The Lasallian Foundation supports projects throughout the Asia Pacific region that provide poor and disadvantaged children an opportunity to break the poverty cycle.

The Foundation was established in 2004 by the De La Salle Brothers of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, to help meet the growing needs of poor children throughout the region.

Over many years, the De La Salle Brothers and committed lay partners have funded and established innovative projects across Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan. The Lasallian Foundation will continue to expand this work into the 21st century.

The Lasallian Foundation is an approved overseas aid foundation in Australia and has Deductible Gift Registrant status.

Our Board

Mr Tony Smith
Chair

Tony Smith has spent 40 years in education, including 23 years in senior positions at Australian Catholic Universitiy and the International campuses of Central Queensland University. This included periods of governance on incorporated entities.The last position prior to retirement from full time employment was the role of Manager of the Quality of Educational Services at CQU’s international campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Fiji.

Tony has also been actively involved in welfare, having chaired the Boards of Vaugirard, a Youth Service in Mordiallac, and Kids Help Line Australia Ltd over a period of 16 years, the latter role involving significant contracts with State and Federal Governments, as well as corporate sponsors. He is currently involved in educational and management consultancy, in addition to his role as Chair of the Lasallian Foundation.

Ms Sally Nicholes
Deputy Chair

Formerly a Partner at Middletons, Sally established Nicholes Family Lawyers in 2005 where a significant degree of pro bono work is undertaken for not-for-profit organisations that support and promote the rights of children.

Sally’s dedication to family law has been awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation by the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and the Australian Federal Police for work on “Operation Glucose” in assisting the successful location of an abducted child. Sally has written numerous articles and presented to special interest groups both in Australia and internationally on topics including international child abduction and special medical procedures.

Sally is a member of the Family Law Section of the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV), the LIV Children and Youth Issues Committee, the LIV International Steering Committee, and the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia. She is also a Board member of the World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights.

Mr Alistair Nicholson QC
Director

Alastair Nicholson was a barrister from 1963 to 1982, becoming a QC in 1979. He was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1982, and Chair of the Victorian Adult Parole Board from 1985 to 1988. He was Judge Advocate General of the Australian Defence Force from 1987 to 1992. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia and Justice of the Federal Court of Australia in 1988 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1993. He retired from the Bench in 2004 and is currently an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Department of Criminology at the University of Melbourne.

Mr Peter Mitchell
Director

Peter Mitchell has enjoyed a distinguished career in banking and finance, including 44 years with Commonwealth Bank in Property Department, Business Development, Business Migration and Private Banking. For the last 5 years he has served as a Business Development Executive for Perpetual Trustees. A Melbourne Cricket Club Committee Member for the last 21 years, he has also served as the Melbourne Cricket Club Foundation Director for the last 15 years. A member of the American International Group Advisory Board for 10 years, he also served as a Board Member of Kids Help Line Australia for 7 years.

Br Kevin Moloney fsc
Director

Br Kevin Moloney has an extensive background in education, serving in many appointments as Principal of Lasallian schools across Australia. In 1992 he was elected as Provincial of the De La Salle Brothers District of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea for a four year term. Subsequently he served as a member of the Kids Help Line Australia Board. His many senior roles in the District, and as a Kids Help Line Board member have given him experience in welfare issues, as well as first hand knowledge of development work, particularly in Papua New Guinea.

Mr John W. Mann
Director

John is a commercial lawyer who has been in private practice for more than 18 years. He holds a Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in corporations and securities law from the University of Melbourne.

John has been a Partner at Middletons for more than 13 years. He heads up Middletons' Mergers and Acquisitions practice and is a member of Middletons' Board. John was a founding member of his firm's pro bono committee and is an active member of Middletons' pro bono programme.

Mr Tony Southall
Director

Tony was appointed Queens Counsel in 1997 after 21 years at the Victorian Bar. For the last 10 years, Tony has been an Advocate Member of the Legal Profession Tribunal. Tony has had experience of and is a strong advocate of the Lasallian values of working as a close knit community to assist marginalised children, wherever they are.

Mr Mark Smith
Director

Mark is a Fellow of CPA Australia and a Senior Associate of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. He brings to the Board a strong background in banking and finance and corporate Chief Financial Officer experience. He is currently Chief Financial Officer of Sigma Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Dr Manjula Waniganayake
Director

Manjula is an Associate Professor, Leadership in Early Childhood, Institute of Early Childhood at Macquarie University in Sydney. She is a leading education academic and researcher who is passionate about improving the situation of marginalised children through education and related health initiatives.

Ms Debra Filippin
Director

Debra is the Business Development Director at Middletons. She has extensive experience in strategic business development and marketing roles in Australia and in Japan. Debra has been instrumental in the implementation and management of client relationship management (CRM) programs at her firms. She also successfully implemented a community investment program at Linklaters in Tokyo and played a large role in developing and implementing Middletons' Corporate Social Responsibility Program.  

Debra has a Masters of Laws (International Relations) from Hitotsubashi University, Graduate School of Law, Tokyo, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Japanese from the University of Melbourne.

The Story of Our Star

Our logo is based on the Lasallian star, a central part of our long tradition. For the Foundation, it also calls to mind The Starfish Story, by Loren Eiseley, and the difference that we can make in the life of each child we support:

The Starfish Story
Adapted from The Star Thrower, by Loren Eiseley

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.

He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning. What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don’t throw them in they’ll die."

"But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."