Our Board

Gippsland Grammar is overseen by a Board of volunteers from a number of different stakeholder groups within the School community. The School Board meets eight times per year and is responsible for the appointment of the Principal and the Business Manager.

Chair Ian Nethercote 

Ian Nethercote has been involved in the electricity and coal mining industry for about 40 years and held the role of Chief Executive of Victoria’s largest power station and open cut mine for more than 13 years. During this time he provided oversight and overall business direction and strategy in addition to managing the finances, technical/maintenance aspects, market and human resources. He was also the Chairman of the Loy Yang Marketing Management Company until his retirement in 2012.
Ian has served as a member of many organisations, including the Monash and Federation University Councils, the National Low Emissions Coal Council, the Energy Futures Forum of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and the Energy & Transport Sector Advisory Council. He is currently a Director of Latrobe’s biggest Ever Blokes BBQ Committee which he Chaired from 2012 - 2018.

Ian Nethercote holds Engineering Qualifications and is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia, a Fellow of Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders. In 2018 Ian was awarded Member of the Order of Australia for ‘Significant Service to Electricity Supply in Victoria through industry reform and restructuring, to education and to the community of Gippsland’.

Deputy Chair David Gittins

David Gittins lives with his family in Warrnambool and has a background in business, spending the past 20 years owning several vehicle franchises across Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley for Ford, BMW, Honda, CJD, Hyundai, and Kia. David’s career began with Ford Australia as a graduate trainee and he has a Diploma of Business. David was also the founding chair of Life Education in Doncaster/Templestowe and he is a life member of APEX Australia. David was president of Gippsland TAFE for six years and served on the TAFE board for 14 years. He served as Regional Chair of BMW Dealer Council and is currently chair of Clifton Waters, chair of the Anglican Diocese Finance committee, trustee of the Anglican Diocese and director of the Anglican Corporation of Gippsland. David is also director and major shareholder of Traralgon Harley Davidson and a director of Stawell Hospital and Regional Health.

Bishop of Gippsland, The Right Reverend Doctor Richard Treloar

Richard Treloar was consecrated as the 13th Bishop of Gippsland 2018 after serving as Vicar of Christ Church South Yarra and President of Christ Church Grammar School since 2007. Prior to that Richard was Chaplain of the University of Melbourne’s Trinity College and Stewart Lecturer at Trinity College Theological School for nine years.

He was member of the Melbourne Grammar School Council for seven years from 2008 and he also represented the Anglican and Uniting Churches of Australia on the Faith and Order Standing Commission in the World Council of Churches for more than a decade. In 2012 Richard was appointed to Liturgy Commission of General Synod and in 2019 he was also appointed to the Trinity College Board.

As an Honorary Research Associate of the University of Divinity, Richard has published a number of articles in Australian and international refereed journals and edited volumes, along with his PhD thesis (Monash University). Richard lives in Sale with his wife and two children, who are both current Gippsland Grammar students.

Andrew Reynolds

Originally from Adelaide, Andrew Reynolds moved to Bairnsdale in 1997 and is a co-owner and Partner of Wards Barristers & Solicitors Pty Ltd, where he undertakes legal work in the areas of commercial, conveyancing, wills, estates and trusts.

Andrew is a long serving volunteer in the East Gippsland community, with past committee roles with APEX, Eastern Victorian Group Training and East Gippsland Institute of TAFE. Andrew’s interests include gardening, boating on the Gippsland Lakes and motoring. He lives in Bairnsdale with his wife and two children, who are both current Gippsland Grammar students.

Fiona Reed

Fiona Reed joined the board of Gippsland Grammar in 2021 and is a non-executive director with experience on several boards. She is the Chair of the Mary Jane Lewis Foundation of which she has been a scholarship trustee since 2008 and is a member of the Flinders Golf Club governing Committee. Previously, Fiona has been on the RACV Superannuation Board and the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club Board. She also reported to the Council of La Trobe University.

Fiona has broad and deep experience as a senior executive in large organisations across a range of sectors. She has also worked as a management consultant for two global consulting firms: Accenture and Mercer. Fiona began her career as a secondary teacher and she was most recently the Executive Director of Human Resources at La Trobe University.

Neela McGilton

Neela McGilton has a commercial strategy background with more than 10 years' experience with Australian universities. Prior to the higher education sector, Neela worked in corporate finance at KPMG and Ernst & Young in Asia and Europe with focus on restructuring and transactional advisory. She currently leads the Partnerships team at Invest Victoria, which is the economic development arm of Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance.

Neela grew up in Malaysia and completed her degree in Finance in the US before working across four continents and eight countries before finally settling in Melbourne. She holds a Master of International Business from Melbourne University and a Bachelor of Business from University Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. Neela has a wide breath of experience in the public sector, consultancy, not-for-profits and multi-national corporations in both Australia and overseas and her professional success to date is built on her ability to leverage her financial and analytical skills to deliver on strategic business outcomes.

Growing up in a rural town, Neela is passionate about regional communities and the role education and skills plays in the economic development of regions.

Keren Terpstra

Keren Terpstra has been Dean of Gippsland since June 2022. Prior to coming to Sale she was the Vicar of St Margaret's Eltham and before that held multiple roles in the Diocese of Brisbane. Keren spent some time on the board of Canterbury College, Waterford, as well as a range of diocesan and ecumenical committees across the three dioceses in which she has served. Keren has been a member of the Liturgical Committee for the Diocese of Melbourne (now extended Province-wide) since 2019, and the President of Victorian Anglicans Together, also since 2019. She is a Provincial Synod and General Synod representative for the Diocese of Gippsland. Keren has a passion for good governance, for ensuring the safety of vulnerable people in our communities, and for actively drawing on creativity and the creative arts as ways of engaging in decision-making.

Jessica Cane

Having grown up in East Gippsland, Jessica Cane currently lives in Wy Yung with her husband and their two children, who both attend Gippsland Grammar.

Jessica is a director and owner of Accounting Solutions Victoria, a Bairnsdale accounting firm. She holds her CPA, Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting), Diploma of Financial Planning and is a SMSF Specialist Advisor. Jessica enjoys volunteering her time on boards of numerous local groups and businesses, where her knowledge and experience is shared to ensure the growth and development of East Gippsland. She has strong knowledge of the property industry, holding Directorships in the Property Investment Industry. In her quiet time, Jessica and her family enjoy spending time together outdoors and going on holidays with friends.