Jo has more than 30 years of experience in human services across aged care, child, youth, family care and disability services. Her previous positions have given her significant experience in cultural, financial and organisational transformation.

Jo was the previously CEO of The Benevolent Society. She joined the organisation in 2013 as NSW State Director before accepting the role of CEO in 2015. Previously, Jo was the Head of Operations for UnitingCare Ageing NSW and ACT.

Throughout her career, Jo has been instrumental in driving service delivery outcomes, organisational growth, client advocacy and cultivating high levels of staff engagement.

She has worked in various frontline roles and has firsthand experience managing relationships with clients, families, careers and staff. Having worked across various frontline roles such as Lifestyle Assistant, Vocational Training Officer and Market Area Coordinator gives her a wealth of practical experience.

Gordon comes to Afford with a wealth of experience in business development. He is passionate about developing business partnerships and contributing to the growth of employment opportunities for people living with disability.

Gordon’s previous roles have involved the management of employment within the Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE) sector, as well as experience in hotels in Australia and the UK. Gordon is enthusiastic about showcasing the unique and various skills and talents of people living with disability across Afford services in Australia.

Wayne joined Afford in June 2019 as the District Manager for Far West Day Programs, where he oversees 7 sites and over 350 clients.

He has previous management experience in the Aged Care sector, delivering in home supports across NSW/ACT.

Wayne is also a foster carer for Indigenous kids and has been doing this for the last 6 years, caring for vulnerable children with complex needs and behaviours.

Marija joined Afford in 2021 and has a background human resources management and industrial relations.

Prior to joining Afford, Marija was the Head of Human Resources for TPG Telecom leading its multinational people, pay, safety and quality function. At Afford, Marija will be leading the Human Resources Team that supports Afford’s increasingly successful operation in the disabilities services sector.

Dale joined Afford in 2021 and has experience working in Executive finance roles.

Dale is responsible for a team of staff who provide Finance services and Information Technology services to the business.

Together they all ensure that our Finance and IT support services provide our staff and clients with a high level of support.

Cristina joined Afford in 2006, with a back ground in sales she is responsible for leading and overseeing organisational growth through management of Affords Cherrywood Raffles, Events, Marketing and Fundraising departments.

Cristina is dedicated to passionately delivering the best events in the sector to ensure that all clients have fun and enjoy their best life. Cristina also oversees Afford Getaways, Club Afford and Grants.

Cristina guides an enthusiastic, dedicated and bubbly team of people who share her passion for Afford and our clients.

With an extensive background in property she brings valuable experience & knowledge relating to property purchases, commercial leasing and project management.

She works cohesively with the operations team to ensure clients individual needs are met by carrying out required modifications in accordance with recommendations from the clients support workers & Occupational Therapist staff, whilst making sure that all properties are compliant with the building code of Australia as well as each individual local council requirements.

Kim is passionate about providing exceptional quality homes and day programs for clients.

She has experience in Skilled coaching, strategic planning, leadership development, crisis management and case management. She has worked in senior management roles throughout Operations (Day Program, Respite and Group Homes) currently redeveloping training programs (formal and e-Learning) nationwide and is responsible for compliance across Afford and supporting subject matter experts though third party verification audits and ensuring policies and procedures are current .

Jessica joined Afford in February 2017 and during her time here, she has watched the organisation grow from operating in one small state to now operating nationwide.

Jessica is passionate about the disability sector and shares the Afford culture in her passions, values and commitment through her work ethic within the HR team.

She comes from a sales and recruitment background and is extremely driven and focused on providing exceptional quality candidates to the business. She was promoted to Senior Recruiter in 2018 and most recently involved in the implementation process of our internal Recruitment HRIS software. Jessica is very compliance-driven and always brings out the best in people.

In 2021 Jessica accepted the position of National Recruitment Manager where she will be leading a team of passionate recruiters who are dedicated to recruiting the best candidates for Afford and our clients.

Today Linda leads the Afford Allied Health team nationally, which consists of Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, Psychologists and Behaviour Support staff across NSW, VIC, QLD and the expansion into WA/SA.

Linda is passionate about bringing a voice to all individuals.

