The School Board

IGS Board Chair Dr Marie Leech brings to IGS a wealth of experience in social justice and education.

Principal of the University of Sydney’s Sancta Sophia College from 2008 until recently, she has also been a member of the Executive of University Colleges Australia (UCA) and Chair of the Mental Wellbeing Committee of Healthy Sydney University.

Dr Leech was appointed to the Federal Government’s Stronger Families and Communities Strategy Partnership, and has served on a number of Boards and Committees.

Her voluntary work has included the development of strategies to provide access to education for disadvantaged girls and women.

Other previous roles include General Manager, Community Services, at Mission Australia, and Senior Policy Advisor at Uniya, the Jesuit office for social justice research.

She has taught at Kincoppal Rose Bay and TAFE. Dr Leech has a PhD in Social Policy from the University of Sydney and a Masters of Science and Society from the University of NSW.

“Education is the scaffolding that allows us to build our lives,” Dr Leech said.

“It provides us with the foundations to form opinions; to build relationships; to have satisfying careers; to handle challenges; to make decisions.

“International Grammar School provides its students wonderful and sound scaffolding to achieve all of the above – but in addition, provides a scaffolding for inspired creativity; and global perspectives.”

Widely recognised as one of the leading music educators and school administrators in Australia, Rita Fin trained at the Sydney Conservatorium and took postgraduate studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

She was a founding staff member of International Grammar School from 1984 and then Principal at IGS from 1987 to 1990, and is currently Assistant to the Headmaster at Sydney Grammar School.

She is also a practising musician, conductor, writer and adjudicator. Rita has been in great demand as guest lecturer/presenter at many conferences and workshops, with a particular emphasis on teacher training and classroom pedagogy.

Rita is passionate about language and music education, and comes from a family where the Italian and Swedish languages and culture are interchanged with English frequently in the home. Previously, she was an advisor on the education committee for the Italian Bilingual School.

Rita was elected first as a parent representative to the IGS Board in 2012. Her daughter attended IGS from Preschool through to Year 12.

Michael Heenan (GAICD) is CEO and Director of Allen Jack+Cottier Architects (AJ+C). With over 80 staff based in Chippendale, Sydney, Michael has lead the design of a number of the most significant urban transformation and architectural projects in Sydney.

His previous projects have won State, National and International awards, including the Best Educational Building in NSW 2016 (Australian Institute of Architects NSW), and World Future Project of the year 2017 (World Architecture Festival, Berlin).

He is an international speaker, and has chaired architectural juries in Sydney, London, Barcelona, Berlin and Singapore. Michael was the design architect at AJ+C for IGS’s Kerrie Murphy Building, and other projects at the School.

“As we enter a time of exponential social and economic change, the value of education has never been higher,” Michael said.

“Embedding adaptability, confidence and resilience in an institution’s culture, empowers students to thrive in this new and rapidly changing world.”

Michael, Chair of the IGS building committee, believes that by valuing design, creativity, sustainability and innovation and creativity, IGS is helping students gain confidence and independence as young adults stepping out into the world.

Professor Liam Semler teaches, supervises and researches widely in the field of early modern English literature and is involved in collaborative research into creativity within educational systems.

He was director of the Medieval and Early Modern Centre in 2012 and 2013 and president of the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association from 2009 to 2013.

He has held visiting fellowships at the Massachusetts Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies, Corpus Christi College Cambridge, Oxford Brookes University and the Universities of Nottingham, Warwick and Essex.

“My connection to IGS was initially through working with Shauna Colnan at the Board of Studies and on the Shakespeare Reloaded project,” Professor Semler said.

“The unique value of IGS comes from its wonderfully caring and professional community of educators, students and parents, not to mention its amazing languages program.

“Teachers are the unsung heroes and heroines of our society. Their dedication, skill and imagination, not to mention sense of humour, are national treasures.”

Judith is a partner at Moray & Agnew Lawyers in the firm’s specialist catastrophic claims practice group.
Her area of expertise is in Insurance Law including catastrophic claims, compulsory third party claims and public liability.

Judith, who specialises in claims involving complex liability and medical issues, Judith holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), and is a Law Society of NSW Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury.

“My first connection with IGS goes back to 1995 when my sister, Kim Waldock, was appointed the Director of Music. I’ve been a member of the IGS Board since 2015.

“The focus on languages, music and the arts, available in such a supportive, inclusive and secular environment, really sets IGS apart as a unique seat of learning.

“The dedication of the Principal and the staff is an ongoing source of inspiration to me as I continue to learn about how they help every child unlock ways to achieve their dreams, with lived values to help them become thoughtful and respectful citizens in our community.

“Education can be a passport to the future. At IGS, students are richly equipped to embark on their exciting journeys through life.”

Current IGS parent and member of the IGS board, Vince is a partner at Grant Thornton, one of the largest international accounting and advisory firms.

Specialising in Corporate and International Tax, and with more than 30 years’ experience advising both Australian and International companies, he is also heavily involved in assisting business with their tax risk and governance structures.

He holds a Bachelor of Economics, a Masters in Taxation, and is a Chartered Tax Advisor.

“Education is obviously a crucial piece of the puzzle in making a better place for all,” Vince said, adding that IGS provides “a fantastic platform” for children’s development.

“Every day since he began in Preschool at IGS, my son has hopped out of bed and been enthusiastic about going to school – to me that speaks volumes!”

Vince believes that the commitment to students at IGS nurtures “confident and articulate members of society” with the unique focus on languages and other skills further encouraging personal and intellectual development.