Jo Toohey

Chief Executive Officer

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 previous 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, customer advocacy and cultivating high levels of staff engagement.

Leith Sterling

Executive Director Consumer Experience and Safeguarding

Leith joined Afford in 2022 as the Executive Director Consumer Experience and Safeguarding. She joins the team with a wealth of experience across disability, aged care, child, youth and family care. She has held various senior and executive roles, including leading risk, quality, safeguarding, and practice functions at other organisations.

Leith also has significant operational experience and is well respected by staff for ensuring that operations are involved in developing new systems and processes.

She is deeply passionate about the disability industry and in her work and family experiences, she consistently demonstrates a strong commitment to reconciliation.

Amira Salama

Chief Operating Officer

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 customers, 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.

Peter Orr

Chief Operating Officer

Peter Orr joined Afford in 2022 as Chief Operating Officer. He is a highly experienced executive leader with a strong background in service delivery and experience across disability, aged care, mental health, primary health and homelessness services.

Peter is skilled in guiding high performing teams of over 900 people, driving strategic change initiatives, coaching and developing leaders. He is passionate about delivering high-quality outcomes for people with disability through innovation and technology.

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.

Kym Mafi

Executive Manager – Accommodation and Respite

Diploma In Disability & Case Management

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

Kym is responsible for over 183 residents enjoying the Afford Lifestyle across 39 supported accommodation homes, 5 respite homes, and leads a team of 5 District Managers. Together they all ensure that our residents lead the best lifestyle possible.

Nick Johnson

Chief Financial Officer

Nick joined Afford in January 2022, having most recently served as the CFO for The Benevolent Society, where he looked after finance, IT, procurement, property and fleet. In addition, Nick has worked in several senior executive finance and transformation roles across various industries, including human services, IT, building and construction, banking and finance.

He is a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Secretary and Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors and has lived and worked across many countries in Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific.

Over his career, Nick has built and led large teams, driven several significant transformations, created strong business partnership cultures and led day-to-day functions.

Bree Godden

Executive Director ‑ Brand and Engagement

Bree Godden joined Afford in 2022 as the Director of Brand and Engagement. Bree is a strategic and influential leader with more than fifteen years of experience in the Australian and international brand, engagement and corporate affairs arena.

Bree has deep expertise in crisis and change communications, brand building, stakeholder engagement, fundraising, strategic marketing and is an accomplished organisational spokesperson. She joins us from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, where she held the position of GM Corporate Affairs and Fundraising. Before that role, Bree worked at The Y (YMCA) NSW and was the driving force behind the organisation’s rebranding, reputational repositioning, and the reinvigoration of their PR and engagement strategies.

Bree is guided by integrity, authenticity, and compassion. She is passionate about building and maintaining reputational trust in for-purpose organisations, and driving successful outcomes that benefit vulnerable communities.

Cristina Alvarez

Marketing, Events, Grants & Fundraising Manager

Cert III Financial Services

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 customers 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 customers.

Kim Nguyen

Property Manager

Kim’s role is to lead the property team in property acquisition, commercial leasing as well as on going upkeep of Afford’s properties.

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 customers individual needs are met by carrying out required modifications in accordance with recommendations from the customers 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 lifestyle centres for customers.

Kiralee Jackson

Training and Compliance Manager

Cert III Business Administration, Cert IV Disabilities, Diploma Disabilities

Kiralee has worked in the disability sector for over 10 years, with demonstrated history of working in a non-profit organisation management industry.

She has experience in Skilled coaching, strategic planning, leadership development, crisis management and case management. She has worked in senior management roles throughout Operations (Lifestyle Centre, 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 .

Jim Win

New South Wales Manager – DES and SLES

Bachelor of Business Management, Dip in Employment Service, Dip in Disabilities services, Cert IV in Training and Assessing.

Jim’s passion is to bring out the best in people, both our staff and the vulnerable participants who we assist every day in changing their lives by supporting them in obtaining and sustaining them in open employment.

Jim joined afford in 2018, he is a highly experienced manager with 28 years the Employment Services sector and 14 years in the Management of Disability Employment Services (DES) making him highly capable in leading Afford’s DES and SLES team in NSW.

Jessica Jane Norman

Recruitment Manager

Cert III Business Admin

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 customers.

Symone Marjanovic

SLES Manager

Cert IV in Training and Assessment
Cert III in individual support (disability)

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!

Julio Cevallos

Support Coordination Manager

Bachelors in Social Science, Masters in Social Work, Masters in Business Administration (MBA) (current)

Julio is the Afford National Manager for Support Coordination, responsible for managing a team of highly skilled support coordinators nation-wide who in-turn put quality of service and passion at the forefront of their service delivery.

Julio has valuable past experience delivering both standard and Specialist Support Coordination throughout all regions of NSW. Equipped with a Bachelor’s in Social Science and Master’s in Social Work, Julio has learnt to acknowledge and master the theories behind what he practices within his current profession.

Julio has a proven track record of success in all roles undertaken to date whilst currently being an effective and passionate National Manager & Head of Support Coordination within Afford.

