About Primary Ethics – Staff and Board

Evan Hannah, CEO

Evan took on the role of ethics coordinator at his son’s school in 2014 and joined the Primary Ethics staff in 2017. His career began in journalism, before moving to management positions within media organisations. As CEO of Primary Ethics, Evan’s focus is to build and strengthen the Primary Ethics program across the state.

Elizabeth Allen, Engagement and Asministration Manager

Elizabeth is a seasoned ethics teacher who joined Primary Ethics staff in 2017 to assist with running the organisation and building relationships with stakeholders. She has extensive experience in corporate communications and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science and German and a Graduate Diploma in Marketing and Consumer Behaviour.

Susan Ardill, Communications Director

Susan looks after the Primary Ethics website, our social media and email newsletters for volunteers, parents and the wider community, as well as liaising with the media. Susan’s career began in magazine journalism, moved to television documentary, then into digital with ninemsn. She has worked in communications for a number of non-profit organisations, including a large union and an environmental law firm. She has an MA in Mass Communications and an Honours degree in Literature and History.

Niraj Shah, Finance Manager

Niraj is a chartered accountant with a passion for making a difference through his work. He has many years of experience working in business, mainly in the not-for-profit sector. He has extensive experience of finance and has provided strategic direction and oversight across various organisations' financial activities. He joined Primary Ethics in early 2024.

Paula Lam, Administration Assistant - Helpdesk

Paula’s background in IT support and recruitment administration and her strong customer service skills make her a valuable asset to the team. Since the birth of her son, she has taken a keen interest in education and has completed a Cert III in Early Childhood Education. Paula runs the Helpdesk and assists with enquiries from existing volunteers as well as people who are new to the program.

Tatar Holmes, Classroom support/High school support officer

Tatar began volunteering with Primary Ethics in 2015 as a coordinator so that there would be a program available for four of her children. When her fifth child started Kindergarten, she began teaching ethics as well. Tatar was the coordinator and a teacher for the pilot of the high school program at Katoomba in 2021 and joined the Primary Ethics staff in 2023 in this role. Tatar has a background in management and coaching and is passionate about sustainability, in particular the effects of polarisation on societal progress and behaviour change.

Jenny Curtis, Classroom support officer

Jenny has been training ethics teachers with Primary Ethics since 2018. She is also a classroom support officer, having joined that team in 2023. Her initial involvement with Primary Ethics was as part of the pilot program in 2010, delivering classes when her own children were in primary school. She has professional experience as both an ESL (English as a second language) teacher and working with volunteers as a community organiser with not-for-profits and NGOs. Jenny is also currently an ethics coordinator and teacher for one of our participating high schools.

Margaret Widjaya, Classroom Support Officer

Margaret joined Primary Ethics in 2017 as a volunteer and has previously worked for us in new teacher training, curriculum support, the curriculum diversity project and the training program review team. She studied at UNSW (BA Psych) and USyd (MA Psych), worked as a bereavement psychologist, then headed up national Learning & Development departments for several multinational organisations. Parenting a child with a disability and neurodiversity, Margaret developed working relationships with healthcare and education providers, while also volunteering with many organisations. In the classroom support role, she brings her extensive experience to supporting volunteers in classroom practice to achieve both teaching and personal satisfaction in their contribution to ethics education.

Georgie McGrillen, Fundraising Manager

Georgie is building financial support for the work of Primary Ethics, with a focus on community fundraising and philanthropy. With an initial background in business and then a shift, Georgie has worked in the not-for-profit sector for many years now, across refugee issues, international aid and development and the environment. Her interest in ethics education was sparked when her own children attended Primary Ethics classes at the local primary school. She has a Bachelor of Business with a Major in Marketing and, with a keen interest in wellbeing, an Advanced Diploma of Health.

Angela Leyden, Classroom Support Officer

Angela joined the Primary Ethics team in 2023 as a classroom support officer and brings to the role 30 years of experience in the education sector. Having held a range of teaching and leadership roles in both secondary and higher education settings, Angela is passionate about ethics education and mentoring and supporting others. As a member of the Primary Ethics classroom support team, Angela works to support ethics teachers in the important work they do.

Jarrah Aubourg, Director of Education

Jarrah is a philosopher, educator and curriculum author committed to ethics education. Holding a Masters in Educational Psychology from the University of Sydney and First Class Honours in Philosophy from the University of Wollongong, Jarrah brings a deep understanding of education theory and philosophical inquiry to his work. As the Director of Education, he oversees curriculum development, teacher training programs and classroom support initiatives.

Fiona Branscombe, Schools Liaison Officer

Fiona has been a volunteer ethics teacher at her local school in Newcastle since 2014. In 2020, she joined the Primary Ethics team and is enjoying supporting volunteers and schools in their delivery of ethics lessons to students. Fiona is also working in the project team delivering ethics classes in high schools.

Danya Webb, Training Administrator

Danya joined Primary Ethics as a volunteer ethics teacher in 2018 and later became an ethics coordinator as well, launching the program at a new school in her area. Danya coordinates the Primary Ethics training program and is also a trainer in the training team. She has extensive sales and marketing experience in the hospitality and pharmaceutical sectors and has founded two successful kids’ activities websites. Danya holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Marketing and Hospitality Management from UNSW.

