Sensory Minds Inclusion Centre Board Of Directors

FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT

Ayla Herskind is the founder of Sensory Minds Inclusion Centre and Phoenix Counselling. Ayla collaborated with Fairfield City Best Start Education and Care, lending her wealth of knowledge to develop a tool that would assist educators in fostering the social development of the children within their services.

With a background in Counselling, Zoology, and Forensic Science. She has dedicated her life to helping families and children with disabilities, including Autism & ADHD/ADD. 

Ayla has over fifteen years of experience supporting children to build on their social skills, emotional regulation and sensory needs.

Ayla supports children by thinking outside the box as she creates support strategies tailored to the individual child.

VICE PRESIDENT

Steve Drakoulis is the Founder of the Autism Community Network, a charity which now provides support for over 2000 families across Sydney and parts of NSW.

​As a father to a young man on the Autism spectrum he has lived experience of the needs of our families for access to support and developing inclusion across our community.

His background includes 30+ years of senior management experience and has served on a number of Boards of not-for-profit organisations.

He has been recognised for his work over 12 years growing this vital service with a multitude of awards including NSW Government Community Service Award, Georges River Citizen of the Year and a nomination for Australian of the Year.

Steve is also an accomplished public speaker who frequently talks on Autism support issues.

SECRETARY

Cale Munns is passionate about supporting children with sensory issues.

She is an experienced Hairdresser and Makeup Artist with over 20 years in the industry, with her own small business as well as working in the film, television and bridal industries. 

As a mother of a child with a diagnosis of ADHD she uses her own lived experience to help kids with sensory issues get their hair done safely with less anxiety.

Cale herself is Neurodiverse. Getting a late adult diagnosis of ADHD herself. 

In 2023 Cale’s community mindedness earned her the Commonwealth Parliamentarian's Recognition of Service Award for her volunteer work .

TREASURER

Maria Athanasopoulos is our community representive. Working for Canterbury - Bankstown council for many years. We are able to  know what the community is needing from SMIC and where to focus our funding for our clients. 

Having a background in Aged care we also have insight into what our older clients may need and how we are best to support them.

BOARD MEMBER

Jaclyn Rigas is the experienced Centre Director of a Bankstown educational childcare centre, where she has dedicatedly served for over nine years. She is passionately committed to promoting inclusion, particularly for children with additional needs.

Jaclyn’s unwavering dedication to creating an inclusive and supportive environment for all children has profoundly impacted the community. Her leadership and commitment continue to inspire excellence in educational childcare, setting a standard for inclusive practices and making a meaningful difference in the lives of many families.

In 2022, Jaclyn and her team were honoured with a Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Disability Access and Inclusion. This achievement was followed by the prestigious Zero Barriers Social Access and Inclusion Award in 2023. 

Additionally, in August of the same year, the NSW Minister for Customer Service highlighted her centre’s significant contributions and exceptional achievements in supporting children with disabilities and neurodivergent students during a Legislative Assembly of Parliament.