St Aidan's Foundation

Our St Aidan's Foundation plays a vital role in nurturing a culture of philanthropy within the St Aidan’s community, helping to raise funds that enable the school to fulfil its mission—now and for generations to come.

Dr Anne Kruger

Chair
PhD (HKU), MA Research (QUT)

Anne is the convenor for the Bachelor of Journalism program and convenor for the Bachelor of Arts Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Queensland. In 2024 Anne established an AI Community of Practice bridging academia with Industry. Anne's industry experience includes successful anchoring and reporting roles at CNN International, Bloomberg TV, WIN TV and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Anne is on a number of boards including governance for Australia's first misinformation and disinformation regulatory code of practice. She was contracted as co-chief investigator during the code's development, formed under policy directives from Treasury's Digital Platforms Inquiry in 2019.

Anne was an anchor at CNN Hong Kong during SARS, and later a finance reporter at Bloomberg. She previously held senior editorial and presenter positions with ABC Australia including Landline presenter for four years, 7pm news presenter, fill-in ABC News Breakfast host and Chief of Staff roles. Anne has a PhD in social media verification education.

Fiona Richardson

Deputy Chair
nee Gray-Buchanan Alumnae 1991
BA (UQ), Graduate Diploma, Applied Finance (FINSIA)

Fiona has around 30 years' experience in the finance industry including roles at SBC Warburg in London and the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). More recently, she spent over 20 years at Morgans Financial Ltd where she held a variety of roles within Research including 10 years as Head of Research and 3 years as an Executive Director on the Morgans Financial Board. During her time at Morgans, Fiona also worked as a Senior Analyst covering the listed property sector. Fiona is a current parent and alumni of St Aidan’s (1991). She is also a Director on the St Aidan’s Foundation Board. Fiona graduated from the University of Queensland with a BA majoring in Journalism and English Literature and has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance & Investment.

Hamish Bonifant

BEcon (UQ), Graduate Diploma Applied Science (FINSIA), Professional Diploma Stockbroking (Deakin University), Master Practitioner member stockbrokers and Investment Advisors Association MSIAA

Hamish brings over three decades of financial expertise to the St Aidan's School Foundation Board. A well-established Brisbane stockbroker, he began his career with Lance Jones & Co before transitioning to an advisory role in the early 1990s. Since 1996, Hamish has been a Senior Adviser with Ord Minnett, where he specializes in managing diversified portfolios across Australian and international equities, derivatives, fixed interest, property, and alternative assets.

As part of a highly regarded advisory team for over 21 years, Hamish provides tailored wealth management services to private investors, families, superannuation trustees, and not-for-profit organizations. His deep understanding of fiduciary responsibility and commitment to client service aligns perfectly with foundation governance.

Hamish has a personal connection to St Aidan's through his three daughters—Jami, Sarah, and Taylor—who are all proud alumni.

Lucy Hirst

BHTM, Dip Project Management

With over 15 years’ experience in stakeholder engagement, fundraising, and event management, Lucy is a purpose-driven leader focused on delivering strategic initiatives that benefit communities. As Manager - Fundraising at Wesley Mission Queensland, she leads a team overseeing individual giving, corporate partnerships, community engagement, and major campaigns supporting services like Hummingbird House and Hopewell Hospice. Previously, Lucy launched the Queensland Cricket Foundation, leading statewide fundraising and inclusive sport initiatives. At the RBWH Foundation, she grew corporate engagement and fundraising revenue through strategic partnership development. With expertise in campaign analytics, financial oversight, and team leadership, Lucy is known for her emotional intelligence, collaborative approach, and commitment to social good. Lucy excels in building long-term partnerships, stewarding donors, and inspiring high-performing teams to achieve measurable impact.

Toni Riordan

Principal, B.Ed, M.Ed (Leadership), GAICD, FACEL Qld, MACE, FIML

Passionate about single gender schooling, Toni Riordan is an accomplished educator, with experience in independent, government, Anglican and Catholic schools and in Co-education, All Boys’ and Girls’ Schools for over 30 years. Toni commenced her role as Principal of St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School in 2018 after being Deputy Principal for three years.

Toni advocates strongly for education and for equal access for women and girls, particularly in STEM. She holds a Masters in Educational Leadership and her scholarly writing has been published in a variety of educational journals. She has presented at educational conferences both in Australia and internationally. It is the networks of like-minded colleagues, genuine sponsors and inspirational mentors who have nurtured Toni’s passion for excellence in education and drives her focus on developing strong leaders of the future.

