Our people
CSNSW is the representative voice of NSW Catholic education and their owners at the state and national level. Our role is to ensure the interests of Catholic schools are protected and promoted in forums where education policy is formed and resource allocation is determined.
Board of Directors
Toni Downes
Interim-Chair
Emeritus Professor Toni Downes has worked with universities, educational systems and schools, for nearly 50 years. Through effective leadership and sustained scholarship, she has improved educational outcomes in universities and schools in the effective use of digital technologies, in gender and technology, and in teacher education policy and practice, Her work has included numerous research and professional projects, publications, invited international and national presentations and workshops, and over $1 million in grants and consultancies. She is a highly experienced educational leader, having had senior roles at two universities. Since retiring from the role of DVC Academic at Charles Sturt University in 2018, she has served as a non-executive director on a number of Boards, as a member of Academic Boards, Audit & Risk and advisory committees, and as an external reviewer of educational programs and organisational units, both in Australia and overseas. She is currently a member of the Assembly of Good Samaritan Education.
Jenny Allen
Jenny Allen was the Executive Director of Schools in the Diocese of Bathurst between 2012 and 2020. Before this, Jenny was the foundation Principal of Corpus Christi Catholic High School, Oak Flats, in the Wollongong diocese, following her principalship at Mercy Catholic College in Chatswood and Special Projects Officer in the CSO, Broken Bay. Jenny has over 40 years of experience in Catholic education in various educational settings across seven dioceses in NSW. Most recently, Jenny was the Acting Director of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Lismore for 2022. She has also served as the Chair of the Catholic Education Council in the Diocese of Wagga Wagga and a member of the Education Committee of the St Ignatius College Riverview Board. Jenny is the current Deputy Chair of the St Stanislaus College Bathurst Board.
Anna Dickinson
Anna has served Catholic education for 42 years. For the past ten years Anna has been Principal and CEO of Loreto Kirribilli Limited and prior to that, Principal of two other Catholic Schools, Bethlehem College Ashfield and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College Kensington. Anna’s previous roles include Regional Consultant for the Archdiocese of Sydney and Director of System Performance for the Diocese of Parramatta. Anna has previously also served on a range of boards and committees including the Sydney Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Board, the Dunlea Centre Engadine Board, the Independent Girls' School Association (IGSA) Board, Chair of the Nirimba Education Precinct and AISNSW Independent Schools Teacher Accreditation Authority. Some of Anna’s committee work included membership of the Independent Schools (AISNSW) Advisory Council, and NESA Quality Teaching Committee.
Michael Lee
A qualified engineer, Michael is currently on the board of Tourism Australia. During a 17-year career as a Federal MP, he was Minister for Communications, Arts and Tourism, and Shadow Minister for Education. Michael has previously chaired the NSW TAFE Commission board and Central Coast Campuses board of the University of Newcastle. He also served as Chair of Calvary Ministries and Communications Alliance and as a Director of Sydney Airport and the National Film & Sound Archive. Michael is a member of the Audit & Risk Committee and the Nomination, Succession & Remuneration Committee.
Gráinne McCormack
Gráinne is a Senior Executive with more than ten years of C-Suite level Operations experience in both the public and private sectors. Currently the CEO of the engineering firm Steensen Varming, Gráinne is dual-qualified as an engineer and a lawyer and has worked in construction and development in engineering and legal capacities for over 30 years. She was a non-executive director on the board of St Augustine's College, Sydney, and Chair of the Building Committee, undertaking significant building works together with oversight of the Masterplan for the College.
Craig McGrory
Craig McGrory brings a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to Catholic education to his role as a Board Director at Catholic Schools NSW. Craig is the Chief Transformation Officer at ACCIONA, a global leader in infrastructure and renewable energy solutions, and is also a Director of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council. Craig was previously accountable for leading the Digital Transformation across the CIMIC Group whilst also the Managing Director APAC for Nexplore, a global technology disruptor for the Construction Industry. Having had operational and functional accountability through 25 years of experience across Asia Pacific’s construction and industrial sectors, he has held various international executive roles, including Digital Transformation, Innovation, HR and IT. Craig holds an engineering degree, an MBA, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a parishioner at Holy Family Parish.
John Perrottet
John Perrottet is an independent global investment and economic development expert with over 40 years of experience specialising in industry development, investment mobilization, project financing, financial management and corporate governance, with a special emphasis on tourism and the visitor economy. He has a solid commercial orientation and a record of successful change management at national, industry and enterprise levels. He has held several senior positions with the World Bank Group, including the Global Lead for Tourism based in Washington, DC and continues to consult with the World Bank Group, providing investment, strategy and economic development advice to governments and private clients.
He holds a Bachelor of Town Planning degree and a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management and has worked in sixty countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and Europe. John is a Director of Reledev Australia Ltd and serves on the Advisory Board of The World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage. He was formerly a Director with KPMG and has held board-level positions in the travel, education, relief and community development sectors. He was the founding Chairman and Director of Foodbank NSW.
Julian Widdup
Julian is a company director with board experience in the investment, finance, infrastructure, government, agriculture, healthcare, education and defence industries. He brings strong board and executive skills in strategy, risk management, corporate finance, governance, audit and compliance. Julian holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Business Administration from the Australian National University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Julian is currently a director of Rural Funds Management Ltd and the Australian Catholic University.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Dallas McInerney
Dallas McInerney is the Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Schools NSW Ltd, the System Authority for the State’s 550 Catholic Schools. He is a cabinet appointee to the Board of the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). Dallas previously held senior roles in financial services (Insurance Australia Group and National Australia Bank) and the corporate regulator, ASIC. In 2007, Dallas was invited to join DFAT’s Young Leaders Programme with delegations through Asia; prior to this, he interned for the H.E Kofi Annan Secretary–General of the United Nations. Dallas holds Masters degrees from Sydney and Oxford Universities.