Our leadership

Patricia Faulkner AO

Chair of the Board

Patricia Faulkner AO chairs the Boards of Jesuit Social Services and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Advisory Panel, is Chair of the Melbourne Academic Centre for Health Council, Deputy Chair of the Melbourne Theatre Company Board of Management, and is a member of AWARE Super Board, the Melbourne Racing Club Committee, and Caritas.

Patricia was awarded an Order of Australia in 2008 for service to the community through the development and implementation of public policy relating to health, aged care, children’s services, disability services and housing.

Patricia has held a diverse range of senior leadership positions, including serving as a Deputy Commissioner to the 2016 Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria, Director of Occupational Health and Safety, and Secretary of the Department of Human Services. She previously held senior health leadership roles at KPMG, and is a Fellow of the Australian College of Health Services Executives and a National Fellow of IPAA.

Inala Cooper

Inala Cooper is a Yawuru woman from Western Australia’s Kimberley region who grew up in south-west Victoria on Gunditjmara country. She is employed at The University of Melbourne as the Director of Murrup Barak, Melbourne Institute for Indigenous Development, and is a Director on the Board of a number of not-for-profits including Culture Is Life, the Adam Briggs Foundation, and State Library Victoria. Inala holds a Masters in Human Rights Law and is a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights and social justice.

Christiana McCudden

Christiana McCudden has practised in commercial litigation and payments law for more than 15 years. Formerly a special counsel with Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Christiana joined Gilbert + Tobin Lawyers in 2014. In addition to her private practice, Christiana has worked as the Deputy CEO of the Hope Vale Aboriginal Council in the Cape York region of Queensland and was part of the Victorian Law Reform Commission team that worked on the Civil Justice Review.

Patrick Allen

Patrick Allen is a criminal defence lawyer and qualified social worker. His law firm, Patrick Allen Law, predominantly represents children and young adults. Prior to being a lawyer, Patrick worked for a decade in various fields including child protection, youth justice, community development and homelessness. Patrick was also previously an employee of Jesuit Social Services and he was educated by the Jesuits for eight years at Xavier College in Melbourne.

Justin Lachal

Justin Lachal has more than 20 years’ experience in the accounting and finance sector, including roles with KPMG and the ANZ Banking Group. Justin is a fellow of the Chartered Accountants and holds Masters degrees in Business Information Technology, Applied Finance and Business Administration. Justin is currently on the Board of the Sunraysia Institute of Technical and Further Education (SuniTAFE), and is General Manager at the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.

Sr Libby Rogerson IBVM

Sister Libby Rogerson IBVM is a Loreto sister with extensive involvement in refugee advocacy. Between 1999 and 2009 Sr Libby was Coordinator of Social Justice and Director of Caritas in the Diocese of Parramatta, where she helped found the House of Welcome refugee and asylum seeker service. She is a member of the Loreto Sisters’ Province Council, the St Francis Social Services Board, the Loreto Justice Network Committee, Jesuit Social Services’ New South Wales Advisory Group, and recently retired from chairing Mary Ward International Australia, and remains on its Board.

Julian Butler SJ

Julian Butler SJ joined the Jesuits in 2017 and works as chaplain to senior students and recent graduates at Xavier College. Julian is a contributor and editorial consultant at Jesuit Communications Australia, chairs the Australian Jesuit Province’s Governance, Risk & Compliance Policy Reference Group, and until December 2021 was a member of the Pastoral Council at Richmond Catholic Parish. Prior to joining the Jesuits, Julian practiced law, specialising in child protection and youth criminal defence.

Julia Griffith PSM

Julia Griffith PSM has more than 30 years’ experience in the Victorian public service, spanning senior and executive leadership roles across a range of justice portfolios including youth justice, policing, corrections, crime prevention, victim services and the infringements system. Julia was notably responsible for leading the Victorian Government’s employment programs for disadvantaged jobseekers, and redeveloping its child protection placement and support services. She retired from the role of Deputy Commissioner of the Victorian Public Sector Commission in January 2022.

Dr Chris Hayes

Dr Chris Hayes is a highly respected and experienced Catholic educational leader who worked previously as Principal of Xavier College in Melbourne, St Edmund’s College in Canberra and St Joseph’s College in Sydney. Chris completed his Doctoral studies with the Australian Catholic University, exploring how Christian values can be authentically incorporated in pedagogy and daily interactions between teachers and students in the classroom. His leadership is characterised by prayer, generosity, and a determined commitment to creative learning and improved academic outcomes for all students.

Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO

Father Frank Brennan SJ is a Jesuit priest and the current Rector of Newman College within The University of Melbourne. He has worked variously as a Jesuit priest within the Catholic Church, a human rights lawyer, a professor of law at Australian Catholic University, and CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia. He is widely known to the Australian public through his long career of leadership and advocacy on a range of human rights and social justice issues relating to asylum seekers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged both in Australia and abroad.

