Our Team

Avril Luo is a Senior Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner providing support grounded in dignity and respect.

With over six years’ experience across disability and mental health, Avril specialises in Functional Behaviour Assessments, Behaviour Support Plans, complex case management and restrictive practice reduction.

Fluent in English and Mandarin, and an accredited translator, her practice is inclusive and culturally safe.

Outside work, Avril is a musician, a dancer and a social justice advocate.

A cool and kind leader and mentor, Nick brings warmth, calmness and curiosity to his work supporting his team of Positive Behaviour Practitioners as well as his own clients.

Nick’s tertiary qualifications, including a Masters in Education (Primary) and a Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy, have given him the perfect grounding for his Senior Behaviour Support Practitioner role at Elcies.

Outside work, Nick is a live music aficionado and frequents concerts and events around Australia and the world.

Alyssa is a kind and quirky ray of sunshine. As a Behaviour Support Practitioner, Alyssa is dedicated to helping participants achieve their NDIS goals.

With a Bachelor of Disability and Developmental Education and a Certificate in Positive Behaviour Support, she collaborates with clients and their teams to enhance education and promote human rights.

Originally from California, Alyssa brings a vibrant energy to everything she does. Outside work, she enjoys dodgeball, her book club at a cat café, and travel.

A thoughtful and collaborative practitioner, Danish has a Master of Social Work and experience across youth work, child protection, disability, aged care and behaviour support.

He understands behaviour as communication and works alongside clients and families with care, respect and compassion.

Danish is passionate about reducing restrictive practices and promoting dignity, choice and independence through ethical, evidence-based support.

Outside work, he enjoys camping, cricket and stand-up comedy.

Deeptika provides person-centred, trauma-informed support, empowering individuals with diverse needs through evidence-based strategies that reduce challenging behaviours while building skills, inclusion and meaningful connections.

With 4+ years’ experience in the disability sector, including as a support worker and now a Behaviour Support Practitioner, Deeptika supports people to achieve their goals and exercise choice and control.

Outside work, she enjoys walking her dog, trying new recipes, and practising mindfulness to stay balanced and recharged.

Jashan uses behaviour as a lens to understand and support people with compassion, curiosity and respect.

She delivers person-centred, values-driven support that enhances quality of life and creates meaningful outcomes.

An experienced Behaviour Therapist, Jashan specialises in PBS, trauma-informed care and supporting people with complex needs across NDIS and community settings.

Outside work, she enjoys yoga, meditation, coastal walks and thoughtful podcasts.

Kareena is a dedicated Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner with a strong focus on supporting adults with psychosocial disabilities and those in forensic settings.

With a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psychology) and a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) behind her, Kareena uses evidence-based best practices, and takes a client-centered approach to help individuals build skills and independence.

Outside of work, she’s a bookworm who loves beach days and spending time with her family’s dogs.

Melissa’s background is in mental health, counselling and disability, including roles in social work, service coordination and capacity building across government and private settings.

She’d love to become an accredited disability social worker and deepen her skills in data collection, hypothesis development and intervention design.

Outside work, Michelle enjoys being mum to a young daughter, spending time with loved ones, and finding ‘me time’ whenever she can.

With over 20 years as a Speech Pathologist, Michelle is passionate about helping clients overcome communication challenges and nurturing the next generation of speechies. She combines therapy, research, and education to support both clients and future clinicians.

Holding a PhD and as an expert in stuttering and cluttering treatments, Michelle loves watching the confidence and potential of her clients and mentees bloom.

Fun facts: Michelle has two pet frogs and loves stepping out in a pair of headturning shoes.

Juri is a multilingual senior speech pathologist passionate about helping clients of all ages overcome communication challenges, improve social skills, and participation in everyday life. She takes a neurodiversity-affirming, client-centered approach, delivering therapy with kindness, honesty, and evidence-based techniques. Juri offers services in English, Albanian and Italian.

As a Clinical Practice Development Leader, Juri guides her team and develops innovative clinical practices. As a Clinical & Academic Educator, she mentors clinicians and students, nurturing the next generation of speech pathologists.

