Management Committee

Ruth Bowron is a Senior Speech Pathologist at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. She is part of the diagnostic assessment team in the Child Development Unit (CDU). Ruth works with the NSW Centre for Effective Reading, leading a team of Speech Pathologists who support NSW primary school students with complex reading difficulties. Ruth also runs a private practice Blue Mountains Communication and Learning Services, providing early intervention, school age language assessment, and clinical supervision. Ruth enjoys teaching, presenting, leading quality improvement projects, and participating in research. Ruth is passionate about empowering individuals and being part of the team around them. When Ruth is not working she enjoys travelling with her husband and their four children.

Mary Kerba is a passionate and dedicated Special Education consultant and Director of “The Hills Learning Centre” in Castle Hill, working with children with learning difficulties/disabilities, aged 4-18 years. Mary has a Diploma in Teaching, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Learning Difficulties, Certificate in Counselling and Advanced Communication Skills, and a wealth of knowledge from her 32 years combined Special Needs teaching and school leadership experience. She has taught at infants, primary and TAFE levels, developed and implemented a school learning-support program, and has been the Head of Infants and the Head of Junior School at an independent girls’ school in Sydney’s north-west. Mary is committed to supporting and changing the lives of students with learning difficulties, and their families, during their school journey.

Annette Guterres is a retired Secondary Teacher and Special Education Learning Support Coordinator who was employed in the education field for over 35 years. Annette has a Bachelor and Masters of Education, Certificate of Learning Difficulties and Integration Studies, and a Post Graduate Diploma of Special Education. Having studied Psychology and Special Education Annette has considerable experience in the school system with learning support in both the classroom and leading staff. Annette keeps up her involvement with the education field as Secretary of the Professional Association for Learning Support (PALS) where the focus is on supporting all professionals who work in support roles helping students. Annette has a special interest in inclusive practice, effective teaching of vocabulary and multi-levelled systems of support. From The Professional Teachers Council of NSW Annette received the awards – Outstanding Professional Service (2009) and Exceptional Service Award (2019). She was also awarded the Medal of the Order of Australian in 2019. Annette is currently Vice-President/Treasurer of the LDC, Secretary/Treasurer of PALS, Secretary for the Bomber Command Association in Australia, and is the Australian Coordinator for the International Bomber Command Centre (Lincoln UK).

My early life was typical of that experienced by most kids with ADHD and Aspergers. School was a life sentence! Leaving school behind, I found solace of kindred spirit within the military and the electricity industry of Power Transmission and Distribution. In 1987, my sister confronted me with Dr Gordon Serfontein’s book, ‘The Hidden Handicap’, and rightly telling me, “This is your life!” I read the book to which I related all too well. I also related to Donna Williams book, ‘Nobody Nowhere’ on autism, which after a workshop, led to the formation of the Autism and Aspergers Support Group Inc., of which I was Vice President since its inception in 1998, to it’s eventual demise in 2018, which introduced me being our groups’ representing member on the LDC. Many things have changed since those days, I have retired three times, and now for good, but I have still maintained my interest in the LDC, having represented on the NDIS Committee in 2013 and being able to advocate for them on occasions. They are a very worth while collective of concerned and caring individuals, collectively trying to make the future better for those challenged by learning difficulties.

Andrew Greenfield is a Child and Educational Psychologist and is the Principal Psychologist at PsychSupport Assessment Services (PSAS). PSAS is a private practice in Sydney, with rooms located in Bondi Junction and Chatswood. He is a Fellow of the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists. Andrew has worked with children, adolescents and adults with ADHD, Learning Difficulties, Behavioural difficulties and other developmental disorders for the past 22 years. Andrew works closely with GPs, Paediatricians and Psychiatrists, amongst other allied health professionals. Andrew is a Fellow of the APS specialist college, the College of Educational and DevelopmentalPsychologists. He consults to schools and other organisations across Sydney and regularly appears inthe media on television and radio. Andrew is the past Vice President of the Learning Difficulties Coalition NSW. Andrew’s new Podcast is called Being Comfortably Uncomfortable. He is married and has three children.

Natalie Miller is the Director of Learning Enrichment at St Catherine’s Anglican Girls School in Waverley. Her current teaching position oversees academic support, English as Another Language and Gifted & Talented students from Kindergarten to Year 12. Natalie originally trained as a Visual Arts and History secondary school teacher, however, after working with students with emotional and behaviour disorders she retrained in special education. Natalie has completed both a Post-Graduate Degree in Special Education and a Masters in Special Education and worked in this field for over 20 years. Natalie has also completed a post-graduate certificate in gifted education.

Dr Julia Starling is a speech-language pathologist who has extensive clinical and research experience with populations of children, adolescents and young adults with language and literacy disorders. Julia has worked with community health multidisciplinary teams, with remote outreach organisations, with mental health services and as a university clinical educator and lecturer. Julia now lives and works just outside Sydney; she develops resources, regularly lectures and presents seminars and workshops, and continues an active involvement in research projects.

Natalie Goodwin is an enthusiastic and passionate educator, with over 15 years’ experience working with children and youth with diverse needs. Natalie has a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a Post Graduate Diploma in Psychology. She is currently an executive manager and learning clinician at The Hills Learning Centre, where she has been working since 2015, assisting students with disabilities and learning difficulties to work towards achieving success and independence. Her passion lies in employing strategies to build the confidence and skills of children despite the hurdles and difficulties they face, as well as advocating for children to ensure that they have the potential to achieve in the big wide world. Apart from being a passionate educator, Natalie now also has insight into learning disabilities from a parent’s perspective as she herself has a young son with a learning disability and is passionate about ensuring that all parents are provided with the quality knowledge and access to ensure that they can also advocate for their children.