Lesley Turner - President

I have lived on the Sunshine Coast, in Caloundra, for 30 years and have been employed in the community sector for all of that time. I am married with 2 adult sons – one has a physical disability.  My husband has worked as a manufacturing jeweller for the same period, in our business – Flair Jewellery Pty Ltd.  We are both very interested in community issues and have been involved in many not for profit organisations on the coast.

My early professional life was spent working as a Dental Therapist in Tasmania.  At the same time I was asked by Tasmania Health to participate in their Health Promotion Program in schools and spent 2 years working in a mobile service which travelled all over the state.  From this experience I became interested in the community sector and gained qualifications – Bachelor of Social Science as an external student.  I then worked in youth support services before moving to Queensland.

I became the secretary of the Caloundra and District Welfare Council which was seeking funding to establish the Caloundra Community Centre and was involved with the actual purchase of the building and establishment of the service.  I was employed to work in the Centre on the day it opened.   In 1988 I accepted a job as the assistant manager of the Caloundra Home and Community Care Service and became manager in 1992.  This service is a community transport service which operates with the assistance of volunteers – when I left there were 150 volunteer drivers.  This led to my “love affair” with the volunteering movement.  I completed a certificate 4 in community service management and a certificate 4 in volunteer management while working in the service and received a great deal of assistance and guidance from Volunteering Queensland and Volunteering Australia.  I retired in July 2003 and decided to establish a Volunteer Centre on the Sunshine Coast (as a volunteer).  I am currently working as the paid manager of the service that works with 150 community organisations on the Sunshine Coast and refers up to 2000 new volunteers each year.

           

 

Sue Campbell - Vice President

In 1996 with my husband Ron and two sons, Matthew and Scott I moved from the Central Coast in New

 South Wales to Hervey Bay.  Scott attended Hervey Bay Special School and I became the President of the P&C for the next 4years.

In August 1997 I met Julie at a series of Parent Information workshops and started volunteer work in Maryborough with her the following year.  My knowledge of "disability land" was very limited but I soon learnt a great deal.  Initially I was always intrigued
when I attended workshops or any training,as to why staff and potential employees just "didn't get it!" and I came to realise that parents "do get it" because we"live it".

I always claim that I was present at the birth of Parent to Parent in Queensland and have proudly watched the organisation grow and develop into the strong and valued service that it is.  I was on the State Steering Committee for Local Area Coordination in Qld. and was involved in starting the Centre based Respite Service in Hervey Bay.

Over the past years I have met some wonderful people. I have watched some extraordinary people with exceptional talents, learn to share those gifts and talents with others to make a difference in their lives. I personally enjoy facilitating training for DSQ staff and PATHs for families and individuals.

Scott is now 26 and has lived independently for five years. I would never have dreamed this would or could happen without the knowledge and direction I have received through my involvement with Parent to Parent.

I look forward to many more years of inspiration, encouragement, friendship and dreaming with Parent to Parent.

 

 

 

Jan Bell - Secretary / Treasurer

I am a single mum, carer and advocate for my two teenage girls, one of whom has Rett Syndrome, leaving her with severe multiple disabilities, while the other deals with her own emotional/intellectual/mental health issues.    I’m from Sydney originally, backpacked around the world in the 70s then had a career in the 80s in IT support at Social Security/Centrelink’s head-office in Canberra.  My marriage ended when the girls were very young, so I retired from the paid workforce and the girls and I moved to the Sunshine Coast in 1999 to be nearer my parents, for moral and practical support.  As my parents have aged, this situation has reversed and they now rely on me for moral and practical support!

Apart from P2P, my other community involvements here have included volunteering at the girls’ schools and on their P&Cs, parent rep on various DS committees and involvement with the Sunshine Coast Family Networks Association, (from whom our family receives respite and other services) assisting with their advisory and quality accreditation committee activities.

I have volunteered at P2P State Office since 2000, collating and reporting statistics for DS as well as developing and maintaining the statistical databases.  I’ve been a board member since the 2005 AGM then took on the Secretary /Treasurer’s role in 2006, so have learnt a lot more about the organisation since that time.  I am continually inspired by the passion and commitment of all the P2P members and staff that I have had dealings with and feel privileged to be able to work in such an uplifting environment.

 

 

Judy Young - Board Member

I live in the beautiful harbour city of Gladstone, my husband and I are the parents of four young adults, one of whom has a disability. Our son has autism and high support needs.

For many years, I have had a passion for empowering parents and also shared a vision with some other parents to have a strong network throughout the State.  This is of course, now a reality with Parent to Parent, and through this many parents are becoming empowered. It is thrilling to see a vision come to fruition. This is why I became part of Parent to Parent and have been part of it's management committee since its' very beginnings.

I was President of Parent to Parent for 10 years.  Apart from Parent to Parent, I have served on several Boards of Management, who have been instrumental in the setting up and on going management of parent driven services. Including, Flexible Respite, Accommodation Support  and Individualized funding. I also enjoy being a member of Disability Services Queensland Regional Council 

Parent to Parent is still a learning organization, with much to achieve, I believe the uniqueness of each local group, the ability to share and gather information throughout the State, our training  and skill development activities together with the voice we have with Government are the successes Parent to Parent has to build on this year.

