Our Team

OUR TEAM

“All our dreams can come true,
if we have the courage to pursue them” Walt Disney

 

Our disability team is made up of unique, multicultural individuals who work proudly from a framework of inclusive practice. Every member of our team works to improve the quality of people’s lives by building authentic, genuine and professional relationships.

 

Our team is dedicated to raising community awareness of what it means to be vulnerable or to have a disability. Each member of our team shares their learnings and experience to benefit our clients, their family carers, the community and our team so that everyone can participate fully in the community life.

 

At DASH, we are dedicated to skills development and capacity building. We support our team to increase their mental health literacy and improve their professional practise. We work from evidence-based best-practice models for skills development across mental health and disability sectors.

OUR STAFF

Mariana Torres

Director & Senior Support Worker

Master of Social Work, Post Grad Dip. Intl. Comm. Dev.
and (Hons). Tourism.
Founder of DASH.
Has +20 years experience in Community Development and Social Work and +15 years in Disability and Mental Health. Mariana has worked with individuals experiencing schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, anxiety, stress, depression, substance-related and obsessive-compulsive disorders; Intellectual Disability, autism spectrum disorders, acquired brain injury, vision and neurological disabilities.
Mariana's passion is to travel and learn from others' cultures and different perspectives.
Languages: Spanish, French and English
Fav. quote: ‘Per aspera ad astra’ Through hardship to the stars.

Harjinder Kaur

Chief Operating Officer (COO) & Senior Support Worker

MBA and Cert. III in Individual Support
Experienced in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Disability, Mental Health and Developmental delay. Harjinder is an ambitious woman, who brings her ample knowledge in business administration and team leadership. Harjinder always works under a can-do attitude and loves challenges. Goal oriented, Harjinder is always looking for opportunities to do better and achieve greatness.
Languages: Hindi, Punjabi and English
Fav. quote: 'The Purpose of our Lives is to Be Happy'

Amy Constantinou

SERVICE MANAGER

BA. in Psychology & Dip. in Health Science
Amy is experienced in the mental health sector, counselling, and nutritional health. She is
upbeat, compassionate, active, and kind hearted. Amy is down to earth and strives to make
people feel comfortable around her. She loves animals and nature and enjoys cooking and
reading.
Favourite quote: 'this too shall pass.'

Nicole Brown

SERVICE MANAGER

Nicole is a Centre Manager with 17 years of experience, recognised for her leadership, organisational skills, and proven success in optimising productivity, enhancing customer satisfaction, and driving growth. She values collaboration, builds strong relationships, and is passionate about volunteering, animals, and nature.

Favourite quote: “Our destiny is not written for us, it’s written by us.” – Barack Obama

Carlos Salomao

recruitment consultant

Carlos holds an MBA in Business Administration and a BA in Psychology. He is a registered counsellor with the Australian Counselling Association and has over six years of experience in human resources, including talent acquisition, management, onboarding, policies, and employee engagement. With a passion for learning and growth, he values investing in people and communities, believing that everyone has unique talents that can drive positive change.

Languages: Portuguese & English
Favourite quote: “If not now, then when?” – Hillel the First

Sebastian Martinez

Organisation & Methods Analyst

Sebastian turns data into action. He analyses performance metrics, spots bottlenecks, and co-creates practical fixes—standardised workflows, automations, and KPI tracking—that help our teams deliver consistent, high-quality support. His focus: simpler processes, smarter decisions, better outcomes for our community. He recharges dancing salsa and playing football on weekends.

Qualifications: B.Eng. (Industrial Engineering)
Languages: English & Spanish
Favourite Quote: 'Talent wins games, but teamwork win championships.'— Michael Jordan

Isabella Meir

Team leader & Support Worker

Isabella is currently studying for a Bachelor of Nursing and holds Certificates II and III in Community Services. She loves the beach, warm weather, travelling, shopping, and spending time with friends. In her free time, Isabella enjoys dining out for a nice lunch or dinner and binge-watching great TV shows. She loves meeting new people, making new friends, and discovering common interests with others.
'Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.' — Oscar Wilde
Isabella speaks English fluently.

Heyam Eldik

Support Worker

Heyam is a driven individual who is always up for a challenge and has a passion for helping others whenever needed. She enjoys shopping, going to the beach, baking, caring for pets, and everything related to health and beauty.

Heyam is currently studying for a Bachelor of Nursing.

Languages spoken: English and basic Arabic.

Favourite quote: 'Dreams get you started – Action, Consistency, and Discipline are what keep you going.' – Brad Taylor.

Maria Dolors Padros

Personal Care Worker

Cert IV Disability and Cert III Early Ch.Educ. & Care
Experience in Mental Health, MS and Autism, Maria is passionate in supporting people reaching their personal goals. Family orientated, loves pets, the beach, movies and shops.
Languages: Catalan, Spanish, French and English
Favourite quote: 'Life is a succession of lessons which one must be live in order to learn'

Linda Weatherly

Support Worker

Cert. IV in Education Support
Having worked for various organisations, Linda brings outstanding interpersonal and people skills. Linda has experience in mental health, and currently works with clients experiencing schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Linda is an enthusiastic worker, is family oriented, loving, and caring. She is a good team player, great conversationalist and doesn't hesitate to go above and beyond when supporting participants.
Language: English.

Soroush Sarvestani

Support Worker

SOS holds an Honours degree and a Graduate Diploma in Psychology, driven by a strong motivation to support individuals facing mental health challenges. Combining an evidence-based approach with holistic psychology, SOS values the mind–body connection, mindfulness, and meditation as key tools for resilience.

Languages: English & Persian (Farsi)
Favourite quote: “Science is more than a body of knowledge. It’s a way of thinking.” – Carl Sagan

Jatinder Singh Gossal

Support Worker

Certificate III in fitness & Dip. in Hospitality.
Jatinder is a confident, hard-working and success-driven individual with ample range of skills. Jatinder loves to communicate with people and cherishes their everyday with professional level of service and care. Jatinder is a family oriented person, highly ambitious and comes with a great commitment towards working with vulnerable clients. Always looking forward to new opportunities to expand his knowledge and skills to serve people in a better way.

Patrick Chyzynski

Support Worker

Patrick has always had a passion for helping people better themselves. He has a wide range of experience, from coaching young kids in sport to helping adults achieve their fitness goals, and even assisting people with day-to-day tasks. Patrick always aims to motivate and empower individuals so they can be the best version of themselves. He has extensive experience working with people from all walks of life, regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity. He specialises in health, fitness, diet, and routine and has a strong interest in mental health and psychology.

Patrick’s current qualifications include a Diploma of Community Services, Cert IV in Child, Youth & Family Intervention, and completed Cert III & IV in Fitness.

He speaks both English and Polish.

Favourite quote: “You never lose, you either win or you learn.”

Oscar Salas

Support Worker

Oscar enjoys playing social cricket during summer, catching up with friends and family, watching live music and sport, exploring nature, and researching pop culture phenomena.

His qualifications include a Bachelor of Criminology.

Languages: English and basic-level Auslan.

Favourite quote: 'Disco Consulere Aliis' (learning to be considerate of others).

``The K Project``

Kreative professionals

¡Hola from Campeche, Mexico! 'Kreative with a 'K' because they like to do things differently. In charge of developing creative content, enriching the internal and external communication of DASH. Proud to work with Dash, and share with participants a beautiful journey, where everyone can reach their star!'

Venice Canatan

Personal Care Worker

Master of Social Work, B. Med. Lab Science, and B. Biology
Venice has experience working with people with mental health issues, providing social work interventions. Venice describes herself as patient, family oriented, and religious. She is a pet-lover, dancer and currently, she is learning martial arts to protect one's self and others in danger.
Languages: Tagalog, Cebuano, English
Fav. quote: 'When times get tough, we don't give up. We get up'

Lupita De la Orta

Board of Advice Member

B.Comm.
Has +10 years of experience working with vulnerable children and their communities. Kind and with a mature and open approach, Lupita loves music and people. She supports participants with arts.
Languages: Spanish and English.
Fav. quote: 'It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop’. (Confucius)

Andres Torres

Board of Advice Member & Accounts

Andres manages financial documentation and supports staff members as required, which may include processing documentation related to invoicing, financial reporting, operating budgets, quotations and inventory adjustments.
Languages: Spanish and English

Sebastian Varela

Administrative Assistant

Sebastian provides administrative support to management, employees and in some cases, clients and visitors.
Languages: Spanish & English.

Emmanuel Varela

Administrative Assistant

Emmanuel supports team operations by assisting staff, managers, and occasionally clients. He is fluent in Spanish and English.

To better support people with disabilities and for peace of mind to our clients, all our staff have:

 

Taken the NDIS online worker orientation modules: ‘Quality, Safety and You” and “Supporting Effective Communication”, and have received an industry recognised Certificate of Completion.

Completed the following:

  • Police check (National and International, if applicable)
  • Working with Children check,
  • NDIS Worker Screening Check,
  • Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) – Disability Australia Training: Hazards and Risks for Home care Workers in Aged Care and Disability
  • Privacy in Practise Training and
  • Infection Control Training – COVID-19

 

Our work is governed by robust policy and procedures, and Victorian State Government Disability Legislation and Standards.

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WORK WITH US

If you are an enthusiastic professional who understands the importance of trust, excellence in service provision and has capacity to develop meaningful relationships with clients, we encourage you to inquire about joining our team. We are always interested in hearing from: Personal Care Workers, Support Workers and Cleaners.

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