Matt Dowd – Chair and Parent Representative

Matt and his wife Lauren have lived in Swanbourne since 2007. With a daughter in Year Two and a son in Kindy, they are both proud parents and active in the school community. A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and with a Bachelor of Engineering, Matt has been a Board member at Swanbourne since 2018.

Professionally, Matt leads a successful vocational education and training business focused on supporting young people into work and job pathways. Prior to this Matt held senior operational roles with BHP and a variety of companies servicing the resources sector.

Matt is passionate about supporting Swanbourne Primary and its teaching staff to deliver great holistic outcomes for its students.

Rebecca Robson – Acting Principal and Staff Representative

Bec has deep experience in the childhood education, both as a teacher and also across a range of leadership positions, including as a Principal. Bec has been Deputy Principal at Swanbourne for four years, which included two positions as Acting Principal, after transferring from LaGrange RCS (Bidyadanga) where she was the Principal.

Bec joined the Board in 2017 and is deeply involved in a number of school-wide initiatives and programs including the P&C, Bidyadanga Committee as well as overseeing English and Numeracy programs.

Hilary Macnamara – Secretary and Parent Representative

Hilary and her husband Ben have two children currently attending Swanbourne Primary, with a toddler eager to attend in the years to come.

Hilary is a senior corporate lawyer and company secretary with twenty years’ experience in Brisbane, Sydney, London and Perth in international law firms, investment banks and publicly listed mining and oil & gas companies. She has experience in mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings, corporate and commercial legal advice and corporate governance and was most recently the Company Secretary of Shell Australia and its various subsidiary companies for over five years.

She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Laws (Honours) from the University of Queensland, a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, a Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance from the Governance Institute of Australia and has been admitted to practice as a solicitor in both Australia and England & Wales.

Hilary is invested in ensuring Swanbourne Primary continues to provide a wonderful education and community for our children.

Cathy Osan – Staff Representative

Cathy is a long-serving teacher and leader at Swanbourne, having held a number of roles across the school in the last fourteen years. Before joining Swanbourne, Cathy spent the majority of her career teaching in country and regional areas, including the Goldfields region and Roxby Downs.

Cathy joined the Board in 2018 and aside from teaching older school years, she has acted regularly in Deputy Principal and Administration roles. Cathy has a passion for literacy and has been at the forefront of a number of school-wide programs for developing literacy excellence, as well as a leading role in planning and coordinating school camps.

Sarah Murray – Staff Representative

Sarah has diverse experience in teaching and education, including postings within Australia and the United Kingdom. Sarah has been teaching at Swanbourne since 2015 and has taught across year three to six during that time.

Sarah joined the school Board in 2015. In addition to teaching her Year Five class, Sarah has an active role in the program ‘Kids Together – Sharing Cultures – Sharing Schools’, as well as contributing to the Logo refresh committee and the Uniform Committee.

Maryanne Hood – Staff Representative

Maryanne joined Swanbourne six years ago having previously taught a smaller, school in Kwinana, and joined the Board in 2018.

Maryanne is passionate about literacy development across all areas of the school and having completed the Literacy Leadership Course in 2019, was deeply involved in developing the school’s English Operational Plan. In addition to teaching Year Ones and Two's, Maryanne coordinates the annual school Scribblers Festival excursion and implementation of the Story Dogs program on behalf of the school.

Nicole Sanders – Parent Representative

Nicole and her husband David have been members of the Swanbourne community since relocating from Adelaide in 2011.

Their eldest son and daughter graduated from Swanbourne Primary in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and are now in secondary education. Their youngest son is in Year four at Swanbourne Primary.

Nicole has a passion for the sciences and has degrees in molecular biology, forensic and analytical chemistry and biochemistry and currently works in oncology research with a focus on immunotherapy and targeted therapies. Prior to this she managed a pre-clinical and analytical lab at the University of South Australia.

Nicole enjoys contributing to the board with a focus on ensuring every child continues to have the opportunity to reach their full potential during their time at Swanbourne Primary.

Michelle Wilmot – Parent Representative

Michelle and her husband have been part of the school community for eight years. Her eldest graduated from Swanbourne Primary in 2019 and is now in secondary education and her other two children are enrolled in Year Five and Year Three.

Michelle has been on the School Board for two years and has a background in small business management and marketing.

With strong ties to the Defence community, Michelle is a committed advocate for Defence families at Swanbourne Primary.

Cameron Jenkinson – Parent Representative

Cameron and his wife Karen are long term residents in Mount Claremont and along with their three children are heavily involved within the local community, including the Swanbourne Surf Lifesaving Club, Allen Park Tennis Club and Swanbourne Tigers Football Club.

Cameron’s eldest son recently graduated from Swanbourne and his two younger children are enrolled in Year 6 and Year 4 classes at the school.

Professionally, Cameron is currently the Chief of Strategic & Industry Partnerships at Buildxact and has previously held senior roles in the hardware and construction sector including senior roles with Bunnings.

Cameron has been on the School Board since 2018 and is passionate about fostering innovation within Swanbourne Primary.

Katie Watts – Staff Representative

Katie joined the Swanbourne teaching staff six years ago and has taught classes ranging from pre-primary to year 6 during that time. Prior to this, Katie taught at Challis Primary School in Armadale for a number of years after graduating from Murdoch University.

Katie joined the Board in 2018 and is a passionate advocate for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and how these topics can be integrated into every day teaching. In addition to her role as a classroom teacher, Katie is also the STEM Coordinator for the school and works with staff to challenge students to solve real-world problems in an authentic context.

Tom Orchard – Parent and P&C Representative

Tom and his wife Kristie live in Swanbourne and have been active in the school community over the past ten years. Tom has been a Board member at Swanbourne since 2018 and has been actively involved with the school P&C, including holding the President for the past two years. Their son is in Year 6 and they also have two daughters who both attended Swanbourne Primary and have now moved onto secondary education.

Tom is a CPA with a Bachelor of Commerce and has professional background is in accounting, finance and business management. Tom leads the finance function and is on the management team at ATCO Gas, who own and operate the gas distribution network in WA stretching from Geraldton to Busselton with 750,000 customers. Prior to this Tom held senior roles with ATCO in their power generation business in Adelaide and Calgary, Canada and has also worked for the Kimberley Land Council.

Tom is passionate about helping Swanbourne Primary to thrive as a school community and in recent years has been instrumental in aligning the efforts of the School Leadership with the P&C.