James Merlino has more than 20 years’ experience in government, politics and public administration at both the state and local level, including eight years as the Deputy Premier of Victoria and Minister for Education from 2014 to 2022. During his time in Cabinet, the Victorian Government delivered successive record capital funding commitments and legislated funding certainty for Catholic schools. He was also Acting Premier of Victoria for four months in 2021, managing the state’s ongoing response to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

James represented the electoral division of Monbulk in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2022, and held several Ministerial portfolios, cabinet positions and parliamentary appointments during his tenure, including Minister for Mental Health from 2020 to 2022, and Minister for Emergency Services from 2016 to 2018.

He is currently the Chair of Suburban Rail Loop Authority (Victoria), Slater and Gordon and Rest Super and Director of Hawthorn Football Club Limited.

James has an Arts degree (with Honours) from the University of Melbourne.

Patricia Cowling has thirty years’ experience as a Catholic educator and leader.

In her two decades of service as a principal at Genazzano FCJ College and Padua College, Patricia was responsible for leading in a wide range of educational settings from early learning through to Year 12. Upon leaving principalship, Patricia served as a Regional Leadership Consultant at Catholic Education Melbourne and as an education consultant, which involved strategic planning, school review and leadership support across schools, school systems and organisations across Victoria.

Prior to her role on the VCEA Board, Patricia was the inaugural Board Chair of Catholic Education Sandhurst Limited.

Her extensive academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts, University of Newcastle NSW, a Diploma of Education, Masters in Educational Management from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Theology from Catholic Theological College and Masters Business Administration (Exec) from Australian Catholic University.

Patricia is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and a National Fellow of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL).

Lynn Glover is an experienced leader in education and public administration with more than four decades of service in the education and training sectors.

Appointed as the inaugural CEO of the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) in 2007, Lynn was instrumental in the establishment and development of the regulatory authority’s form and functions. In her 13 years as CEO, Lynn’s leadership saw the VRQA become an effective and trusted regulatory authority that ensured quality education and training in Victoria and safe educational experiences for students across the state.

In 2021, Lynn was awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding service to education and training in Victoria.

Lynn is also the Chair of the Firefighters Registration Board, a Director of Berry Street, one of Australia’s largest independent family service organisations, and served on the CECV Implementation Committee that led the renewal of the Victorian Catholic Education Authority.

She has a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Melbourne.

Brian Loughnane has more than three decades of experience as a political strategic advisor and business leader, having had a long career in senior political roles before moving to the private sector and continuing his work across industry groups.

Brian was Federal Director of the Liberal Party of Australia and Coalition Campaign Manager from 2003 to 2016, covering the 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013 federal elections.

Prior to this role, he held several political and business roles including in industrial relations in the oil and gas industry.

Brian is Chair of the Menzies Research Centre, Deputy Chairman of the International Democrat Union and in 2015 was appointed to the International Republican Institute International Advisory Board.

He became an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2018 for his service to parliament and public policy. He holds an Honours degree in political science from La Trobe University.

Marcelle Mogg is a highly experienced CEO and senior executive in the health and human services sectors focused on leading complex, national organisations in service delivery, advocacy and public policy, mission integration, organisational culture and adapting to change.

Most recently serving as Chief Executive Officer at Mental Health Victoria, Marcelle has achieved significant outcomes in governance reform, policy development and advocacy, affirming Mental Health Victoria’s role as the peak body for the sector. Marcelle is currently pursuing a portfolio career, undertaking interim executive engagements.

In addition to her role on the VCEA Board, Marcelle is also a director of Sacred Heart Mission Incorporated, and Mercy Community Services Australia Limited. She has previously served on the Boards of St John of God Outreach Services Limited and Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat Limited.

Her previous roles include CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia, Group Director Mission Integration at St John of God Health Care, and Acting Group Director Mission for St Vincent’s Health Australia.

Marcelle has a Diploma Applied Science (Nursing) and a Bachelor of Social Science in Psychology from Australian Catholic University, an MBA from Melbourne Business School and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Damian Murphy is a proven senior executive with over 35 years of leadership and management experience including at the highest levels of commercial life in Australia.

As the Managing Director of Firmate Risk and Assurance Solutions Pty Ltd he is focused on developing and implementing innovative solutions to current issues and trends in risk management and assurance and supporting clients in areas to transform their governance and resolve complex issues.

