Meet our board
The board is composed of up to 15 members; 5 office bearers and 10 ordinary members. The board meets in Adelaide for a full day meeting twice per school term, attends Association events and participates on sub-committees. Representatives from the board also participate in departmental meetings and other stakeholder forums to meet our strategic directions. All members of the board highly value representing members and are elected for a two-year term.
Tracey Aberle
PRESIDENT
Tracey joined the SASBA board in 2016, and has extensive leadership experience in both primary and secondary settings.
Tracey is a strong advocate for members and believes in learning, sharing, coaching and member voice and agency. She is committed to state-wide reform and innovation, and believes in empowering members through recognition of their knowledge, skills, experience and passion for what they do.
Tracey has a Graduate Certificate in Education Business Leadership through Deakin University, and is currently undertaking a Masters degree.
Tracey is the Business Leader at Seaview High School.
Jayne Lewis
SECRETARY
Jayne commenced work in the school system in 2003 and has worked in a variety of SSO roles. She has been the business manager at Birdwood High School since 2009.
Jayne joined the board in 2017 and is part of the Communications subcommittee. Jayne has represented SASBA at various department work groups and panels. She is passionate about advocating the value of support staff within our schools.
Julie Heddle
VICE PRESIDENT, PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Julie is the Business Leader at Riverbanks College R-12 and draws on over 20 years' extensive experience, including; curriculum support, reception, administration, finance and operational business leadership in her role on the SASBA Board of Management.
A proud SASBA member, first elected to the Board in 2010, Julie was President for 6 years and currently holds the Vice President, Primary Schools executive position.
Julie is committed to providing avenues for the voice of SASBA members to be heard at department, state, national and global level. Julie is passionate about promoting the work our members do as fundamental for successful school operations. Recognition and valuing of members contributions to e3ducation and their value as co-leaders and active participators in delivering educational priorities are a priority for Julie.
Chris Plummer
VICE PRESIDENT, SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Chris joined the board in 2016. In her role as Vice President for Secondary Schools, Chris is part of the executive team that meets once per term with department leaders to discuss issues that relate to SASBA's members. From time to time, Chris has been one of SASBA's delegates that meets with department leaders to discuss specific policy issues that directly impact the membership.
Julie Collings-Wells
TREASURER; CONVENOR - MEMBERS SUBCOMMITTEE
Julie has worked in a secondary school since 2003 originally as finance manager and since 2016 as business manager. She has been a member of SASBA (formerly SASSAOA) since 2005 and became a member of the SASBA management committee in 2017.
Julie is a member of the professional development and events committee which organise leader’s day, annual conference and seminar day. She is passionate about contributing towards continuous improvement provided to other members and colleagues in administrative and financial management roles within the association via professional development opportunities.
Ibi Kanellos
CONVENOR - EVENTS SUBCOMMITTEE
Ibi has worked in both primary and secondary schools since 2000. Currently Business Leader at Morialta Secondary College. She has been a member of SASBA since 2006 and a board member since 2009. In 2015, Ibi was appointed as a life member of SASBA.
Ibi chairs the Events subcommittee which organises Members’ Day, annual conference and Seminar Day. She is passionate about providing relevant and significant professional development opportunities for SSO’s state-wide.
Elissa O'Connor
CONVENOR - COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
Elissa moved back to SA after 16 years living in Central Victoria. She was the Business Manager at Castlemaine Secondary College for 6 years and served on the Board of Business Managers Victoria (BMV) prior to relocating.
Elissa has a Bachelor's Degree majoring in Marketing and has worked across multiple sectors prior to joining Education.
Elissa is the Business Leader at Unley High School
Wendy Hayes
COMMUNICATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
Wendy started working in schools in 1997 and commenced her first role as a business manager in 2001. She has worked in primary, secondary and now an area school, predominantly in country South Australia.
Wendy is passionate about raising the profile of our association, bringing business leaders together in quality professional development opportunities and networking with peers across the state.
Wendy is excited about the future direction of schools, witnessing the updating of school facilities across the state, as well contributing to a world-class public education system and great learning outcomes for students.
Robert Sanchez
MEMBERS SUBCOMMITTEE
Robert commenced work with the Department for Education in 2019 as a Business Manager at Birdwood Primary School. Robert has been on the board of SASBA since 2020. His prior experience includes over 15 years in corporate banking with the Commonwealth Bank. Robert completed a Bachelor of Environmental Policy and Management in 2016 with the University of Adelaide and a Graduate Diploma in Project Management in 2020 with University of South Australia before joining the Department for Education.
Robert is keen to continue and build on the already great work completed by the association. Robert sees its members as playing a pivotal role in reaching the department’s strategic plan to build a world-class public education system by 2028.
Marisa Camilos
EVENTS SUBCOMMITTEE
Marisa has worked for the Department for Education since 2011, working in finance at various primary and secondary schools. Previous work experience includes 13 years in credit management. She strives for continuous improvement and is an advocate for change management.
Marisa believes all staff should have access to professional development, and strongly supports staff in their continuous improvement journey.
Verlaine Dannenberg
EVENTS SUBCOMMITTEE
Verlaine is a multi-faceted professional with more than 30 years’ experience across multiple sectors including banking and financial services, regional economic development and administrative leadership in education.
Verlaine has considerable amount of experience working in advisory capacities on boards and is comfortable meeting with senior executives and leaders to discuss new opportunities and ways forward.
Verlaine is focused and dedicated to her profession and is always open to exploring fresh ideas. She is a relaxed and easy going person who is not easily flustered and enjoys a good laugh.
Verlaine enjoys networking as a member of SASBA and meeting new members at events and sharing the knowledge, skills and experience that she has gained over the years from other members as well as the interaction with colleagues from various sites.
Dianna Honner
EVENTS SUBCOMMITTEE
As the Business Manager of Ardrossan Area School since 2008, Dianna continually strives to improve processes and staff capacity across the Southern Yorke Partnership. She believes collaboration is vital, particularly in country schools.
Dianna is passionate about helping to provide the best opportunities for students and SSOs and is an advocate for country schools and communities, and their unique complexities.
Deb Kutcher
MEMBERS SUBCOMMITTEE
Deb has been the Business Manager at Victor Harbor Primary School for 15 years and has worked for the Department for Education for 27 years, working mainly across the Fleurieu region. Deb joined the SASBA board to be an advocate for country and primary schools.
Deb is committed to continuous improvement, improved systems and the impact of workload for primary school leadership and administration staff.
Vera Pozniak
MEMBERS SUBCOMMITTEE
Vera is an experienced Business Manager with leadership experience across a broad array of industries, including ICT, Finance and Publishing. She is a strong influencer who works closely with leadership to drive business performance, thrive and change. Vera strongly believes in the government education system and SA government values. She aims to transform business management knowledge and school systems to resource and deliver the best learning outcomes for every student.
