Our people

PhD, GAICD, BAppSc (Occ Ther), Grad Dip Neuroscience, Grad Dip AppSc (Comp Sci), Master of Applied Science

Di Winkler is an occupational therapist who has worked with people with severe brain injury for more than 20 years. Di started a PhD and then established the Summer Foundation in January 2006 after becoming frustrated by the lack of appropriate housing and support for young people with disability who were being admitted to nursing homes for the aged. In 2012 she completed her PhD at Monash University, which involved a series of studies that focused on young people in nursing homes.

In 2018 Di was conferred with a Doctor of Laws honoris causa from Monash University for her distinguished service to the community through her leadership as a practicing occupational therapist and researcher.

In 2019 Di was appointed as a member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) for significant service to people with disability. Di is the Chief Executive Officer at the Summer Foundation and leads the Research Unit. She has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Living with Disability Research Centre at La Trobe University. Di also sits on the Board of Summer Housing Ltd.

Bachelor of Arts Hons (Psych)

Carolyn Finis is the Summer Foundation’s Head of Co-design. She joined the Summer Foundation in 2007 and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience around the issue of young people in aged care. Carolyn is passionate about including the lived experience of the organisation’s stakeholders, especially people with disability, into the work of the Summer Foundation.

In her role as Head of Co-design, Carolyn is responsible for the development and leadership of the unit. Together, the team works to capture the relevant lived experience of our stakeholders, which collectively forms a library of evidence for the Summer Foundation to draw on to support and augment our advocacy work.

Along with our stakeholders’ lived experience, the team also uses data gathered by the Summer Foundation to inform responses to the systems challenges we face.

Bachelor of Commerce, Grad Certificate in Management of Not for Profit Organisations, Fellow of CPA Australia

Alecia Rathbone is the Chief Social Enterprise Officer of Summer Foundation’s social enterprise the Housing Hub, that connects people with disability to appropriate housing.

She is responsible for the development and growth of products and services of the social enterprise including the Housing Hub website, where people with disability can search for suitable housing by housing type or location.

Alecia, who joined the Summer Foundation in 2018, has worked for 12 years in the ‘for-purpose’ and social enterprise space, and also has a strong commercial background.

She is currently a non-executive director with a number of for purpose organisations including inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, cohealth, and volunteer for Fight Parkinsons and St Vincent de Paul Society.

Bachelor of Business – Accounting (with Dist)
Certified Practising Accountant (CPA)

Jess is the Summer Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) with responsibility for the finance, IT, P&C, operations and strategic and operational planning functions. Jess is a Certified Practising Accountant and has spent the last 9 years building a global technology business. Jess brings broad experience in finance, innovation, IT and product management, business process analysis and cultural change gained throughout her career in the technology, for-purpose and government sectors.

Jess loves working with passionate and motivated teams to solve important problems, apply innovative solutions and disrupt the status quo. She is actively involved in her local community, holding many volunteer positions and strongly believes in doing work that makes a difference in the community and helping people to live the life they deserve.

Master in Business Administration, Post Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management and Chartered Manager

Amelia Condi is the Summer Foundation’s Head of Government Relations and Policy. She leads the organisation’s policy and strategic influence and works alongside all levels of government to enable better outcomes for younger people with disability.

In leading the Government Relations and Policy Team, Amelia focuses on shaping policy reform, developing policy solutions and influencing future opportunities for younger people with disability.

Amelia is an experienced leader in social policy, strategy, policy implementation, transformation and analysis. She joined the Summer Foundation at the beginning of 2020 after a 15-year career in federal and state government. Amelia has worked on several significant social policy reforms across disability, housing and homelessness, mental health, family policy and welfare reform. She has worked closely with Aboriginal elders and communities to shape and deliver policy initiatives towards self-determination.

Amelia has a passion for social policy issues and is driven to make an impact.

BA (Hons) European Business Studies

Lou provides a broad range of support to the CEO and the executive team. She is not new to the Summer Foundation having previously worked with the organisation via the Disability Research Centre at La Trobe University.

Since 2011 Lou has worked in senior administrative roles within other not-for-profit organisations and the state government. Before that she worked in the Australian agribusiness industry. Lou came to Australia from Ireland where she worked in marketing roles to promote Irish food and drink both there and in Germany.

Cert IV in Business Administration

Jessica Simms provides EA support to the Chief Executive of the Housing Hub and manages systems to ensure the efficient development and ongoing performance of the Housing Matching Social Enterprise.

She has been at the Summer Foundation since April 2018 and has more than 22 years’ experience in administration, including as an office manager and in accounts, HR and payroll functions.

2019 – Level 2 First Aid and CPR
2016 – Level 2 First Aid and CPR
2015 – Certificate IV in Employment Services
2015 – Certificate IV in Mental Health
2014 – Mental Health Awareness
2014 – Suicide Intervention Awareness
2013 – Certificate in Reverse Marketing
2011 – Certificate in working with clients that have Alcohol and Drug issues 2011 – Certificate in Motivational Interviewing
2011 – Certificate IV in Career Development
2010 – Certificate in Planning pathways to employment
2008 – Certificate in post-placement support
2008 – Short course in Negotiation and Crisis Intervention
2003 – Bachelor Degree of Social Welfare

Natasha Hendricks is responsible for enhancing the effectiveness of the Chief Operating Officer and the Head of Government Relations and Policy through high level administrative and organisational support.

Before joining the Summer Foundation, Natasha worked in employment services as an EA and employment consultant, for both Job Active and Disability.