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.
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