Our Staff

Rev. Elenie Poulos, National Director

Reverend Elenie Poulos is a Minister of the Uniting Church in Australia. She was appointed National Director in 2002. She attends Pitt Street Uniting Church in Sydney.

Elenie represented the Uniting Church at the World Council of Churches General Assembly in Port Alegre, Brazil in 2006 and is a member of the World Council of Churches' Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA). Elenie is also actively engaged with the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) as Chair of the Commission responsible for Act for Peace, the NCCA's international aid and development agency, and a member of the Social Justice Network.

Prior to her current position with the National Assembly, Elenie was School Chaplain at MLC School Burwood, NSW, for six years. She has a professional background in book publishing and an academic background in linguistics (BA Hons), language in education (MA), and theology (BTh). She is currently a doctoral student at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney.

Siobhan Marren, Senior Policy Officer

Prior to joining UnitingJustice, Siobhan taught philosophy and social justice at the University of Western Sydney where she was undertaking her PhD in political philosophy, investigating the nexus between theology and politics in communal apologies. She has worked as a consultant for the not-for-profit organisation, JobQuest, on projects designed to re-engage young people in their education; the NSW Department of Education & Training, on pathways for students from a refugee background; as well as researching and writing for ChilOut and other policy-based organisations. She is on the Board of Directors for ReThink Australia, and has spent considerable time working and teaching in East and Northern Arica with young refugee students.

Sarah Harrison, Administration & Research Officer

Sarah is a recent graduate with a BA in International Relations from the Australian National University and a MA in Development Studies from the University of Sydney. She has volunteered for a variety of NGOs, including the Australian Red Cross, working on youth engagement strategies; Canberra Migrant Resource Centre, tutoring migrant high school students; and Peru’s Challenge, a small grassroots NGO in Cusco. Most recently, Sarah was working on gender equity for an international NGO in The Hague. Sarah is passionate about human rights and social justice issues, both domestically and internationally, and is excited to be back in Australia working on these with UnitingJustice.

Our Reference Committee

The UnitingJustice Australia Reference Committee is appointed every three years by the Assembly Standing Committee (ASC) at its first meeting after the Triennial Assembly. Nominations are submitted to the ASC by the National Director after a public call for expressions of interest which are assessed by a team which usually includes the Chair of Reference Committee for the coming triennium, the National Director, the Uniting Faith and Discipleship Team Leader, and a representative of the national justice staff network.

The Chairperson of the Reference Committee is elected by the Triennial Assembly on submission of a nomination from UnitingJustice Australia.

The Reference Committee consists of a Chairperson, the National Director, a representative of the Synod justice staff, and five members and can co-opt up to two additional members. The Assembly Associate General Secretary is an ex officio member.

Role

Duties of Reference Commitee members include:

• providing support and advice to the National Director and staff on such matters as strategic planning, priority setting, and the development of policy positions;
• receiving and considering matters referred by the National Director;
• together with the National Director, assisting and advising the President and General Secretary on urgent political and social issues; and
• communicating and promoting the work of UnitingJustice Australia in their local contexts and spheres of influence.

Janeen Barker

Janeen is a member of Pilgrim Uniting Church, Adelaide, having previously been actively involved in parishes and congregations in WA, SA, NSW and the NT. Janeen is a member of Pilgrim Church's Social Justice Committee and in recent times has been most active in giving practical support to refugees and asylum seekers in Darwin and Adelaide.

Janeen has a background in the theoretical and practical implications of a commitment to social justice and equity. This began with training in Community Development methods in the United States and work in an African-American community in Chicago. Later she was part of a team working with an Indigenous community in Western Australia and then was involved in the training of community workers in Western India. Janeen's professional career has been primarily with younger children. Currently she works as a consultant and advisor with educators concerned with the inclusion of children with additional needs.

Dr Colin Cargill

Colin is a member of Morialta Uniting Church in South Australia, where he is Leader of the Social Justice Ministry Team. He was previously a member of the SA Synod Bioethics Committee, and served as a Uniting Church representative on the South Australian Council of Churches Justice, Peace and Creation Commission for over 10 years.

Colin has had a long and successful career as a research veterinarian, specialing in animal production, health and welfare. From 1987 to 1990 he served as a Uniting Church volunteer establishing a paraveterinary training program at an Agricultural College in Tonga. He currently spends much of his time in Indonesia and Vietnam, where he is associated with a number of aid projects aimed at reducing rural poverty. He enjoys living and working with people of other cultures.

Helen Hodgson

Helen is a member of Ermington Uniting Church. She has been a member of the UnitingJustice Reference Committee since 2006, and has been a member of the Church and Society committee in UnitingCare NSW, and a member of the Social Justice Commission in the Western Australia Synod.

Helen is a Senior Lecturer in Taxation at Atax at the University of New South Wales, but between 1997 and 2001 she was a Member of the Legislative Council in Western Australia. During her time in parliament she was active in seeking prison reform and removing discrimination based on sexuality. She brings together her concerns for social justice and her training and research into the taxation system, particularly in seeking a fairer tax system.

Professor John Langmore

John is a member of the Anglican congregation of Christ Church in St Kilda but is a regular attendee of Mark the Evangelist Uniting Church, North Melbourne with his wife Wendy. John is a Professorial Fellow in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Between 1984 and 1996 he was MP for the ACT seat of Fraser in the Australian House of Representatives, where he chaired several House and Labor Party committees on economic policy, the environment and the Australian Capital Territory.

John was Director of the United Nations Division for Social Policy and Development from 1997 to 2001, was then Representative of the International Labor Organization to the United Nations for two years and was a member of the World Council of Churches Commission on International Affairs from 1998 to 2005. He was national president of the United Nations Association of Australia from 2005 to 2009.  He is the author of several books - most recently To Firmer Ground: Restoring Hope in Australia - and many articles and chapters on Australian public policy.

Professor Graham Maddox

Graham is a member of Wesley Uniting Church in Armidale, New South Wales and a lay preacher of the Uniting Church. He is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of New England.

Graham has authored and edited numerous books on aspects of Australian politics and democracy and the influence of religion in politics. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, a member of the Center for Theological Inquiry at Princeton University in the United States and a life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge.

Andrew Johnson

Andrew has been involved in the Church for many years and is currently working as a Community Justice Minister at West End Uniting Church and as a Project and Research Consultant with UnitingCare’s Centre for Social Justice. He is also a member of the Assembly Standing Committee.

Andrew is an admitted legal practitioner and has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Queensland. He has a particular interest in international and human rights law and the environment. He has previously worked with the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service as a legal student and with the Queensland Synod in justice and international mission.

Michelle Erofeyeff

Michelle is an active member and Church Councillor at West Epping Uniting Church. Having served with UnitingWorld in Samoa, she is a member of the UnitingWorld Reference Committee and the UnitingWorld Relief and Development National Committee.

Michelle is also an active community advocate on a local level, particularly in relation to child and family services. She is passionate about social justice and keen to work with others to create a more equitable and just world.

Rosemary Hudson Miller (Synod justice staff network representative)

Rosemary is Associate General Secretary (Justice and Mission) of the Uniting Church's Western Australia Synod. On our Reference Committee, she represents the justice staff people from the Synods of the Uniting Church.

Rosemary's long-standing involvement and commitment to social justice reflects her deep sense of calling to a prophetic role in both the Church and in the wider community. She continues to engage the Church, community and governments to bring about change for a more just society.