Our Leadership Team

Dr Kate Hadwen
Principal
Dr Kate Hadwen PhD, MEd, Grad Cert Ed(School Leadership), BTeach
Principal
I was blessed to grow up on a property between Goondiwindi and St George in rural Queensland where I learned so many important life skills that have remained with me to this day and assist me in my role of Principal of Pymble Ladies’ College.
My first job after leaving university was teaching a combined kindergarten to year three class, and since then I have held various teaching and leadership roles from kindergarten to year 12, including boarding, at schools in most states across the nation.
I have also worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the Child Health Promotion Research Centre and Senior Lecturer at Edith Cowan University where I remain an Adjunct Research Fellow.
I truly love being part of the development of a young person’s life and supporting their journey, knowing that, in some small way, you have helped mould who they will become.
At Pymble, we encourage and teach our girls ways to look after their health and wellbeing. If you want students – and staff – to show up as their best selves each day, you need to practise that same self-care.
For me, that involves spending quality time with my beautiful family, which includes my parents and two sisters, my husband Matt, our five children, their partners and our two dogs. I also try to run five kilometres each day, partake in Pilates and exercises classes and consume a mental diet of inspiring books and podcasts.
Our College values of care, courage, integrity, respect and responsibility are embedded in our community, and I see firsthand our staff, students and families demonstrating them in action each and every day, even when no one is looking.
Pymble creates a safe, challenging and empowering environment for girls to have a go, try new subjects and sports, assume leadership roles and find their voices. It is incredibly rewarding to watch our students discover strengths and skills they didn’t know they possessed and develop a growing awareness that they can do anything they put their minds to.
We want our students to be courageous deep thinkers and adept users of technology, and we want them to celebrate diversity in all its forms and to be caring and respectful. We believe these attributes will equip Pymble girls to change the world in a positive and meaningful way.
I am so proud to be the leader of such a special team. Our staff members are hard-working, talented, can share a good laugh and are deeply caring. I love the way they care for our students and each other, and I learn from them every day.
For someone who is thinking of joining Pymble, what are you waiting for? Come exactly as you are and meet our family. Each member brings a different skillset and story, and we can’t wait to hear yours.


Lamia Rockwell
Deputy Principal
Lamia Rockwell BEd, MLdrshp, MACE, MACEL
Deputy Principal
After spending my younger years in Lebanon and France, my family and I migrated to Sydney in 1988. My mother and maternal aunts are all teachers, and growing up I was, and still am, inspired by the great work that they do with and for young people.
Outside of Pymble, you will either find me walking, doing Pilates or spending time with my beautiful nieces and nephew, however I’m a firm believer in creating a harmony between work and family life and keeping both sides aware and informed about the demands on my time.
As Deputy Principal, I’m truly privileged to work in a role with such a great level of responsibility alongside a team of like-minded, dedicated colleagues who all play their part in delivering the highest quality education and guidance to every one of our 2,000+ students.
It’s so rewarding coming to work each day and having the opportunity to help empower our young women to feel confident to face challenges and solve them with agility. The joy of watching our students celebrate their achievements and watching them grow into caring, compassionate citizens is second to none.
Pymble is a school that gives staff and students alike a space in which they can thrive and grow. The College declaration ‘Watch Us Change the World’ encourages students to be bold, courageous and explore their passion, whatever that may be, and the suite of learning offerings at Pymble both in and out of the classroom play a big role in facilitating that.
For aspiring teachers and staff members: if you want to grow professionally, be a valued member of a community, work in a caring and exciting environment and help guide a cohort of intelligent, curious young women who are thirsty for a holistic education, Pymble is most certainly the place for you.


Justin Raymond
Deputy Principal – Students (K-12)
Justin Raymond BEd, DipEd(Innovation), MACE, MACEL, MACS, MTGN
Deputy Principal – Students (K-12)
I grew up in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney and have always loved spending time outdoors kayaking and running. Throughout my career I have had the privilege to teach across several subject areas and have professional experience in the IT sector, which probably explains my passion for information technology and data science.
My colleagues would describe me as calm, adventurous and dependable; traits that I find are quite helpful in my role as Deputy Principal helping lead over 2,000 energetic, talented young ladies.
As the leader responsible for all aspects of Pymble’s academic curriculum, I spend time working with teachers across all subject areas to ensure we are delivering an exceptional education experience for our girls.
The greatest joy in my role comes from helping teachers make a difference, lighting their fire in taking on new challenges and providing coaching for professional growth. What I love most about working with my Pymble colleagues is the passion and expertise that we all share. It is a pleasure to work with such an incredible group of educators.
Pymble is a big school and its size and scale provide many opportunities. For our staff, it provides an incredible amount of career opportunities (both roles and professional learning). For students, they have the world at their feet. From academic subjects through to co-curricular, everything they could ever imagine, plus more, is available to them.
The advice I would give to someone thinking of joining Pymble is do not hesitate; jump in and become part of the family. You will be challenged, you will grow and you will be surrounded by like-minded professionals who are committed to excellence.


