Meet Our Team
Emily Zanotti - Speech Therapist, Co Director
Emily is the founder and Director of Strong Futures, a speech pathologist with expertise in cognitive-communication, FASD, justice-involved practice, and supporting Aboriginal communities across remote and regional Western Australia.
Holding a Bachelor of Speech Pathology from Curtin University and a Master of FASD Diagnostics from UWA, Emily brings both clinical and lived connection to her work. Emily has deep personal ties to Noongar culture through her family, her professional values and personal world are inseparable. She founded Strong Futures because she believed allied health could and should do better for Aboriginal People. She leads a team of clinicians committed to walking alongside people, families, and communities wherever they are, from Perth Metro to the Kimberley and beyond.
Julian Rodney-Hansen, Co Director
Julian is a proud Noongar man and Co-Director of Strong Futures Allied Health, bringing hands-on experience in disability supports, community work, and the justice system including prisons and the court system.
His deep understanding of the barriers his mob face when navigating complex service systems drives his commitment to building an organisation that delivers genuine, culturally grounded support without compromise.
Julian is passionate about creating a space where Aboriginal people receive the quality care they deserve, while ensuring clinicians are safe, supported, and set up to do their best work.
Grace Smith - Speech Therapist
Kassie Taylor - Allied Health Assistant
Kassie is a proud Yankunytjatjara woman whose background spans community services, justice settings, and frontline crisis support for women and families. She brings both professional expertise and deep cultural understanding to her work, grounding every interaction in trust, deep listening, and genuine relationship-building with participants, families, and communities.
Kassie works primarily across Perth Metro with adolescents and adults who have complex needs, psychosocial disability, trauma backgrounds, and justice involvement. She has specialist experience supporting women in crisis , including those navigating family and domestic violence she is trained in Safe and Together, Stopping Family Violence, and crisis intervention and safety planning.
Her practice is trauma-informed, strengths-based, and firmly person-centred, supporting participants with daily living skills, emotional regulation, communication, community access, and the practical independence that aligns with their NDIS goals.
Kassie is deeply committed to culturally safe practice and working in genuine partnership with Aboriginal families and communities. She prioritises building trust and rapport.
When she's not with participants, you'll find Kassie at the beach, deep in a good romance novel, or protecting her time to recharge.
Charlene Ho, Speech Therapist
Ruth Pepulani, Senior Speech Therapist
Maja Maric - Speech Pathologist
Maja is a speech pathologist with experience supporting people of all ages, from young children through to adults with communication and mealtime difficulties across community, school, clinic, and justice settings.
Her practice is neuroaffirming and trauma-informed at its core, with a strong focus on functional, person-centred goals that build real independence and wellbeing in everyday life.
Maja has a particular passion for social communication and neurodiversity, including the intersection of autistic burnout, sensory preferences, and how people connect and communicate with the world around them. She has specialist expertise in Situational Mutism, Gestalt Language Processing, AAC, and mealtime management, and brings this alongside her growing experience in forensic disability and justice system support.
She works with people with complex disability, developmental disability, psychosocial disability, FASD, and acquired brain injury, always collaborating closely with families, support teams, and communities to ensure her work translates meaningfully across all environments.
Maja is committed to developing her practice as a culturally safe clinician, listening deeply to the people and communities she works with, and centering individual strengths as the foundation for addressing barriers and achieving goals together.
Claudia Marshall - Occupational Therapy Team Leader
Claudia is a Senior Occupational Therapist specialising in the intersection of traumatic brain injury, justice health, and psychosocial disability across metropolitan, regional, and remote Western Australia. She has worked within state-based brain injury services and prison estates across both the east and west coasts of Australia.
Claudia holds a Master of Indigenous Health and is committed to centring Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing within the Occupational Therapy service.
Her work focuses on advancing self-determination for people navigating complex life circumstances, including brain injury, domestic and family violence, complex trauma, substance use, and changes to social and emotional wellbeing. She is strongly committed to women-centred practice, particularly in supporting women in custody who may be living with diagnosed or undiagnosed traumatic brain injury resulting from family and domestic violence.
Ali Rose Bolton Speech Therapist, Team Leader
Ffion Williams, Allied Therapy Assistant, Team Leader
Elly Sewell, Allied Health Therapy Assistant
Nic Martin, Allied Health Assistant
Nic is a Therapy Assistant with experience supporting people living with brain injury and a strong background in disability support. Currently studying Occupational Therapy, Nic brings a person-centred approach to building capacity and confidence with people from all walks of life.
Raised in a rural community and grounded in farming, Nic has a deep appreciation for hands-on work, community connection, and the strengths of regional life. With interests in fishing, sport, and agriculture, Nic understands the importance of purposeful activity and meaningful relationships. Nic enjoys supporting people to build life skills and independence through everyday experiences that matter to them.
Passionate about improving health equity across rural and remote Western Australia, Nic is committed to culturally safe, trauma-responsive practice and respectful engagement with the environment and community. With an interest in how technology can expand access and support independence, Nic brings a practical approach to enhancing occupational performance, safety, and participation.
Candice Mullaney, Art Therapist
Janelle Clifton, Senior Occupational Therapist
Janelle is a Senior OT with over 20 years of experience working with people of all ages with diverse physical, sensory, cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
She has strong rural and remote practice experience, including work alongside Aboriginal communities across WA and the NT.
Her key interests include supporting children, young people, families and school systems. She specialises in capacity building therapy, equipment prescription and is qualified to complete complex home modification assessments and recommendations under the NDIS.
