XSJN Committee Members

Richard is a Developmental Psychologist with a PhD from Australian Catholic University and a Masters in Health Psychology from Swinburne University of Technology. Richard’s PhD research examined individual identity formation and leader capacity development with a particular focus on how individuals and groups build the capacity to successfully navigate accelerating complexity in life and work. With over 20 years working as an advisor to CEOs and Boards of some of Australia’s largest organisations, Richard supports senior leaders to connect-the-dots of large-scale transformative change initiatives in ways that inspire individual and collective commitment and action.
 

Mark is a professional Telecommunications Engineer with over 35 years’ experience in network planning, large scale infrastructure deployment, & project management. Mark has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. Before joining the current committee, Mark has direct experience as an XSJN volunteer within programs offering mentoring to at-risk youth, and working with adult migrants on improving language skills. Mark has extensive commercial skills & experience and is the current XSJN treasurer

Marco is an Old Xaverian who graduated from Xavier College in 2022. He is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne. Throughout his time at the College, Marco was heavily involved in a number of social justice initiatives. Since joining the XSJN Committee in 2023, has has become the Secretary of the Committee and has been involved in the organisation of various XSJN events.

Jane's involvement with the XSJN commenced when her eldest son joined Kostka Hall in 2014. She has been a regular volunteer and the Agency Representative for the Sacred Heart Mission dining hall and has held positions on the XSJN committee including secretary and chair. 

Jane is a Specialist Literacy Educator, working at Moorabbin Primary School and in private practice, trained to use structured literacy instruction responding to advances in the science of reading. Jane is also a practicing visual artist, specialising in portraits in watercolour and oil painting techniques.

Jane is the Board Chair for the River Nile School. The River Nile School (RNS) offers full time programs to re-engage refugee and asylum seeker school-aged women who have had disrupted schooling, experienced trauma or who are struggling to cope with their current education settings. She is also an Ambassador for the Australian Himalayan Foundation (AHF) 2024 Summit Challenge. AHF provides support to vulnerable communities in the Himalayas through the three pillars of education, healthcare and environment. 

Jane returned to Australia in 2022 after successfully summiting Mt Everest, with her daughter Gabby, the youngest Australian. Jane has completed over six years of mountaineering experiences with the support of her four children, family, friends and colleagues. Jane’s passion for both service and mountaineering began with a love for the outdoors in Scouting. Jane continued her adventures through life - taking up scuba diving, skydiving, flying trapeze, skiing, marathon and ultra-marathon running, trail biking and holds motorcycle and industrial abseiling licenses.
Jane is always striving to find ways to give back to the community.

John MacIsaac has experience in corporate, finance and risk governance. He is currently a member of an ethics sub-committee for human research at the University of Melbourne.  He served as deputy chair and board member of Grow Australia, a not for profit providing peer to peer support for mental health. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. John has also contributed to his community in roles as an Honorary Bail Justice in Victoria, a member of the dispute resolution and mediation panel for the Gosnell's Community Legal Centre, a mentor and coach in dispute resolution for students at numerous schools. Previously, John was a consulting engineer in the mining and minerals industry.
 

Anna Wright-Smith has been a member of the XSJN since 2011 where she first heard about it at Kostka Hall. She volunteered in the Jesuit Social Services tutoring program in Sunshine for over 7 years and later started working as the Coordinator and fundraising staff member for JSS. Anna has a Communications degree. She has four children, including 3 boys who attended Xavier College. Anna is passionate about social justice issues and responding to the needs of people. Anna and her husband are currently working as beef farmers in the Yarra Valley.

Jeremy Boland is parent of two boys in Year 3 and Year 6 and a member of the Xavier College Social Justice Network Committee. He is a former corporate lawyer who became a volunteer youth worker and ended up working with at-risk young people in care and protection and youth justice settings on a full-time basis. Jeremy managed crisis accommodation for young people aged 14-21, designed and implemented community-based programs for justice-involved young men, and led early intervention and prevention initiatives for at-risk families across the ACT. Jeremy also worked in youth justice and corrections policy, and held a statutory oversight role at Australia’s first human rights prison. Jeremy also managed recruitment and workforce development in corrections, and designed and implemented values-based approaches to recruitment in these settings. In addition to working in boys’ boarding and legal recruitment across government and the private sector, Jeremy has over 20 years of experience teaching corporations law, administrative law, ethics and professional responsibility, law reform and social justice, and criminology at several Australian universities. In recent years, Jeremy has been Head of Residence and College Dean at residential colleges affiliated with the Australian National University and the University of Melbourne. At present, Jeremy is a Lecturer in the Melbourne Law School where he teaches Legal Method and Reasoning, Administrative Law, and Disputes and Ethics. He is also a Lecturer at the Australian Catholic University where he teaches Criminology. Additionally, Jeremy is a careers consultant and a freelance legal recruitment consultant, and he is looking forward to embarking on a PhD. Jeremy is delighted to be a part of the Xavier Social Justice Network Committee and welcomes conversations with any members of the Xavier community interested in learning more about the benefits of volunteering.

Michael has a background in teaching, educational leadership – at both primary and secondary levels. Working in Catholic education, he has held roles in areas of student management, curriculum development, identity, faith and mission, pastoral care and adult formation. He is currently the Head of Ignatian Formation at Xavier College. 

“It is a great privilege to walk alongside a group of dedicated parents and friends of Xavier College who live out the motto, deeds not words.”
 

Danusia has been the Coordinator of the XSJN since November 2019. Danusia has been volunteering with community services since high school, especially with the St Vincent de Paul Society, where she has held various leadership roles on Committees including as National Vice-President for 8 years and in Overseas Development for 15 years. Prior to taking on the XSJN Coordinator role Danusia was the Soup Van Operations Manager for the St Vincent de Paul Society and prior to that the State Membership Manager of SVDP in Tasmania. Danusia has always had a passion for social justice and making a difference, that led her to leaving a long-standing career in Forensic Science to follow her dream of helping those in need in a fulltime capacity.