Our team

Deborah joined Australian Disability Network as the Chief Executive Officer in January 2025.

She has many years of management experience in various sectors, including retail, the medical industry and telecommunications.

Her previous experiences include Managing Director of MAX Solutions, CEO of Pacnet, Australia and New Zealand, an Asian-headquartered telecommunications carrier, where she held various other senior roles including Vice President Sales, South Asia.

Deborah is currently Chair of the Human Resources and remuneration committee for Smartgroup Corporation Ltd.

Additionally she is the Non-Executive Chair of Inherited Cancers Australia ,a registered charity supporting people to understand and reduce their risk of hereditary cancer and has been appointed as an Advocate for the G20 Alliance for Empowerment and Progression of Womens’ Representation.

She is also a member of Chief Executive Women and chaired the Membership Committee of that organisation from 2010 to 2012.

In 2005 she was named NSW Telstra Businesswoman of the Year, Corporate and Government sector.

Emma joined the team at Australian Disability Network  in 2018 bringing with her 15+ years’ experience working in the community sector in both the disability and crisis services / homelessness fields.

Emma’s career path began at Kew Residential Services and has wound its way through the disability sector to include support work, coordination, leading teams and projects, and case management. Following the completion of a Master of Social Work (MSW), Emma shifted to work in the housing and homelessness sector first at The Salvation Army Crisis Services, then at Sacred Heart Mission’s Homefront (Women’s Crisis Accommodation). This pathway has shown Emma that there can be no real change for the individual without first breaking down the systemic barriers that impact on their situation.

As a woman with disability, Emma is passionate about disability representation and seeing her community thrive. As Head of Consultancy, Emma supports an amazing team whose goal is to build the disability confidence of Australian businesses through key Australian Disability Network programs and services.

A constant student, Emma holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Disability Studies), Master of Arts (Writing and Literature) and a Master of Social Work. She also happens to be a trained yoga and meditation teacher.

Email:  emma.henningsen@AusDN.org.au

Phone: 03 7032 3522

Sharon joined the Australian Disability Network (AusDN) in May 2023.

Previously, she worked at the Australian Institute of Company Directors as Scholarships Partner and at Aurora Education Foundation as their Scholarships Manager.

In her role at Aurora, Sharon worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and professionals, coordinating the international study tour, scholarships and programs to support postgraduate academic achievement.

As Head of Programs, Sharon is committed to working collaboratively with her colleagues and stakeholders and is responsible for supporting current programs, developing and growing new initiatives, and ensuring that all programs are executed with excellence.

With her strong background in coordinating programs and working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, Sharon is excited to work in the disability space, where she can apply her skills to make a positive impact on people’s lives. She believes that people with disabilities deserve the same opportunities as everyone else, and is committed to working with AusDN in creating a society that values and supports inclusion.

As an Indian woman from Fiji, Sharon enjoys the hot sunny beach days and loves cooking for family and friends. Outside of work you can find her checking out local markets, scouring Sydney’s food scene and always on the hunt for great coffee spots. Sharon also loves travelling, has a passion for arts and crafts and enjoys weaving and dabbling in paints. She loves to read and also has some great recommendations on Audible if you’re keen!

Email: sharon.kumar@AusDN.org.au 
Phone: 02 8270 9220 

Rosie joined AusDN in August 2019 and joined the Leadership Team as Acting Head of Training & Advisory in 2025. Over her time at AusDN, she has held roles in the Programs Team supporting Australian Disability Network’s Internship and Career Mentoring programs and program participants, and as the Access and Inclusion Index Lead, supporting organisations through the Access and Inclusion Index to identify, measure, and progress access and inclusion for people with disability as employees and stakeholders.

Additionally, Rosie has experience supporting customer and user experience projects, Dignified Access reviews, delivering our flagship training and supporting AusDN’s accessible procurement projects.

Rosie is passionate about accessibility, process improvement, and influencing positive change. She is committed to supporting Australian organisations to embed access and inclusion across all aspects of business.

