Karl Faase, CEO, Olive Tree Media

Karl Faase is the CEO of Olive Tree Media, a Christian ministry that has produced documentaries such as Towards Belief, Jesus the Game Changer seasons 1,2 & 3 as well as the new series released in 2022, Faith Runs Deep. Karl is the presenter of the Daily Nudge radio spots played on stations across Australia. Karl is Chairman of the Samaritans Purse and BGEA Australian boards and on the board of Sydney Prayer Breakfast. Karl is married to Jane, who is the Creative Director of Olive Tree Media and they have three adult children and five grandchildren.

In 1964 Donald Horne released the widely acclaimed book “The Lucky Country”. While Horne himself and others believe the title has been misused, part of Horne’s narrative, outlined in the book, is that “Australia is a lucky country run by second rate people who share its luck”. The role of the Christian church in our nation has been, as author Roy Williams has written, viewed as either minimal or malign in its influence. Is it time to rethink our history and challenge the prevailing narrative? It can be argued Australia was not lucky but blessed. Olive Tree Media has released a new series, Faith Runs Deep, which unearths stories or faith from our history and challenges the long held narrative. This is a view to be considered and communicated through the Christian schools network.

Mark Spencer, Director of Public Policy

Mark is responsible for advocacy on behalf of Christian schools in a wide range of educational policy as well as areas relating to religious freedom and equal opportunity and discrimination law, both at the Commonwealth and State/Territory level. Mark also provides initial advice to schools in all non-educational operations including funding, finance, governance, management, media management and industrial relations.
Mark is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants after graduating with a Bachelor of Business degree with a major in accounting. He went on to complete a Master of Labour Relations and Law degree in 1999 and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies with a High Distinction average in 2016. Mark is also a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia. In 2014 he completed an executive education program at the Said Business School of the University of Oxford

Your Host: Dr. Rob Loe

Rob has been serving as the Executive Officer, VIC/TAS since May 2020. He has a background in teaching, school leadership and research. Rob believes passionately that a Christian school’s ethos cannot be divorced from the outcomes it seeks for its students (which must be more than academic). That ethos should make a deeply positive impact on the day-to-day lived reality of corridors and classrooms. It is the most powerful form of witness from a school. Rob has a national portfolio role that reflects his significant experience and research interests: Organisational Culture and Community Development.