Sulett Van Wyk

Customer Care Manager

Masters Computer Diploma / ITIL V3 / RE 5 (Regulatory Financial Accreditation South Africa) / Cert I Financial Planning / Cert II Financial Planning / CERT III Individual Support CHC33015

Sulett migrated to Australia in 2016 and joined Afford in Sydney in April 2017 as a Lifestyle Assistant. Following her move to QLD she became a Customer Care Manager overseeing new customer intakes within the business. Sulett comes from a financial planning back ground and prior to that worked in the ICT industry in both South Africa and Australia.

Working within the disability sector is her passion and ensuring all new Afford customers 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.

Belinda Smith

District Manager – Lifestyle Centres Central East NSW, SA & WA

Cert III in childcare

Belinda started with Afford in 2017 as a frontline staff member at Oran Park Lifestyle Centre and then moved into the Customer Care team, with her experience in different areas of Afford she now is the District Manager for the Central East Lifestyle Centres.

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

Sussan Browne

District Manager – South West Accommodation

Sussan joined Afford in 2017 as a Lifestyle Assistant at Penrith Accommodation. She has 8 years’ experience working within the disability industry, with the last 3 years being with Afford. During her time with Afford she has worked in both accommodation and respite. Sussan has a passion for working with her customers and helping them achieve 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 customers and families.

Tracy Younie

District Manager – Accommodation and Respite New South Wales 

Cert IV in Nursing, Cert IV in Frontline Management, Cert IV in Training and Assessment

Tracy has worked in the disability industry for over 20 years.

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.

Donna Haviland

District Manager – Far West Accommodation

BA Community & Human Services, Certificate III & IV in Aged Care, Certificate IV in Mental Health, Certificate IV in Alcohol & Other Drugs

Donna joined Afford in February 2017 as a Team Leader for several supported accommodation homes in Far West Sydney and was promoted to District Manager of Far West Accommodation. She has 14 years’ experience in community and social services beginning in aged and dementia care, mental health and drug and alcohol and now specialising in disability. Donna leads a team of 5 dedicated Team Leaders who are just as compassionate and dedicated as her in ensuring our residents are supported to live their best lives.

Antoinette Imbruglia

District Manager – Illawarra Region

Certificate IV in Disability

Antoinette has been working for Afford since 2015. She started with us running art and craft lessons with customers 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 lifestyle centre, 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 Holtzhausen

District Manager – Lifestyle Centres Sydney Far West and Victoria 

Mental Health First Aid
Certificate in Bookkeeping
Cert IV in Leadership and Management

Serina immigrated to Australia in 2015 and started working at Afford in 2017 as a lifestyle assistant across lifestyle centres and respite. She loves the sector and strongly believes what our customers 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 customers to grow and experience life. She lives by faith, hope and love and embodies these words into her everyday work life.

Maddison Haines

District Manager – Lifestyle Centres Sydney South West

Bachelor of Arts

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 Lifestyle Centre 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 Elnajar

Customer Care State Manager – NSW and VIC

Diploma in Business (Human Resources), Diploma in Case Management, Diploma in Community Services, Certificate IV Training and Assessment

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 customers access the wide range of Afford’s supports and services.

This role sees her providing new customers 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 customers’ experiences.

Jessica Scicluna

Events Coordinator – Club Afford, Getaways and Carers Events

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 customers and helping them develop meaningful lifelong friendships and supporting our carers and families to ensure their wellbeing.

Mariska Tribelhorn

Business Manager – Factories

Certificate IV in Property Management

Mariska joined Afford in 2017 as a Lifestyle Assistant. Her passion and commitment to help ADEs reach their goals saw Mariska progressing to a Vocational Support Officer for the ADEs at the Minchinbury factory and then to Factory Supervisor. After her continued success in these positions, Mariska fulfilled the new role of Commercial Services Administrator where she was responsible for senior administration tasks as directed by the Executive. Soon thereafter, Mariska accepted the position of Factory Manager at Minchinbury factory to ensure the wellbeing of all supported employees and running a fully operational factory. During 2020 Mariska then progressed to the position of Business Manager where she assists in overseeing the day to day operations across all factories.

Mariska’s care and motivation to support her ADEs and help them achieve good outcomes, combined with her background of corporate banking, has led her down a path of exposure to many areas of Afford – all enabling her to continue adding enormous value in all that she does.

Susan Guest

Factory Manager Ingleburn ADE

BA (LibSci), NSW JP, Certificate Staff Supervision, Certificate IV Disability

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.

Gary Harrison

Business Manager –Minto Pallet Division

Trade Certificate – Fitting & Machining
Production Engineering
Certificate IV – Warehousing Management

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 (customers) with a safe & supportive environment for them to come to work.

Allison Storjohann

Accommodation Advisor – NSW, QLD and VIC

Diploma of Community Services
Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

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.