Rosie’s background is in copywriting and social media, holding a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications and Linguistics) from the University of Melbourne. She commenced a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration at Melbourne Business School in 2025.

When not working or studying, you can find Rosie engrossed in a good book or crochet project, out for a bushwalk, or captaining her social netball team.

Emily joined the Australian Disability Network as a Relationship Manager and PACE Program Manager in August 2015. During this time Emily worked with many of our large and complex Members on their access and inclusion initiatives and supported them to implement and create positive changes.  In March 2019, she joined the Leadership Team, Emily currently leads the Member Experience Team as Executive Manager Member Services. Emily is a passionate leader who integrates coaching into her management, she is focussed on ensuring her team are equipped to thrive and grow in their roles. Emily, along with her team, are committed to ensuring Members are active and working closely with the Network to achieve their access and inclusion goals. An experienced relationship manager with the ability to cultivate relationships and work collaboratively, Emily is driven to provide a positive and engaging member experience.

Prior to joining, Emily worked in both corporate and not-for-profit environments, focusing on relationship management, training and program management.

Throughout her career, Emily has effectively developed relationships with key stakeholders, including government departments, community organisations and corporate partners, to facilitate community, business and school-based mentoring programs.

Emily is a passionate advocate for creating positive change through opportunity, education and awareness. Emily has a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology and holds a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

Katie joined the Australian Disability Network as Head of Marketing & Communications in June 2023.

She is a passionate storyteller with more than 20 years of communications, marketing, and brand experience gathered from the finance, tech, telco, and disability sectors.

Throughout her career, she has focused on opportunities where she can tell stories that effect meaningful change. This is why she is delighted to be part of the  team, an organisation dedicated to building Australia’s capability and confidence to employ people with disability.

Katie previously led brand and communications at Cerebral Palsy Alliance, where she was incredibly proud to launch Cerebral Conversations, a podcast series that tackles some of the biggest disability issues like ableism, accessibility, advocacy, inclusion, innovation, research, and a whole lot more.

When not in the Australian Disability Network (or home) office, Katie can be found breathing new life into old chairs, at music festivals with her husband Greg, reading in the sun, or trying to snuggle her rescue cat Lucky!

Email: katie.wilson@AusDN.org.au

Lara joined the Australian Disability Network Consultancy team in January 2023 as Disability Confident Recruiter Program Lead. She comes with a range of experience in human resources, recruitment in international development volunteering as well as local and international disability employment projects.

With a passion for building inclusive and diverse workforces, Lara has previously supported employers in building disability awareness and confidence in supporting employees in the workplace. Lara has developed guides and resources for organisations to improve inclusive work practices generally and within inclusive recruitment.

Lara has obtained a Bachelor of Management (Human Resources) and postgraduate studies in International and Community Development. One of Lara’s most impactful experiences was contributing to the Disability Empowerment Skills Exchange program, supporting inclusive schools in building transition pathways for young people with disability in Fiji.

Lara studies the Italian language, which connects her to her family heritage, and enjoys the opportunity to practice any chance she gets. A lover of nature and water, Lara spends much of the summer at the beach and adventuring with her family and dog Duke.

Tom joined the Australian Disability Network as the Dignified Access Lead in September 2022.

He has a degree in Social Psychology and is currently studying Disability and Access at Deakin University.

For the last 12 years, Tom’s social inclusion work has exposed him to many community development sectors including, social enterprise, local government, not-for-profit, and disability services.

His approach is lived experience-driven, co-design informed, and capacity centered, taking a 360-degree view by embracing intersectionality.

A career highlight for Tom was pioneering access for all to Australia’s beaches by applying Universal Design principles to Williamstown and Altona beaches in Melbourne.

Tom spent over a decade working at the world’s number one travel guidebook publisher, Lonely Planet, holding executive positions in sales, marketing, and publicity.

Travel runs in his veins, and he loves exploring and celebrating the diversity of South East Asia with his family.

