From its foundation in 1896 until 1961, Fintona was privately owned firstly by Miss Annie Hughston then, in 1932, by Miss Margaret Cunningham. On her retirement Miss Margaret Cunningham bequeathed the School to the Fintona community.
Formally, this community exists as a Company whose members are former students and teachers. Constitutionally, the Board of Directors is accountable to the Company and their actions are governed by the Corporations Act.
Board Members
The role of the Board is to ensure Fintona’s viability and that its values are continually upheld especially as the School adapts to the changing needs of its students and the broader community. The Board sets the strategic direction of the School and also sets and oversees the budget.
Jackie Besley (Robertson, 1986)
Board Chair | BA, BPsych (Hons)
Jackie is a Managing Partner with Devereaux Consulting, and has previously worked with the global executive search firm, Odgers Berndtson, focusing on the education and government sectors. Earlier in her career, Jackie held the position of Engagement Manager with a global executive search practice, and was previously a Research Executive in an international professional services firm where she worked within the Corporate Finance division, providing specialist research for the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Valuations practices.
Jackie holds a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) from James Cook University. She is an Associate Member of the Australian Psychological Society and an Affiliate of the APS College of Organisational Psychologists. She attended Fintona from Years 7 to 12.
Alison Rodriquez (O'Grady, 2003)
Board Deputy Chair | B.Bus (Monash University) and Grad Diploma Applied Finance and Investment (Finsia)
Alison commenced her career at Goldman Sachs JB Were and currently is an Associate Director with Evans and Partners. Alison has also spent time working in New York for Morgan Stanley Capital Markets Group. Upon relocating back to Australia in 2014, Alison re-joined Evans and Partners as an Investment Adviser. Alison is focused on building and managing quality investment strategies for Self-Managed Super Funds, Charitable Foundations/not-for-profits and high net worth individuals and their families.
Alison is an Old Fintonian attending Fintona from 1997 to 2003 and was House Captain of Ower.
Claire Levi (Buckner, 1983)
BA (Hons), MA (Public History)
After leaving school Claire worked in the hospitality industry and obtained a diploma in hotel management. Returning to university to follow an interest in History, she pursued further studies to turn her passion into a career and began working with HistorySmiths Pty Ltd in 2006.
Claire attended Fintona from Year 1. She was delighted to renew her connection to the school while researching and writing Fintona’s latest history, For the honour of our school published in 2016 to celebrate its 120th anniversary.
Claire has two sons currently attending secondary school. She joined the Board in January 2017.
Michael Lee
MBBS (University of Melbourne)
FACD Fellowship of the Australasian College of Dermatologists
Dr Michael Lee is a consultant skin specialist. He is currently in private practice at the Epworth Eastern Medical Centre. Dr Lee is also a visiting dermatologist at the Epworth Eastern Hospital in Box Hill. He has special interests in skin cancer management and inflammatory skin disorders including psoriasis.
He has two daughters who completed their secondary education at Fintona.
He enjoys golf and performing and visual arts.
Yan Chen
BAS, MArch (HONS)
Yan has a wide range of experience in architecture across Asia and Australia, specialising in multi-residential, townhouses, offices, retail and hotel.
Currently, Yan is an Associate at Rothelowman Architects. Yan serves a dual function at Rothelowman, as Design Manager and Business Development Manager.
Yan has two daughters at Fintona, studying in the Junior School and ELC.
Jason Karametos
BCom/LLB (Hons)(Monash University), LLM (University of Melbourne) Australian Lawyer - Supreme Court of Victoria
Jason is a PwC partner in the corporate and global tax practice. As a member of the PwC tax leadership team, Jason leads the PwC Australia Corporate Tax team, Industries and Stamp Duty.
With over 18 years’ experience advising a broad range of Australian and multinational public companies on corporate issues, Jason has developed expertise in Mergers & Acquisitions, structuring, global tax and capital management strategies.
Jason has two daughters at Fintona currently in the Junior and Middle Schools. He joined the Board in February 2018.
Mary Tso
BCom (University of Melbourne), GradDipTax (Monash University), CPA
Mary has extensive experience working in the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) over many years leading compliance work, technical advice and risk and intelligence capabilities.
Currently Mary is a Senior Director in the ATO leading elite teams to resolve complex, long running and strategic cases that are outside the ATO’s standard processes or structures, through tailored engagement, to deliver the best outcome for the ATO and the community. In 2020 and 2021 Mary also successfully led a number of teams to manage the integrity of the JobKeeper Program and deliver the critical government support to the community in need during COVID.
Mary has three girls, two have completed their secondary education at Fintona in recent years, with the youngest currently in Year 10.
Tanya Nunes
BSc (Hons), MMgt(Mktg) (University of Melbourne)
Tanya is the Customer Risk Lead at Bupa, where her primary focus is on improving customer outcomes and experiences across Bupa’s service areas. Prior to this, Tanya worked in the Enterprise Risk team at Ernst and Young and built a client base that was predominantly focused on the health sector.
Tanya attended Fintona from Years 5 to Year 12, and graduated as School Consul.
Andrea Phillips (1983)
LLB, BA(Hons), GradDipPshychology, GradDipLanguages (French)
Andrea Phillips is an Old Fintonian with degrees in Law and Psychology.
Andrea has worked as solicitor in Melbourne, Sydney, London and Brussels. She is currently working as a Lecturer in Law at the College of Law, and as Teaching Associate at Monash University teaching psychology (including as a Mindfulness Tutor).
Andrea also works as a Counsellor for Victorian Assisted Reproductive Technology Authority and is a qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor.
Sally Munro (1991)
B.BUS (Victoria Uni)
After leaving school Sally completed a Bachelor of Business degree and has worked in Finance across a number of industries including high net worth family business, mining, comparison websites and retail. Sally is currently Finance Manager for a NFP Jobs and Skills Council who advise the VET sector.
She attended Fintona from Prep to Year 12 and has a daughter who finished Year 12 at Fintona in 2023. Sally also has two sons attending secondary school.
The Company Secretary is Christine Dennis, Fintona’s Business Manager. The Principal, Rachael Falloon, and Christine attend all Board and subcommittee meetings in an ex-officio capacity.