Our Team

disability is diverse. and so are we.

Our team is made up of passionate consultants who bring a wide range of disability lived experience to every gig. Together, we deliver work that is grounded in community insight and real-world understanding.

Intersectional diversity is our jam. It gives us the ability to approach challenges from multiple perspectives and offer solutions that are practical, nuanced, and inclusive.

We know that disability is as unique as every person. That’s why our approach is adaptable, community-driven, and deeply respectful of each person’s story. We lead with empathy and integrity, together. 

Image description: Andrew Vodic smiling

Andrew Vodic

Senior Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about Andrew
Image description: David Belcher smiling in front of lavendar bushes

David Belcher

Senior Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about David
Image description: Katherine Mahony smiling in front of lavendar bushes

Cath Mahony

Senior Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about Cath
Image description: Suzy Trindall smiling and posing in front of lavendar bushes

Suzy Trindall

Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about Suzy
Image description: Melanie Schlaeger smiling in front of lavendar bushes

Melanie Schlaeger

Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about Melanie
Image description: Catherine Caine smiling in front of lavendar bushes

Catherine Caine

Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about Catherine
Image description: Shaylie Pryer smiling and posing in front of lavendar bushes

Shaylie Pryer

Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about Shaylie
Image description: Bryson Douglas smiling and posing in front of lavendar bushes

Bryson Douglas

Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about Bryson
Image description: Naomi Curry smiling in front of lavendar bushes

Naomi Curry

Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about Naomi
Image description: Sarah Simmonds smiling

Sarah Simmonds

Lived Experience Consultant
Learn More about Sarah
Image description: Jamie Sonneveld standing neaby window and smiling

Jamie Sonneveld

Operations Lead
Learn More about Jamie
Disability Lived Experience Consultants

Telden Nelson

Communications
Learn More about Telden
Disability Lived Experience Consultants

Avery Hardy

Operations Assistant
Learn More about Avery
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Andrew Vodic

Senior Lived Experience Consultant

Andrew has more than 25 years experience, working across a wide range of community service, training, leadership and management roles. He has experience in crisis counselling, mentoring, mediation, advocacy and adult training and assessment.

He has held leadership roles for the majority of his career and has worked extensively within regional, rural, remote and First Nations community settings.

Andrew believes that the work of DisCo is vital because of its manifold benefits, not only to people with disability, but the wider community.

It is his belief that organisations that strive to become more inclusive become a fairer and more accurate reflection of the broader community; nearly 20% of the Australian population lives with a disability and the road to real citizenship is through inclusivity.

Andrew sees DisCo as not only a vehicle for formal change, but the creation of more informal supports for people with disability. The more aware people are of inclusivity and accessibility, the more likely they are to call something out when they see it isn’t being done correctly.

Andrew aims to help de-stigmatise the conversation around disability inclusion, encouraging curiosity and replacing the fear of getting it wrong with the drive to do it right.

Lived experience consultancy is a passion that is borne of Andrew’s own journey and belief that true inclusivity cannot be achieved without the expertise of people with disability.

Andrew believes that the true value of DisCo comes from its nucleus: the collective knowledge, experience, and expertise of CDAH members. Each of the Lived Experience Consultants doesn’t speak from their own isolated experience, they speak with the authority and accumulated lived experience of all CDAH Peers.

Andrew has a lifetime of experience pushing against these barriers, whether it be through his own tertiary battles as someone living with visual impairment, or being excluded from the workforce due to outdated selection criteria.

Inclusion is a pipedream without the expertise and knowledge of the people who have been historically forced to the peripheries.

Throughout his career, Andrew has held a strong passion for grassroots community development and peer led support.

David Belcher

Senior Lived Experience Consultant

Dave Belcher is an experienced Development Officer and a leading disability inclusion consultant, renowned for his dedication to social justice and fostering an inclusive society.

Dave holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from the University of New England, and uses a wheelchair for mobility.

