Leadership & Governance
School Executive Team
The School Executive Team is responsible for managing the School’s regular business and operations.
Susan Just, Principal
Susan Just, Principal
Nat Fanariotis
Nat Fanariotis, Deputy Principal - Wellbeing
Chris Toms
Chris Toms, Vice Principal & Head of Junior School
David Joyce
David Joyce, Vice Principal - Head of Campus
Vanessa McDonnell
Vanessa McDonnell, Head of Senior School
Kate Hehir
Kate Hehir, Assistant Principal - Junior School (Curriculum and Learning)
Catherine Tan
Catherine Tan, Business Manager
Andrew Smith
Andrew Smith, Executive Director, Marketing, Admissions and Communications
Susan Coates
Susan Coates, Director Human Resources
Susan Just
Principal
Susan Just has been working as an educator for over 20 years. Beginning her teaching career in government schools in Queensland, Susan went on to gain extensive teaching and leadership experience in the independent school sector in Australia; she has been the Principal of three independent girls’ schools in Queensland and Canberra.
Degrees Susan holds include a BA (UQ), Dip ED (UQ), M.Ed Admin (UNE) and Advanced Management Course (Harvard).
Susan’s areas of interest in curriculum and teacher development have led to her participation in a number of peak educational bodies, committees and task forces. She is currently a representative for Asia-Pacific on the IB Heads Council and was awarded a Fellowship with Australian Council for Educational Leaders (VIC) in 2021.
Susan is a member of the Australian Heads of Independent Schools Association and is on the Board of Trustees for the Invergowrie Foundation. Her interest in STEM education for girls has seen the establishment of the School’s digital fabrication lab at Lauriston and the implementation of STEM-based activities from the early primary years, which are designed to positively influence students in developing confidence and skills.
Susan is a passionate supporter of resilience and wellbeing programs for girls and, to complement her own reading, she has completed training courses in Positive Education with Professor Martin Seligman and Dr Karen Reivich from Penn University and Associate Professor Lea Waters from the University of Melbourne, as well as Mindfulness training with Dr Craig Hassed from the University of Melbourne.
In her spare time, Susan enjoys walking and cycling. She also thoroughly enjoys reading; currently, she is hooked on the Donna Leon detective novels involving Commissioner of the Venetian Police, Guido Brunetti, as the main character.
Nat Fanariotis
Deputy Principal - Wellbeing
Nat joined Lauriston at the beginning of 2024. As a passionate, dynamic, and values-driven professional, she specialises in educational leadership and the effective implementation of evidence-informed approaches to enhance schoolwide wellbeing.
Nat holds a Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary)/ Bachelor of Health Sciences (Deakin University).
With 15 years of experience in education, Nat has dedicated her career and further study to the wellbeing field. She has held various senior leadership positions in government and independent schools, including her most recent role as Head of Wellbeing at Caulfield Grammar School. Prior to her time at Caulfield, Nat held the position of Implementation Lead at Beyond Blue, contributing to the success of the national mental health in education initiative, Be You.
Nat is committed to establishing systems, practices, and capabilities in school communities to protect, promote, and respond to student wellbeing. In her role as Deputy Principal – Wellbeing, she will undertake strategic and operational responsibilities, focusing on building wellbeing literacy among students, staff, and families; enabling high-quality proactive and responsive pastoral care for all students; strengthening partnerships between home, school, and the community; and integrating wellbeing into the learning experience and environment.
Passionate about equipping every student with the tools needed to feel good, function well, engage optimistically in learning, build meaningful relationships, and navigate life’s inevitable challenges, Nat is dedicated to creating a positive impact on the Lauriston community.
Chris Toms
Vice Principal, Head of Junior School
Chris Toms is an experienced educator and has taught at Lauriston for over ten years; in that time he has held the positions of Year 4-6 Classroom Teacher, Director of Learning and now Head of Junior School. Chris has played a crucial role in leading and managing the Junior School teachers in the development of curriculum, assessment practices and reporting from Kindergarten to Year 6. He has developed initiatives aligned with current educational research and practice and collaborated with the School’s Executive on the implementation and evaluation of the Strategic Plan.
Prior to Lauriston, Chris worked for Kilvington Grammar School and held positions including Team Leader for Years 3-6. He holds a Master of Education from Monash University, where he focused on Leadership, Management and Information Technology. He also holds a Bachelor of Education from Deakin University and a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Melbourne.
Chris is a parent to two young children and also enjoys playing tennis and golf in his spare time.