Inspired by the Big Issue Street Soccer program Tom cofounded Social Goal: a social enterprise that uses sport as a platform to promote inclusion. A major outcome to date is kick-starting of Australia’s first-ever Blind Soccer national team the Bilbies.

Tom is so excited to take his grassroots knowledge to a national level and to support members to break down barriers so that every Australian can have their voice heard.

Paula has a background in Criminology and Sociology. During her career, she has supported women in custody with rehabilitation and settling back into the community. She is passionate about encouraging change and giving individuals the opportunity to achieve their goals.

Paula was born in Spain and completed her university degree in London. She recently moved to Australia to explore the beautiful beaches. She loves to travel and meet people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Brooke joined Australian Disability Network in October 2023.

Brooke is a qualified Social Worker who has always enjoyed being connected to and supporting the community through her wide range of community services and NDIS roles. Prior to he role with us, Brooke was the All – Abilities Project Officer at Banyule City Council and was also the Project Lead of the Inclusion@Sport Project, which involved supporting local clubs on their journey of becoming more inclusive by creating their own all-abilities programs.

Brooke assisted members across the country through preventive health programs at Medibank which was obtained through a placement with the Vision Australia Career Start Graduate Program.

Brooke’s career highlight is being the first graduate to undertake a placement with Medibank as part of the Vision Australia Graduate Program, being nominated as a finalist for the 2023 Disability Sport & Recreation Awards from The Inclusion@Sport Project and for being selected as a finalist for Volunteer of the Year as part of her volunteer work within the sport of Goalball.

Brooke enjoys being active and believes this is a means of social connection. Brooke plays a lot of sport and has played Goalball at a local and state level for 15 years. Brooke enjoys hiking, boxing and can often be found at most Melbourne-based fun runs or local Parkrun. Brooke also enjoys listening to audiobooks and music.

Brooke is passionate about creating systematic change to create a more equitable world for people with a disability.

Adam joined the Australian Disability Network in June 2025, bringing with him a broad background in operations, relationship management and digital transformation.

He began his career as a Customer Service Manager at a digital marketing and website design firm, eventually moving into the role of Operations Manager.

His decade-long tenure provided him with experience across project management, product development, change management, and conflict resolution.

Following this, Adam became a part-owner in a Positive Behaviour Support organisation, where he helped digitise internal systems and improve service delivery.

He later moved into the corporate sector as a Relationship Manager with Toyota Fleet, before returning to his true passion, working in the disability sector.

His most recent role at Scope involved helping organisations improve accessibility and inclusion, and he played a key role in delivering an Accessible CRM project that streamlined operations and enhanced user experience.

A career highlight for Adam was being invited to join the Disability Inclusion Advisory Group at Zoos Victoria, where he once worked casually, an experience he describes as a full circle moment.

Outside of work, Adam has trained in jiu jitsu for over 14 years and has also explored kickboxing and boxing.

He sees physical activity as essential to his wellbeing and is passionate about health, mental health, and creating safe spaces for others.

He was diagnosed with ADHD and ASD as an adult, which has helped him better understand himself and others, both personally and professionally.

Sarah joined the Australian Disability Network in March 2023.

She has worked in the disability and mental health sector for over 8 years, most recently working in partnership with employers and NDIS participants to foster employment relationships.

Sarah has a master’s degree in Disability and Inclusion from Deakin University and a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences (majoring in Health Promotion and Nutrition) and in Arts (majoring in Drama).

Other work includes facilitating drama, dance, and art programs in Australia and Cambodia, working as a Research Assistant, and supporting people with disability to achieve their goals.
Driven by a desire to foster inclusion through employment, Sarah is excited to collaborate with employers to turn aspiration into action – building confidence and capability to create accessible and inclusive workplaces.

Valuing listening, learning, creativity, and honouring lived experience, this quote from an Aboriginal activist group in Queensland in the 1970s grounds much of Sarah’s work “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together”.

On the weekends Sarah enjoys cooking for her family and friends, painting, gardening, and hanging out with her camp dog from Yuendumu, Lottie.