Dave’s consulting work focuses on helping organisations and communities embrace and implement inclusive practices that benefit individuals with disability. He provides training on best practices for disability inclusion, assisting organisations in creating accessible environments and developing policies that support full participation. His workshops and training sessions are known for their practical insights and actionable strategies, empowering leaders and teams to foster a more inclusive culture.

In addition to his consulting work, Dave has played a key role in numerous political campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels, including his work as a Counsellor at Lake Macquarie Council. His strategic expertise in campaign management, grassroots organising, and policy development has been instrumental in advancing candidates who prioritise equity and inclusion.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Dave is deeply committed to social justice. He actively engages with communities to raise awareness about the importance of accessibility and the value of diversity. His efforts have led to meaningful changes in policies and practices, promoting greater inclusivity across various sectors.

Dave Belcher’s dedication to creating an inclusive society, combined with his strategic consulting and campaign experience, makes him a respected and influential figure in the field of disability inclusion and social justice.

Cath Mahony

Senior Lived Experience Consultant

Cath Mahony is a committed and established disability advocate, having been an integral founding member in the establishment of the Community Disability Alliance Hunter (CDAH).

Through her involvement with countless community based actions, Cath has developed a passion for training and educating the broader community to enable greater collaboration with people living with disability. Her goal in doing so is ensuring that people with disability are contributing members of their communities and that inclusion isn’t tokenistic.

Cath has taken the skills she has developed through not only time with CDAH, but her lived experience as someone with disability, to help develop and implement the DisCo training packages. 

Born blind, Cath believes that sharing her lived experience and using the lessons she has learned through her life as a means to educate is an essential ingredient in bringing about social change. Knowing another person’s story means knowing their struggles and their triumphs and opens people’s eyes to what it takes to achieve true accessibility.

Cath firmly believes that being accessible and accepting isn’t nearly as complicated as people may think; it takes intentionality and effort but it isn’t an insurmountable task.

Communications, disability and inclusion are deep-seated beliefs and passions for Cath, which she combines in her work as one of our Senior Lived Experience Consultant.

Cath also has a background in providing training and education in a number of different sectors including schools, community groups, and government and corporate sectors. She also holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment.

She has also previously completed a communications degree and the Regional Story Tellers Scholarship with the ABC. There she produced a five-part radio series on the relationship between people with disability and support workers.

She has also previously completed a commaOutside of work, Cath is an avid singer having been a part of choirs for most of her life. This included time with the Waratah’s Girls Choir. 

Despite this, Cath describes herself as a terrible karaoke singer who only knows songs you hear at funerals or weddings.

Suzy Trindall

Lived Experience Consultant

Suzy Trindall is a proud Dharug and Gadigal woman, and has been a peer mentor, trainer and now the Peer Group Coordinator at Community Disability Alliance Hunter (CDAH).

Suzy has been involved in a number of Hunter based organisations including the First Nations Advisory Council, First Nations Strategy Working Group, and the Equity and Inclusion Reference Group, all with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), and previously worked with Vision Australia.
In 2016, Suzy founded Women’s First, an ongoing Peer Group at CDAH which aims to give women with disability a forum to discuss and advocate for the issues that matter to them most.

Mentorship is a passion of Suzy’s, always reminding her peers of the value of remaining humble, open and accepting.

During her time within CDAH, Suzy has grown into a strong and vocal leader and is always pushing peers to take any opportunities to do the same.

Suzy is always quick to remind people that she hasn’t arrived to the position she’s in by herself and credits the many strong Aboriginal Women and Peers she has met on her journey.

Whenever Suzy is given an opportunity, she does everything she can to bring those women along with her, always aiming to open doors for others the way they were opened for her.

Suzy is a strong advocate for intersectionality, describing it as messy and jumbled, but also a key element of everyone. She believes that people should always be considered in their entirety. You’re never just a person with a disability, you’re never just Aboriginal, and you’re never just a woman.

