Board of Directors

Richard Stewart OAM has contributed in various capacities to the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW for more than twenty years, including many years in board and committee roles. In his regular work, he is a partner at PwC. He specialises in valuation, corporate finance, strategic value advice, mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings and joint ventures arrangements. His experience with PwC has spanned more than 37 years of work in Australia, Asia, the UK and USA. He has worked for many of PwC’s most prestigious global clients across many industries during his career.

Richard writes and speaks regularly including publishing two non-fiction books.

He holds a Bachelor of Economics, Masters of Business Administration, and is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants ANZ, the CPA in Australia, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia. Richard is also an Adjunct Professor in Business Valuation at the University of Technology Sydney and serves on the International Business Valuation Standards Board and the Business Valuation Committee of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

He received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2015 for his work in the social welfare sector and the accounting profession.

John Adams is a member of St Patrick’s Conference Glen Innes and serves as Social Justice Representative on the Armidale Diocesan Council and Chair of the Finance Committee of St Patrick’s Parish, Glen Innes. John is a Justice of the Peace (NSW), formerly served as Deputy Chair of the Glen Innes Health Service Board and recently retired from a long career as a Paramedic with NSW Ambulance. John and wife Elaine have celebrated over 45 years of marriage and are proud parents and grandparents.

Birgit Burge-Teply is the Director of Quality & Clinical Governance at Scalabrini Villages, with over 30 years of experience in aged care and healthcare management.

Birgit has led major initiatives, including ensuring compliance with the New Aged Care Standards and successfully preparing six villages for accreditation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Birgit held senior roles at Anglicare and Allity Aged Care, where she specialised in clinical governance, quality management, and regulatory compliance. Birgit is a Registered Nurse and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Sydney University, with a major in Social Theory and Government Studies.

Michelle was appointed as Broken Bay Central Council President in June 2021. Michelle has previously served as the Vice President for Youth and remains an active member of the Asquith Conference since joining the Society in 2015. She brings to her role a passion in youth ministry, having mentored the Asquith Youth Conference for the past six years and served as a member of the Ku-ring-gai Chase Catholic Parish Pastoral Council and as their Youth Coordinator.

Michelle is currently the Vocations Officer for the Diocese of Broken Bay and the Central Council President for Broken Bay at St Vincent de Paul.

Peter Doyle is an active member of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, being a member of the St Joan of Arc Conference, Haberfield since 2017. Peter became President of the Conference in December 2021. He is a member of the Parish Pastoral Council for the St Joan of Arc Parish. Peter also volunteers at the Vinnies Community Support Centre in Burwood, answering telephone requests for assistance from the Society.

Peter trained as a mining engineer in the early 1980s and pursued a 30-year career in the NSW mining industry. He now has his own consulting practice, with his expertise being predominantly in the field of environmental planning and heritage approvals.

Peter is also an adult officer in the Australian Army Cadets, volunteering his time to support the Saint Aloysius’ College Army Cadet Unit.

Peter is married to Margaret Cassidy, and they have two adult sons, Patrick and Brendan.

Peter holds the following qualifications: Bachelor of Science (Syd), Bachelor of Engineering (Syd), Master of Engineering Science (UNSW), and Master of Business Administration (Executive) (AGSM). He is a Justice of the Peace (NSW). Peter is a Member of Engineers Australia.

Peter was elected as NSW State Council President of the Society in August 2024. Peter has been an active member of St John the Evangelist Parish Conference Dapto since being posted to Wollongong as a primary teacher in the 1970s, where he raised his family, and later served as a school principal.

Over many years of service to the St Vincent de Paul Society, Peter has served as NSW Vice-President - Membership, President’s Vice-President, Wollongong Central Council President, and Central Illawarra Regional Council President.

Peter holds a Bachelor Degree in Arts / History, Master of Studies, and a Master of Education (Hons).

John has enjoyed a life-long journey with the Society, from Queensland to Canberra and now the Maitland Newcastle Central Council, where he served as President. John became Interim Chair of the company Board in December 2019. Since 2010, he has also been an active member of the Cessnock Conference. John has held senior positions in both corporate and government organisations, in Australia and overseas. Prior to retirement, he was Chief Operating Officer for Australia Japan Cable, an international consortium of telecom companies.

Liz has 25 years’ experience delivering outcomes at times of change and crisis across large public service and ASX listed organisations spanning transport, investment banking, FMCG, energy and mining, most with international footprints.

Liz has held corporate affairs and sustainability leadership roles within ASX listed organisations, including AGL Energy, Coca-Cola Amatil, South32 and BHP. Prior to specialising in corporate affairs, Liz was Deputy Director General, NSW Ministry of Transport (now Transport NSW), worked in Corporate Advisory at Macquarie Bank with a particular focus on infrastructure development projects, and as a senior ministerial advisor in the NSW Carr Government across infrastructure and transport portfolios.

Liz joined the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW Board in April 2022.

Liz has a Bachelor of Economics (Hons), Sydney University, a Graduate Certificate in Sustainability, Cambridge University, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Anne has been a member of the Society for nearly 30 years and is currently a member of the Winston Hills Conference, having previously served as President of Parramatta Central Council. She was previously The Hills Regional President, Vice President Parramatta Central Council – Member Development and Support, a member of the State Membership Advisory Committee, and President of Harris Park and Winston Hills Conferences. Anne has a background in employment and training and held senior management roles in government regulation and customer service. Anne also holds Director Positions at St Vincent de Paul Society National Redress Scheme Limited and St Vincent de Paul Housing.

Dr Evelyne Tadros is CEO of the Mental Health Coordinating Council, a peak body for community-managed organisations across NSW. Evelyne is also a Board Director with St John Ambulance NSW and Mental Health Australia.

Evelyne joined the Society's then titled Governance, Risk and Nominations Committee as an Independent Member in June 2022 and then joined as a Board Director with St Vinnies in November 2023. Evelyne now chairs the Society's Board Governance and Nominations Committee and sits on the Remuneration Committee and Service Quality and Safety Committee.

Evelyne fondly recalls her first interactions with the Society, having volunteered with her local church on the St Vincent de Paul Youth Food Van in 1995.