Our Team
Leadership & Admin
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Chief Executive
As a passionate contributor in the child disabilities and mental health sectors for the past 25 years in both the US and New Zealand, Tami is determined to achieve equity for all children in need of support. She’s proud that the model that guides Acorn is the gold standard internationally.
Tami has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan, a Master’s Degree in clinical social work from the University of Chicago and a Post Graduate Certificate in Inclusive Education from the University of Auckland. She has twenty-five years of experience managing non-profit organisations and programmes, providing parent guidance, child and family therapy, and school consultation specialising in autism, ADHD, anxiety, trauma and learning disabilities. Tami has worked in foster care, special education, early intervention and community mental health in the United States and New Zealand in a variety of leadership and direct service roles. Additionally, she is a professional development facilitator for the Ministry of Education through Core Education, specialising in inclusion, social/ emotional learning and trauma-informed practice. Tami has three lively neurodiverse children who keep her on her toes and remind her to keep pushing for an equitable Aotearoa.
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Clinical Manager
As a registered psychologist and BCBA, Lily brings experience from both New Zealand and the UK, where she’s overseen service delivery, provided clinical supervision to practitioners and led training and professional development for caregivers and educators. Her passion lies in empowering individuals to lead fulfilling lives through the application of behavioral psychology. She’s been actively involved in supporting neurodivergent and disabled children, youth, and adults across various settings, including early intervention centres, supported living arrangements, and family homes.
Central to Lily’s ethos is the belief that all individuals deserve equitable opportunities to learn, communicate, engage with their community, and self-advocate. She works collaboratively with other disciplines to set individualised goals and deliver services that meet each person's unique support needs. Collaborating with individuals and their families is key to making real progress and achieving meaningful results.
Drawing from Organisational Behavioral Management (OBM) and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Lily aims to foster a workplace culture grounded in values, supporting team members in achieving their professional goals.
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Administrative Assistant
Speech and Language Therapists
Central Centre
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Lead Speech-Language Therapist
Cherry-Beth graduated from Newcastle University in England. Following this, she became registered with HCPC, as well as a member of RCSLT. Cherry-Beth worked for several years within the NHS in London, providing support predominantly to Autistic children, their families, and associated professionals. She was also an experienced supervisor for new Speech and Language Therapists joining the NHS.
Cherry-Beth continues to develop her skills through professional development, including being trained at the world-renowned Michael Palin Centre for Stammering, Signalong, Elklan, SCERTS and is formally PECS trained.
Since living in New Zealand, Cherry-Beth became accredited with the New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists’ Association. Cherry-Beth is passionate about working with autistic children and adolescents, utilising an interdisciplinary approach to provide the most beneficial and effective care.
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Speech-Language Therapist
Ariel graduated from the Master of Speech and Language Pathology Programme at the University of Canterbury and is a member of the New Zealand Speech Language Therapists' Association. She previously completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta in Canada.
Ariel has experience supporting children with developmental disabilities in a variety of settings, including providing communication and speech intervention to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Prior to moving to New Zealand, Ariel worked as a respite aide to a teenager and as an educational assistant in a special education preschool.
Ariel is passionate about an interdisciplinary approach to supporting families while developing children's independent communication and social skills. She is particularly interested in language development and how implementing Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) strategies can support language acquisition.
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Speech-Language Therapist
Ellie graduated from Newcastle University in the UK. Following this, she gained a ‘Teaching English as a Foreign Language’ qualification and worked in the Czech Republic. On returning to the UK, Ellie worked in the NHS, supporting children with a wide range of speech, language and communication needs including Autism Spectrum Disorder. Ellie also completed a specialist role working with Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Ellie has been trained in Hanen: It Takes Two to Talk, Intensive Interaction and Colour Coding.
Ellie is accredited with the New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists’ Association. She is passionate about empowering those closest to a child with the knowledge and skills of how to best support their individual needs. She also believes strongly in the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to achieve the best possible outcomes for children.