 

 

Loretta Kreet - Board Member

I am a parent of two children, one of whom has a disability. I am a part time Lawyer with Legal Aid Queensland's consumer protection unit.
My involvement in disability issues is widespread and I am a passionate social justice advocate. I am a consumer representative on the Financial
Co-operative Dispute Resolution Centre and a board member of the centre for credit and consumer law based at Griffith University.

In the disability area, beside undertaking advocacy activities on behalf of my own child, other children and in my capacity as a consumer protection lawyer assisting in particular clients with an impaired capacity, I have been involved in the Unmet Needs Campaign.  I have a keen interest in telecommunications issues as they affect people with an impaired capacity, and I represent the National Council on Intellectual Disability ( of which Parent to Parent is a member) on the Australian Communications Industry Forum Disability Action Body. 

I have been a member of Parent to Parent since 2000. One of the things I enjoy about being part of Parent to Parent is having the opportunity to be part of training events with other parents. Including Train the Trainer in Basic Helping and Supporting Skills, and then having the opportunity to facilitate the course in my own community. I also enjoyed To Stand Beside - Advocacy for Inclusion, which was an affirmation of my own beliefs about social justice.

 

 

 

 

Veronica Wain - Board Member

As a graduate from the Queensland University of Technology and a post graduate from the Griffith Film School, (Australia), my first documentary short, “The Creek” was purchased by national broadcaster, SBS’ Global Village in 2003.  Since then I have made a number of award winning films including “Car Pool” which won the prestigious St Kilda Best Comedy Award in 2007 and “Shorn” which was selected to screen at the Hollywood Film Festival.  In 2009, the Screen Australia funded animation pilot “Inside Story” I produced, screened at Europe’s Giffoni Film Festival and was named in the Brisbane International Film Festival’s Top Ten shorts the same year.  My recently completed debut feature documentary, “18q- A different kind of normal”, a film charting my family’s journey since the birth of my third child Allycia in 1995,  furnishes a component of my practice based PhD, Re-imagining Representation of Disability and Human Potentiality.

My interest in disability and representation has obvious roots in our personal experiences as a family contending with misrepresentation and misinformation that continues to abound in western society’s treatment of persons born with genetic difference.  My work in film is in part driven by my commitment to contributing to the creation of a more welcoming society for Allycia and her peers as well as a passion for the medium’s capacity to challenge the hearts and minds of audiences.

Following the presentation and publication of various components of my research nationally and internationally, Allycia and I have begun jointly presenting the film and final research findings to conferences concerning disability.  My personal interests revolve around community groups and engagement with the arts and include office bearer positions with Maleny Girl Guides and Sunshine Troupe Inc. ( a performance troupe for young people with disability), committee membership with Parent to Parent, an advocacy group for families and individuals living with disability and voluntary involvement with the annual Woodford Folk Festival. I am currently developing a documentary film showcasing the creative talents of the Sunshine Troupe Inc., having been granted approval from the Australian Documentary Foundation.

Allycia is attending Maleny State High School, is a keen artist and dancer and attends weekly dance and drama classes as well as Girl Guides. She is also contributing to an international blogging project, Pearl’s Project which originated in the United States through the work and support of Rick Guidotti’s Positive Exposure.

My work life has been diverse ranging from banking, retail, university academic and mother. My day to day work life currently involves managing and coordinating prevocational education and training placements for Queensland Health Junior Doctors in Private General Practice.  I contribute regularly to conference proceedings relating to the education and training of prevocational doctors.  General Practitioners are more often than not, the “maitre de” in coordinating health and services needs and I enjoy my interactions with our next generation of medical practitioners.

We live our lives much in line with the affirmation my oldest daughter Kristina keeps pinned upon her bathroom mirror – that our lives be measured by what we scatter rather than that which we gather.

Websites:  www.18q-Adifferentkindofnormal.com /  www.thrudifferenteyes.com  / www.theinsidestory.net.au     

 

Jodi Wolthers - General Manager

My name is Jodi Wolthers.  I have a husband and two girls and live in Yandina.  I began working with Parent to Parent in February 2000.  At the time we were a small organisation in Yandina growing rapidly.

Soon after I started working there we established four local groups in Fraser Coast, Mackay, Gladstone and Gold Coast.    As our membership grew our staff numbers rose and I took on more responsibility.  I am now the General Manager which is a role that I really enjoy. 

I have had many opportunities to attend personal and professional development workshops and people will tell you that I am much more confident in what I do than I was in 2000.  I have attained a Diploma in Frontline Management and a Diploma in Training and Assessment and hope to undertake a Degree in Human Resource Management in the future.

I also took on the role of preparing the organisation to meet and maintain its Disability Services Quality Standards accreditation.  Recently I co-facilitated a workshop with families in Cairns and hope to have more opportunities to work with families in the future.

It is important to me to have the people I work for feel that they are part of a team.  I feel that we have worked hard over the years to make Parent to Parent an enjoyable place to work and the staff and volunteers that we have now are wonderful. 

 

 

Kim Henneker - State Centre Office Manager

My name is Kim Henneker and I have been with Parent to Parent since 2006 in the State Centre.  I am currently the Office manager which entails the general daily operations and overseeing of staff at the State Centre Office.  At present we have approximately 10 part-time dedicated office staff who have varied duties and responsibilities.  I have recently successfully completed a Certificate IV in Frontline Management which has proved to be extremely beneficial in my current position.