Stefan Romaniw First Vice President

Mr. Stefan Romaniw OAM currently holds the position of Executive Director of Community Languages Australia. He has served terms as Chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission under both Governments in Victoria.  He has a teaching qualification and, prior to moving into senior government positions and senior management, worked in a range of school settings.  He has also served as Chairman of the Victorian Government’s Australia Day Committee (Victoria).

He is the First Vice President of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and Co-Chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations. (AFUO).

He holds the position of Chair of the UWC International Committee for Recognition of Holodomor as Genocide and Chair of the UWC International Religious Affairs Committee.

Currently, he serves as Chairman or serves in a leadership role on a number of committees and organizations within broader Australian and Ukrainian communities:

He has chaired:

• Multicultural Arts Victoria
• RMIT University Languages Advisory Committee
• Association of Ukrainians in Victoria
• CYM Ukrainian Youth Association – Melbourne, National Executive and Vice President of the International Committee

Stefan has served as an Australia Day Ambassador in Victoria, a member of both the City of Melbourne Safe City Task Force and the Good Food Advisory Board. He has also fulfilled Australia Day Ambassador responsibilities in Tasmania.

He has a successful career in brand building, change management, community building and strengthening, networking, and strategic planning. He has also been a strong proponent of using spheres of influence as a strategy for building and influencing relations.

He has served on a range of boards and committees including: Starlight Children’s Foundation (Victorian VAB), Board of Council of Adult Education, Commonwealth Ministerial Standing Council on Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters, Multicultural Issues Forum with Hume City Council, Victorian Ministerial Advisory Council on Multicultural and Multilingual Education, Victorian Ministerial Arts Advisory Council, and Centenary Federation of Victoria.

He has a wide network including all levels of government, education, media, sports, the arts and NGOs.

He was principal of the Ukrainian Community School North Melbourne for 17 years.

In 2001, he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his contribution to education and the CALD communities and, in 2003, he received the Centenary Medal for services to the community.  He has received the three levels of Orders of Recognition and Medals from the President of Ukraine for services to Ukraine. He also received the Foreign Affairs of Ukraine medal for services to international relations.

In 2013, Stefan was inducted into the St. Bernard’s College Hall of Fame.

He travels extensively internationally and nationally promoting his areas of expertise and has participated in delegations to China, Germany, US, Canada, Hungary, Greece, Great Britain and Ukraine.

He has been married to Anastasia for 42 years, has two adult children, Peter and Theresa, and 5 grandchildren.

He is a member of:

• RACV Club
• Essendon Football Club

His interest includes Australian Rules Football, running, gardening and spending time with his family.

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