About

Edwina Murphy

Deputy Dean and Director of Research

BEc, BMin, MTh, PhD

Dr Edwina Murphy joined the ACT in February 2022. Prior to that she was Director of Research and Senior Lecturer in Christian Thought and History at Morling College. Her research interests revolve around Cyprian, a third-century bishop, and how the early church interpreted scripture.

She oversees the Research, Teaching and Learning division of ACT.

Edwina is actively engaged in the international scholarly community. She is co-chair of the Contextualizing North African Christianity section (Society of Biblical Literature) and is a member of the Council of the International Association of Patristic Studies, as well as the National Correspondent for Australia. She also serves on several editorial boards.

PUBLICATIONS

Simon Davies

Chief Operating Officer and Registrar

B.Creat.Tech., M.Lead.(Higher Ed)

Vicki Chen

Director of Finance

BSBAA, MAppFin, CPA

Vicki joined the ACT team in June 2010. She has a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University and is a CPA. Her main role is managing the ACT’s finances.  This includes the administration and distribution of FEE-HELP funding from the Commonwealth Government to the affiliated colleges, development of and/or implementation of financial policies and procedures, and management reporting. She is the Executive Officer for the Audit & Risk Management Committee.

Ian O’Harae

Director of Teaching and Learning

BA, Dip Ed, M Ed St, PhD, D Min (cand.)

Rev Dr Ian O’Harae joined the ACT in 2021. He previously served in a range of ministry settings, as the Principal of a Christian School, Educational and Theological Consultant, Pastor of a Baptist Church, Academic Dean and Lecturer in New Testament at Morling College. He also has wide international experience in providing leadership training, especially in developing world nations. Ian’s key responsibilities are to oversee teaching and learning, and to foster effective pedagogical practices and innovation across the consortium.

Louise Gosbell

Research Manager

BTh, MTh (Hons), PhD

Dr Louise Gosbell joined the ACT in November 2023. Prior to that she worked at Mary Andrews College for 11 years in various roles including lecturer in New Testament, Dean of Students, and College Principal. Louise’s research is in the area of biblical studies and focuses primarily on disability in the biblical texts as well as writing more broadly on disability and church practice.

Louise is an active member of the Anglican church in Sydney and serves on the General Synod Doctrine Committee. Louise also completed a set of accessibility guidelines (entitled “Everyone Welcome: Accessible Church for All”) to help churches in the Sydney Diocese become places of belonging for members with disability. She also serves as a disability consultant for the Office of Safe Ministry in the Diocese.

Louise is part of the ACT’s Disability Reference Group and serves on a number of ministry boards. She is married to Mark and they have 3 grown-up-ish daughters.

PUBLICATIONS

Asanka Gunarathne

Director of Academic Services (including Overseas Student Liaison Officer)

BA (Hons), Adv.Dip.Bus.Management

Asanka’s main tasks include carrying out tasks associated with overseeing academic administration, and supervising the Academic Services team members. The position is similar to that carried out by the Deputy Registrar at a University and includes interpreting and developing policy and procedures governing academic administration matters. Asanka is also ACT’s Overseas Student Liaison Officer, the contact person for our overseas students, and ensuring ACT’s compliance with the regulations around the delivery of courses to overseas students. He coordinates the network of affiliated college Registrars in conjunction with the ACT Chief Operating Officer and Registrar.

Erin Hutton

Moderation AND INCLUSION Manager

BAncHist (Hons), BCS, GradCertInfoStud, GradDipCS, MLitt, PhD (cand.).

Prior to joining the ACT in 2021, Erin was Associate Lecturer in Integrative Studies at Excelsia College, and lectured in the fields of Christianity in History and Old Testament in ACT colleges. She is currently completing an interdisciplinary PhD exploring Song of Songs as a model for the primary prevention of Domestic and Family Violence.

Erin is also an ordinand with the Baptist Association. In her role as Moderation and Inclusion Manager, Erin manages the ACT’s moderation procedures, and is responsible for diversity and inclusion work in the Teaching & Learning department, such as the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with a disability, and the work of the SASH taskforce.

PUBLICATIONS

Witali Klein

IT Systems Manager

Dipl.Kfm., Vfm., Bkfm.

Witali Klein joined the ACT in January 2020. He supports ACT and its network of affiliated colleges and its students through overseeing the development and operation of the information and technology systems.

Mary Ann Navidad

Financial ACCountant

MPA, ASA

Mary Ann joined the ACT in 2012.  She finished Master of Professional Accounting at New England University and is currently working towards becoming a CPA. Her role covers accounts payables, accounts receivables, payroll, and preparation of monthly financial statements. She is also the minute taker of the Audit and Risk Management Committee.

Lissa Philip

Quality Manager

Lissa started her career in student services in 2019 with Open Colleges before moving to Excelsia College in 2020. She joined ACT in May 2022 as the Academic Administration Officer, supporting both the Quality and Academic Services team.

Currently, Lissa is working as the Quality Manager and oversees the work of the Quality department.

Stephen Sarkoezy

Academic Quality Officer

DipTh.

Stephen joined the ACT in 2017 after a lengthy career in data analysis and business intelligence with a major Australian steel manufacturer. He recently completed ACT’s Diploma of Theology at Christ College and his main duties include survey deployment, analysis and interpretation of academic data, Executive Officer for the Academic Quality Committee and administering the Academic Approvals process.

Diana Tadjudin

Student Reporting Officer

Dip.I.T., B.I.S.

Diana has been working at ACT since March 2007. She has held several roles within the team, particularly in the Academic Services department. In her current role as Student Reporting Officer, Diana oversees the reporting of student enrolment and college activities to the Department of Education via TCSI, including reconciliations, revisions, and verification of all data. This involves monitoring the performance of the student management system and its user activity. She oversees the distribution of enrolment confirmations to students, allocation of HELP debts to the government, and allocation of census dates in consultation with affiliated college staff.

Jaynee Tan

Support Officer – Academic Services

BComm

Jaynee joined the Academic Services team in ACT in 2021. In her role as Support Officer – Academic Services, Jaynee liaises with ACT students and with College Registrars on student management issues, processes credit transfers and results, and assists with the distribution of graduation documents. She also assists ACT in bilingual support for our Chinese-speaking students.

Rebekah Wall

Academic Administrative Officer

BCA.

Rebekah joined the Academic Services team in ACT in early 2019. In her role as Academic Administrative Officer, Rebekah liaises with ACT students and with College Registrars on student management matters primarily through the website forms, Academic Services mailbox, and by phone, and on occasion at affiliated college visits. She has a background in graphic design.