Kate Brown
Head of Junior School
Kate Brown MA(Hons), DipLaw, GDLP, MTeach
Head of Junior School
I grew up in the south of England and spent a lot of my younger years moving around the country due to my father’s job. I started my career as a family and criminal lawyer and continued in this profession after moving to Sydney in 1999.
It was not until my eldest daughter commenced kindergarten that I decided to retrain to become a teacher, much to the delight of my family who joked that I ‘saw the light’ as I come from a long line of educators. In fact, I’m the fourth generation of Heads of Junior School on my mother’s side of the family!
I chose teaching as I was seeking more joy in my everyday life and wanted a career that would give me more opportunities to be creative and a greater sense of optimism – things I’ve certainly found here at Pymble.
The greatest joy in my role no doubt comes from the girls. I am constantly inspired by their curiosity and their passion for learning, their joy of connecting with one another and their hope and desire to have a positive impact on the world. The future is in very safe hands with these amazing young women.
Pymble is a dynamic community where you can dream big knowing that you will be supported in pursuing those dreams. Girls and staff alike are empowered to celebrate themselves, to explore and develop personal strengths and then use those strengths to change the world for the better.


Andy Lang
Chief Financial Officer
Andy Lang CA, MAICD
Chief Financial Officer
After spending my younger years in a small town named Abergavenny in South Wales, I crossed the border into England to attend university where I studied to become a qualified chartered accountant. I secured a job at Ernst & Young straight out of university and worked there for five years before an opportunity arose within the company to relocate to Sydney in 1983.
The blue, sunny skies and the world-famous beaches were too hard to resist, so I jumped at the opportunity and made the move. It turned out to be a worthwhile decision as I continued working at Ernst & Young for almost 39 years before joining Pymble as Chief Financial Officer in 2018.
My time at Pymble has no doubt featured some of the best years of my professional career. Our girls are absolutely extraordinary and it’s a pleasure to work alongside my fellow colleagues who are 100 per cent committed to the development and success of not only the students but the College itself.
The depth and breadth of opportunities provided to both students and staff at Pymble are second to none, with equally outstanding support systems in place to help us seize these opportunities and achieve more than we could have ever imagined.
I was given this advice on my first day at the College and it’s the same advice I would give to anyone thinking about joining Pymble, whether that be as a student or staff member: grab the opportunity with both hands and the possibilities are endless.


Kate Rimer
Chief People and Culture Officer
Kate Rimer BEd, DipCM, MCom, GAICD
Chief People and Culture Officer
I was born in Melbourne and grew up both there and in Sydney, however I have Swiss/German and Irish/English roots from several generations back. My career began as a secondary teacher in the Catholic system, but after a few years I moved into learning and development in corporate and professional services.
As Chief People and Culture Officer at Pymble, my role is about partnering with the leadership group to help nurture an authentic and caring workplace culture for all our staff. I also assist in finding great new employees and coming up with ways to help staff members flourish throughout their careers and embrace ways to maintain their health and wellbeing.
The staff at Pymble are amazingly passionate, energetic, innovative, humble and caring education professionals. It’s an absolute pleasure to work with such a highly collaborative and fun group of people who are always striving to deliver their best to our girls.
While my role is centred around staff, I am also a feminist and believe strongly in girls’ education, actively supporting gender equity and providing young women every opportunity to flourish and reach their potential as individuals, both in the community and globally.
Pymble is big, beautiful, caring and a truly amazing place to work and learn. Our size and scale mean we have significant career opportunities, resources and variety in the work we do, and is a place where you can help change the world for our women of the future.