Through DisCo, Suzy hopes to use the educational and leadership skills she has gained over the years to help foster a more accepting and accessible world.

As someone who is a member of three separate marginalised groups, she can provide unique insights into a wide variety of issues facing these communities.

Suzy is an ardent supporter and advocate for accessibility and is heavily involved in assisting women leaving domestic violence. She has also worked with the NSW Government through the Education Centre Against Violence and Family Planning NSW.

In 2013 Suzy won the Tafe NSW Gili Award for Trainee of the Year. When she isn’t working she enjoys swimming, reading, animals and spending time with family.

Melanie Schlaeger

Lived Experience Consultant

Melanie Schlaeger is a passionate and experienced disability advocate and the current events coordinator with Community Disability Alliance Hunter and DisCo lived experience consultant.

Melanie has also been a facilitator for the Council for Intellectual Disability, provided mental health mentoring for people living with schizophrenia, and has run training around disability and inclusion with a number of organisations in the past.

Having worked in the disability sector since her early 20s, Melanie brings with her not only a wealth of experience, but a lifelong passion for helping and educating children with disability.

One of Melanie’s core driving goals is positively influencing the education sector and helping make the world more accessible. Her work with DisCo is an extension of her beliefs, ensuring that employment for people isn’t tokenistic, but something that should be integrated into mainstream society due to the fundamental value it provides.

Amongst her extensive volunteer work, she previously participated in a reading program with children from lower socio-economic backgrounds with The Smith Family. Her work with Playgroups NSW focuses on facilitating a program for children with special needs up to 5 years old.

Melanie sees her own personal and professional triumphs as not hers alone, but the entire disability community’s. As she becomes more confident and assertive in her own life, she hopes to help others achieve the same thing.

As a lived experience consultant, Melanie provides in-depth insights into how an organisation can not only provide the tangible tools for disability inclusivity, but also the cultural and institutional changes needed to create a truly inclusive environment.

Catherine Caine

Lived Experience Consultant

Catherine Caine is an experienced business consultant, and strong disability advocate who has held a variety of roles across public and private sector organisations including Medicare, banking, IT, universities, hospitals and council.

Catherine thrives on the constant challenge of adapting into new environments; and has extensive skills for building, adapting and evaluating systems. Catherine has previously run her own successful business, delivering online marketing strategy, business development, naming services and products. Catherine worked closely with her clients to ensure that their offerings were highlighted effectively.

Catherine has used her consulting skills to navigate complex systems including the NDIS, which she has used to mentor others to access the scheme. She is currently President of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, a nation-wide, grassroots organisation of volunteers who support each other in navigating income support.

Catherine’s pacing, prioritisation and efficiency have combined to create a consultant who is capable of delivering actionable simplicity out of multivariate complexity.

Catherine loves to sing, learn anything new, and bribe the local magpies into being her friends.

Shaylie Pryer

Lived Experience Consultant

Shaylie is a passionate Lived Experience Consultant, fierce community organiser and strong disability advocate. A published Author and Researcher, Shaylie is a current Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) student, and researcher with the University of Newcastle.

Shaylie is also heavily involved with the Hunter Community Alliance (HCA), working within Community Organising to bring the Hunter community together for the common good.

Shaylie has worked across a number of organisations as an advocate, trainer and organiser. She previously held the role of Executive Officer with the HCA and has held multiple roles with CDAH including Coordinator and Lived Experience Researcher, Peer Worker, and Event Organiser.

Shaylie says she gravitates towards people and is a firm believer in the power of stories and lived experience. A person’s story and experience can’t be argued with, and Shaylie believes in harnessing those stories to create change and drive progress. Through this experience, Shaylie has become an expert communicator and relationship builder and has developed into an outspoken leader and advocate.

As a woman with disability, and the countless stories of others she’s heard and learned from, Shaylie possesses a wealth of knowledge that is instrumental in working towards true inclusivity. Shaylie understands the power of self-advocacy and helping others find their voices.

