Our Staff

Rev. Elenie Poulos, National Director

Reverend Elenie Poulos is a Minister of the Uniting Church in Australia. She was appointed National Director in 2002. She attends Pitt Street Uniting Church in Sydney.

Elenie represented the Uniting Church at the World Council of Churches General Assembly in Port Alegre, Brazil in 2006. She is a member of the World Council of Churches' Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) and is Moderator of the CCIA Working Group on Global Advocacy. Elenie is also actively engaged with the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) as Deputy Chair of Christian World Service (CWS) and a member of the Social Justice Network.

Prior to her current position with the National Assembly, Elenie was School Chaplain at MLC School Burwood, NSW, for six years. She has a professional background in book publishing and an academic background in linguistics (BA Hons), language in education (MA), and theology (BTh). She is currently a doctoral student at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney.

Jennifer Whyte, Research Officer

Jennifer began working at UnitingJustice in March 2008. She has a degree in International Studies from the University of Sydney. Her research interests include human rights, economic equity and environmental justice.

Our Reference Committee

The UnitingJustice staff steam is supported by a Reference Committee. The Reference Committee Chairperson is appointed by the Assembly at its triennial meeting. The Committee members are appointed by the Assembly Standing Committee at the first meeting after the Triennial Assembly (and after an open call for expressions of interest). The UCA justice network (which is the network of justice staff from the synods) also appoints one representative to the Committee.  

Role

	Assist in working to fulfil the mandate of the Agency by providing support and advice on such matters as strategic planning, priority setting and the development of policy positions
	Receive and consider matters referred by the National Director
	Provide advice to the National Director and Agency staff
	Together with the National Director, assist and provide advice to the President and the General Secretary on urgent political and social issues within the Agency's mandate
	Assist in the oversight of UnitingJustice task groups, research projects, and working groups
	Assist in the building of a UnitingJustice Network

Janeen Barker (Chairperson)

Janeen is a member of Pilgrim Uniting Church, Adelaide, having previously been actively involved in parishes and congregations in WA, SA, NSW and the NT. Janeen is a member of Pilgrim Church's Social Justice Committee and in recent times has been most active in giving practical support to refugees and asylum seekers in Darwin and Adelaide.

Janeen has a background in the theoretical and practical implications of a commitment to social justice and equity. This began with training in Community Development methods in the United States and work in an African-American community in Chicago. Later she was part of a team working with an Indigenous community in Western Australia and then was involved in the training of community workers in Western India. Janeen's professional career has been primarily with younger children. Currently she works as a consultant and advisor with educators concerned with the inclusion of children with additional needs.

Dr Colin Cargill

Colin is a member of Morialta Uniting Church in South Australia, where he is Leafer of the Social Justice Ministry Team. He was previously a member of the SA Synod Bioethics Committee, and served as a Unitng Church representative on the South Australian Council of Churches Justice, Peace and Creation Commission for over 10 years.

Colin has had a long and successful careers as a research veterinarian, specialing in animal production, health and welfare. From 1987 to 1990 he served as a Uniting Church volunteer establishing a paraveterinary training program at an Agricultural College in Tonga. He currently spends much of his time in Indonesia and Vietnal, where he is associated with a number of aid projects aimed at reducing rural poverty. He enjoys living and working with people of other cultures.

Professor John Langmore

John is a member of the Anglican congregation of Christ Church in St Kilda but has a long prior history as a member of the Uniting Church. John is a Professorial Fellow in the Political Science department at the University of Melbourne. Between 1984 and 1996 he was MP for the ACT seat of Fraser in the Australian House of Representatives, where he chaired several House and Labor Party committees on economic policy, the environment and the Australian Capital Territory.

John was Director of the United Nations Division for Social Policy and Development from 1997 to 2001, has been Representative of the International Labor Organization to the United Nations and has been a a member of the World Council of Churches Commission on International Affairs since 1998. In 2005 he was elected national president of the United Nations Association of Australia.

Professor Graham Maddox

Graham is a member of Wesley Uniting Church in Armidale, New South Wales and a lay preacher of the Uniting Church. He is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of New England.

Graham has authored and edited numerous books on aspects of Australian politics and democracy and the influence of religion in politics. He a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, a member of the Center of Theological Inquiry at Princeton in the United States and a life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge.