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'

Grace Novak

SERVICE MANAGER & Senior Support Worker

Grace has dedicated her career to early childhood education, specialising in early intervention and education support for neurodiverse children. With a strong foundation in the Reggio Emilia approach, she has spent over 10 years working in both kindergarten and long-day care service capacities.

Her professional scope also extends to infant and childhood aqua-therapy, sleep and settling, and autism-swim teaching. Her passion for nurturing and supporting children’s development is matched by her love of nature and commitment to her community. In her spare time, she enjoys giving back through surf life saving, contributing to the safety and wellbeing of local beaches.
Fav. quote: 'It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.' — Albus Dumbledore.

Amy Constantinou

Team Leader & Senior Support Worker

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.'

Macarena Penafiel

Support Worker & Learning Enhancement Coach

B. Psychology (Cl) and Cert. IV in Aged Care
Has +6 years, including international, experience as a Counsellor Psychologist and Disability Support Worker. Reliable and with a positive attitude, Macarena helps participants with their development and training to increase their skills so they can participate in community, social and recreational activities. Macarena main focus is on children. She loves music and people, and provides support with care and optimism.
Languages: Spanish and English

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'

Amy Maher

Support Worker

As a former business/franchise owner in Queensland, Amy brings high energy, outstanding business-management, and team leadership skills. Amy has a natural ability to make people feel comfortable and goes above and beyond. Amy has experience in Mental Health and children with disabilities, and brings great dedication, creativity, and excellent empathy and communication (strong conversational and interpersonal) skills to our clients. Amy comes to Dash with a commitment to help our support workers develop and reach their full potential within a healthy and safe working environment. She brings caring, passionate and dedication to our team. Language: English. Amy’s favourite quote:
“Seek respect, not attention, it lasts longer “ Ziad K. Abdelnour

Ciara Slevin

Support Worker

Dip. of Community Services
With experience in psychosocial disabilities, Ciara has worked with clients with complex trauma, PTSD, schizoaffective disorder, depresion, anxiety and people with substance abuse disorders. Open minded and with an easy-going approach, Ciara comes to Dash with great communication skills, making sure participants feel comfortable around her. Ciara has great initiative, anticipates difficulties, and is calm in emergencies. Language: English

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.

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.

Milly Alexander

Support Worker

Currently studying a Bachelor of Health Science and majoring in family, society, and health, and nutrition.
Milly has experience in mental health and working with adolescents with autism. Milly is resilient, enthusiastic, caring, and independent. She is ambitious and this year, she will be studying her Bachelor of Social Work. Milly loves going for walks, going to the gym, spending time with her family and friends, and going on holidays.
Language: English.
Favourite quote - ‘Time heals everything’.

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'

Olivia Oropeza

Training and Development Officer

Olivia holds a Master of Information Technology Management and a bachelor’s degree in Marketing. She is experienced in account management, project management, and customer success. Olivia has also worked and volunteered for non-profit organisations. She is always looking for new opportunities to learn and develop skills and is keen to take on new challenges.

Languages: Spanish and English.

Favourite quote: 'The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.'

Carlos Salomao

recruitment consultant

M.B.A in Business Administration and B.A in Psychology.
Registered counsellor by the Australian Counselling Association with more than
6+ years of experience in human resources dealing with talent acquisition, talent management, and onboarding/offboarding. Also, He dealt with policies, internship programs, grievance handling, and conducting employee engagement activities.
Having experienced different working environments, Carlos is always looking for opportunities to do better and to create ways to explore opportunities for learning. He also emphasizes that is so important to invest in others, and in our community and use our unique talent to make a difference; he believes that we all have something special, and when we plant these seeds, we transform them and use them as a vehicle for change.

Languages: Portuguese and English.
Fav. quote: 'if not now then when?' Quote by Hillel first

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).

Teresa Furniss

Support Worker

Teresa is a fun-loving Kiwi who enjoys making people smile and is a social butterfly. She loves working with her hands and is highly creative. Her hobbies include cooking, crafts, and needlework, such as sewing. Teresa looks forward to getting to know you.

She holds a Diploma in Early Childhood and a Cert IV in Disability Support. Teresa also has various certificates from her farming background and can be quite handy when required.

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.

Anne Suzanne Debra De Kauwe

Cleaner

Anne has extensive cleaning experience and is a kind-hearted person with a passion for caring for the elderly, as well as for cooking and helping others. She holds Certificates I, II & III in Food Handling.

Languages: English and Sinhalese.

Favourite quote: 'Always go with your passions. Never ask yourself if it's realistic or not.' – Deepak Chopra.

Isabella Meir

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.

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.

``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!'