Fiona Himstedt

nee Braddock Alumnae 1995
BBusMgmt HR

Fiona is a St Aidan’s Old Girl and a current parent, bringing both a personal and professional connection to the school community. She is the HR Manager at Buderim Foods Pty Ltd, a Director of a Family Investment Office, and holds a Bachelor of Business Management (Human Resources). With over 25 years of experience across the energy, food manufacturing, and tourism industries, Fiona has developed deep expertise in remuneration and benefits, talent acquisition, employee engagement, and retention.

Fiona Johnstone

BSc LLB (Hons)

Fiona brings a distinguished career in law, an impressive record of achievement in sport, and a deep commitment to community service. Admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2001, Fiona honed her expertise at top-tier firms including Mallesons and Norton Rose Fulbright, working across Sydney, London, and the Middle East before transitioning in-house at Telstra Corporation Limited, where she has spent over 17 years advising on complex commercial and legal matters. In her current role, she leads the legal and commercial functions of Telstra's critical communications division. Beyond her legal career, Fiona is a former Australian representative in athletics, achieving a world junior ranking of 9th in the 100m (wind assisted) U20 category in 1989 and competing at two World Junior Championships. She is a passionate sailor, previously serving as Secretary of ILCA Queensland and as a non-executive director on the Board of Yachting Queensland. She is the proud mother of a recent St Aidan's proxime accessit graduate.

Dr Michael Clem

FRACGP, MSc (TCD), MBBS (UQ), BPharm, BArts (Journ)

Dr Michael Clem holds degrees in Journalism, Pharmacy and Medicine from the University of Queensland and was awarded a Masters in Science from Trinity College Dublin upon completion of his research studies in Anatomy. A product of his overseas work was the paper “Intraosseous infusions via the calcaneus” which expanded on treatment of paediatric meningitis and was published in the International Medical Journal Resuscitation.

His careers span print journalism, cardio thoracic surgery, primary care and surgical assisting in vascular and vitreo-retinal ophthalmology surgery. He is the Founder and Director of medical start up CFM Pty Ltd and Practice Principal at Seven Hills Family Doctors. With broad experience across medicine, business and leadership, Dr Clem brings strategic insight and community perspective to philanthropic initiatives. He is also the father of three current students at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School.

Stephanie Spahr

Nee Lim Alumnae 1999, B.Bus (Accountancy)/ LLB, CA

Stephanie is a senior finance executive with more than 20 years’ international experience across the resources, engineering and infrastructure sectors. As Vice President, Finance for Ausenco’s APAC Africa region, she works closely with executive teams to provide financial leadership and strategic insight that supports sustainable growth. Stephanie holds degrees in Business (Accountancy) and Law, is a Chartered Accountant, and is an alumna of the UQ Oxford Executive Leadership Program. She is actively involved in her community through volunteer leadership roles in early education and junior sport and is committed to responsible governance, creating positive social impact and strengthening communities through values-led leadership.

Ryan Stevens

Secretary, CA BCom (Hons), BCompt

Ryan brings over 20 years’ experience in audit, risk, tax and CFO advisory for ASX listed entities in Financial Services, Technology, Agriculture and Infrastructure. Ryan spent 5 years managing business services, systems, risk and compliance for Investment Management companies and specialises in finance transformation, building and coaching teams and strategic finance.

Julia McKenna

nee Wilkins Alumnae 1990
B.Bus (Accounting), B.Bus (Banking & Finance), MAICD

Julia McKenna is an accomplished advancement and financial professional with over 30 years of experience across education, nonprofit, and financial sectors. As Director of Development and Community at St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School, she leads a team focused on strategic engagement and philanthropy, while serving on the Senior Leadership Team.

Julia holds governance roles as Chairperson and Director of the St Aidan's Creeth Endowment Fund and Committee Member for Educate Plus Queensland, supporting advancement professionals in education.

Her previous roles include Founding Director and CFO at Friends With Dignity Ltd, an NFP assisting victim-survivors of Domestic Violence, and Administrative Manager at Redback Consulting. Earlier, she held senior credit risk positions at ABN AMRO Bank N.V. in Sydney and Singapore, covering financial markets across Asia-Pacific.

Julia brings expertise in philanthropy, community engagement, and credit risk with a reputation for strategic leadership and impactful relationship-building.