A Dads talk on changes and challenges

Please join us for a breakfast event tackling the changes and challenges of fatherhood, from early childhood to adolescence.

Our guest panel will explore this subject, facilitated by compere Glenn Mitchell. There will also be ample opportunity to network, discuss fathering, and come together as a community.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with other dads and guardians and gain valuable insights. While focused on fatherhood, the discussions are relevant to all parents and guardians, male and female, so all are welcome.

• Date: Wednesday, 7 May 2025
• Time: 6:45am for a 7:15am start
• Location: The University Club of Western Australia, 1 Hackett Drive, Crawley
• Cost: Includes plated breakfast PLUS a complimentary Men of John XXIII cap!
• $65 per person | $500 Table of 8

Hosted by Men of John XXIII
Men of John XXIII was established under the principles of The Fathering Project (created by former WA Citizen of the Year and John XXIII College parent Dr Bruce Robinson) to enhance the fathering experience at the College.

Men of John XXIII creates regular opportunities for father figures to connect with their children and each other, exploring and deepening their experience of fatherhood.

Our special guests
Compere: Glenn Mitchell
For more than two decades from early 1990, Glenn Mitchell lived a life that many envied. As a sports commentator for the ABC, and married to fellow sports broadcaster, Karen Tighe, he travelled the world covering elite sport.

He is an ambassador for the Institute for Respiratory Health, Lifeline and OneLife.

Sarah Maconachie
Sarah Maconachie is a proud working mother of three young children and the founder of Work Hard Parent Hard. Sarah is dedicated to supporting working parents in navigating the challenges of balancing career and family life.

After experiencing her own struggles with work-life balance, Sarah embarked on a transformative mindset journey that led her to create a life that works for both her career and family. She now uses her experiences to help other parents thrive in their professional and personal lives.

Sarah is a mindset coach, author of two books on working parents, and a writer on topics such as mindset, parenting, and gender equity.

Paul Jeffery
Paul Jeffery is a co-director of both J&R Clinical Psychologists and Sleep Matters, with his wife Dr Melissa Ree. Paul has been working as a Clinical Psychologist for 25 years, working with children, teens, families and adults in public and private settings. The Practice now has a team of nearly 20 Clinical Psychologists and provides help for a range of mental health conditions, as well as having a special focus on Psychological and Behavioural treatments for sleep disorders.

Paul is also a keen sportsman and has been providing Sports and Performance Psychology services for the past eight years to Club, State, National and Olympic-level athletes.

Having attended John XXIII College himself many years ago, he’s now the proud father of three boys who are also attending the College. Paul’s blend of professional and practical experience comes together to share some views on the things that help, and the things that can hinder, with raising kids and teens.

Dr Bruce Robinson
Doctor, lecturer, speaker, scientist and best-selling author, Bruce has published over 200 professional papers and received numerous awards. 

For 20 years Bruce has been researching, lecturing and speaking about fathering and how to be a better dad.

In 2013 he won the prestigious Western Australian of the Year award for medical research and charity work, including his establishment of The Fathering Project and advocacy for the benefits of good fathering.

As a cancer specialist, Dr Robinson has had to tell hundreds of men that they only had a short time left to live. Regret was a common reaction: “I wish I had spent more time with my family”. He realised there was a need for fathers to “learn to live richly at the front end so you don’t have regrets at the back end”.

Alexandria Henderson
Alexandria Henderson is a recent graduate of John XXIII College and has just received her Bachelor of Arts in Acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).

Alexandria was heavily involved in the arts at College, participating in musicals, choirs, soirees and eisteddfods. At WAAPA she appeared in productions including Harp in the South, Nora; A Doll’s House, Girl Asleep, and Macbeth.

In the early stages of her acting career, she is now seeking opportunities in theatre, film, and television. Her professional debut in Theatre180’s Arthur Haynes and the Smoking Gun will have its world premiere at the Government House Ballroom later this year in September.