MEET OUR
BOARD MEMBERS
MESSAGE FROM BOARD CHAIR, MS. MICHELLE HERVY
Welcome to the Overseas School of Colombo's School Board's page. Here you will find out more about our not-for-profit school board governance, including our foundational documents, the role of our Board of Directors and the backgrounds of each board member who works voluntarily on behalf of OSC.
As Board Members we are very proud of our students, teachers and staff. We work hard to ensure that our decisions and actions are sustainable and strategic in support of our school for today and in the future. Our students and parents come from 40 + different nationalities and backgrounds and are truly committed to unity in diversity.
In 2024-2025 OSC will celebrate 67 years of teaching and learning. We look forward to you joining us in celebration of this remarkable milestone.
OSC is registered as a guarantee company and operates as a nonprofit independent school based on the OSC Mission and Vision. Any revenues that exceed expenses are reinvested to improve the quality of education for OSC students.
Parents of every current full fee-paying student are members of the company and are invited to attend and vote at an annual general meeting each year.
OSC is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors elected from among the full fee-paying parents. The Head of School is a non-voting member of the Board.
The Board’s main responsibilities are to:
- Hire, support, and evaluate the Head of School, who serves as the chief executive officer of OSC
- Provide long-term strategic direction for OSC as an internationally accredited school
- Ensure long-term sustainability of OSC finances and facilities
The board’s role is not to run day-to-day school operations, mediate parent-teacher conflicts, address student behavior issues, decide on cafeteria menus, or create educational curricula. If you approach a board member with these types of concerns, we will generally refer you to our school’s professional faculty or administrators. The board’s focus is on long-term strategic goals.’
Current School Board Members
Ms. Michelle Hervy (Board Chair)
Michelle, a British citizen, settled in Sri Lanka in 2020 with her two sons and husband. Originally from the Northwest of England, Michelle has lived and worked in England, U.S.A and India.
Originally starting out in childcare, Michelle switched paths and has spent most of her career in global outsourcing for companies based in both the US and the UK. Her experience lies in the Learning and Leadership development arena, working for various markets in retail, financial and telecommunication, involving conducting regular risk assessments, implementing appropriate controls, and monitoring financial performance.
Since settling in Sri Lanka, Michelle started the company MH Academy, a training academy specializing in women’s wellbeing into midlife, based in Colombo and working in both corporate and individual settings.
As a board member, Michelle is passionate about equality within OSC, Michelle is driven by a fervent belief in creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment where every student feels valued and empowered to succeed. Michelle is keen to use her experience in the global community to support the school in delivering its mission.
Mr. Micah Olad
Micah Olad is an International Development expert with over 17 years of work experience. He has
extensively worked with governments, leaders, and other stakeholders in both Africa and Asia, to
push the agenda of the world’s most marginalised women and children through public health and
policy advocacy efforts. He is a strategist and change management expert, leading Save the
Children’s largest US grant as Chief of Party for the PALAM/A project in Sri Lanka, supporting the
ongoing Government school feeding programme in over 850 schools, with funding from the USDA.
He has worked in Laos, Sierra Leone, and Ghana. Micah, during his early career, conducted
formative surveys and designed SBCC (social behavioural change communication) modules, to
promote optimum school health and nutrition, particularly for rural schools. He is an active member of the World Public Health Nutrition Association. He holds a Master of Public Health degree from the Mountcrest University, a PgD in occupational health, safety and environmental management from Greenhill College, and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Catholic University, all from his home country Ghana. He has 3 sons at OSC.
Mr. Subramaniam Eassuwaren
Subramaniam Eassuwaren is Deputy Chairman of Eswaran Brothers Exports (Pvt) Ltd. (http://www.eswaran.com), the tea exporting arm of the Eswaran Brothers group, and Tprint(Pvt) Ltd., a leading label printing company. He attended Oxford University. He is committed to transforming his 75 year old family business into the most sustainable tea company in the world. In 2017 he was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship.
He is also a founding director of the Carbon Consulting Company (http://www.carbonconsultco.com) and the Conservation Carbon Company (http://www.conservecarbon.org) which specialise in using financial mechanisms to create unique solutions to Sri Lanka’s environmental problems.
Mr. Antoine Hellings
Antoine, a Belgian citizen, arrived in Sri Lanka in July 2024 as an accompanying spouse with their two children attending OSC in grades 1 and 6. Originally from Belgium, he has lived and worked in France. He has a master's degree in Business Administration and Marketing.
