Brother Paul Oakley has served as the Chair of the Council and President of EREA since 2007. Paul was Principal of a number of schools in NSW from 1982-1996 and then served on the Christian Brothers leadership team in NSW. From 2000 he was also a member of the planning committees that led to the establishment of EREA. Paul has served on various Church bodies including the NSW Catholic Education Commission and is currently Board Chair of both the Association of Ministerial Public Juridic Persons and the Federation of Religious Institute and Public Juridical Person Catholic School Authorities in NSW/ACT.