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Meet the team

Meet the team

April Johnson – National Manager Services & Altogether Autism

April (Waikato Tainui) is National Manager of Services and Altogether Autism at Your Way | Kia Roha.

Her leadership is deeply influenced by her family’s lived experience of disability

Guided by the principles of manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga, she works to create environments where everyone feels respected, valued, and empowered to thrive.

Having previously served as an Information Advisor, Community Manager, and National Manager of Services, she is energised by the opportunity to bring her skills and lived experience to role as National Manager.

zea fael – Altogether Autism Manager

zea is audhd (late diagnosed), queer & genderqueer, pākeha/tangata tiriti, and lives in south Wairarapa on a small bush block.

They hold a Master of Change and Organisational Resilience, a Bachelor of Social Sciences (policy, philosophy, economics), and an adhd-worthy array of certificates and standards.

Their practice-based master’s project “resilience, retention, and the pursuit of liberation” focused around the neuroinclusion programme they were leading at work; how to move beyond awareness to build an authentic and regenerative practice. This included examining the experience of neurodivergent individuals at work, the work of building the practice of neuroinclusion which will never be ‘done’; and zea’s experience through that as an audhd leader.

Zea’s professional background is in business analysis, service design, and product management; with a long volunteering history in a range of spaces.

“I believe in a collective cross-functional iterative approach; continuous improvement, reciprocity, and reflective participatory process.

It is a privilege to step into this mahi, to stand on the shoulders of all those who have gone before me – within this organisation, whaikaha+autistic activists of past and present, and all autistic people.”

Lately zea’s spare time is filled with reading, gaming, time in nature, the odd bit of knitting, or just veging on the couch with cat and dog.

Kelly Booth – Administrator

Kelly has joined the Altogether Autism team to provide administrative support for Professional Development, Strengthening through Early Learning Opportunities (SELO) and network meetings.

Email kellyb@altogetherautism.org.nz

Ashe Yee – (B.A. – Psychology) – Researcher

Ashe joined the Altogether Autism team as a researcher in late 2019.  She graduated from the University of Newcastle in 2016 with a Bachelor in Psychology (First Class Honours).

She is passionate about delivering evidence-based information to families in need, and in fighting against the spread of misinformation about autism.  Ashe currently works at the University of Waikato as a researcher, was involved in the Counting Ourselves transgender health project, and was named a co-author on the resulting publication.

Dancer Rachael Wiltshire. Photo credit: Stephen A’Court. COPYRIGHT ©Stephen A’Court

Rachael Wiltshire – Researcher

Rachael has been passionate about autism advocacy since finding out she was Autistic when she was 12.  This passion led her to present at Altogether Autism’s conferences in 2015 and 2017, and at the Aspect Autism in Education conference in Brisbane in 2018.  

Rachael is particularly interested in education and enjoys working with other neurodivergent students in a peer support and tutoring capacity.  Between 2020 and 2023 Rachael was a member of Altogether Autism’s Consumer Advisory Group and was involved in a number of projects, including writing three of the Tertiary Guides that were published in 2022.  She is excited to now join the team in a permanent capacity as the Live Chat Agent / Researcher. 

Rachael completed her Bachelor of Creativity in Commercial Dance in 2021 and dances at events around Wellington with Society Event Entertainment.  This year she is returning to study with the goal of completing the Master of Intercultural Communication and Applied Translation at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington, where she is looking forward to putting her French and German skills to use. 

Sara Meyer

Sara Meyer, (MA Educational Psychology) – Researcher 

Sara graduated from the University of Auckland in 2013 with a Master’s degree in Psychology, after completing a double Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and History in 2011.

Sara has worked with Autistic children for several years as part of the Ministry of Education Learning Support team in the South Auckland area, supporting children in school and early learning settings.  Sara was diagnosed with autism herself not long after she started working alongside the children, after noticing the similarities between the children and herself.  Sara is a mother of two young children, one of whom is also Autistic.  In her free time, she enjoys writing, as well as playing and teaching music.

Andrew has short blond hair and wears black glasses.

Andrew Walker, (BA Occupational Therapy) – Online Creation and Engagement Coordinator

Hamilton is both Andrew’s birthplace and the nurturing ground that shaped him. Having actively volunteered in various community roles, he proudly graduated with a Bachelor’s in Occupational Therapy in 2021. 

As a person living with a disability and supporting others with disabilities in his personal life, he channels an intense passion towards the disability sector, committed to walking alongside fellow disabled individuals & their families | whānau in the community, empowering them to achieve their dreams, goals, and aspirations. 

During Andrew’s Intermediate school years, he was encouraged by others to advocate for his needs and to identify strategies that would allow him to participate in activities of meaning. As his self-advocacy skills developed, he found his niche advocating for others and empowering them advocate for themselves.