During her time with both CDAH and the HCA, Shaylie has been heavily involved in training and education. While with the HCA, she ran her own training module for future leaders in New Zealand which saw her travel around the country, educating others of the importance of community organising and the power of the collective community. 

Shaylie also played an integral part of the HCA’s founding assembly in 2024 which was attended by over 850 people from across the Hunter region. Shaylie coordinated a disability-led research team that published a paper on Peer Support in the Hunter, along with having her own research on disability, power and institutions being published in the British Journal of Social Science.

In her personal time Shaylie is a lover of photography, gaming and reading.

Bryson Douglas

Lived Experience Consultant

Bryson is a proud gay, trans, man with disability who has worked and volunteered within the queer and disabled communities for over a decade, and is one of our Lived Experience Consultants and is a member of the Peer Learning Hub at CDAH.

Bryson is an impassioned advocate for intersectionality and inclusivity, which is only natural given the inherent intersection between the queer and disability community. In 2022 38% of queer people in Australia reported that they had a disability, demonstrating the need for Lived Experience consultants in the community.

Bryson is co-leader of CDAH peer group Queer Peers, a member of the Disability and Inclusion Action Group with Hunter Writers Centre and has previously volunteered with a number of other organisations including the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON). Bryson also presented at the Together We Can Conference about the intersection of disability and queerness and was named 2015 Regional Youth Services Awards Young Person of the Year.

An articulate and informed advocate, Bryson is able to deliver information and in a way that is free of judgement, and presented in plain english, highlighting the need for inclusion.

Bryson played a vital role in the creation of DisCo, providing perspective and ideas during workshops and discussions in the development of DisCo, along with aiding in its build and launch.

As a member of the CDAH Learning Team, he has developed workshops and guided peers through the organisation. During his time with ACON, Bryson was a workshop facilitator in the young gay men’s health project, which was aimed at educating the community about sexual health. He also adapted and ran these workshops for young trans men.

Outside of volunteering Bryson is an avid writer and part-time stand up comic. He has written articles for Trans Day of Visibility, performed spoken word poetry and comedy at queer and disability community events.

Naomi Curry

Lived Experience Consultant

Naomi Curry has been involved with CDAH since 2013 as a peer, peer mentor, peer group facilitator, and now the president of the board. Naomi is also a member of the Hunter Community Alliance and was the Access Advisor for the founding assembly. 

Naomi is a passionate advocate for inclusion, both systemic and individual, as well as a champion for health and educational reform. Through her own lived experience, Naomi has seen first hand where people with disability can so often fall through the cracks. 

Whether this be through the mainstream health system, or mental health facilities, Naomi knows the shortcomings of these core social services all too well.

Naomi advocates for the streamlining and updating of these services to give better access to people with disability. Needing medical care in any regard can be difficult and at times traumatising for people with disability and Naomi agitates tirelessly for a world where this isn’t the case.

Naomi regularly advocates for greater parity and inclusion in the education system, for both schools and universities, so that people with disability are allowed unbarred access and full participation. Once again through her own lived experience, Naomi has encountered many of the barriers faced by people with disability.

Outside of CDAH and advocacy, Naomi is a naturally creative person doing pottery and claywork, as well as being a qualified art therapist. You’ll also often find her gardening with her husband and their dog.

Sarah Simmonds

Lived Experience Consultant - Support Officer

Sarah Simmonds is a committed and vocal disability advocate who has been working and volunteering in the space for over 30 years.

As a woman who lives with an intellectual disability, Sarah has experienced the isolation that can come with being a person with a disability and works towards making sure that it doesn’t happen to others.

Sarah is a peer group facilitator with Community Disability Alliance Hunter (CDAH), working with Speak Up Hunter, a peer group for people with intellectual disabilities, and Women First.

Health and accessibility are two things Sarah cares deeply about, having worked previously with Family Planning NSW on an ad campaign aimed at informing and educating women with intellectual disability about cervical screening.

