Our Leadership Team
Principal – Mark Sampson
Mark brings an outstanding 39 years of experience in education, spanning both the secondary and tertiary sectors. Beginning his career as a Physical Education teacher and Head of Sport, Mark has gone on to hold senior school leadership and management roles across Australia, including in Queensland, South Australia and the ACT.
After relocating to Perth in 2002, Mark held senior leadership positions at Aquinas College and Wesley College, before moving into the university sector. Over the past decade, he has served as Principal of University Hall, formerly Currie Hall, the residential college of The University of Western Australia.
Mark is deeply committed to education pathways that recognise the whole student. He is excited to lead the Communicare Academy team in supporting young people who require a different academic and social approach to thrive.
Outside of work, Mark enjoys staying active through cycling, the gym and golf, as well as fishing, camping and a good novel, and like many long-suffering supporters, continues to hope the Crows will one day win a premiership.
Deputy Principal and Head of Student Support and Compliance – Jessie Duncan
Jessie brings extensive experience in educational leadership, behaviour engagement and inclusive practice across K to 12 settings. Her work has focused on trauma informed approaches, restorative practices, and the creation of strong, relational environments that support young people with diverse and complex needs.
Jessie is passionate about strengths-based practice and collaborative leadership, and is known for her calm, reflective approach. She is deeply committed to building systems that enhance student wellbeing while also developing staff capability, ensuring positive and sustainable outcomes across the Academy.
Wellbeing Manager – Tafadzwa Makonese
Tafadzwa(Taffy) joined the Academy as the Wellbeing Manager in March 2024. She has a Bachelor’s in Social Work(Hons) from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Taffy has worked in the human development and humanitarian sector for over 18 years. She worked with the United Nations for 12 years before engaging in consultation work with focus on child protection, project management, human rights advocacy and psychotherapy.
At the Academy, Taffy’s role is to manage the effective delivery of student wellbeing services through effective Trauma- Informed and values-based leadership and management. She ensures there is wrap around support through a triage model which assesses and refers students to appropriate wellbeing interventions internally and externally.
Our Board
To see our current Board Members, please visit the Communicare website.
You can find our Wellbeing Team on our Wellbeing Support page.