, business, the non-government sector and the community in shaping and responding to public policy agendas.
Kate has a background in corporate governance and is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and the Institute of Chartered Secretaires and Administrators, and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Kate expresses her pleasure to be involved in supporting St John’s College as a place of learning and spiritual growth formation for our leaders of tomorrow.
Robert Jones
Robert Jones joined the Council in February 2018 having recently retired from the global advisory firm – KPMG, where he was Chairman of the Queensland practice.
Rob completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree from The University of Queensland in 1977. He joined KPMG the following year and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1980. He is also a Fellow of FINSA (The Financial Services Industry of Australia) and has over 40 years of experience in the professional services industry.
During his career, Rob specialised in the Financial Services, Industrial Markets and Mining industries. Rob was in London as a partner in the UK Financial Services Group from 1997 to 1999. He worked across a number of different areas within the firm including Audit, Deals Advisory, Corporate Recovery and CFO Advisory. His client involvement was primarily in the public company space focusing on Assurance to Boards and Audit Committees, governance processes, regulatory compliance, acquisition and vendor due diligence, IPO’s and capital raisings.
Throughout his leadership roles at KPMG, Rob spent much of his time building a resilient high performing culture, focused on the development of people both professionally and personally, and relationships in the business environment. Rob is currently Chair of the Finance and Risk Committee.
Cameron Mana
Cameron Mana is the owner of a construction services business based in South East Queensland. He was previously National General Manager of Development for Devine Limited and Regional Director for the United Kingdom for a major sovereign wealth fund. He has worked extensively in America, Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia, as well as spending over ten years working in a range of senior development roles for Delfin Lend Lease.
Cameron qualified as a Certified Practicing Accountant in 1995 and was admitted as a fellow of the Urban Development Institute of Australia in 2006, after serving as a director of its Queensland Branch. Cameron has considerable corporate governance experience as a member or chair of major project boards in Australia and internationally.
He lived at St John’s College from 1989 to 1990 and was a member of the Old Johnians’ Association Committee for over ten years, serving as Treasurer for three years and President for an additional three years.
Cameron is currently the Chair of the College’s Buildings and Grounds Committee.
Professor George Mellick
George Mellick is Professor of Neuroscience and Head of the School of Environment and Science, at Griffith University in Queensland.
An alum of The University of Queensland and Old Johnian, George graduated with a PhD (in the field of Medicine) in 1996. As an undergraduate, he served on the St John’s College Student Club Executive as President 1989 and Vice-President in 1988. As a postgraduate, he spent many years tutoring chemistry and biochemistry at the College. Since graduating, George has been an active member of the Old Johnian’s Association and is a past President of the Association.
George is dedicated to transforming lives through education. He is an interdisciplinary scientist and a Research Leader in the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD). His research focuses on the causes and treatments for Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. He has authored a vast number of research publications and is a regularly sought-after reviewer for International Granting Agencies, Advisory Groups and Research Journals. George has been an advocate for people affected by neurological disease and is currently the President of Parkinson’s Queensland and Vice-President of Parkinson’s Australia.
Laura Whitton
Laura Whitton (2000-2002) holds a Bachelor of Arts (History)/Laws from UQ and an Executive Masters in Business Administration from INSEAD. Starting her career as a lawyer in Brisbane, Laura spent 13 years working with Rio Tinto as a mining executive and living in Australia, Mongolia and Singapore. Her experience includes mergers and acquisitions, commodity sales, strategic marketing, asset development, operation and governance.
Laura is a start-up founder and angel investor, with investments in the health care, technology craft beer sectors. Laura currently lives in Singapore and plays Australian Rules Football for the Singapore Wombats women’s team.
Dr Sasaka Bandaranayake
Sasaka Bandaranayake graduated from The University of Queensland in 1997 with a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery. Having undertaken specialist and subspecialist training and worked at a variety of Queensland Hospitals, she is currently employed by the Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) as a Paediatric Rehabilitation Specialist in the Queensland Paediatric Rehabilitation Service (QPRS). For the past 10 years she has been caring for children with acquired brain injury, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and limb difference.
Sasaka continues to be involved in teaching and research with the University of Queensland. She entered SJC in 1992, and in 1995 was elected the first female Student Club President. Originally from Sri Lanka, she completed her schooling in Far North Queensland and now resides in Brisbane. She has maintained her connection with St John’s College, serving as a member and Deputy Chair of the College Foundation for five years before accepting a role on the College Council.
Swain Roberts
Swain Roberts is the Senior Legal Officer of the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC). He is a lawyer and governance professional with more than 30 years of legal experience, nationally and internationally, with significant experience in the higher education and health sectors.
Swain graduated from The University of Queensland in 1985 with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Law. He has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Education and a Graduate Certificate in Business (Not-for-Profit Studies). After being admitted as a solicitor in Queensland, Swain worked overseas and with leading international law firm, Linklaters, for 17 years, with the last 11 years as a Capital Markets Partner based in Singapore.
Before joining USC in mid-2016, Swain worked as a Special Counsel in McCullough Robertson’s Social Infrastructure Group, providing advice to charities and not-for-profit organisations, particularly in respect to tax-related funding structures.
Swain has been involved in a range of community organisations including Director, Sundale Ltd (since 2017), Co-Chair, Social Investment Measurement Network Australia (SIMNA) (Qld Chapter) (2015-2018) Director, Australia Singapore Business Association Queensland (2015 – 2018) and Founding co-Chair, Buderim Dementia Alliance (since 2018).