Staff
Medley is lead by a small team committed to ensuring the academic and personal success of our students.
Dr Helen Lamb, Principal
Helen joined Medley Hall as the Deputy Principal in 2017 and is currently Principal following the retirement of Phillippa Connelly at the end of 2019. She is responsible for the day to day running of the College and for enacting its vision provide an intellectually and socially invigorating residential community for students of the University of Melbourne, especially under-represented and disadvantaged students.
Helen has an undergraduate degree in Physical Geography and PhD from Bristol University in the UK. Since moving to Australia in 2004, Helen has worked in various administrative, student-support, and management roles at Melbourne University. She has been a sustainability advocate all her working life and enjoys leading and supporting others to create positive change.
Olivia Tasevski, Residential Programs Manager
Olivia commenced at Medley in 2022 and is responsible for running the college’s academic and wellbeing programs and providing academic and wellbeing advice and support to the college’s diverse student cohort. She is passionate about creating intellectually stimulating, culturally safe and neurodiverse-friendly environments for students.
Olivia holds a Bachelor of Arts (Degree with Honours) with majors in Politics and International Studies and History and a Master of International Relations from the University of Melbourne. She is also a Politics and History Tutor at the University of Melbourne and her research interests include twentieth century Indonesian, Japanese and U.S. history and politics.
Desi Pastras, Adminstrative Assistant
Desi joined the team in 2013. Before coming to Medley she worked as a teacher and in administration at Melbourne University and RMIT. She supports students with resources to assist them in their transition to University life and manages the website. Desi enjoys getting to know the student residents and loves to share her travel stories. Her passions include photography, cooking and discovering new places in the most liveable city in the world and sharing her knowledge.