2023 Student Leaders' Conference

Mark Ryan
Executive Officer, Christian Schools Australia

Mark has a background in both education and theology and has a passion for exploring the intersection of faith and culture. After beginning his career as a PE teacher, he went on to study theology and ministry at Morling College in Sydney and has since completed a Master of Educational Leadership. Mark lives in Adelaide with his wife and three children, loves all things sport, and cycling through the beautiful Adelaide hills. Mark has worked as a pastor, teacher, and Assistant Principal, and is currently an Executive Officer for Christian Schools Australia. At a national level, he is invested in the formation of students and staff in CSA schools. Mark has been involved with the work of Compass for the last 15 years, and he loves to see student leaders gather each year, explore the Biblical story, and be inspired to lead according to the pattern of Jesus – living as God’s image for the sake of others and for the whole of God’s creation.

Graham Stanton
Lecturer, Ridley College

Graham is a Lecturer in Practical Theology at Ridley College, Melbourne, and the Director of the Ridley Centre for Children’s and Youth Ministry. His latest research is exploring how young Australians experience and understand God and the stories of how those beliefs have been formed. Graham lives in Melbourne with his wife and three young adult children. Graham enjoys long distance running in order to compensate for his hobby of enjoying cooking good food or eating good food that other people have cooked. Apart from Jesus, his personal heroes include Bruce Springsteen and Leslie Knope.

Sophie Gerrie
Lecturer, Tabor College

Sophie is the Head of Undergraduate Studies for the Faculty of Ministry Practice at Tabor, lecturing in Biblical Studies and Practical Theology. Sophie has previously completed a Bachelor of Social Science with a focus on youth work, as well as a Master of Divinity. She has been working in the church and Christian NGO space for the last ten years in the areas of children, youth, young adults, justice, and pastoral ministry. Sophie loves learning new ideas and skills, reading non-fiction, listening to podcasts, collecting indoor plants, and drinking coffee. Sophie is passionate about the interplay between what we learn about who Jesus is through the Word and the way it shapes how we live. Her particular interests are in the biblical ideas of kingdom, justice and shalom. She is currently studying both Greek and Hebrew, with the view of starting doctoral studies very soon!

Jeff Nagle
Director, Heritage Leaders

Jeff heads up leader-formation consultancy, Heritage Leaders and is also campus pastor at Coast Community Church on the NSW Central Coast. Prior to this, Jeff served as CEO of the Compass Foundation from 2017- 2019 and was co-founder of ethical supply-chain analytics firm, FairSupply. Jeff has worked for nearly two decades in the international development sector, serving as COO with Compassion Australia, CEO of International Justice Mission Australia and currently serves as Chairman of MAF Australia. Jeff’s area of interest is the formation of leaders and teams in difficult contexts. Jeff has qualifications in visual arts and media, education and business, and holds a Masters Degree in Global Leadership through Fuller Seminary. Jeff lives on the NSW Central Coast with wife, Shelley, and two teenage children. He still thinks he’s a surfer.

Matt Stackhouse
Chaplain

Originating from Canada, Matt moved to Australia and then the US and then back and forth a bunch of times growing up, which explains his weird accent. He loves teenagers most of the time, which has helped him teach year 7-12 for 20 years. He's married to Natalie, who has been lovingly patient with him for nearly 25 years (hard to believe he’s that old!), they have three spirited girls who keep them on their toes. He’s worked as a Chaplain, helping young people explore and deepen their faith and had some pretty incredible experiences leading teams of students to Manila, Darwin and Nepal as a Missions Coordinator. Matt has degrees in Business and Theology and a Master’s in Education…but he doesn’t have a PHD like Graham and he probably won’t ever get one. Currently, he directs an entrepreneurship program that trains, equips and develops student entrepreneurs. He also sometimes gets to do some coaching and consulting with Jeff at Heritage Leaders, he absolutely loves that. As much as possible, he tries to get in the ocean, have meaningful conversations with friends, be with his family and help people gain a deeper understanding of their identity, purpose and vocation.