Board
Tooba Awais
Chair/Immediate Past President
Tooba is a parent, an experienced and high-achieving teacher, and a former Victorian Director of ACSSO. In her teaching career, Tooba has always worked to involve the wider community in education, to provide students with the most rewarding experiences. She has extensive experience working with students from different cultural backgrounds.
Tooba is a firm believer that effective education not only involves school and students, but effective parent engagement in their children’s education.
In joining the PV Board, Tooba brings a strong motivation to inform parents about how important and vital family engagement is to their child’s success.
Trish Marks
Treasurer
Trish is an experienced Leadership Coach, which has given her the opportunity to work with many different levels of leadership and to develop resourceful ways to create focused, strategic and action-driven negotiations and discussions. She runs her own coaching consultancy and has extensive experience in sales and relationship management.
Trish aims to contribute to Parents Victoria by using her ability in effective listening and communication skills, working with people to bring out the best of who they are in any given situation that optimises their ability to see things from many different perspectives so they can have more clarity and value directed conversations, goals, and outcomes.
Jordan Anderson
Jordan is the Leading Teacher for Family and Community Partnerships at Virtual School Victoria. He works alongside parents and carers to build community, reduce isolation and help families feel heard, informed and supported as they guide their children’s learning. Through this work he sees every day the resilience and care families bring to their children’s education, and the difference it makes when parent voice is genuinely included in schools. Jordan joined the Parents Victoria Board because he believes strong connections between schools and families help create better outcomes for students and more connected school communities.
Paul Fry
Paul brings a wealth of experience to the PV Board, not only as a parent and School Councillor but also as a Family Support leader in education. He has qualifications in Community Services, Youth Work and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing and has completed extensive professional learning in Family Therapy, Mental Health, Trauma Awareness & Suicide Awareness. Paul has led Family Support programs in primary and secondary schools, and also has extensive experience in practitioner and management roles in Family Support work through various roles within agencies and the Education Department.
Maria Haidermota
Originally from Sydney, I spent several years living in London before settling in Melbourne, where I am raising my three daughters—two in high school and one in primary school.
I first became involved in my children’s school community by joining the Parents and Friends Association and then the School Council, where I have served as Vice President and now as a continuing member. I value the opportunity to contribute to decisions that support the school’s growth and direction.
Professionally, I work at a stand-alone, parent-run community kindergarten as the Nominated Supervisor, Educational Leader, and 3-Year-Old Teacher.
I am passionate about the children’s right to play, advocating for teachers and building positive relationships with the wider community.
Sharron Healy
Sharron first became involved with Parents Victoria in 2005, during a challenging time at her children’s primary school, beginning what has become two decades of dedicated voluntary service. Over this time, she has made an outstanding contribution to both Parents Victoria and the national body, ACSSO. She has served in a range of significant leadership and representative roles, including President of Parents Victoria, Immediate Past President, and President of ACSSO, and represented Victoria at the national level.
Sharron is currently supporting the organisation by filling a casual vacancy as we onboard several new Board members, once again demonstrating her strong commitment. Her service reflects a remarkable level of dedication and leadership. She remains a highly respected, longstanding volunteer and a passionate advocate for public education.
Tatiana Regos
Tatiana (she/her) is a parent of two children and is an engaged member of the school community. She has always had a strong interest in government/public education, and is passionate about accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion. With a background in governance and employment policy, Tatiana is highly motivated to contribute to the achievement of Parents Victoria’s strategic goals. As a Board Member, she is keen to support transparent governance, inclusive policy development, constructive engagement and meaningful collaboration to improve outcomes for all students.
Raelene Vine
Raelene is passionate about giving all children the best opportunity to engage in learning, whatever their familial circumstances. Over many years she has demonstrated her strong commitment to the home/ school relationship as a partnership – one she describes as “incredibly valuable”. Raelene has been an active member of the Parents and Friends group at her children’s school in rural Victoria for 23 years, and has been on the School Council for over 15 years. Raelene’s contribution to education has been recognised with a DEECD Education Community Service Award, the PV Joan Kirner Parent Participation Award, and Life Membership of Parents Victoria.
Nominate for the Board
Staff
Gail McHardy
Chief Executive Officer
Gail McHardy has long been one of Victoria’s leading advocates for parents of students in Victorian government schools.
Mother of two, Gail’s introduction to the education sector was not only as an active parent participant at her own daughters’ schools but volunteering and working for the statewide peak body, Parents Victoria. Gail has had many opportunities to share her extensive knowledge, professional commitment, experience and energy with many school communities, future teacher graduates and with other stakeholders across all education sectors.
Leanne McCurdy
Chief Operations Manager
Leanne joined Parents Victoria around 2000 as a temporary Administration person – to fulfil the specific task of assisting with Parents Victoria’s Annual Conference. It was for a five week assignment but she was inspired, and invited, to stay.
Being an active parent participant and helper at her children’s primary school, and then joining the Parent Club and the School Council at the Secondary College was a great complementary combination of work and family!
Alan Davies
Communications Officer
Alan has been maintaining PV’s website since around 2001. He got involved through the Parent Club at his children’s primary school. Since then he has provided a range of communications services including website maintenance, media training, writing and editing, advice on communications systems and the publication of the PV journal Parents Voice.
Nominate for the PV Board
You can nominate under one of two categories:
- Elected member – you must be the parent of a child at a Victorian government school
- Appointed member – open to anyone who can make a valuable contribution to Parents Victoria because of their special skills, interest or experience.
Board documents
The role and responsibilities of our Board are outlined in the following documents:
If you are interested in nominating for the Parents Victoria Board, please contact our office via email.