Julie Edwards, Chief Executive Officer

Julie Edwards joined Jesuit Social Services in 2001. She was the Program Director prior to her appointment as CEO in June 2004. Julie has over 40 years’ experience engaging with marginalised people and families experiencing breakdown and trauma. She is a social worker, family therapist, and a grief and loss counsellor. Julie has a Masters in Social Work and has completed a PhD in organisational identity. In January 2010, Julie became a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Julie has served on a number of government and philanthropic committees that work to promote a more just society and contribute to the health and wellbeing of members of our community. She is also a member of the International Working Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement.

Julie is a member of a number of national and international Jesuit commissions and working groups across areas of justice, education, social ministry, ecology, and is a member of the global Ignatian Justice in Mining network core group.

Julie is passionate about finding ways to give practical expression to her social justice values, about exploring the most effective means to build a more just society, and promoting a values-based model of leadership.

Sally Parnell, Executive Director of Programs

Sally Parnell is the Executive Director, Programs at Jesuit Social Services, leading service delivery and program development. She has a BA, Community Welfare Studies and MA in Social Policy and Management.

Sally has extensive leadership experience in human services at Executive and Board levels, with practice spanning human service coordination and program design, management and consultancy roles.

She has a keen interest in building strong organisational cultures for change, and a passion for practice development and social justice.

Sally is committed to working in partnership with others to contribute to building approaches, policies, and tools to deliver effective services to the community.

Phil Hodgson, Executive Director of Business Support

Phil Hodgson joined Jesuit Social Services in 2015. He has 20 years of management experience extending across various industry sectors. Phil has a BA in both Business (Accounting) and Computing, an Associate Diploma in Accounting, and is a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA).

Phil has extensive financial and strategic management experience, directing and implementing business plans in the community sector. He is commercially astute with expertise in developing systems to respond to growth within organisations. Phil has comprehensive experience in risk management framework, developing and implementing processes with a focus on delivering quality assurance. He has a sound knowledge of community development and the not for profit industry, where he most recently worked at Melbourne Primary Care Network and YSAS. Phil has leadership experience at senior levels, where he has been accountable for finance, administration, accounting and business operations.

Catherine Neville, Executive Director of Advocacy and Strategic Communications

Catherine holds a Bachelor of Social Work from Melbourne University. She has a strong passion for social justice and has held senior policy and advocacy roles in government and the community services sector. Cath has also worked as an advisor and Chief of Staff for the Bracks, Brumby, and Andrews Labor Governments in Victoria.

Stephen Ward, Executive Director of Education, Training and Employment

Stephen has over 30 years experience in the education and employment sectors, at all levels of government, and the private and community sectors.

His roles have included Director of Employment and Skilled Migration in the Victorian Government, Director of Government Relations with a private national Job Services agency, and inaugural Director of the National Employment Services Association.

Matt Tyler, Executive Director, The Men’s Project

Matt Tyler is Executive Director of The Men’s Project at Jesuit Social Services, working with a team committed to providing leadership on the reduction of violence and other harmful behaviours prevalent among boys and men. He brings over 10 years of experience across the private, public, academic, and community sectors. He has particular expertise in improving social services including within child protection, family violence, criminal justice and mental health.

Prior to joining Jesuit Social Services, Matt worked as a Fellow for Harvard’s Government Performance Lab, an economist on Australia’s foreign aid program focused on South-East Asia, a policy adviser to the Australian Labor Party, a strategy consultant for Australia’s largest companies, and a researcher on an Australian Research Council grant seeking to improve Indigenous Australian men’s health. He holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School, Honours in Economics (University Medal) from Monash University, and a B.A (Psychology) / B.Comm (Finance) from the University of Melbourne.

Dr Susie Moloney, Executive Director, The Centre for Just Places

Susie Moloney is the Executive Director, Centre for Just Places. Before joining Jesuit Social Services, Susie was Associate Professor in Sustainability and Urban Planning in the School of Global Urban and Social Studies and the Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University. She brings over twenty years of experience working across a wide range of research and policy projects focusing on social change and local empowerment processes, environmental, and climate justice issues. Susie is committed to working collaboratively and inclusively with a range of partners and communities to support and co-design solutions that strengthen place-based capabilities and resilience and address the systemic drivers of disadvantage and vulnerability.

John Andrew, Principal, Ignatius Learning Centre

John is the inaugural Principal of the Ignatius Learning Centre, which was established in early 2021.

John is an experienced educator with expertise in working with children and young people in the criminal justice system. A leader with integrity and a proven ability to engage successfully with children, teachers and other stakeholders to ensure outcomes that are in the best interests of children.

John’s values and passion to make a difference in young people’s lives both individually and systemically led him to join the Ignatius Learning Centre as its founding Principal. Prior to joining Jesuit Social Services, John was the Assistant Principal at Parkville College for eight years, educating children detained in Parkville Youth Justice Precinct. John has worked in the education system for 17 years and has held various leadership positions in a number of Government schools.