Parent Council For Deaf Education
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Our people

PCDE is a non-profit organisation with a voluntary management committee. PCDE employ an Information and Advocacy Manager, a Production Coordinator and an Administration Assistant, who are responsible for overseeing and implementing the organisation’s services and plans. Office bearers are elected at our Annual General Meeting each November.

Our Management Committee

Mark Burfield - President

Mark is the father of four young children. The first was born profoundly deaf in 1999, received a cochlear implant in 2001 and a second in 2010, and is currently in a public school hearing support class. Mark ’s concern is the maintenance and improvement of services for the hearing impaired in the education system and beyond. He is President of the P&C Association at his children’s school, State Commissioner for Scouts with Special Needs, and works as the Secretary and bookkeeper of the “Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, Australia” and “Universal Peace Federation Australia”.

Leonie Jackson - Vice President

Leonie is a Deaf bilingual adult who is a also a mother of two young boys, one being deaf. Her active 4 year old, who is a hearing aid user, attends a bi-lingual Auslan/English preschool program as well an auditory verbal preschool at RIDBC. Leonie is a qualified teacher of the deaf and is currently working for Ai-Media as the head of Education Access. She is a strong advocate for the best educational fit for every deaf/hearing impaired child, using all possible avenues and tools available.

Amanda Li – Treasurer

Amanda is the mother of three children. One of her children is Deaf and attends a bilingual Auslan/English school in Sydney ’s North West. “I’ve had very little experience with deafness prior to my daughter’s diagnosis, it hasn’t been easy and it has certainly opened my eyes to the state of our education system. I believe that parents are the best advocates for their children and by becoming involved in PCDE, I’d like to provide support and information to other parents and help them achieve their goals for their children.’ Amanda practises as a dentist part time, she has recently completed Certificate IV in Auslan and will go on to further study to become an Auslan Interpreter.

Vicki Cox – Secretary

Vicki is the mother of two girls who were both born profoundly deaf.   Both have received cochlear implants and attend a Hearing Support Unit.  “Prior to children, I had a career in marketing but the difficulties my two children encountered inspired me to return to university to complete a Master of Speech and Language Pathology.” Vicki now works as a Speech Pathologist with children who have a range of special needs.

Ann Porter - Ordinary Committee Member

Ann has been actively involved in parent support groups since 1996 when her daughter lost her hearing. She founded Aussie Deaf Kids in 2001. Aussie Deaf Kids provides online support and information to families raising a deaf child.  Ann has a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and a Masters in eHealthcare and is a founding member of GPOD (Global Coalition of Parents of Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing). She is on the Board of Deafness Forum of Australia and the Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening Committee. 

Leesa Cluff- Ordinary Committee Member

Leesa is the mother of two boys one of whom is deaf with additional needs. Leesa is currently a mentor with the Parent to Parent Support Program, run by the Deaf Society of NSW and has been involved in the stakeholder committee with Deaf Children Australia. She is currently on the management committee of Cubby House Toy Library for children with additional needs.


Anna Messariti - Ordinary Committee Member

Anna Messariti is currently on the management committee of PCDE. Her son Xavier, who is twenty months old, has a bilateral mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss that is predominantly moderate. Xavier was diagnosed when he was 13 days old and has been aided since he was five weeks old. Xavier has also been assisted by early intervention strategies since his hearing loss was identified and is displaying age appropriate language development. Professionally, Anna has a history of working in theatre, film and radio. She is an Executive Producer and Producer for ABC Radio National, working across five of its Performance and Features programs. She co-founded muchadofilms and has produced a number of short films and documentaries.  Anna’s work in theatre spanned more than a decade, during which she directed many new Australian plays.  She has also been a secondary school drama teacher in Sydney and also worked as a drama tutor for La Trobe University.

 

Our Staff

Kate Kennedy - Information and Advocacy Manager

Kate is a parent of three school age children, two of whom have a hearing loss. She was a PCDE Committee Member for three years prior to taking the role of Information and Advocacy Co-ordinator. In her professional life, Kate has worked in the IT training arena for many years and has had her own small business in the past. She feels strongly about the need for unbiased information and support for parents of deaf children so that they can make informed choices about their child's future.

Gloria Simunovich - Administration Assistant

Gloria’s mother is deaf in one ear and moderate to severe hearing loss in the other and wears a hearing aid, and is working at PCDE to raise awareness and share information with families. Gloria works on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Gloria is the mother of two boys, Ivan, an active young 3 year old and Gabriel who is a lively one and a half year old.

 

 

Note: We use the term 'deaf' to mean all types of deafness

 
Copyright 2006. Parent Council For Deaf Education