John Burgess, Program Director

John comes to Primary Ethics from a background in small business ownership. He assembled and developed teams to lead adventure tours in the Middle East and Asia with minimal supervision in the pre-internet age. On moving to Australia in 2001, he set up and ran a chain of retail food outlets across Sydney. He joined us as a volunteer teacher at the start of 2018. John holds a BSc in Mathematics and has a keen interest in philosophy and moral reasoning.

Coral Sturgess, Classroom Support Team (CST) Manager

Coral has been teaching ethics since 2015 and is also an ethics teacher trainer. She has experience as an English and history high school teacher and school executive responsible for student wellbeing and middle school, as a leader of curriculum consultants with the NSW Department of Education and as a lecturer and tutor of university education students. Coral has led the implementation of ethics in high schools and is co-author of the new high school curriculum. As CST manager, her role is to grow and manage a skilled team that is dedicated to providing classroom support for ethics teachers.

Diana Dagg, Classroom Support Officer

Diana conducts a ‘check-in’ service with new teachers. She also monitors the weekly post-class reports submitted by teachers to EVIE. Diana teaches ethics in Sydney’s south. She has a post-graduate Diploma in Social Sciences and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to research the evaluation of projects to support families in disadvantaged communities. Diana worked for many years in the state public service, most recently with the Aboriginal Education Directorate in the NSW Department of Education.

Kelby Mason, Philosopher-in-residence/Classroom Support Officer

Kelby has been a trainer for Primary Ethics since 2011 and an ethics teacher since 2012, during which time he has trained thousands of our teachers and taught hundreds of students. He has a University Medal in philosophy and a Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney; he did his graduate work in philosophy at Rutgers, where he was a member of the Moral Psychology Research Group and a fellow at the Center for Cultural Analysis. Kelby wrote our ethics high school curriculum and currently provides philosophical advice, trains and provides classroom support for new teachers.

Sandra Banta, Area Manager

Sandra has volunteered as a regional manager and an ethics teacher on Sydney’s North Shore since her son started Kindy in 2016. She continues to teach ethics at her son’s school. Sandra is the area manager for the Regional North and West and Rural North Directorates and loves getting to know the volunteers in that beautiful part of the world.

Cathy Chase, Classroom Support Team Manager

Cathy joined Primary Ethics in 2017, first as an ethics teacher, then coordinator and area manager. Her background is in organisational psychology and employment law. Prior to joining Primary Ethics, Cathy held a number of HR management roles with large organisations, locally and internationally. She is passionate about developing people to be the best they can be and loves seeing them succeed in whatever they choose to do.

Emma Doran, Area Manager

Emma has been volunteering as a teacher – and subsequently coordinator – since her first son began school in 2016. Early in 2020, she began working for Primary Ethics on the Helpdesk and mid-year moved into the Area Manager role, looking after schools in the Sutherland Shire, Chipping Norton and Western Sydney and rural areas such as Albury.

Anuya Velpanur, Area Manager

Anuya trained as a dentist and psychologist in India, but took a career break and moved to Australia with a young family. She has been teaching ethics since 2016. She started at Primary Ethics as a volunteer support officer, working with onboarding volunteers. In early 2021 she was appointed an area manager, supporting volunteers in the Sydney Metro-South area. Anuya is a lifelong student of dance and an amateur photographer.

Marbecc Webb, Area Manager

Marbecc worked in retail as a Human Resources Manager before becoming an ethics coordinator at her son’s school in 2014. She later added two more roles as ethics teacher and regional manager. In 2019 she was part of the South West Sydney Schools Project, examining awareness and engagement of ethics classes in that region. Marbecc has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Graduate Certificate in Personnel Management and a Master of Business in Employment Relations.

Dana Sampath, Area Manager

Dana’s role is to launch ethics programs in new schools where there’s been no previous program and to relaunch in schools where our programs have come to a halt due to lack of volunteers. She also works on strategies to raise awareness and encourage community volunteering. Dana looks after the Metro North and Regional North directorates. She has been volunteering as an ethics teacher and coordinator at her sons’ school in Sydney’s south since 2015.

Cemine Sezgin, Area Manager

Cemine joined Primary Ethics as a volunteer ethics teacher at her children’s school in Sydney in 2020. She works to introduce ethics classes at schools in northern and western NSW. Cemine was born in Bulgaria and has lived in Turkey, Germany and USA. She moved to Sydney with her family in 2011

Julia Kosheleva, Area Manager

Julia joined Primary Ethics as a volunteer ethics teacher at her children’s school in southern Sydney in 2016. She later became regional manager for that area. She manages our ethics programs on the Central Coast and mid-north coast, including Newcastle. Julia has worked in IT – business analysis and product development - and has had a strong interest in philosophy since her university days.

Feyza Tuncay, Area Manager

Feyza enjoys supporting volunteers in their application, induction, training and teaching journeys. She also liaises with schools to introduce, plan and activate ethics programs. Feyza has been teaching Stage 1 ethics in a Sydney school since September 2020 and is now also the ethics coordinator. She was born and raised in Turkey and moved to Sydney with her family in August 2019.

