Claire is an active member of St Kilian’s Parish in Bendigo and brings experience from her recent role at Catholic Education Sandhurst Ltd as Education Officer for the Arts. In this role, she coordinated and delivered significant annual events such as the Sandhurst Festival of the Sacred and the MacKillop Art Exhibition. Claire is a qualified teacher with a background in Performing Arts and English, having taught in both South Africa and Australia.

I have joined the Office of Mission and Pastoral Life within the Diocese of Sandhurst as Youth Ministry Team Leader.

I am passionate about young people and giving them opportunities to thrive. With this energy and experience from my previous roles as a teacher and in the Catholic Education Office, I intend to engage and support opportunities and experiences that foster a relationship with Jesus and help youth mature in their faith.

The work of the Sandhurst Youth Ministry Reference Group will inform the focus of my work over the coming years. This approach centres on the development of a Youth Ministry Partnership between the Chancery, Catholic Education Sandhurst Ltd, parishes and priests, and schools.

The goals of Youth Ministry, aligned with the Strategic Mission and Pastoral Goals of the Diocese, are to:

• foster the personal and spiritual growth of each person;
• draw young people into responsible participation in the life, mission and work of the Catholic faith community; and
• empower young people to live as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today.

I hope to achieve these goals by working alongside youth and leaders to cultivate a vibrant youth culture, a strong sense of belonging, and meaningful formation experiences. I am looking forward to strengthening existing pathways and, where necessary, forging new ones.

I am particularly excited about supporting schools and parishes in sending a delegation of young people to the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in Melbourne at the end of the year (30 November – 2 December 2025).

I am married with two children and am blessed to share my home with my own mom,. I am an active parishioner of St Kilian’s in Bendigo, where we are always looking for voices to add to our Saturday evening music group.

I would love to hear from you, so if you are a youth leader in your parish, a young person looking to get connected or involved, or if you have ideas in the youth ministry space, please reach out to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..