WellSpring Board

John Rogerson (Chair and Treasurer)

John is an active member of The Avenue Church of Christ in Surrey Hills and is currently working as a volunteer at the church, 12 hours a week, helping with a variety administration duties and convening their strategy working group. He is a year 2 student in the Art of Spiritual Companioning and has been in spiritual direction for over 20 years. He previously served on the WellSpring Board from 2005 - 2013.

John finished full time work at the end of 2017 after 10 years as CEO of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation and has worked in the alcohol and drug field for over 30 years. He is currently Chair of the Hello Sunday Morning Board, a technology based, early intervention service for people who want to change their relationship with alcohol before they become dependent on this drug. He is currently concluding his involvement with the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs which, provides advice to the Federal Minister for Health. John has a Diploma, Order of Merit, Company Directors Course from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Kathy Cave (Managing Director of WellSpring)

Kathy grew up in rural South Africa, where Ndebele and Sotho people have lived for generations. Some twenty years ago she moved to the lands now called Australia and in 2022, relocated to the lands of the Kulin nation. She is curious and committed to cultivating and sharing a contemplative approach to life. Her experience from 30 years in management of investments and teams has given her opportunities to engage at strategic and administrative levels, in both profit focussed and not for profit organisations.

She has trained as a Spiritual Companion and Supervisor, has a Graduate Diploma in Christian Studies from Regent College, Vancouver and Masters in Christian Studies from Sydney Missionary Bible College.

The Managing Director is an ex-officio member of the Board. 

She takes great pleasure in being outdoors, in particular, walking, swimming and watching waves.

Angie Carter

I have been a part of WellSpring from its beginning when Jill Manton shared her dream for this ministry to a group that gathered in our home in 1992. I was part of the first WellSpring Board and served on it for many years. It was exciting and challenging in those early years to establish the mission of WellSpring and the programs to meet that mission. Being a practicing Catholic married to a Baptist, ecumenical and interfaith dialogue has always been an important part of my life, and the ecumenical aspect of WellSpring is something that I value enormously. My academic background is a Master’s Degree in Speech Therapy from Northwestern University in Chicago. My years in Australia have involved voluntary work with various church and not for profit organizations such as the Victorian AIDS Council.

Lela McGregor (Deputy Chair)

Lela is a passionate teacher of wellbeing and spirituality, and a spiritual director who loves working with young people. As the Founder and CEO of the Highway Foundation, a youth charity providing a safe and inspiring space for young people to find their own way in life, Lela is committed to helping young people connect with themselves, others, and the world/Divine. With a Bachelor of Accounting and Finance, a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology and Marketing, and currently completing her Masters of Spirituality, Lela is researching how spiritual companioning can help young people feel more connected to their lives.

Lela’s values of love, gratitude, hope, and faith have been instilled in her from a young age, growing up in a loving Christian family. Today, as a wife and mother of three living in Melbourne, Victoria, Lela continues to embody these values in everything she does, holding transformational retreats and crystal bowl meditation classes that inspire and empower young people.

Rachael Starbuck

Rachael is a current member of Ashburton Baptist Church where she has contributed for over twenty five years through: leading worship, facilitating playgroups, diaconate member, and supporting community meals through hub.  She is married with two children and lives in the local area, enjoys spending time with people and loves being outdoors – walking and gardening.   

Rachael has always highly valued the contribution of Wellspring in this community in supporting the widening and deepening of our spiritual practices as a crucial part of living out God’s vision of an inclusive and loving world.

In her professional life, Rachael is an Occupational Therapist who has worked for over twenty years with people who experience mental health difficulties.  She is a member of the Swinburne Occupational Therapy Course Advisory Board and has participated in a number of other not for profit boards.  She currently works at Eastern Health providing clinical leadership for occupational therapy in the Mental Health & Wellbeing Program.