Our Team

The Afford Senior Management Team have a wide and varied operational and strategic skillset. Their collaboration as a dynamic unit has lead to exciting progress for Afford, and continues to excite as we move confidently toward full roll-out of the NDIS.

Steven Herald
Chief Executive Officer

B. Bus, CA

Steve has a care and passion for supporting people with disability to achieve extraordinary things, and was drawn to the sector by his personal experiences with close family members.

Steve has held Senior Executive roles for various Service Retail multi-nationals, including Flight Centre, Mister Minit and Hoyts. Steve is an expert in change management, customer service and financial efficiency across high volume and geographically spread operations.

Joy Kumar
Chief Operating Officer

B.Bus, MBL

Joy’s core values of giving back, has drawn her to this Sector and more importantly Afford as she believes Affords values of Integrity, empathy & excellence aligns perfectly with her own. Her passion lies in delivering authentic customer service excellence whilst ensuring the commercial viability of a business to ensure we reach as many clients as possible to make positive impacts in their lives.

Joy joined Afford after a commercial career in the banking sector with Westpac and NAB. With 17 years’ experience in business development, networking, lending, sales, facilitating, project management & Leadership. Joy has worked in different areas within financial services ranging from Retail, Business & Corporate banking & also shared group services, which is complemented by her Degree in Accounting.

Joy oversees Day Programs, Allied Health and the Afford Academy but her influence is also felt across many areas including Sales and Finance. Given her background, she is able to help drive process improvements and improve the link of Operations and Customer Service by leading our Complaints & Customer Experience process.

Gordon Griff
Executive Manager – Commercial Services

Diploma Business Administration, Diploma Hospitality

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.

Christina Emmanouel
Executive Manager – Commercial Development & Legal, Company Secretary

LLB

Christina is responsible for leading organisational growth through oversight of Afford’s Sales, Property, Marketing and Fundraising Teams.

Her interface with NDIS policy and regulation coupled with the management of Afford’s new business portfolio, informs the organisation’s positioning in the marketplace. She is also responsible for strategic growth via mergers and partnerships.

Allan Sio
Executive Manager – Client Services (QLD)

Allan joined Afford in 2015. Allan is responsible for the operational management and strategic development of Afford’s Queensland operations. He has six years of experience working in complex one-to-one and crisis scenarios that has shaped his informed and practical approach to middle and senior management.

Part of his experience is working in the education department as a teacher’s aide working in primary schools with young children with complex needs and challenging behaviours. Allan’s comprehensive frontline and managerial experience gives him the knowledge and expertise to lead our operations in Queensland, liaise with relevant stakeholders and support business development.

Kym Mafi
Executive Manager – Accommodation & Respite (NSW/VIC)

Diploma In Disability & Case Management

Kym joined Afford in 2011. Kym began in Day Programs at Kings Park and has been with Afford for nine years. Kym has a great knowledge of the sector and Afford.

Kym is responsible for over 120 residents enjoying the Afford Lifestyle, 3 Respite homes, and leads a team of 4 District Managers and 4 Team Leaders. Together they all ensure that our residents lead the best lifestyle possible.

Amira Salama
Executive Manager – Day Programs (NSW/VIC)

Cert IV and Dip.Disability, B. Sci and Ed

Amira joined Afford in 2015 as a Team Leader, before progressing to District Manager and then State Manager NSW. Amira has a background in Education prior to making a career transition into the Disability sector. She studied a Cert IV and a Diploma in Disability Service and has since been in the sector for over 10 years.

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

Candace Burke
Executive Manager – Human Resources

Graduate Certificate (HR Management)

Candace joined Afford in 2018. She has over 12 years’ experience in recruitment and human resources (HR).

In her role with Afford, Candace is responsible for the delivery of professional and comprehensive HR services including Employee Relations, Recruitment, Training, Industrial Relations, Employer of Choice and Remuneration and Benefits.

What our clients say

Received my make up bag today from 12 days of xmas contests tysm all the staff and clients at @afford. You guys are amazing

A truly wonderful organisation. Afford make incredible differences in the lives of people with disability every day — they go the extra mile every time and are always a pleasure to deal with. Keep up the awesome work!

Afford was our savour after we had a bad time. Afford helped Steven get a job and some self esteem, something he really need! They have helped him in every way. He still goes to the Blacktown lifestyle centre.

I love my room here. I chose the colours myself. I also love my bike, my bed and my own TV. It’s my own space to be myself.

I will always be grateful to the Afford staff for all their help they gave me, and keep giving Luis (and me) following his transplant. It was an extremely stressful time and they worked with me to make sure that Luis’ health, his physical and emotional needs were met. For Luis, the opportunity to spend time with others and enjoy activities has really made a difference in his life.

Afford Liverpool are very persistent and helpful. They never gave up on me. I love my job. It’s really empowering to do something I enjoy, top build on my skills and it’s really boosted my confidence.

I loved travelling to Disneyland. It was a ten year dream that I had and I had such a great time going on the rides, seeing the movie characters and having fun with my friends.