North Shore
Occupational Therapist
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Occupational Therapist
Sophie graduated from Auckland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Health Science majoring in Occupational Therapy. Sophie is excited to be a part of the team at Acorn as she has always had a passion for paediatrics - which was accentuated while on placement at university.
During her studies, she was a support worker for individuals with physical disabilities and a paediatric mathematics tutor. Prior to beginning her journey with Acorn, Sophie worked as an Occupational Therapist providing residential rehabilitation for adults with traumatic brain injury.
Sophie is passionate about making learning fun and enjoyable for the children involved and using therapy to enhance independence and skills in activities of daily living. She values working collaboratively with children and their families to achieve their identified goals.
North Shore
Psychologists
Central Centre
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Psychologist
Paul is a registered New Zealand Psychologist. He has been supporting neurodiverse children, youth and adults for over 10 years in New Zealand. This includes working as a therapist in homes and in school settings. In 2021 Paul completed his Psychology Internship which focussed on identifying and teaching functional skills.
Paul enjoys listening to families and young people to understand their experience and co-design therapies to support change that is important to them.
Working with families and other professionals is important to Paul and creating a safe environment for open discussion is an essential element of his practise. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, he has three school aged children who keep him busy.
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Registered Psychologist
Rachel completed her master's in Behavioural Psychology in 2021 at the University of Auckland and just completed her internship with Acorn and Rescare Homes Trust. Rachel's professional journey started as a senior behaviour therapist. She has also held roles as a community support worker at A Supported Life and with adults with traumatic brain injuries during her master’s research.
Throughout her career, Rachel has had the privilege of working with a wide variety of learners of all ages, all with unique interests and learning needs. Through these experiences, Rachel has developed a passion for supporting learners in developing their skills to increase communication, engagement, independence and self-advocacy.
Rachel strives to provide a fun, safe and encouraging environment for children to grow into their full potential. She believes a child-led and whānau-focused approach to therapy with the support of a multidisciplinary team is the best way for learners to succeed.
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Psychologist, BCBA
Philippa graduated with her Master’s in 2018 and became a Registered Psychologist in 2021. Philippa started working in the field of autism and neurodiversity in 2016. Philippa worked with neurodiverse children, focusing on functional skill and language acquisition, learning support, and the reduction of challenging behaviours. Philippa also worked as a helpline volunteer and duty manager with Anxiety New Zealand Trust.
As a Psychologist, Philippa has developed a specialisation in supporting young people through the use of Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and teaching self-advocacy.
Philippa is committed to using child-led approach to benefit children and their families: considering a child's entire environment, focusing on the skills which are important to them, creating a fun and motivating setting to cultivate learning, encouraging children's choice, empowerment and self-advocacy, and collaborating with professionals from multiple disciplines.
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Psychologist
Caitlin studied at the University of Auckland obtaining a Masters in Science majoring in Psychology with First Class Honors and a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Psychology with Distinction.
Whilst studying, Caitlin gained extensive experience supporting neurodiverse tamariki and adolescents across various settings, including educational, residential care, and family homes. From these experiences, Caitlin has developed a passion for supporting learners in developing their skills to increase independence, communication, engagement, and reduce barriers to learning.
Caitlin has a special interest in interventions for childhood feeding difficulties. Her Masters research focused on home based interventions for teaching oral feeding skills for children with severe feeding difficulties such as tube dependency. Caitlin also has experience as a research assistant for the University of Canterbury in which she helped develop the feeding content for the Waiora Tamariki programme which is a free telehealth service for caregivers of children with autism and feeding difficulties.
Caitlin has a warm, empathetic, and engaging therapy style and believes strongly in a client-centered and whānau focused approach to therapy whilst working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team to achieve meaningful outcomes.
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Psychologist
Alex studied Psychology at the University of Auckland, and has just completed her internship with Acorn and Project Employ. While completing her BA she gained an interest in psychology and subsequently completed her Masters Thesis which specialised in supported decision-making in employment settings for neurodivergent adults.