Juri works across speech and language disorders, social communication, stuttering, cluttering, voice, cognitive-communication challenges, swallowing, and paediatric feeding. Her therapeutic approach includes CBT, DBT and ACT to support clients with communication and social interaction challenges, including stuttering, social anxiety and social skills development.

Outside work, Juri is an artist and philanthropist.

Julia has spent much of her career working with people who stutter and clutter, with a special interest in speech sound disorders in young children, particularly bilingual English/Spanish speakers.

She holds a Master of Speech Pathology and has worked in clinical education, private practice, and fluency services.

Outside work, creative soul Julia is a singer/songwriter, silk aerialist, gardener and terrier lover.

Anna is a dedicated Speech Pathologist with a background in education and a special focus on supporting individuals who experience stuttering.

She holds a Masters in Speech Pathology, and a Bachelor in Primary/Middle School Education (arts stream). Known for her creativity, empathy and organisation, Anna fosters a supportive therapy environment.

Outside of work, she loves going on adventures with her partner and their energetic golden retriever puppy.

Hedra is a Speech Pathologist who is passionate about helping individuals build confidence in their communication and literacy skills. She has a particular interest in early intervention and enjoys supporting younger children to develop strong foundations for learning and connection.

Hedra values collaboration and works closely with families and individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. She is committed to providing inclusive and culturally responsive care that honours each client’s unique experiences and goals.

Outside of her work, Hedra enjoys reading and discovering new cuisines from around the world.

A knack for singing has led Monique to a career in Speech Pathology – a match made in heaven!

With a Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours) behind her, Monique loves to work in all areas of speech pathology, but is most passionate about supporting children and adults who may experience difficulties with their voice.

As a singer, Monique performs with a number of professional choirs, which often feature in top Adelaide arts and music events including WOMAD, the Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Fringe.

Olga holds a Bachelor (Honours) of Speech Pathology and is excited to commence her career as a Speech Pathologist with Better Self Speech Pathology.

She is passionate about supporting people with aphasia, a language disorder that can make it difficult to speak, understand, read, or write, often after a stroke or brain injury.

Olga is also committed to and passionate about ongoing professional growth. A lifelong learner, Olga enjoys reading, exploring new ideas, and continually expanding her knowledge to provide the best possible care for her clients.

Sally is passionate about supporting clients to reach their communication goals and fully participate in daily life and activities they enjoy.

She assists with social language, literacy, speech sounds and language skills, using tailored therapy to build confidence and encourage meaningful communication.

Trained in Sounds Write, It Takes Two to Talk and Key Word Sign, Sally also enjoys walking, crafting and cooking.

Cathrine is all about improving healthcare access and promoting wellbeing. Throughout her 10+ years in community health, she’s worked with school students to support health education, mental well-being, and access to resources; managed programs; coordinated with multidisciplinary teams and implemented community outreach initiatives.

In her role, she works to streamline processes and improve service delivery and community collaboration.

A hard worker and a people person, Cathrine also brings the fun!

A cool and kind leader and mentor, Nick brings warmth, calmness and curiosity to his work supporting his team of Positive Behaviour Practitioners as well as his own clients.

Outside work, Nick is a live music aficionado and frequents concerts and events around Australia and the world.

Alyssa is a kind and quirky ray of sunshine. As a Behaviour Support Practitioner, Alyssa is dedicated to helping participants achieve their NDIS goals.

With a Bachelor of Disability and Developmental Education and a Certificate in Positive Behaviour Support, she collaborates with clients and their teams to enhance education and promote human rights.

Originally from California, Alyssa brings a vibrant energy to everything she does. Outside work, she enjoys dodgeball, her book club at a cat café, and travel.

Meet our leadership team.

Leadership Team

Our Team

Our Team

Avril

Nick

Alyssa

Danish

Deeptika

Jashan

Kareena

Melissa

Dr Michelle Swift

Juri Pali

Julia Whittaker

Anna Bouras

Hedra Aminu

Monique Lymn

Olga Volodicheva

Sally Mak

Cathrine

Nick

Alyssa

Meet our leadership team.