Paul Klisaris was first elected to Monash in 2000 and served as Mayor in 2008 and 2009, 2014/15 and 2017/18*.
* Media release, 16 November 2017 - Gender equity a prime focus for new Monash Mayor.
For many years, Paul and his wife owned and operated a child care centre in Monash. They now operate a child care centre at the Docklands.
Paul began his career as a secondary college teacher. He has dedicated most of his adult life to educating and caring for children. One high point was working with migrant children from Sudan, teaching them to speak English and introducing them to Australian culture.
As an experienced Councillor, Paul believes in open and accountable government and would like to see a Council that always embraces a communicative process with its residents.
"I believe creativity, innovation and working in partnership must be the focus of local government," he says. "Our City's way of doing things must produce local solutions that preserve the unique character of our community."
Paul wants to further develop his involvement with community groups in order to be able to work closely with them to understand and seek mutually beneficial outcomes for their issues. He is particularly interested in assisting children and their representative groups achieve their full potential as members of the Monash community.
Paul is married and has three children. He holds a degree in Social Sciences and a Diploma of Education.