Rudy joined the Australian Disability Network team in September 2022 As a Program Coordinator. He was promoted to Program Lead in December 2022.

Prior to joining, Rudy had worked in different roles in administration, operations, marketing, and events for QBE and Platypus, developing his teamwork, organisation, and communication skills.

Rudy has a keen interest in sports, music, and writing. He actively participates in Baseball, Football and, Oz tag all year round and has coached a youth football team for 6 years. He is also currently making music in a band with his close friends.

Rudy is passionate about making a difference in the community and further developing his knowledge of disability confidence and accessibility in the workplace.

Emma joined the Australian Disability Network team in October 2023. She has worked on the Careers Pathway Pilot as a Disability Consultant, delivered several success campaigns, including the Choose Inclusion this IDPwD 2024 campaign as Marketing Campaign Manager.

In June 2025, Emma was promoted to the Marketing Manager role, to lead AusDN’s campaigns.

An experienced Not for Profit ‘generalist’, Emma spent over a decade working for grass root’s charity – St Kilda Mums Inc. What began as a simple idea to connect goods no longer wanted with those who need them most galvanised a community of diverse supporters achieving great impact. Motivated by dignity, inclusion and connection Emma was able to grow the program to reach 20,000 children per year in partnership with local councils and social services across Victoria. As a senior operations leader she later turned her focus to running the goods and volunteer programs, building the charity’s first Volunteer Roadmap aligned with national and international volunteer strategies.

Prior to working in the charity sector Emma was a creative arts professional working in dance, theatre and film. She looks forward to applying her strategic, creative and big picture thinking to her.

Outside work you can find her in a yoga studio, crafting and spending time with her family.

Nicholas (Nic) joined the Australian Disability Network team as an Associate Relationship Manager in December 2023. He was promoted to Relationship Manager in January 2025.

Nic is a person with low vision who started his career as a graduate in Vision Australia’s Career Start Program. During his internship with Bupa, Nic successfully became a facilitator in Bupa Health Insurance’s Capability Development team which involved training new-starters and later led Bupa’s Access and Inclusion Network for 3 years.

Nic crossed paths with AND on several occasions and quickly added joining the AND team on his professional bucket list. With a passion for making the world a better place by improving everyday lives, Nic believes employment is the key area to make this impact and hopes to enable positive change with his lived experience and new role with AusDN.

Nic’s career highlight is leading Bupa’s DEN and the way its small, grass roots movement gained traction at all levels, including executive leadership.

When Nic isn’t our camping, traveling, and seeing the world, you can find him challenging himself to learn new skills or working on DIY projects around the house like tables, pool cue holders, bicycle racks, spice racks. If you meet Nic, be prepared for his famous dad jokes!

Jen is a passionate and experienced HR and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) advisor with over 14 years of experience working across government, ASX-listed companies, and the community sector. She’s dedicated to creating workplaces where everyone feels safe, respected, and empowered to thrive.

Jen brings a strong track record in developing inclusive strategies, workforce plans, and co-designed policies that lead to lasting, meaningful change. She’s known for her ability to influence senior leaders and collaborate across teams to embed inclusion into everyday business practices—not just as a compliance exercise, but as a core value and competitive advantage.

Throughout her career, Jen has led initiatives that improve access to opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds, including those with disabilities, First Nations peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and others who are often underrepresented in the workplace. Her work has spanned inclusive recruitment, policy development, cultural capability building, and designing programs that shift workplace culture and behaviours.

When not working, Jen enjoys having kitchen dance battles with her kiddo and watching documentaries with her two grumpy cats. She volunteers for a family violence organisation and dabbles in mixed media art.

Tia joined the Australian Disability Network in May 2021 as a Program Coordinator. She was promoted to Program Lead in October 2022.

Prior to joining, Tia has worked in different roles in communication, social media management, program management ,and not-for-profit organisations, which allow her to develop excellent teamwork, leadership and organisational skills.

