Our CEO | Our board | Our staff | Ardoch Patron-in-Chief | Our volunteers Our CEO Lisa Jones commenced in the role of Chief Executive Officer of Ardoch in January 2022, bringing an extensive background in social impact, humanitarian action, community engagement and policy across the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. Lisa commenced in the role of Chief Executive Officer of Ardoch in January 2022, following various roles in the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. She is an experienced senior executive and qualified lawyer, with a background in humanitarian action, strategic planning, legislative and policy development, and community engagement. Prior to Ardoch, Lisa was the Managing Partner of Synergistiq, a consulting firm that strengthens and measures social impact, with a focus on education, employment and engagement. She worked closely with government, schools and students, to evaluate the impact of programs seeking to improve student learning outcomes and well-being. Lisa spent 15 years undertaking political and humanitarian work with the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross, mostly in conflict or post-conflict situations. Her work focused on protecting civilians, advocating for the rights of women, children and ethnic minorities, helping people return and restore their lives, and supporting governments with post-conflict transition. She subsequently spent nine years with the Victorian Government in emergency management. This involved collaborating with emergency management volunteers to develop and implement significant reforms in response to the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. Lisa championed a sector-wide diversity and inclusion framework to build a high-performing workforce and strengthen community connection, and designed new approaches for increasing community resilience. Lisa is the former Chair of Scarf, a social enterprise that supports young people of refugee and migrant backgrounds to gain access to opportunity through the hospitality industry. She is also a member of Leadership Victoria’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scholarship Committee and former Chair of a school board. Lisa holds Bachelor degrees in Arts and Law. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an alumnus of the Williamson Community Leadership Program. Our board Ardoch is privileged to have a volunteer Board of Directors steer our strategy to drive our organisation forward. Our Directors are leaders in their chosen fields and committed to the work of Ardoch. They are responsible for providing the support and oversight Ardoch needs to continue to grow and strengthen our positive influence on educational outcomes for children and young people in disadvantaged communities. View board members Our staff Ardoch’s small team of talented employees punches above its weight each year. Spread across six different locations in Victoria and NSW, our small team of just 21 people (14.7 full-time equivalent) underpins all our achievements. They coordinate programs, review and develop resources, build and maintain relationships with education and other community partners, mobilise more than 1700 volunteers, manage relationships with philanthropic supporters, corporate partners and individual donors and deliver all the other the ‘back of house’ functions that enable us to operate smoothly. View staff members Ardoch Patron-in-Chief, Governor of Victoria, Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC In February 2024, Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC, Governor of Victoria became Ardoch’s Patron-in-Chief. Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC is the 30th Governor of Victoria and the second woman to hold the office. Prior to her appointment in August 2023, she was the 9th and first woman President and Vice-Chancellor of Monash University from September 2014 until August 2023. Prior to joining Monash, the Governor was Vice-Chancellor and President of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) from April 2005 until August 2014. She has extensive academic experience, having held various leadership positions in Australian universities throughout her career, including as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at The University of Queensland and Pro Vice-Chancellor at Griffith University in Queensland. In 2007, the Governor was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in recognition of “service to tertiary education, particularly in the areas of university governance and gender equity, and to industrial relations”. Subsequently in January 2020, the Governor was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for her “eminent service to tertiary education through leadership and innovation in teaching and learning, research and financial sustainability”. Our volunteers Ardoch volunteers are essential to the delivery of our programs and our capacity to grow the number of school and early years partners we support. Each year we mobilise over 1700 volunteers from corporate partners and the community to participate in our evidence-based programs. Our volunteers are at the heart of Ardoch’s work. To find out more about how you can help improve educational outcomes through individual volunteering in schools and early years services or through our workplace volunteering programs, please click the ‘learn more’ button below. Learn more