Prior to this, Damian worked at the NAB as Chief Risk Officer, Wealth where he led a team of risk and governance professionals, provided risk management and governance insight and led and oversighted regulatory engagement. He held other senior risk (Chief Risk Officer) and legal (General Counsel) roles at NAB in Project and Structured Finance, General Commercial and Corporate, Retail Banking & Operations, Wealth Management, Institutional Banking and Capital Markets over a 26-year career.

Damian has also worked at a leading Australian law firm and has been admitted to the Supreme Courts of Victoria and New South Wales and the Federal Court of Australia. He has a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University.

Mr O’Grady KC took silk in 2015 and practises in industrial and employment law.  He has been involved in a number of the leading employment/industrial cases over the last 20 years. Prior to coming to the Victorian Bar, Chris worked as a junior associate to Sir Gerard Brennan in the High Court of Australia in 1990. In 1991 he worked as associate to Judge John Hassett in the County Court. He is a member of Council, St Mary’s College, University of Melbourne.

In 2018 he was made an honorary life member of the Industrial Relations Society of Victoria and since 2020 he has been a member of the Victorian Bar Readers Course Committee Executive.

In each year from 2017 to date he has been named as one of Doyle’s pre-eminent Senior Counsel of the employment/industrial bar of Victoria. He is also named by Chambers and Partners in their ranking of Australian Silks working in Employment and in Who’s Who Legal Australia and New Zealand in their Labour Employment and Benefits section.

Mr O’Grady holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the Australian National University.

Professor Elizabeth Labone is the Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA).

As CEO, Elizabeth is responsible for the leadership, stewardship and management of the VCEA.

A highly experienced senior executive leader with extensive experience in the field of education, particularly Catholic education, Elizabeth brings expertise in governance and compliance, strategic development and stakeholder engagement with government and industry to the VCEA.

Having started her career as a primary school teacher, Elizabeth subsequently held several senior leadership positions over three decades at Australian Catholic University and the University of Notre Dame Australia, where she was most recently Deputy Vice Chancellor (Learning and Teaching).

She is currently a member of the Initial Teacher Education Quality Assurance Oversight Board and the boards of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority and the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. She has previously served on the National Schools Resourcing Board, the board of Sydney Catholic Schools Ltd and as a director of Loreto College, Normanhurst.

Professor Labone has a Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Education (with Merit) from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Canberra.

Bruce Phillips is the Deputy CEO and Chief Strategy Officer at the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA).

As Deputy CEO and Chief Strategy Officer, Bruce Phillips is responsible for the high-level strategic planning, innovation, engagement and advocacy needed to support VCEA to achieve its objectives as the peak body for Catholic education in Victoria.

Bruce has a renowned understanding and experience of national and Victorian educational funding, policy and legislative frameworks, and of school performance analysis and assessment, from his more than eight years of service at Catholic Education Melbourne and Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools. In that time, Bruce made key contributions through his policy and strategic advice to several campaigns that have led to fairer funding outcomes for Catholic schools both in Victoria and nationally.

Prior to his roles with Catholic education, Bruce worked at Ernst & Young and The Allen Consulting Group. Bruce has also worked in various public sector agencies in Australia and the United Kingdom.

He has a Bachelor of Arts/Commence (with Honours) from the University of Melbourne.

Professor Anthony Whitty is Chief Education Officer at the Victorian Catholic Education Authority, responsible for promoting and upholding educational integrity and compliance and supporting the enrichment and development of the Victorian Catholic education system.

The Chief Education Officer is the principal advisor to the Chief Executive Officer on education integrity and compliance and strategic education programs.

Prior to joining VCEA, Anthony was Director, Centre for Education and Innovation at Australian Catholic University (ACU), where he had a proven track record of success in driving strategic planning, enhancing student success, and promoting innovation across diverse academic programs. During his time at ACU, Anthony also led the Learning and Teaching Centre and was Associate Dean of Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Health Sciences. Anthony was an integral driver of the Future in Youth Project in Timor Leste, which enables children in developing nations to gain access to education and gives students authentic learning experiences, supporting the transfer of their learnings into a real-life situation in a developing nation.

Anthony has a Doctor of Philosophy and a master’s degree from the University of Technology, Sydney. He is a recipient of the Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.