Tia has made her life-long goals to empower individuals, with a desire to work in a challenging environment to inspire empathy and equity. Her previous experience in supporting people with disability has also developed her passion on advocating for diversity, accessibility and inclusion.

Tia is pursuing a postgraduate degree in Communication and specialises in Public Relations and Digital Media.

Rida joined the Australian Disability Network as Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer in February 2017.

Prior to joining, Rida held various executive assistant positions providing high level and confidential support to senior executives in government, legal, commercial and multinational organisations. Besides providing one-on-one support, she has worked effectively with both internal and external stakeholders to achieve organisational goals and objectives. Rida also possesses extensive experience in office administration and people management.

Rida attained her Bachelor degree (major in administration and management) from the University of New England, Australia.

Email: rida.leung@AusDN.org.au
Phone: 02 8270 9219

Stephanie brings extensive cross-functional expertise to the Australian Disability Network, having made significant contributions across to our flagship Programs and member services.

In her current role as Senior Manager, Member Insights and Innovation, Stephanie leads innovative solutions that are aligned with the needs and priorities of our members.

At the start of her journey with AusDN, Stephanie worked on the Internship and Mentorship Programs, leading to the rapid growth of both programs.

Driven by her commitment to creating inclusive workplaces, she transitioned to the Member Experience team where she developed strong relationship with members, delivered bespoke solutions to support their access and inclusion goals, orchestrated meaningful connections through member networking and roundtable events and mentoring the Member Experience team.

Her unique perspective across multiple functions enables her to identify synergies, share best practices, and drive collaborative solutions that amplify the network’s collective impact.

Throughout her tenure, she has demonstrated the value of cross-functional leadership, using insights from each area to enhance outcomes across the organisation.

Mia joined Australian Disability Network as an Associate Relationship Manager in February 2024. She was promoted to Relationship Manager in March 2025.

She has  experience supporting organisations to provide more accessible services, collaborating with customers to ensure communications were written in Plain Language and Easy Read, as well as delivering training, facilitating focus groups and managing projects.

The highlight of her career was leading a project which looked at developing several resources to support children with disability participate and engage in safety online.

Outside of work, Mia enjoys hosting dinners at home where she gets to cook and share a meal with family and friends. She also loves traveling and learning about new cultures and traditions.

Ryllonna joined the Australian Disability Network (AusDN) team as a Relationship Manager in November 2023.

She comes to with over 15 years experience in Employee Relations and Team Leadership with the Canadian federal government. In her role with the Department of National Defence, she worked with senior leadership, providing education and training on human rights legislation, workplace adjustments and people management. Ryllonna also has experience representing the Department at the mediation table for Canadian Human Rights complaints, finding resolution and ensuring employees’ needs and requirements were respected.

Her passion for education kept her busy as she also spent the last five years teaching part-time in post-secondary education. She worked as a college instructor in a Human Resources post-grad certification program.

Prior to working in the public service, Ryllonna worked in the non-profit sector, specializing in community development, employment services and training and facilitation. With her recent move to Australia, Ryllonna is very excited to use her advisory experience in a way that gets back to her roots in the nonprofit sector. She looks forward to making an impact in the disability space and is thrilled to be a part of the team at AusDN.

Ryllonna holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Community Development, specializing in communication from the University of Cape Breton, in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, where she grew up. Although Sydney, NSW, is a bigger, warmer city than where she was raised, she always feels at home by the ocean and is excited for all that Australia has to offer.

Catherine joined the Australian Disability Network in June 2023 as the Research Lead.

She has worked in the disability sector for 15 years. Catherine also has extensive experience in learning and development for support workers, specialising in person-centred practice.

At NSW Council for Intellectual Disability, she learned a lot from project workers about producing accessible materials in Easy Read and how to co-design training courses and policies and procedures.

Catherine completed her PhD at the University of Technology Sydney in 2022. Her research foregrounded the “insider perspectives” of people with intellectual disability and support workers. She also has a Master of Education, a post-graduate Diploma of Adult Education, a Bachelor of Arts, and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

Founding a broadcasting project in partnership with people with intellectual disability is a highlight of her career. ‘Making Airwaves’ promoted inclusion and the right to be heard and was a finalist in the NSW Disability Industry Innovation Awards in 2013.

