SPELD NSW Team

Vanessa Maher

Information & Referral Officer

Vanessa has a Diploma in Education and a daughter with disabilities. As a parent advocate for children with disabilities and a teacher she is dedicated to supporting students and adults with learning difficulties.

“Throughout my years I have witnessed many progressive changes in the services that SPELD NSW provide and knowledge that we share with parents and professionals. Unfortunately, the number of students and adults presenting with learning difficulties has not lessened. I am a passionate advocate for parents and students and believe that we do make a difference.”

After a long break from teaching to care for her daughter and growing family, Vanessa wanted to improve her knowledge to support children with literacy and numeracy acquisition. Her first connection with SPELD NSW was in 2011 to attend the Teachers Certificate Course. An opportunity to join the team as an Information and Referral Officer followed.

Lyndall Murray

B.A. Education – Early Years (Hons), University of Brighton, B. Psychological Science (Hons), Flinders University, M.Research – Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Ph.D., Macquarie University, Macquarie University

Professional Learning Educator

Lyndall joined SPELD NSW as a professional learning educator in June 2023. Lyndall started her career as an early years teacher in the UK during the time of the National Literacy Strategy. She is now focused on sharing her interest in reading with her fellow educators through her continued research and her work at SPELD NSW.

Carina McSweeney

BA, BEd (Primary), Grad Cert Special Ed. (Learning Difficulties)

Professional Learning Educator

With 20 years of teaching experience, including 10 years as a Learning Support Teacher/Coordinator across two schools, Carina has passionately advocated for more effective instruction for all children, in particular, to support those with learning difficulties and neurodivergence.

Asantha Perera

LLB Overseas & Diploma of Legal Practice

Administrative Assistant

Asantha joined SPELD NSW as an administrative assistant in October 2023. She was inspired by SPELD’s vision of supporting individuals with learning difficulties and believes it is especially important during early stages of life.

Kerrie Daley

Bachelor of Education

Clinician

Kerrie loves all aspects of learning, problem solving, and client advocacy and has completed specialist training in Learning Difficulties (ECU).

Lee Doyle

B.Teach, B.Ed,M.Ed

Professional Learning Officer

As a SPELD NSW Professional Learning Officer, Lee provides personalised support to children and their families and valuable information to teachers and school executives.

Amanda Nguyen

BA/LLB Bachelor of Arts and Law

Receptionist

Amanda joined SPELD NSW in August 2022. She has a BA/LLB from the University of Sydney is interested in expanding her experience within the education sector.

Manjita Gurung

Finance & Office Coordinator

Manjita joined SPELD NSW in August 2021 as a Finance & Office Coordinator. She brings extensive experience in the not for profit sector including working with human rights organisations in Australia and overseas.

Veronica Alexander

BA (UNSW) MTeach Primary (CSU)

Professional Learning and Development Lead

Veronica is the Professional Learning and Development Lead at SPELD NSW where she shares her love for the English language and all things reading and spelling with teachers and school leaders.

Dr Jennifer Lorenzo

BA(Psych), GradDip(Psych), MPsych(Ed & Dev), PhD(Med), FAPS

Educational and Developmental Psychologist

Jennifer is an educational and developmental psychologist with extensive training and experience in the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive and learning disorders.

Belinda Dekker

BEc (Macquarie), Dip Ed (Newcastle)

Information & Referral Officer

Belinda brings extensive knowledge to SPELD NSW to help answer parent and professional enquiries. Belinda has experience as a high school teacher and has completed extensive professional development in learning difficulties.

Melinda Matthews

Information & Referral Officer

Melinda is a specialist learning and attention tutor and has completed The Orton-Gillingham approach to Multisensory Structured Language Education and the SPELD NSW Teachers Certificate Course.

Georgina Perry

BA/LLB (Hons)

SPELD NSW Executive Officer

George works to strengthen partnerships with educators, parents and the community to deliver support to students and adults with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia across New South Wales.

Nick de Jongh

IT Communications Administrator

Nick has a Cert IV in Information Technology and a varied background in database management, small business administration and freelance journalism.

Kellie Lithgow

Bookstore and Office Administrator

Kellie joined the SPELD NSW team in 2019 as our Bookstore and Office Administrator. Kellie has non-profit experience and a daughter with learning difficulties.

Chantale Dorrington

Professional Learning Administrator

Chantale plays a key role organising the logistics for the SPELD NSW professional learning and parent workshops. Chantale joins SPELD NSW with both non-profit and events experience and is a great addition to our team.

Heather Hossack

Assessments Administrator

Heather joined SPELD NSW in 2021 as the Assessments and Office Administrator. Heather was first introduced to the work of SPELD NSW when she was a teacher and is looking forward to supporting families seeking assessments.

SPELD NSW Team

Vanessa Maher

Lyndall Murray

19858

Carina McSweeney

19856

Asantha Perera

19854

Kerrie Daley

17574

Lee Doyle

17474

Amanda Nguyen

16389

Manjita Gurung

9769

Veronica Alexander

5368

Dr Jennifer Lorenzo

3245

Belinda Dekker

897

Melinda Matthews

895

Georgina Perry

894

Nick de Jongh

899

Kellie Lithgow

898

Chantale Dorrington

6354

Heather Hossack

6350

Contact Us

If you are looking for support for your family, yourself, your student or your school contact us.

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