Symone has worked in the disability employment industry for over 12 years. Symone started her career in the disability sector as a Job club trainer in DES (Disability Employment Services), a Senior Vocational trainer in TTW (Transition to work) and then moved to the Team Leader position in Support Coordination, SLES (School Leaver Employment Supports) and Individual supports when NDIS took over in Sydney.

Symone Joined Afford in 2017 as Customer Care Manager South West Sydney and after 9 months, Symone’s Passion for helping young adults living with a disability to recognise and realise their potentials to gain further education, employment and/or independencesaw Symone stepping back into a familiar role as Afford’s Employment Supports Manager with SLES and ADEs.
With expected growth in the sector, SLES has grown and we now service SLES in QLD, VIC, SA and WA.

For Symone, there is nothing more rewarding then working with a young person who goes on to achieve their goals, especially when they thought they couldn’t, no matter how big or small!

Working within the disability sector is her passion and ensuring all new Afford clients receive the best possible support and service from our dedicated Customer Care team to enable them to live their best lives is Sulett’s driving force.

Today Stephanie currently leads the Afford Allied Health team nationally, which consists of Occupational Therapists and Speech Pathologists across NSW, VIC, QLD and the expansion into WA/SA.

In this role, Belinda oversees 7 Team Leaders over 5 different sites and responsible for over 400 clients. Belinda and her team work hard to ensure our clients get the best experience while working towards their goals.

Prior to coming to the sector, Susan had 2 years’ experience in the aged care sector as well as working with children in crisis, whilst studying to become a Registered Nurse working with the aged community and children with troubling lifestyles.

Sussan is now a District Manager for 7 beautiful supported accommodation homes with 29 residents living the Afford Lifestyle. Susan is committed to making a positive impact in the lives of her clients and families.

Tracy joined Afford in 2016 as a Team Leader at our Cherrywood/Llandilo site and was a major presence as a frontline staff member when residents moved into their new supported accommodation homes in Penrith. She was Team Leader for True Blue & Bluebird Supported Accommodation from 2016 – 2018. In 2018 Tracy was promoted to District Manager for Respite NSW Accommodation.

With 20 years in the disability industry has given Tracey the ability to run her department with success.

Antoinette has been working for Afford since 2015. She started with us running art and craft lessons with clients across multiple sites in New South Wales before progressing into a lifestyle assistant role across three sites.

She later transferred to only working at the Oran Park day program, where she became a senior lifestyle assistant before stepping into a team leader position.

Antoinette is passionate about her career and was recognised for her outstanding efforts by winning team leader of the year in 2020 at the Afford Annual Staff Awards.

Following her award, Antoinette was offered a senior team leader position before becoming district manager of Illawarra where she now oversees six sites and five team leaders.

Serina immigrated to Australia in 2015 and started working at Afford in 2017 as a lifestyle assistant across day programs and respite. She loves the sector and strongly believes what our clients teach us every day is invaluable.

Serina quickly progressed from lifestyle assistant to customer care manager. She then moved into a team leader role, followed by her current position, district manager. She has enjoyed working in several different roles at Afford, which contributed to her success and knowledge in the industry.

Being a Mum, Serina is a passionate advocate for inclusion and enabling our clients to grow and experience life. She lives by faith, hope and love and embodies these words into her everyday work life.

Maddison has been working in the disability sector for almost seven years, having joined Afford in 2015 as a volunteer while studying at university. She soon learned this was her desired career path and became employed by Afford as a casual lifestyle assistant.

Maddison was promoted to a senior position two years later in 2017, before stepping into a team leader role in 2018 across two Afford Day Program locations. Progressing even further, Maddison accepted a senior team leader position in October 2020 before her current role of District Manager South West.

She is extremely passionate and an advocate for the disability sector.

Nancy’s journey with Afford commenced in 2009, where she took on a Vocational Trainer and Factory Supervisor role.

Working for Afford has allowed her to follow her lifelong passion for helping people and making a difference in their lives. Nancy recently took up the role as Customer Care Manager, which allowed her to help new clients access the wide range of Afford’s supports and services.

This role sees her providing new clients with sound advice, which has allowed individuals to drive the best outcome to help achieve their goals within their NDIS plan.

She is privileged to now lead and positively impact the NSW Customer Care Team who have all had encouraging results on our clients’ experiences.