Emily Zytaruk, Training Support Officer

Emily started teaching ethics when her first of three children was in kindergarten in 2016. She has since become the ethics coordinator for her school and works with Danya Webb to administer our training program. She has a background in IT as well as health. Emily obtained her Bachelor of Commerce and Doctor of Naturopathic medicine in Canada, then her Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney.

Nicola Kaldor

Nicola is an experienced director of both NGO and private companies, including as a current National Justice Project Advisory Board Director , Talent Beyond Boundaries Advisory Board director and The Australian Ballet Foundation Board Director. She works as an advocate for refugees across the private school sector. Nicola works with private schools to develop policies, procedures and programs that are embedded into their curriculum to develop deeper understanding and connection with refugee communities.

Bruce Hogan AM

Bruce is the Founding Chair of Primary Ethics. A director of the Stolen Generations Testimonies Foundation and founder and Chair of the Hogan Family Foundation, Bruce has had an extensive director career, following his executive career in investment banking, primarily with Bankers Trust Australia. Past directorships include Chair of, amongst others, Snowy Hydro Limited, State Super Financial Services and the Coles Myer Superannuation Fund, plus non-executive director of NSW Treasury Corporation, Coles Myer, Metcash, GIO, Energy Australia and Funds SA.

"When we formed the Board in late 2010, we had no curriculum, no staff, no offices, phones or computers and no money. But we did have passionate supporters and volunteers and belief and a vision. Today we have a world class curriculum and are delivering ethics classes in 500 schools to over 40,000 children through the extraordinary generosity and skill of over 2700 volunteers supported by an outstanding staff. It’s been incredibly rewarding to be part of this journey."

Stephen Knight

Stephen is a finance industry professional with over 40 years experience in executive and non-executive roles. He held senior financial markets roles at ANZ and UBS and was CEO at NSW TCorp from 2005-2015. Steve currently chairs the ASX Clearing & Settlement Boards, the Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) Audit Committee and the Bond Issuance and Due Diligence Committee for the National Housing Finance & Investment Corporation (NHFIC). He is a non-executive director with Hall & Wilcox and Sydney Financial Forum and coaches a number of senior executives across a range of industries.

"It’s a privilege to be involved with Primary Ethics, as it continues to grow and play a crucial role in helping our next generations develop their ability to navigate a complex and ever-changing world"

Dr Simon Longstaff AO

Simon was named a 21st Century leader by Australia’s financial newspapers. One business identity observed they "don’t know one CEO or chairman in corporate Australia who has not worked with Simon Longstaff". Simon has been executive director of The Ethics Centre, a unique not-for profit bringing ethics to personal and professional life, since 1991. With a Doctorate in Philosophy from Cambridge University, Simon is a Fellow of CPA Australia and Honorary Professor at the Australian National University’s Centre for Indigenous Studies. Simon helped give birth to the Banking and Finance Oath, the annual Festival of Dangerous Ideas and ethics classes in schools. Simon serves on a number of boards and committees.

"Primary Ethics is playing an essential role in helping our next generation to address the profoundly important ethical challenges facing our society. I am thrilled to be supporting this work."

Scott Mannix

Scott holds the role of Company Secretary and is Special Counsel for Maddocks State Government group. Scott has extensive experience in advising on commercial and financial matters for both organisations and government agencies. Before joining Maddocks, Scott was General Manager Legal & Strategy at New South Wales Treasury Corporation where he was responsible for advising on and managing the legal risks for the State’s borrowing programs, investment management products and asset financing transactions. He brings a depth of understanding of the unique requirements of government agencies and how legal risks are effectively understood, managed and controlled within organisations.

Scott Mannix

Roger Reidy provides HR and strategy advice and consults across a wide range of businesses, including several top-tier public corporations. Roger joined Primary Ethics in 2011, providing leadership for the Classroom Support Team while also offering pro bono human resources advice and recruitment skills for senior managers, plus acting as CEO when necessary.

"Becoming a director is an unexpected but very welcome progression of my long term involvement, bringing my professional skills to help shape the direction of the organisation."

Nigel Stokes

Nigel held the role of Financial Adviser in the NSW Government for 10 years, working on a number of Government projects. At Bankers Trust Nigel worked on a series of significant privatisations, including GIO, NSW State Bank and NSW TAB. He also advised on the demutualisation of the ASX as well as consulting to the NSW Treasury Corporation on risk strategy. Nigel also sat on the Boards of the CSIRO and the Electricity Commission of NSW.

"For me, the value of Primary Ethics lies in the feedback we hear from students about how they’ve developed in ethics classes. They are learning to explain ideas in their own words. They are developing understanding of the basis of fair discussion and of reasoned argument. Most importantly, they are recognising the value and utility of these skills in their everyday lives."

Matina Moffitt

For the last 35 years, Matina has specialised in audit and accounting for wealth asset managers, wealth management, funds management, superannuation, retail and investment banking and non-for-profits. She has also been the auditor for Primary Ethics. Matina is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.