Susanna Chase

NDIS Specialist Support Coordinator – NSW Senior

Diploma in Counselling
Certificate IV in Community Services
Certificate III in Out of School Hours Care

Susanna is the NSW Senior NDIS Specialist Support Coordinator. As a Specialist Support Coordinator, Susanna can provide a higher level of Support Coordination to those experiencing complex health, education, or housing challenges.

She joined Afford after working as an NDIS Local Area Coordinator for UnitingCare Australia for a year and a half. She is also equipped with a Diploma in Counselling, Certificate IIII in Community services, Certificate III in Out of School Hours Care.

Her vast experiences and knowledge ensure that she provides practical and passionate care to customers.

Natalie Baker

District Manager – QLD North Group Homes

Bachelors of Nursing, Diploma of Nursing, Diploma in Disability services, Certificate III Aged care, Certificate III Drug and Alcohol testing, Certificate III Phlebotomy and Haematologic Cultures

Natalie has worked in the health field for 20 years and is passionate about helping others achieve their goals. She currently leads our North Queensland Supported Accommodation sites to success and manages a dedicated and passionate team.

Natalie joined Afford with ten years of experience in the emergency department and had recently worked as a Clinical Lead and Regional Manager in aged care.

Tuamaki Tagaloa

District Manager – Group homes and Respite for Queensland South

Certificate IV Leadership and Management

Tuamaki joined Afford in October 2019 as the Team Leader for Waterford and Benowa Short Term Accommodation. She has been instrumental in growing Afford’s services and supports in Queensland. In April 2021, Tuamaki transitioned to her current role of District Manager.

She has 20 years of experience in the disability sector and has worked across administration, finance, policy, auditing and project management, the NDIS transition team and the Department of Family and Community Services, to name a few previous roles.

As a passionate advocate for those with disability, Tuamaki loves being a part of our customer’s journey to finding their forever homes.

Charlie Seu

District Manager – Lifestyle Centres South Queensland, South Australia & Western Australia

Cert IV in disability & Diploma Leisure and Health

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 Lifestyle Centres. Charlie loves his job and is leading a great team. He credits Executive Manager – Customer Services (QLD), Allan Sio as his mentor. Together they ensure QLD keep the Afford culture growing.

Karina Johnson

Allied Health Team Leader- QLD
Clinical Psychologist

Masters of Psychology (Clinical)
Bachelor of Social Science (Psych)(Hons)
Bachelor of Social Science (Psych)(Counselling)
Certificate IV in Mental Health

Karina joined Afford in 2018 during the Allied Health expansion into Queensland. She has experience working in disability, disability employment, chronic conditions, mental health and with customers with various presentations across the lifespan. She is a board approved supervisor and supervises provisional psychologists working within the disability field. She has a passion for advocacy and assisting customers to reach their full potential.

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

Julian Vilsten

Psychologist
Team Leader – Allied Health VIC/SA/WA

Bachelor of Behavioural Neuroscience (Honours)
Masters of Clinical Neuropsychology

Julian joined the Afford team in mid-2019 and is moving into his 4th year working within the disability field. He has a passion for supporting individuals to make long term and enduring changes to their lives and in minimising the use of restrictive interventions for people with disabilities. He also has a particular interest in supporting individuals with disorders impacting on neurological functioning.

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

Joshua Kent

District Manager – Victoria North and West and Acting District Manager – SA & WA Accommodation

Certificate IV in Disability

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 customers, providing the best quality service possible.

Farai Chikosi

Acting District Manager – Victoria South-East Supported Accommodation & Respite

Certificate IV in Mental Health
Diploma of Community Services
Bachelor of Commerce – Money Banking and Finance
3rd year Psychology student

Farai joined Afford in 2019 to follow his innate passion for helping and motivating others. He began as a lifestyle assistant and quickly progressed to team leader, followed by district manager.

His close work with customers and teams has supported Afford’s continued expansion in Victoria. Farai strives to bring out the best in his team by always empowering them to achieve their potential.

Emari Harry

Customer Care State Manager –  SA and WA

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 customers 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.

Arinze Ezeobi

Acting Team Leader

Diploma in Community Service and Certificate III in Individual Support

Arinze has been working in the disability sector for a total of seven years. He joined Afford with experience working as a Team Leader and Customer Services Support Leader.

He is currently supporting Afford’s expansion in South Australia and oversees the Holden Hill and Morphett Vale sites.

Arinze is passionate about positively impacting the lives of people with disability and the organisation at large. He has outstanding leadership, problem-solving and organisational skills that drive him to success every day.

Jefferlyn Johnson

Acting Team Leader

Certificate III in Aged Care & Children Services
Certificate IIII in Health Science
Diploma in Nursing
Diploma in Community Services
Certificate in Management Skills

Jefferlyn is passionate about helping people with disability achieve their goals. She entered the care industry by working in aged care services before progressing into the disability sector. Jefferlyn has now been working in the care industry for over ten years. She brings confidence and extensive knowledge to her role, thanks to her previous experiences and extensive training. 

Maxwell Ihegboro

Accommodation Advisor – SA & WA

Certificate IV in Disability
Certificate III in Aged Care
Bachelor of Business Management
Masters of Professional Accounting

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.