Jess joined Afford in 2019 with a background in business events having worked in the corporate and pharmaceutical events space for many years. She has taken on a more creative events role within Afford looking after our Club Afford and Getaways services, Carers Events within our Carer Support Program as well as supporting the Events team with their annual events calendar.

Jess loves being able to help people fulfil lifelong dreams for travel and exploring the world, connecting clients and helping them develop meaningful lifelong friendships and supporting our carers and families to ensure their wellbeing.

Susan joined Afford in 2013, initially in a part-time Customer Service role and then appointed into a full-time Operations Coordinator role the following year. In this role, Susan was responsible for various employment, warehousing, production and administration functions. Including the implementation of NAV across ADE businesses.

Having developed a passion for Supported Employment, Susan transferred to the Ingleburn ADE site and was appointed as Factory Manager in 2017. She integrated employees from 2 sites, streamlined production and created a high-performing Australian Disability Enterprise.

Along with the ADE Operations team, Susan helps to ensure that Afford’s “employees with abilities” achieve the best training and employment outcomes possible every day.

In 2018 the position responsibilities expanded and the role was re-evaluated to the title of Warehouse Coordinator. Seeking further challenges and growing within Afford, the Prestons ADE was added to her management portfolio as Factory Manager.

Gary joined Afford in 2000 bringing experienced Management Techniques to the business.

He has over 40 years’ experience in the Manufacturing Sector, with over 20 years in the timber industry. In his 20 years with Afford he has overseen the Pallet Division through many phases.

Beginning as a very small pallet business, Minto experienced rapid growth for a number of years. Gary endeavours at all times to provide all staff (clients) with a safe & supportive environment for them to come to work.

Allison started with Afford in Aug 2016 as a Lifestyle Assistant. Shortly after she was promoted to Accommodation Support Coordinator and following this role, a Team Leader in Afford’s Accommodation group homes in Far West Sydney for nearly four years.

Allison has over six years of experience in the disability sector, having worked at Sunnyfield before Afford and she has a background in real estate and recruitment.

Allison currently assists with SIL placement in Afford’s accommodation homes in NSW VIC and QLD.

Charlie has been working with Afford since 2018 with his journey starting as a Lifestyle Assistant in Sydney. He relocated his family from Sydney to live the dream in Queensland. Recently his persistence and hard work paid off and he was promoted to District Manager for South Queensland Day Programs. Charlie loves his job and is leading a great team. He credits Executive Manager – Client Services (QLD), Allan Sio as his mentor. Together they ensure QLD keep the Afford culture growing.

Today Karina currently leads the Afford Allied Health team for Queensland, which consists of Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists and Psychologists.

Julian leads the Victorian Allied Health team and the newly developing Allied Health teams in South Australia and Western Australia.

Josh has been working in the sector for nine years. He has extensive experience supporting people with complex and challenging behaviours to reach their goals.

Josh moved to Victoria in 2019, where he started at Afford as a Team Leader of our supported accommodation homes in Victoria.

Josh has assisted with the expansion of Victoria, which has now grown to allow for a second district. Josh and his team constantly strive to achieve great results with our clients, providing the best quality service possible.

Emari has worked in the customer service industry for over ten years. She recently made the life-changing decision to work in the care sector and joined Afford in 2020.

Emari prides herself on making sure that every meeting with clients is memorable and enjoyable.

She has the eagerness to learn and grow tremendously through this industry and to be able to make a change in someone’s life in a completely different way.

Roseanne has been working in the disability sector since 2015 as a support worker.

Working within the disability sector has become her passion. Achieving the client’s goals alongside them has always been her motivation.

Roseanne joined Afford in 2019 as a Lifestyle Assistant before progressing into a Team Leader role in Ipswich, QLD. She recently relocated to Adelaide and continues her team Leader role.

Maxwell joined Afford in September 2019 as a team leader overseeing three group homes in Greater Sydney. He had over ten years of experience in the disability sector and was previously employed at Ability Options, Catholic Care and Life without barriers.

Maxwell is currently supporting Afford’s expansion as the Accommodation Advisor for WA and SA. He assists with Supported Independent Living (SIL) placements in Afford’s homes and has a passion for helping people with disability achieve their goals.