Before coming to Sri Lanka, Antoine was working in France for the German company Bosch, as Key Account Manager and then as Sell Out Marketing Manager. He was also responsible for creating the product catalog for the Siemens brand. Expert in negotiating and digital marketing, he dedicated his time to create long-term business relationships with retailers and increase customer satisfaction.
In France and Sri Lanka (with the French association “Colombo Accueil”), Antoine is part of the associative world, seeking above all to create links and solidarity between people.
Antoine looks forward to supporting the school in its future development.
Ms. Darshana Venugopal
Darshana is an Australian citizen and is currently working as a Public Diplomacy Officer in the Australian High Commission. She has lived in India, Australia, the USA, Ethiopia and Myanmar and has been residing in Sri Lanka since 2021. Having worked extensively in the communications industry for both nonprofit and for-profit industries, she is looking forward to using these skills to help achieve the strategic objectives of the school.
As a parent of two children at OSC, one in primary and the other in high school, she is highly attuned to the diverse needs and challenges faced by students and parents alike. Darshana is committed to ensuring OSC is well managed and has a secure future while remaining faithful to our school mission and values.
Mr. Matthias Eder
Matthias Eder is a German citizen and has two children at OSC, in year 4 and 7 respectively. A specialist for peacebuilding and interreligious dialogue, he currently serves as Advisor for Interreligious Dialogue to the Centre for Society and Religion in Colombo, Sri Lanka, seconded by the German international development system through AGIAMONDO-CPS (Civil Peace Service).
Previously, Matthias co-founded the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue and Islamic Studies at Tangaza University College in Nairobi for AGIAMONDO-CPS, and worked there for 6 years. Other experiences include working for 3 years at KAICIID (International Centre for Interreligious Dialogue) in Vienna as Programme Manager for Tanzania, Indonesia, India, and Nigeria, and for 7 years with the UN Industrial Development Organisation, mostly in Malawi and many African countries. Matthias holds an M.A. in Political Science from Vienna University and an M.A. in Advanced International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy Vienna. In 2012, he founded and, with the help of his family and many supporters, maintains up to today a community school in Malawi, providing education opportunities for over 700 children in one of the poorest regions of the world.
Ms. Leslie Vélez
Dr. Michelle Kleiss (Head of School)
A Dutch/Canadian national, Dr. Michelle Kleiss has built an international school career for the past 27 years. She started her Headship at OSC in July 2019, after 10 years as Head of School in Cyprus – another CIS/MSA and IB authorised school. Prior to Cyprus, she was a Head of School in Saudi Arabia, and an Early Childhood Principal as well as Middle School Principal in Cairo – Egypt. She has worked as a classroom teacher in Munich – Germany, in São Paulo – Brazil, and in the Dominican Republic. She has an Undergraduate Degree in Education from The American University in Washington D.C. – USA, a Master’s Degree in Education in School Administration and Instructional Supervision from Bowie State University, Maryland – USA, and a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from Lehigh University, Pennsylvania – USA.
Ms. Preeni Manjula Dunuwille Koralege (Company Secretary)
Joined the OSC in January 2023 as Company Secretary
Preeni is an Attorney at Law, Notary Public and Company Secretary and brings with her over 30 years experience. She started her career as an Attorney at Law in October 1988 at M/s F J and G De Saram Attorneys at Law, one of the oldest law firms in the country where her forte was litigation. In 1995 August she joined ABN AMRO Bank NV. Thereafter she moved to Confifi Group of Companies as General Manager Legal and Corporate in 2002 and headed the Corporate Legal and Secretarial office. Subsequently in September 2005 she joined the Peoples’ Bank as Legal Advisor to the Board and Special Executive Legal and was part of the corporate management team. She then moved on to Amana Investments Limited as head of Legal and Company Secretary in 2009 and was responsible for handling all legal, company secretarial and regulatory matters relating to the Licensing and establishment of Amana Bank PLC. She was subsequently appointed a Vice President of Amana Bank PLC and handled diverse portfolios as Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary. She retired from Amana Bank PLC in April 2019. During her career she has gained wide experience and expertise in Corporate and Commercial Law, Banking Law, Litigation, Governance and Risk, Company Secretarial practice and in land/property law.
Apart from being an Attorney she holds a LL.B degree and a Master of Laws from the University of Colombo. She also holds CISI (Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments) qualifications in Global Financial Compliance and a Diploma in International Relations from Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies.
