Board of the Mercy Foundation
The Foundation is governed by its Board whose members are appointed by the Congregation Leader and Trustees of the Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney.
Chairperson
Ms Annabel Senior
Annabel has worked in a number of senior roles in the community services sector, in both government and non government agencies. She has worked in metropolitan and regional areas and has a commitment to issues of social justice spanning a career of over 35 years.
Annabel has also held a number of positions on boards including past President of the NSW Council of Social Services, member of the NSW government Social Justice Reference Group and Chair of Homelessness Australia.
She has a degree in Social Studies from the University of Sydney and was awarded the 2006 Family Action Centre University of Newcastle award for Outstanding Contribution to The Australian Community.
Deputy Chairperson
Mr Richard Jarjoura
Richard Jarjoura is Managing Director of MyHouse, the family owned Homewares retailer. Richard has been at MyHouse for 31 years. Richard has links with the Mercy sisters going back to the 1950’s, has three daughters who have all been educated by the Mercy sisters at Monte.
He has helped the foundation over the last three years with the Home in a Box project. Richard joined the Board in June 2014 and looks forward to contributing to the great work carried out by the Mercy Foundation Board.
Dr Michael O’Sullivan
Dr O’Sullivan is an orthopaedic surgeon who graduated from the University of NSW with Honours in 1987. He then commenced his Post Graduate Orthopaedic training in 1994 and completed his training in 1997. He consults at a number of locations, including the Mater Hospital in Crows Nest. He was appointed to the Mercy Foundation Board in late 2009.
Ms Margaret Benjafield
Margaret has worked in Executive Administration at the Mater Hospital since 1993 and is currently Medical Administration Manager.
In one of her many varied roles at the Mater, Margaret was the coordinator and an active member of the “Hand to the Land” project, which hosted Wellness Weekend Workshops during 2006-2009 for women in remote areas of north-west New South Wales who were affected by the drought. Margaret is passionate about the mission and values of the Sisters of Mercy and provides invaluable assistance to all Sisters of Mercy wherever and whenever possible. Margaret has been a member of the Board of the Mercy Foundation since May 2010.
Ms Nicole Christensen
Nicole was appointed as Principal of Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College in 2014.
Nicole brings a depth of educational leadership and teaching experience with over twenty-five years in independent Catholic girls’ schools.
Nicole is an outstanding Catholic educator who embodies the values of Catholic education in the Mercy tradition. She has a proven commitment to academic excellence as illustrated in her understanding and leading of educational policy at both State and National levels, in addition to the International Baccalaureate programme and processes.
She has completed both a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education. She has contributed and continues to contribute to a number of external education Committees and Working Parties including presently Chairing the Principals of IB Schools in ACT/NSW and is the Principals’ Representative on the Catholic Girls’ Secondary Schools Sporting Association.
Mr Kevin Gardner
Kevin Gardner MCom, BBus, FCPA, FCIS, JP has over 35 years of senior management experience in finance, accounting, taxation, manufacturing and retail. He has well developed skills in business analysis, product strategy, sustainable business improvement, an effective communicator at all levels, including mentoring and successfully turned around loss making businesses. He is currently working in the Not-for-Profit Sector as Chief Executive Officer for Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation, involved in fundraising, donor acquisition and bequest programs. Board Positions: Chairman Lenity Australia Ltd, Chairman Foresight (Australian Overseas Aid and Prevention of Blindness) Limited, Director Mercy Foundation Limited.
Mr Kevin Ford
Kevin is a widely experienced solicitor. He was admitted as a solicitor in NSW in 1973, and was a Chief Solicitor for the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority for 13 years. He has worked as a political policy adviser on the provision of privately funded infrastructure projects.
For the past 7 years Kevin has also been a registered migration agent employed by a private migration agency in that role.
Kevin specialises in advising asylum seekers on their applications for refugee status in Australia (and PNG) and has regularly worked in the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre in PNG and also participated in numerous task forces to Christmas Island, Curtin and Wickham Point immigration detention centers.
Kevin provides assistance to people who have in many cases been waiting for many years for the assessment of their protection claims. He has regularly represented clients at hearings at the Refugee Review Tribunal and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and prepared submissions to those bodies.
Sr Bernadette Mansour RSM
Sr Bernadette joined the Sisters of Mercy North Sydney in June 1964. She has worked in various ministries over those 53 years, ranging from Secondary Teaching in Mercy Schools and as Parent Liaison at Monte Sant’ Angelo and at Mt Carmel Waterloo where she was able to use her Arabic language skills with Lebanese parents. Bernadette also worked in Youth Ministry for several years and at the Marriage Tribunal of the Sydney Archdiocese.
Sr Bernadette has held various administrative positions for the Congregation firstly in the Finance Department of the Order. This led to her appointment as Congregation Bursar and at the same time CEO of Justinian House, an Aged Care Facility owned and operated by the Sisters of Mercy.
Sr Bernadette has been a member of the Congregation Leadership Team and is currently on the present team.