Catherine volunteers at the Sewing Basket, Achieve Australia’s social enterprise that employs people with disability to sort and sell donated fabrics, machines, and other craft materials. This satisfies another of her passions – a sustainable environment – as these crafty goods are saved from landfill.

Outside of work, Catherine is very keen on the theatre, practising yoga, making her own clothes, and being creative. She loves walks with her fluffy rescue cats (yes, really!)

Rachel joined Australian Disability Network  in January 2023, following a career break.

Rachel previously worked at Carers NSW delivering a program that supported employers to develop carer-friendly workplaces and formally recognised those who did. Rachel wanted to continue to work purposefully and to drive equitable inclusion in organisations.

Rachel’s experience also includes working as a Relationship Manager providing career transition and career management services to employers. Working with HR professionals Rachel enjoyed developing and delivering solutions to support employees to exit organisations with dignity and respect.

Nathan (Nate) is responsible for managing Australian Disability Network’s online presence and improving the digital experience of our internal and external stakeholders. He is a seasoned digital marketing and communications professional with extensive experience in the for-profit sector.

Nathan’s connection to disability is personal and stems from his lived experience. He is passionate about improving the disability confidence of businesses in Australia. Through his career, he has seen the positive impact inclusive practices and accessible technologies can have on people with disability and businesses.

Nathan is a foodie and enjoys trying cuisines from different cultures.

Lydia joined the Australian Disability Network team  in October 2023.

Prior to joining, Lydia worked in a range of areas such as Universities, UK National Health System. Her most recent role was in the corporate world at Stockland working in Commercial Property, Legal, and IT Project Management.

Lydia is passionate about the intersection of technology, innovation and disability particularly universal design and how this provides dignified and equitable experience.

Outside of work, Lydia enjoys listening to an audiobook or podcast while gardening, growing her vegetable, art, and sewing. When there’s a spare weekend, Lydia can be found going out and about in nature with her dog Freddie or trying new restaurants or recipes to cook.

Liisa joined the Australian Disability Network  in January 2023.

She moved to Australia from Sweden in 2015, hence the spelling of her name, which is pronounced the same as Lisa (Lee-sah).

She has qualifications in digital development, cognitive science, and project management. She comes to us with experience in recruitment services and sales in commercial and in the not-for-profit sector.

She’s passionate about inclusion in the community and accessibility for all. She cares about intersectionality and has volunteered for refugee and LGBTQIA+ communities.

You’ll often find her with her dog, Milo, glued to her side. She’s currently learning French and Auslan, is an avid gamer and enjoys spending time outdoors.

Ari joined the Australian Disability Network as a Business Analyst, part-time in Jan 2022, and then becoming permanent in May 2022.

Prior to Joining, Ari has worked as a Senior Project Manager, managing Business and Technical transformation projects, implementation of major products into organisations, as well as business projects.

He has also worked as a Business Analyst and programmer and has a wealth of knowledge in the IT industry, having worked in Insurance, Government, Data Analytics, Financial Companies.

Ari is passionate about all aspects of Information Technology and how it can enable people to perform to the best of their ability.

Email: Ari.Perala@AusDN.org.au

Phone: (02) 8270 9201

Regine joined the Australian Disability Network as the Marketing Coordinator in July 2023. She joins us with experience in the disability sector and digital marketing.

She studied a Bachelor of video game development. She is a gamer who is interested in the potential of video games and the positive impact it can have on society, particularly in bringing people together on interact digitally.

Regine is passionate about social justice and supporting those that are vulnerable. She travelled to the Philippines to help locals rebuild their village after a devastating earthquake. She also went to a disability hospital in Mexico to spend time with patients and people who are homeless. She also taught them English!