David Joyce
Vice Principal - Head of Campus
Howqua welcomed David as Vice Principal & Head of the Campus in mid 2024. David fuses his passion for teaching with a love of natural environments and sees Outdoor and Environmental Education as a powerful teaching tool that develops the whole person and human/nature relationships.
David has a Bachelor of Arts specialising in Outdoor Education from La Trobe University and a Graduate Diploma in Education from Monash University.
Following years working in a range of Outdoor fields including commercial Adventure Tourism, School Programs and Tertiary Training, he worked for over 20 years at St Mary’s College /CBC St Kilda in a range of roles. With a passion for diverse work and community relationships his work expanded from Outdoor Education Teaching to also include leading International Immersions and managing community partnerships with NGOs in India, Alumni relations, Family Camps and voluntary school staff consultation and OH&S support.
David’s role is to lead the Howqua management team in decision making and operational matters for the campus. He is also responsible for collaboratively developing the curriculum, for leading, engaging, inspiring and supporting all Howqua staff, and working closely with the entire Howqua community.
Vanessa McDonnell
Head of Senior School
Vanessa McDonnell is a highly experienced educator, with over 30 years teaching experience. She joined Lauriston in 2010 as a Mathematics Teacher and her expertise in this area lead to her appointment as Mathematics Curriculum Leader between 2018-2023. More recently Vanessa has held the role of Acting Head – Secondary School. Vanessa strives to be an inclusive, progressive and supportive leader, who helps students to realise their full potential. She wants our students to become smart thinkers, smart learners and smart doers. Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Science and a Diploma of Education from The University of Melbourne.
Kate Hehir
Assistant Principal – Junior School (Curriculum and Learning)
Kate Hehir is a passionate Junior School educator with over 25 years’ experience in teaching, both in Australia and in the United Kingdom. She has taught at Lauriston for over 10 years and has held the positions of Year 3, 4 and 6 Classroom Teacher, Reporting Coordinator, Director of Curriculum and, most recently, Assistant Principal – Junior School (Curriculum and Learning). Kate has a Bachelor of Arts in Education, a Bachelor of Education (Deakin University) and a Masters in School Leadership (Monash University).
Kate is passionate about working with other educators to enhance and embed innovative curriculum, assessment and reporting practices aligned with current best practice. She is excited by the opportunities the Lauriston Fabrication Lab allows for technology to be integrated authentically into the curriculum and is dedicated to designing learning experiences that encourage girls to be courageous, creative, imaginative, curious and resilient. Kate has been a leader of Lauriston’s Cultures of Thinking group, improving teaching and learning using instructional rounds and employing visible thinking routines across the School. She was awarded Lauriston’s Sun Bursary to participate in the Project Zero Classroom Summer Institute 2017 at the Harvard Graduate School of Education to further her studies on Cultures of Thinking. A member of the School’s Executive, Kate is dedicated to the successful implementation of the Strategic Plan.
Catherine Tan
Business Manager
Cathy is a Chartered Accountant with a background in business services and tax. She initially worked in small and second-tier accounting firms before moving away from the accounting field to become Group Financial Controller of a leading patent and trademark attorney firm. Prior to her commencement at Lauriston, Cathy completed her Master of Business Administration.
Andrew Smith
Executive Director, Marketing, Admissions and Communications
Susan Coates
Director, Human Resources
Susan is a Certified Practitioner in Human Resources with the Australian Human Resources Institute and has 20 plus years of experience in independent schools. She has worked in numerous roles throughout her career, including in operations, administration, management and human resources. She is passionate about helping schools to bring out the best in their staff and does this by empowering and building employee capabilities, fostering a positive culture, and supporting a high-performing work environment that is built on trust, respect, and continuous growth.
School Council
Lauriston Girls’ School is administered by a Council, comprised mostly of parents, former School parents, or Old Lauristonians. The role of the School Council is to oversee and maintain the long-term viability of the School as a provider of primary and secondary education of the very highest standard.
Learn more about the results of the School and the work of the Council in the Annual Report and Strategic Plan.
Claudette Leeming
Chair - OL (1991)
Elise Gillespie
Chair, The Lauriston Foundation Inc. - OL (1999)
Melissa Dixon
OL (1985)
Jane Hider
Kathy Ge
OL (2005)
Victoria Moffat
OL (2002)
Stewart McCallum
Gavin Wilson
Robert O’Brien
Mark Schubert
Susan Just
Principal
