Founder and Director
Ursula Portolesi
Founder and Director
Speech Pathology
Ursula Portolesi
Founder and Senior Speech Pathologist
Jo Brenecki
Senior Speech Pathologist
Paloma D'Addario
Speech Pathologist
Madeline Campbell
Speech Pathologist
Madeline completed her studies in Speech Pathology at La Trobe University and has experience working with children with speech and language delays.
Maddi worked in Darwin for 12 months and has recently relocated to Adelaide. She enjoys working with children with speech delays and disorders, and language delays. She loves to work with children in preschool and junior primary and also has experience with children in middle and upper primary school, working on speech, language and social communication.
Occupational Therapy
Caitlin McKenzie
Senior Occupational Therapist
Caitlin completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) at the University of South Australia.
Caitlin has a passion for working with children of all ages with a variety of learning difficulties including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She aims to increase independence in activities of daily living, fine and gross motor skills, sensory and emotional regulation and behaviour. She is passionate about working closely with families to provide the best support for children.
Henry Thai
Occupational Therapist
Jess Pollifrone
Occupational Therapist
Nicholas Lopresti
Occupational Therapist
Nick completed his studies in Occupational Therapy at the University of South Australia in 2021. He joined the Making Milestones team as a student working as an Allied Health Assistant and now works as a qualified Occupational Therapist.
Nick enjoys working with children of all ages and developing their emotional regulation skills.
Maria Halakias
Occupational Therapist
Stephen Lor
Occupational Therapist
Mental Health
Gina Mezzino
Mental Health Social Worker
Gina is a social worker with over 25 years of experience. She is qualified to work with clients with mental health needs.
Gina has extensive experience working with parents and children to support children’s social emotional development and behaviour. She has many years experience in working with First Nations families.
Trish Nesci
Mental Health Social Worker
Administration, Finance and Program Development
Leia Lastella
Administration Manager
Leia is a founding member of Making Milestones who manages the day to day running of the clinic including referrals, bookings, enquiries and billing. Leia has a background in business management and her friendly manner and professional skills keep everything running smoothly.
Leia is available on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays to support both clients and other team members.
Tammy Francesca
Administration Manager
Tammy works alongside Leia to manage the day to day running of the clinic including referrals, bookings, enquiries and billing. Tammy has a background in business management. Her friendly manner and passion for supporting both staff and clients is a great asset to our team.
Tammy is available on Wednesdays and Fridays to support both clients and other team members.
Nadia De Marco
Public Relations and Marketing
Nadia has worked in business for many years and works part-time to support Ursula, the Director, in the overall running of Making Milestones.
Nadia also manages the marketing of our services and liaises with providers in the medical, therapy and education fields to learn more about how Making Milestones can work alongside them to better support their clients.
Allied Health Assistants and Workshop Team
Alexandra Armiento
Allied Health Assistant
Ally is currently studying Speech Pathology at Uni SA. She is a valued member of our team who works across a number of programs and has a great rapport with our younger clients in particular.
Ally works at Making Milestones as an Allied Health Assistant running our Sensory Playgroups and providing individual support for children with speech and language needs at preschool, school and child care under the direction of our clinicians. She also works in our Party Hub and on reception.
Victoria Di Niro
Allied Health Assistant
Victoria is currently studying Psychology at Uni SA. She works across a number of programs and loves supporting our younger clients to meet their developmental goals.
Victoria works at Making Milestones as an Allied Health Assistant running our Sensory Playgroups and providing individual support for children with speech and language needs at preschool, school and child care under the direction of our clinicians. She also works in our Party Hub and on reception.
Marielle Ros
Allied Health Assistant
Marielle is currently studying Speech Pathology at Uni SA and will enter her final year in 2022.
Marielle will join the Making Milestones team as an Allied Health Assistant in 2022 running our Sensory Playgroups and providing individual support for children with speech and language needs at preschool, school and child care under the direction of our clinicians.
Monique Jones
Allied Health Assistant
Monique is currently studying Speech Pathology at Uni SA. She works across a number of programs including with preschool clients and in our sensory playgroup.
Monique works at Making Milestones as an Allied Health Assistant running our Sensory Playgroups and providing individual support for children with speech and language needs at preschool, school and child care under the direction of our clinicians. She also works in our Party Hub and on reception.
Dominic Sangermano
Allied Health Assistant
Dominic is currently studying Primary Education. He supports our younger and adolescent clients to meet their developmental goals in community settings.
He works at Making Milestones as an Allied Health Assistant providing individual support for children with learning, cognition and lifestyle needs at preschool, school, community settings and child care under the direction of our clinicians.
Zak Zoina
Allied Health Assistant
Zak is a University Student with experience in working with children in Out of School Care Settings.
He works with the Making Milestones team as an Allied Health Assistant in providing individual support for children and adolescents with learning needs under the direction of our clinicians.
Isaac Handley
Allied Health Assistant
Isaac is currently studying Occupational Therapy at Uni SA. He works with clients from preschoolers to adolescents in clinic and community settings.
Isaac works at Making Milestones as an Allied Health Assistant providing individual support for children to develop daily living and life skills under the direction of our clinicians.
Karlee Norton
Allied Health Assistant
Karlee is currently studying Speech Pathology through Charles Darwin University while raising her two young sons.
She works at Making Milestones as an Allied Health Assistant providing individual support for children with speech and language needs at preschool and child care under the direction of our clinicians.
Stephanie Nguyễn
Allied Health Assistant
Stephanie is a final year Speech Pathology Student at Flinders University.
She works with the Making Milestones team as an Allied Health Assistant in providing individual support for children and adolescents with communication and learning needs under the direction of our clinicians.