Meet Our Team

  • Rahel Davies was appointed as RNLC Executive Officer in 2022. With extensive experience in diverse communities and non-profit organisations, Rahel is deeply committed to principles of diversity and inclusion.

    Rahel's impactful initiatives include "Hey Sis," an after-school club she founded for refugee, migrant, and asylum seeker young women, and "Bittersweet," an arts and media platform amplifying the voices of people of color in Australian media.

    As an Ethiopian Australian woman, Rahel brings a unique perspective to her work, advocating for culturally safe spaces and amplifying diverse voices across community, media, and corporate spaces. Her mission of equity and inclusion continues to drive her efforts at RNLC.

  • Tania Stone migrated to Australia in the late 70’s and have always followed my passion working alongside refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in my capacity as either community development worker or English as an Additional Language teacher on empowerment and capacity building programs. In my spare time, I love op shopping, going for long walks with my dog, catching up with friends and reading.

  • Louise is a qualified and experienced Primary teacher and Vocational Educator. She has been working at RMIT University for the last five years across several programs including Certificate IV in EAL and Certificate IV in Education support. She started working one day a week at River Nile Learning Centre in 2022. Which she says, “is a place full of joy, laughter, and energy” Before these teaching roles, she spent many years working in the theatre as a Stage and Production Manager

  • Hailing from England, Clare has 25 years of EAL and English teaching experience in England, Japan, Thailand and Australia.

    Clare’s teaching Philosophy is deeply rooted in fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment.

    She is also dedicated to continuous professional growth and stays up to date with the latest educational techniques.

    Also a seasoned traveler Clare has travelled extensively in Southeast Asia.

  • Some of Apeksha's teaching experiences lie in teaching EAL in England and abroad, as well as being a qualified secondary school English teacher. Having led whole-school literacy in a school where the majority of the students had well-below-average literacy levels, Apeksha feels strongly about making all students, whether adult or children, understand the importance of literacy and making it accessible for all.

Our Board Members

  • An experienced media and communications professional who has worked for an assortment of employers within Australia and abroad, including not-for-profit and community organisations, higher education providers, public broadcasters and a Cambodian children's hospital. Amanda has also been an active volunteer for several years with the Australian Government's Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), which provides free English language tuition to enable new migrants to fully participate in Australian society. She also offers workshops for refugee and asylum seeker groups on the power of storytelling for advocacy and social impact.

  • Charmaine is passionate about serving marginalized communities. Her enthusiasm led her to RNLC, where she began as a volunteer and later joined the staff. Charmaine's ability to connect with people from diverse backgrounds has been key to her success at RNLC. She holds a master’s degree in development studies from the University of Melbourne. As a young woman from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background, Charmaine brings a unique perspective and a deep commitment to promoting inclusivity. As a board member, she is dedicated to ensuring that RNLC initiatives effectively address the needs of all community members.

  • Rich is a founding member of the center. Chief Operating Officer at Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment (CBLA). Previously managed CPA Australia’s professional programs including the CPA Program and, before that, was involved in a range of policy and planning roles with Federal and State Government departments.

    Founding committee member for Impact100Melbourne, a group that aims to provide high-impact grants and increase involvement in philanthropy across Melbourne - RNLC was the inaugural grant recipient in 2013.

  • Retired teacher and school Principal. Formerly Head of Pastoral Care moving on to become Principal of Mowbray College.

    Set up an English language School in Ningbo, China. Interested in several business ventures in China, now retired.

  • Nadia has worked in the community sector for 15 years. Has initiated and managed projects, and events that harnessed the power of the arts, as a way of creating connections and deeper understanding of difference. She was the director of Next Stop Melbourne a contemporary African arts festival. She was the project coordinator of the Somali English dictionary app project with the University of Melbourne. She is committed to access to capacity building and knowledge production for all, in English as well as in other languages.

  • Retired civil engineer and consultant.Has been a proactive RN volunteer since 2014, leading the identification and writing of RNLC philanthropic grant applications and organizing our FoodBank for students each week.

  • Ximena holds a Bachelor of Arts (International Affairs) from The Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey, and a Master in Development Studies with a Gender Specialisation from The University of Melbourne.

    She began her career in the humanitarian and development sector in Mexico, her home country, before moving to Australia in 2020. Ximena’s experience includes working at the United Nations, the Human Rights Office in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Carlos Slim Foundation, the Mexican Food Banks Association, and the International Agency of Quality Education.

    Ximena is a certified Clown Doctor and has extensive community-based volunteering experience.

  • Jackie Magessa has been actively involved with River Nile Learning Centre since becoming  a volunteer in 2017.  Jackie was drawn to RNLC for its unique work with newly arrived multicultural women who enrolled to study English language classes in a supported environment.

    Strong support for the women was a key focus with child care, foodbank and wellbeing delivered to each and every student.  Jackie contributes strong skills in community engagement and comes with a  lived experience emphasis.

    Jackie believes in multicultural women becoming educated and empowered – this way they can make their own decisions and build independence