Alex has worked as a support worker with adults with intellectual disabilities, a job coach with neurodivergent adults, and has been a therapist working with neurodivergent children since April 2021.
Alex is a supporter of the interdisciplinary approach taken by Acorn and enjoys supporting her clients to increase their independence and autonomy. She is passionate about providing a client-centred and strengths-based approach to her practice, and supporting neurodivergent learners to develop social, communication, cognitive and adaptive skills in fun environments.
Intern Psychologists
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Intern Psychologist
Talofa lava, my name is Lauiti’itilemasina Ma’ia’i and I grew up in Samoa before moving to Aotearoa 17 years ago, with my family. I have just completed my Masters of Science as part of the Behavioural Psychology Programme at the University of Auckland.
I have been working with neurodiverse children for almost 4 years, starting at CLIMB and now with the Acorn. Before that, I worked as a teacher aide for Oaklynn School in their satellite classes at the local primary, intermediate and colleges in New Lynn which started my passion for working with children with disabilities. I love working with neurodiverse children and seeing their positive energy, supporting them to gain essential life skills such as self-care, getting ready for school, academics and learning through play.
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Intern Psychologist
Stella recently completed her Master’s in Psychology at the University of Auckland and is now an Intern Psychologist at Acor. Stella has had the privilege of working at various specialist schools as a teacher aide and has also worked with adults with dementia.
Stella values collaborating with a multidisciplinary team, families, and caregivers to provide services that encourage the child’s independence and better their quality of life. Stella believes that creating a client-centric, fun and safe environment will allow them to thrive and develop their cognitive, communicative and social skills.
North Shore
Therapists
Central Centre
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Lead Therapist & Assistant Supervisor
Axie studied Psychology and Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland, graduating in 2020. Axie is currently completing the first year of the University of Auckland’s Postgraduate Behavioural Psychology programme and will complete a masters degree in 2023.
Axie’s passion for helping neurodiverse children thrive started with her volunteer work in schools that she undertook whilst living in Dubai. Here, she worked one-on-one with children to support the development of their social and cognitive skills through play. Since moving to New Zealand, Axie has been a long-term caregiver for a child with Smith-Kingsmore Syndrome (SKS), which sparked her interest in behavioural psychology and led her to working at Acorn.
Axie is committed to supporting neurodiverse children develop their social, cognitive and communication skills, and help them reach their greatest potential.
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Therapist
Jo completed her undergraduate Psychology and Philosophy degree at the University of Auckland in 2021. She is currently undertaking her masters in behavioural psychology, where she aims to work toward earning the qualifications of registered psychologist.
Jo is passionate in working with children from all walks of life. Prior to Acorn, Jo has had extensive experience working with children across a wide range of settings, which include working as a Teacher’s Aide in a kindergarten in Singapore and as a Research Assistant at a developmental psychology research lab at the University of Auckland. Most recently, she was a support worker and carer for a young autistic child with Angelman’s Syndrome, which inspired her to continue pursuing postgraduate studies to keep developing her skillsets.
Jo is eager to utilise psychology practice to help children develop social, emotional, communicative and adaptive skills, in order to attain the best qualities of life.
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Lead Therapist
Janaki graduated with a PGDip in Psychology from the University of Waikato. She previously completed her BSc and MSc in Psychology at the University of Madras in India.
Janaki has five years of work experience with neurodiverse individuals in different settings such as home, school and clinic and from diverse cultural backgrounds. Before moving to New Zealand, Janaki worked as a special educator in an International Baccalaureate school in India. This paved the way into Behavioural Psychology. Janaki enjoys supporting individuals in reducing behavioual challenges and seeing the client’s quality of life improve.
Janaki’s core value is providing compassionate care and supporting the clients and their whānau to navigate through this complex social world. The work which Janaki does is child-focused; involving them in every step of the way and gauging the sessions based on their needs on any given day. Janaki is constantly learning and re-learning from her practise with her clients as well as from her supervisor to serve the children better.
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
- Helen Keller