Introducing EdAble

Beverley Michael

Beverley Michael is the Founder and President of EdAble – some say she is EdAble's "fearless" leader!

Bev left the corporate world to focus on developing inclusive opportunities for her son who has autism.

After her son left school, Bev developed a Community Partnership Model to increase employment opportunities for people with ASD, which led to the creation of EdAble.

"I strive to continue to lead, innovate and fill the gaps in creating employment opportunities for people with ASD and other neuro diversities with the help of the community partnerships and volunteers".

Ben Hansky

Ben is a lawyer and strategic advisor who heads up the social enterprise and not-for-profi practice at LUNA (based in Richmond, Melbourne). He is passionate about the intersection of technology, scalable business models and impact thinking.

He has been fortunate to help some of Australia's best and brightest young people launch, grow and optimise change-making organisations.

Matt Beaconsfield

Matthew Beaconsfield is a final-year student at RMIT, studying business and majoring in entrepreneurship.

Matthew has spent over 5 years in the disability sector across multiple roles as a support worker, and logistics coordinator for a non-profit.

He is currently in the midst of starting a SaaS company for NDIS providers.

Roger Wilson

Roger has considerable awareness and understanding of autism spectrum disorder related issues for families and individuals, in particular the need for a significant improvement in employment prospects for adults.

He was employed by Amaze (formerly Autism Victoria) as Business Development Manager, and also worked as a consultant, providing mentoring and support services to individuals and organisations.

"My adult son, who is autistic participated in EdAble Flowers, EdAble's first small business nursery-based training program where the use of video modelling (VM) allowed my son to learn the required job skills. It was a valuable (and enjoyable!) workplace experience for him".

Clive Aaron

Clive became interested in being involved with EdAble through witnessing the challenges his nephew who has ASD faced in finding a fulfilling role in the workplace. He has seen the life-changing benefits that derives from ultimately ending up in a supportive, inclusive work environment.

At EdAble, Clive has supported Bev Michael in a number of areas, including:

• Assisting with an assessment of the financial viability of EdAble Foods.

• Evaluating a number of alternative strategies for EdAble, from the incubation of micro-businesses, to engagement with large, established organisations around setting up employment programs for individuals with ASD.

• Contribute to refining EdAble's role in the area of creating employment opportunities for individuals with ASD.

"While EdAble's role continues to evolve, the work it is doing in exploring alternative models for the employment and inclusion of individuals with ASD is critical to helping these individuals achieve a sense of purpose and become fulfilled".

Caroline Sakinofsky

Caroline became involved with Social Moments, a micro-business under the auspice of EdAble, approximately two years ago. Passionate about creating meaningful employment opportunities for young adults with disabilities, Caroline felt Social Moments had the potential to do just that!

Caroline has assisted in both the front and back end of operations at Social Moments alongside Bev Michael.

"Over the past two years I have enjoyed building partnerships with cafes and other hospitality providers, and working with Mattie Michael to bake and deliver delicious biscuits.

Social Moments is a fantastic business that brings a lot of joy into my life and the lives of the biscuit eaters!"

Paddy O'Brien

Paddy was the Chairman and CEO of Automotive Consultants, Sewells (International). He is now retired and is one of valuable members of the EdAble committee.

Since becoming involved with EdAble in 2014, Paddy says he has grown to appreciate how important it is to unlock the creative potential in Autistic adults.

"With the correct level of support and a whole lot of love, the micro-business pathway as pursued by EdAble, has encouraged autistic individuals to become responsible and productive to an extent that was not imaginable in the past".

Maxwell Michael

Maxwell Michael is a highly experienced medical specialist with extensive training and experience across the globe.

With over 30 years experience of disability advocacy, Maxwell is an valuable member of our EdAble community.