Who are we?

The ACE WA council is a Western Australian peak body repesenting all DES sector organisations. Our Council members are elected by members at our annual AGM and meet monthly. The Council has a permanent invitation out to all members to attend council meetings as guests and copies of Council meeting minutes and our submissions can be downloaded from other pages on this website.

Who are we?

Trevor Paterson - Chair.  Trevor has worked in the disability sector for more than 21 years. Since the mid-1990s he has managed several disability employment agencies around Perth. Trevor resigned from his position as National Disability Co Ordination Officer in July 2010 to join BIZLINK as their Operations Manager. Trevor is the Deputy chair of the WA Ministerial Advisory Council on Disability, which advises the Minister for Disability Services on the development and implementation of policies and services .

Alice Newport - Secretary. Alice is a recent addition to the ACE WA team and is serving as our Secretary in a voluntary basis. Alice currently works within the Disability Services Commission’s state-wide Local Area Coordination Directorate.  In her role as Administrative and Project Support Officer, Alice contributes to the work of the directorate in assisting people with disability to live in their communities as fully and independently as possible.
Alice has worked in many sectors with all roles relating to providing a high level of support for humanitarian issues, specifically relating to disability, mental health and immigration. She has recently made a permanent move to the disability sector.

Tony Marwick - Treasurer. ...

Richard Thompson (Vice-chair) has been active in WA disability sector since 1994, beginning as an Open Employment direct support officer for seven years and then moving into a management position. He joined Good Samaritan Industries in 2008 as the Operations Manager Employment Services (Options Employment) and is responsible for the day to day running of the Open Employment office at Cannington with 15 staff and over 250 workers and job seekers with disabilities. Richard has a BSc (hons) in Applied Science, a diploma in Business Management and various certificates in Information Technology and Employment Services.  

Sarah DiTomasso joined EDGE Employment Solutions in 2006 and leads a team of Job Coordinators who specialise in supporting workers with disabilities through Apprenticeships, Work & School based traineeships. Sarah is a qualified Occupational Therapist (OT) and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. In addition to her Team Leader role, Sarah also leads team of Occupational Therapists to carry out specialised Assessments and Workplace Modifications. Sarah previously worked as a Recreation Support person for people with disabilities and as a community support worker for people with dementia. Sarah’s achievements in the industry include being a winner of the Leading EDGE Employee Award in 2009, finalist for the Disability Employment Network Employee Awards 2009.

Paul Rogers is the South-East Regional Manager for Intework and has sat on the ACE WA council since September 2009. Paul completed a degree in Social Sciences and has been a workplace councillor in the United Kingdom before moving to Australia in 1998. Paul has had a varied career and been active in our sector since 2006 as a job support trainer and Case Manager before joining Intework. Paul used to work on a Mushroom farm.

Cyndy Johnson has over 15 years of senior management experience in the not for profit area, particularly in the mental health, disability and Employment sectors. Most recently she worked in Melbourne for WISE Employment as a Regional Manager of Employment Services. Before that she has worked for the Disability Services Commission, Good Samaritan Industries and Ruah Workright mental health employment service. She has been fortunate enough to help develop and run some pioneering programs to reach out to, and assist, people in need including development and employment services for exoffenders and people with low literacy and/or job skills. Cyndy has also been a board member for various organisations in similar community services sectors.

Florinda Rodi is the Manager for Create Employment, the Disability Employment Service Provider for The Centre for Cerebral Palsy.  Florinda has over 10 years experience in working in the disability sector and also holds a Bachelor Degree in Social Science. In addition to employment services, Florinda has provided a broad range of services to people with disability, including recreation and respite services for adults and children.  Florinda has also been instrumental in the development and implementation of training programs specifically tailored to assist jobseekers with disabilities to gain and maintain employment.  One such program, entitled ‘Working for Keeps’ continues to be delivered to jobseekers through Create Employment.

Jennifer Kitchin is currently the NDCO for the Western Australia Central Region which follows a five and half year appointment as the Senior Policy Advisor at the national office of National Disability Services where she specialised in the area of disability employment. Prior to this Jennifer was the CEO of Essential Personnel (EP) from its inception in 1989 through until 2005. EP is a Disability Employment Service provider, covering the Avon Valley, Wheatbelt and Eastern Metropolitan regions. Jennifer holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Graduate Certificate of Management.