Sarah says that people are often hesitant to discuss topics like this with people with intellectual disabilities, or they are simply disregarded entirely.

She was also pivotal in the creation of CDAH’s Shifting the Line event,, which examined the differences between the experiences of peers and allies. Sarah said this was an important project in bringing people together and highlighting these differences so that peers and allies alike can work towards making the world more inclusive and accepting of people with disability.

Sarah was also a part of a peer led research team with CDAH that published a paper on peer support in the Hunter. Sarah conducted research and interviews throughout the project and described it as a difficult but eye opening experience.

Having grown up in social housing, Sarah is a passionate advocate for bettering the living conditions and availability of these homes for people in need.

Sarah used to work in Community Connections, a project of CDAH where she provided peer support to peers living in group homes – get her thoughts on this?

In her spare time Sarah enjoys swimming, walking and has been an avid knitter for over 30 years.

Jamie Sonneveld

Operations

Jamie is someone who brings integrity, respect and a deep sense of attentiveness to her work. With a background in HR and a particular focus on industrial relations, she’s spent years working across small businesses, startups, and consulting roles – often in environments where you have to be ready for anything. She enjoys that variety and sees it as an opportunity to do meaningful, people-centred work.

What matters most to Jamie is purpose. She’s driven by values, not job titles, and she’s not one to compromise when it comes to fairness or inclusion. Social justice – especially in the context of disability – isn’t a side interest for her; it’s a core part of how she shows up, makes decisions, and approaches her work.

That’s why DisCo felt like a natural fit. It’s a place where inclusion isn’t just talked about—it’s embedded. For Jamie, DisCo “just makes sense” because it gives people space to lead with lived experience, and challenges systems in ways that are both bold and constructive. She appreciates that DisCo values nuance, and that its work is shaped by the people it’s meant for.

Jamie works across several of DisCo’s key projects, including the Capability Matrix, Systems Project, and Website Project. Her role involves balancing structure with flexibility—bringing together strategy, communication, and inclusive design. She’s focused on making sure the work is not only done well, but done in a way that reflects DisCo’s values.

She is based in Newcastle and outside of work, she’s often thinking about how things could be done differently – and more inclusively. Jamie brings a thoughtful, practical presence to everything she does, and a strong belief that change doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful.

Telden Nelson

Communications

With roots in rural NSW and a background in journalism, community organising, and communications, Telden has always been drawn to the power of stories and more importantly – who gets to tell them. His experience spans across local media, fundraising, and marketing, with people at the centre of it all: their voices, their dignity, and their place in the world.

DisCo resonates with Telden because it doesn’t just talk about inclusion and equity – it builds it. He sees it as a vehicle for cultural change, where accessibility isn’t an afterthought but a foundation. For him, the work is about more than just policy and practice. It’s about creating spaces where people with disability are recognised for their contributions, valued as they are – not despite their difference, but because of it.

Telden’s approach to work is guided by equity, respect, and the belief that everyone should have a voice, not just the loudest in the room. Whether he’s writing, managing a project, or helping shape communications strategy, his creative focus is on making systems more inclusive, conversations more open, and communities stronger.

Outside of DisCo, Telden has been recognised for his contributions to regional journalism and has helped grow fundraising and community engagement for organisations like Zara’s House. Whether behind a camera, a campaign, or a conversation, he brings a steady commitment to people, place, and purpose.

Avery Hardy

Operations Assistant

Avery Hardy has been involved in CDAH since it’s inception.

He has a great passion for disability advocacy. He believes that peer support is a powerful tool in giving disabled people choice and control in their lives. Avery Hardy has volunteered and worked in the disability advocacy sector for almost 20 years.

Avery Hardy has a Bachelor Arts (Hons) Bachelor of Laws (University of Newcastle) and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (College of Law). She works for a local law firm and enjoys spending time and money on her dog.