About CoAbility

Maggie Abdelmalak is the Team Leader of our growing Specialist Support Coordination Team.

After graduating as a Social Worker in 2001, Maggie quickly went on to forge a path in the community health field. Working in the inner suburbs of Melbourne she gained invaluable experience in refugee health and multi-disciplinary diversity teams. She learnt to collaborate and coordinate across disciplines and develop treatment plans that were holistic and person-centred across all (dis)abilities.

Over the years, Maggie learnt that good communication and trust were the key to good outcomes and that a ‘one size fits all’ model just doesn't work. Listening to the details of her client's stories and the things that are meaningful to them enabled her to see and understand what it was they needed from her and their services.

For the last few years, Maggie has been using her experience and knowledge of complex physical and psychosocial health to provide Specialist Support Coordination to NDIS participants.

CoAbility's Specialist Support Coordination Team is growing and thriving under Maggie's expert supervision. Our joint passion and dedication to Diversity in all forms is what makes outcomes happen!

Amber Ericksen is the Team Leader of our growing Gippsland Team.

With over 20 years experience in the Disability and Community Services sectors and as a parent of a child on the Autism Spectrum, Amber is a strong advocate for the rights of children and adults with disability.

Ambers experience is vast and varied. Trained in ABA therapy, with years of experience assisting people to understand and manage complex behaviours, she is passionate about sharing her knowledge with parents to help make their journey navigating a tricky system easier.

Amber's listening and thinking 'outside the box' problem-solving skills make her a natural Team Leader and brilliant Support Coordinator.

Having worked in both team and individual settings, she is a big believer of leading by example, sharing knowledge and empowering staff to succeed and grow. Her passion for helping people live the life they choose makes her a perfect match for CoAbility.

Hi! I’m Jenine Ellis, CEO of CoAbility.

I have been in the Disability sector for over 12 years, predominantly working with people with physical disabilities and degenerative neurological conditions. My mother was disabled in the last years of her life, which helped me see things in the industry a little differently.

I started off as a support worker way back when, and steadily moved up the ranks in disability services. The one constant throughout this journey has been my focus on enabling clients to achieve their chosen outcomes.

I believe in the NDIS and the reform it is bringing to the disability sector, however, I think it needs passionate people involved on the ground level to make it work.

I founded CoAbility as a response to the need for independent Support Coordinators in Victoria.
Many organisations are providing Support Coordination as part of their wider service offering. However, conflict of interest is proving to be a real issue as they direct clients back to their own services time and again, effectively limiting the clients choice and control.

As the founder of an independent Support Coordination provider, I want to ensure that we use our expertise to build the capacity of our clients by connecting them to services, supports or community networks that are right for them.

The idea of Support Coordination fits perfectly with my person-centred philosophy and values. So basically, every day I get to do what I love, ensuring people can get the support they need to maximise their potential.

Hi, I'm Cath!

I've surrounding myself with all things learning for over a decade. I prides myself on my diversity of skills including eLearning design and development, video, web and graphic design.

Founding Cath Ellis Learning Design in 2013, my main strength is bringing multiple creative services together to create a seamless, cohesive and holistic offering to the learning sector.

Cath Ellis Learning Design and CoAbility recently won the following three LearnX Impact Awards for the CoAbility Induction:
- Platinum (Best New eLearning Adopter Project)
- Gold (Best eLearning on a Budget)
- Finalist (Best Induction/Onboarding Project)

Sarah Irwin is our Business Development Manager. Her and her team of NDIS Administration Officers look after all client intake, allocations and assess whether more coordinators are needed in a specific area.

Sarah has over 10 years of experience working at Bulleen Heights School where she supported children with Autism in the classroom. However, her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in 2017 meant that her role in the classroom would not be viable into the future. So through MS, Bulleen Heights' loss became CoAbility's gain!

Sarah's no-nonsense, 'get in there and get the job done' attitude means that CoAbility rarely has a waiting list and is able to begin supporting clients, usually within a week of their referral.

If you see Sarah's smiling face pop up at one of the many expos we attend please be sure to say hi!

Louise Bugeja is one of our many talented Support Coordinators.

Lou has worked in the Disability and Human Services sectors for over 20 years and is a person with a very lived experience of disability herself. She has fought her way through the maze of services and supports for years and has just taken on the challenge to get her own NDIS plan organised.

Louise is passionate about self-advocacy and the rights of people with disability and loves working to support those who need it and be the voice of those who are unable to represent themselves.

One of Lou's previous roles was as a Human Services Auditor which makes her the perfect person to oversee our Quality processes. Her eye for detail and her passion for quality assurance and compliance enables us to offer a service that not only ticks the required boxes but exceeds all expectations.

Loves running after balls.

Always stealing clothes out of the dirty laundry basket.