Mackenzie Small joined the Australian Disability Network in November 2023. Prior to that, Mackenzie’s career has spanned 10 years across the employment and disability sectors where he has worked in recruitment, disability employment and partnerships. Mackenzie is passionate about diversity and inclusion in all its aspects, particularly where disability intersects with other parts of people’s identities.

Most recently, Mackenzie established the partnerships and engagement function for the Disability Gateway, a Department of Social Services funded information and linkages program for people with disability, their families, friends and carers to help find the support they need in Australia. In that role he managed relationships across government, peak bodies, advocacy organisations and the community services sector. A particular highlight within this role was during the COVID-19 global pandemic where he created a national referral pathway network for people with disability to access vaccines in their own home if they couldn’t access it via their doctor’s office or vaccination sites due to their accessibility requirements.

Outside of work, Mackenzie and his husband enjoy scuba diving, candle making and spending time on their family farms with their two rescue cats, Bella and Nala. A fun fact about Mackenzie is that he can’t recall any useful information for trivia, but he has a talent for recalling quotes from movies and tv shows!

Christopher joined the Australian Disability Network  as Training Lead in September 2022. He comes with seven years of experience in disability sector roles.

A teacher with over 15 years of experience, he worked at the Western Sydney University as their Academic Advisor (Language Enhancement). He has also worked in TAFEs and for two years in Berlin as a corporate trainer.

Passionate about social justice, he’s worked in Sydney’s western suburbs training refugees and migrants. He has also worked as a consultant in CALD communities.

Christopher has a Masters in writing. He is also a Leo who loves cheese.

David joined Australian Disability Network as a Relationship Manager in January 2024.

Before joining the team, David worked at Deakin University in the National Disability Coordination Officer role where he was tasked to work towards removing barriers for students with disability in the Higher Education space and for subsequent employment. David also worked at JobAccess NDRC, the Employer Engagement Service as a Professional Adviser.

David’s career highlight is co-developing Accessible ICT Procurement Guidelines for Higher Education which has been adopted by most universities in Australia.

David loves to travel for food and claims to have a quirky obsession with trying KFC wherever he visits, his favourite so far is Taiwan.

With a sporty youth, David’s first ever cricket match he bowled a hat-trick which earned him a higher batting order which resulted in him being bowled out for a golden duck and putting the opposing bowler on a hat-trick. The ending of the story is rewarded to those who meet David personally!

Emilie joined the Australian Disability Network in November 2022.

Alongside completing her Bachelor of Visual Arts, Digital Media at ANU and a Diploma of Graphic Design at the CATC Design School, Emilie brings over six years of experience in freelance content creation to our team.

Often found sketching away in her notepad, enjoying a good book or taking part in outdoor adventures, Emilie is passionate about contributing her creativity and enthusiasm to positively impact the broader community.

Kylie joined Australian Disability Network  as Accounts Administrator in July 2022.

Before joining, she worked for 15 years in the Marine Construction industry.

During her time as Office Manager for Sub Sea Global, Kylie took on roles in finance, payroll, compliance, WHS and employee training.

Kylie enjoys working in accounts and has a passion for gardening.

Lisa Whinnen joined  Australian Disability Network as a Disability Consultant in July 2024.

She has over 17 years’ experience in the property sector, most recently as Social Sustainability Manager – Partnerships and Engagement at Stockland, where she managed national partnerships and volunteering initiatives with a focus on capability and capacity building for our partners and employees.

She also previously worked at Variety, the Children’s Charity as Inclusive Play Manager.

She has a deep focus and passion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, where her lived experience and extensive connections in the disability sector give her a holistic, informed and ‘person first’ approach.

In her career, she is proud of leading the creation and implementation of Sensory Maps in over 20 shopping centres in my previous role. An Australian first in the property industry.

Outside of work, she enjoys all things interior design and travelling the world with her family (but her bank account doesn’t!). She also has 3 mischievous rescue cats.

A fun fact about her is that she once climbed Mt Kinabalu in Borneo on a whim, which is 13,000 feet tall and full of rocky terrain. It took her 3 days!