Our people

Angela was appointed CEO of SILC in September 2022 and brings expertise from her background in government and the For Purpose sector. Angela’s comprehensive understanding of the industry stems from her frontline and leadership roles. With a solid foundation in Occupational Therapy, Angela holds a Master of Health Science in Developmental Disability and a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management. Angela is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, highlighting her commitment to professional excellence.

Passionate about advocating for inclusion and the rights of people with disabilities, Angela actively shapes policies and initiatives. She is thrilled to lead a cooperative which serves its members, people with disability, and believes that SILC’s cooperative model can provide further agency to our members.

Angela serves as a Member of the Intellectual Disability Reference Group, providing guidance within the Independent Advisory Council (IAC) to the National Disability Insurance Agency Board. Angela believes in individual actions as the catalyst for change and strives for a society that values and respects the contributions of people of all abilities.

Faen Burrows is the Head of Service Development at Supporting Independent Living Co-operative (SILC). She started working in the human services sector in 2006, supporting students with disabilities in London. Faen has since held various roles at Ageing, Disability and Home Care and the National Disability Insurance Agency.

She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport and Exercise Management and a Master’s Degree in Health Services Management from the University of Technology, Sydney. Faen is particularly passionate about the NDIS and its mission, striving for equity and sustainability. Her goal is to help individuals with disabilities and their families overcome barriers, ensuring they find suitable housing that meets their needs and preferences.

Leah joined SILC in January 2020 as our Operations Lead and progressed to the Head of Operations role in September 2022. Leah is a highly experienced professional with a proven track record in leading teams to deliver successful projects aimed at addressing complex social issues for people with disabilities. With over three years of dedicated service to our organisation, Leah has played a pivotal role in driving operational excellence and ensuring that quality supports are delivered within each of our homes.

Initially qualifying as an Exercise Physiologist, Leah has since established a strong foundation in the disability sector with over 15 years of experience. She has a diverse background spanning state and federal government roles, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Her extensive experience working with government entities has given her a deep understanding of the intricacies of delivering person-centred wraparound supports for people with disabilities.

Leah has an unwavering commitment to growing people to their full potential and creating meaningful opportunities for their development. She firmly believes having the right support at the right time in the right environment will empower individuals to thrive and live extraordinary lives.

Michael joined SILC in 2022, in an operations role to lead and further build capacity for our cooperative, and to support our families to deliver family governance disability accommodation under the NDIS. Michael has 13 years working with people with disabilities, and comes to us from senior roles in the sector.

Michael was involved in the roll out of the NDIS through the Uniting LAC program. More recently, Michael grew and led a team of support coordinators, helping people with disabilities to achieve the goals they set for themselves, achieving tangible and measurable improvements in their quality of life. Michael’s work will underpin our ambition to provide bespoke family governed homes for people with disability.

Michael commenced at SILC in 2018 as a House Manager at CESIL house. Later that year he completed his Crisis Prevention Institute MAPA instructor training (now known as safety-intervention) and has been training staff in managing challenging behaviours since. In March 2024 he commenced as an operations lead.

Michael has over 13 years experience in the sector, initially running sports and recreation programs for people with disabilities, to support work before moving into management of supported independent living houses in 2015. Michael’s motivation is to be able to reflect upon a difficult time in a participant’s life and see how far their quality of life has improved since.

He enjoys learning and thinking critically about each of the people he supports and working with them and their support network to facilitate better life experiences.

In his spare time Michael enjoys competing in endurance events and spending time with his Great Dane Flo.

Declan joined SILC in September 2022 as the senior support coordinator. He first engaged in the community services sector through his role as a support worker to children residing in involuntary out of home care before transitioning into the support coordination field.

Prior to this, Declan worked in professional basketball as he has a strong interest in all things sport. Declan holds a Bachelor of Commerce (International Business) from Macquarie University and is currently studying his Masters of Business (Not-for-Profit & Social Enterprise) through QUT.

Declan joined SILC to further develop his passion of providing equal opportunities to those living with a disability and is excited to be able to support participants and their families to explore the NDIS ‘Home and Living’ space

Erin Joined SILC in January 2024 as our Senior Support Coordinator.

She comes to us with many years of experience in the disability and aged care sectors, including working for St Vincent De Paul in the Local Area Coordination program, before joining the NDIA as a delegate of the CEO and after three years in this role, became a support coordinator in 2021.

Erin began her career in the public sector as an assistant nurse in aged care where she discovered her passion for helping people live their most fulfilling lives. This has translated to her support coordination work where she focuses on outcome driven service. Erin has worked closely with many stakeholders including NSW Health, Department of Communities and Justice and the Department of education to assist in delivering complex level support to participants in transitional or crisis periods in their lives.

Erin loves to read and has a particular interest in crime fiction/trash novels.

Leanne has an adult daughter who has severe autism and has been a resident of CESIL House since 2018.

Leanne has been a Director on the Giant Steps Board since 2001 and is the co-ordinator of the annual Giant Steps Ball, a major fund-raising event.

Leanne works as a Licensed Conveyancer for Maccallum Lawyers. She has extensive experience with property and mortgage transactions working in small and medium sized legal firms. Leanne is also a Justice of the Peace.

Fred is the father of 4 children, the youngest Julian, a 17 year old boy with autism. Julian currently attends Giant Steps school in Sydney and is a resident of My House Oatlands (MHO).

Fred was instrumental in developing and establishing MHO of which he is the Public Officer. MHO was established in 2013 a family-governed model that has created a’ home away from home’ for Julian and two other teenage autistic boys in Oatlands, Sydney. SILC became MHO’s SIL Provider in 2018.

Fred has worked in the building industry for over 38 years and established his own successful construction company as a builder and property developer.

His knowledge in these two areas makes Fred a valuable member of SILC. Fred is passionate to help other families create a ‘home away from home’ just like MHO that has been life changing for Julian and his family.

Tim is an entrepreneur with a background in international employment and HR services. He was most recently a co-founder of Shield GEO, an international Employer of Record that supported over 900 client employees across 55 countries. At the time of acquisition by Velocity Global, Shield GEO had 70 staff in 17 countries and was turning over in excess of AUD $150 million per annum. Tim is interested in values driven companies that put people first.

Kim has a wealth of academic experience including;

· Bachelor of Business Health Administration (University of Technology. QLD),

· Graduate Diploma Applied Science Nursing Education, and

· Registered Nurse (Psychiatry & Emergency Med. Major).

Kim is also a registered Midwife and has worked in acute private and public hospitals, Justice Health Community and Aged Care sectors since 1980 including CEO of a number of private hospitals for 12 years 1991 – 2002 in QLD and Sydney’s North Shore.

From 2002 – 2010 Kim held the position of Group Risk/Clinical Risk Manager of Ramsay Health Care Australia and Indonesia and later from 2010 – 2014 as the National Clinical Risk Manager Calvary Healthcare Australia. From 2015-2017 Kim was the Operations Manager at James Milson Village, North Sydney. Kim currently works for Opal Aged Care NSW as the Commissioning Manager at Opal Bankstown. Kim’s 18 year old son Joel is a resident of TKALC.