Anthony England
Director of Innovative Learning Technologies
Anthony England BEd, DipCS, MBA
Director of Innovative Learning Technologies
I grew up in Sydney and became a teacher at the age of 22 after graduating from university. After nine years of teaching, I founded a company that just so happened to work closely with schools, before selling it after 15 years and once again becoming a teacher.
Outside of the classroom – a place I’ve worked in or been closely involved with since I was four – I enjoy relaxing, listening to podcasts and spending time with my beautiful family. I’m not the greatest at exercising but I have a constant stream of energy, which must burn a few calories, right?
My role as Director of Innovative Learning Technologies involves developing, overseeing and maintaining all the technology at Pymble Ladies’ College. It’s a given that, at times, technology will let us down, but our staff are gracious and appreciative of the work my team does, both in the good times and the bad.
Pymble is an amazing place to learn and grow for students and staff alike. There are no barriers for our young women, no cultural limitations of what is possible and the support you receive for who you are and want to become is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. A great example of this is that we boast the largest all-female robotics team in the world.
At Pymble, there is a place and opportunity for everyone, no matter your interests. Students and staff work together to create and scale excellence, and we have the resources to make dreams come true.


Dr Sarah Loch
Director – Pymble Institute
Dr Sarah Loch PhD, MEdSt, MTeach, BA
Director – Pymble Institute
While my family has Scottish heritage, I was born and have lived in Sydney my entire life. My first career was as a social educator for adults with intellectual disabilities; a role within a very important group where I learned an incredible amount that has stuck with me to this day.
After a few years working in disability services, I decided to become a high school English and History teacher due to my desire to work with young people, and because my own teachers had inspired me so significantly when I was in school.
My role as Director of Research and Development at Pymble is centred around leading professional learning and research, so my main duty is creating amazingly inspiring and thought-provoking opportunities for my experienced, committed and motivated colleagues.
Working in education – especially at Pymble – means you are very close to touching the future. This is an important time in history and girls and young women are shaping it in ways that will lead the world in a new direction.
With a couple of thousand inspirational girls and young women and over 500 devoted staff members, at Pymble, no project or idea is too quirky, too big or too complex to explore. The number of people within the College brings incredible diversity and creates the chance to make a lot of fantastic friends.


Stephen Dunk MA, BA, DipEd
Director of Staff
Stephen Dunk MA, BA, DipEd MA, BA, DipEd
Director of Staff
My dad was born in Australia and my mum grew up in England and Northern Ireland, however I grew up in Sydney’s western suburbs. I always wanted to be a teacher from my earliest school days, and when I reached high school and started learning languages, I knew it was the job for me.
Alongside my passion for teaching, I love taking walks along the coast, reading books and cooking meals for family and friends. I also enjoy walking my dog, playing tennis and listening to music. You could say I live and breathe the simple life.
I have been in my current position of Director of Staff at Pymble for two years, however most of my time spent at the College has been as Director of Studies, a role which I held for almost 16 years.
Pymble Ladies’ College is an incredible place to work. My role involves a lot of interaction with staff from every department and corner of the school, and it’s so wonderful to see the depth of knowledge, professionalism and desire to make a difference to the students’ lives shown by every single one of my colleagues.
Pymble girls are so talented, intelligent and aspirational, each in their own ways, and it’s fantastic how eager they are to seize the incredible opportunities afforded to them at this great school.
One of the best things about the College is that students and staff are able, and encouraged, to make a difference, no matter how small. You will work hard, but the rewards and self-satisfaction will always be a testament of your efforts.


Greg Meagher
Executive Director of Co-Curricular
Greg Meagher MEd Lead, BEd, MAICD
Executive Director of Co-Curricular
Growing up in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, I have fond memories of spending time at the beach, listening to music and playing as many sports as humanly possible.
My professional career began as a Geography and Business Studies teacher working in several independent boys’ schools for more than 15 years before my passion for sport lured me in a new direction. I moved from Assistant Deputy Headmaster at Waverley College to Education Manager at Rugby Australia. From there, I was fortunate to work for iconic state sporting associations Athletics NSW and Surf Life Saving Australia as CEO and General Manager, respectively.
In 2020, I returned to my schooling roots when I was appointed Director of Sport at Pymble. This role allowed me to combine my passion for sport with my experience in education, which has been incredibly rewarding on many levels. Now as Executive Director of Co-curricular, I am responsible for leading the broad spectrum of co-curricular programs for students within Performing Arts, Sports and Extended Learning.
What makes Pymble special is the breadth and diversity of opportunities on offer for both students and staff. We understand that everyone has different needs, abilities and aspirations, and we strive to cater for every individual. As for the workplace environment, Pymble is big and vibrant with staff who are talented, dedicated and, above all, caring. It’s a great place to work and an honour to be part of such a dynamic, successful team.
