as mentoring
Ealing Green,
Aeryn Priyanu , Employment Consultant Aeryn has always had an interest in
language and communication. Starting her early career in teaching English as a
foreign language, she went on to shadow a Speech and Language Therapist and this
started her interest in working with people on the autism spectrum. She worked
in primary schools as a Learning Support Assistant then moved on to work for the
National Autistic Society in a day centre. Aeryn started off as a Support
Worker, moving up to become Deputy Manager of the day service. She supported
individuals in their daily life and helped them gain work experience and
vocational skills. As well as working as a consultant with AS Mentoring, Aeryn
works in a college for young people with autism, facilitating individuals with
functional and social aspects of life, supporting students to meet their targets
and maintain long life independent living skills. Photo of Alan Alan Castellaro,
Employment Consultant Alan's interest in Autism began when he attended St
Andrew's primary school in Chinnor, Oxfordshire, one of the first schools in the
country to teach Autistic children one to one. In 2009 he volunteered on a
project for Kith and Kids supporting a young man with Autism and they have
remained in regular contact ever since. He then worked for 4 years with
Dimensions as an Assistant Service Manager of a residential home for adults with
severe physical disabilities and Autism. For the last 4 years he has worked for
Ambitious About Autism starting off as a Learning Behaviour Specialist and
moving up to become a Learning Support Co-ordinator, and was instrumental in
helping set up Ambitious College, London's first College for young adults with
Autism. He has a BA Hons in Writing and Publishing and has a rich and varied
employment history to draw upon. Photo of Alice Alice Mitra-Hall, Employment
Consultant Alice previously worked for The National Autistic Society where she
ran a Day Centre and facilitated a weekly social group. During this time Alice
supported adults on the spectrum to develop their independent living and social
skills, as well as supporting service users to apply for and attend college and
work schemes, CV writing and interview practice. Alice has a BA Hons degree in
Psychology and has also worked in a number of schools supporting teenagers with
autism and has provided specialist individualised support for a family for over
10 years. Photo of Amira Amira Hassan, Employment Consultant Amira has been a
mentor at AS Mentoring for 4 years. Amira has a variety of clients for both
workplace and job-seeking support. After completing her PhD in Neuroscience from
Imperial College London, Amira decided to be involved with AS Mentoring full
time and is currently managing the Workshops Programme, overseeing the
development and online delivery of workshops and group events throughout the
year. Amira is warm and friendly, providing individual, autism-specific support
and advice. Photo of Anna Anna Roads, Employment Consultant Anna spent 24 years
in the investment management sector, working in sales, marketing, product
development and client relationships for a number of blue chip firms including
Lazards, Fidelity and Goldman Sachs. She developed successful business
relationships with large corporates, consultancies and public sector
organisations. In her leadership roles, she also enjoyed coaching and developing
careers for younger team members. These are skills and contacts she brings to
ASM clients. Over the past 6 years she has developed a number of voluntary
roles; relaunched the local NAS branch as Chair (2011-2015), served on a local
parents special needs forum (2012-2014), been elected a parent governor at a
special needs school and worked as a volunteer mentor on a Research Autism
Project. Her focus has been on education and now employment, both as a parent of
a young person with ASC and through the influence of autistic colleagues she has
served with before. Before joining the City, she gained a law degree from
Cambridge University, an MBA from Cranfield Business School and qualified as a
solicitor. Photo of Charlotte Charlotte Leighton, Employment Consultant
Charlotte specialises in providing workplace support for individuals as well as
working with organisations to provide autism specific support and advice. This
experience has been honed through her work at ASM and her previous role as an
Employment Support worker and trainer at The National Autistic Society.
Charlotte has subsequently worked for HAIL in Haringey for two years managing
social enterprises staffed entirely of employees with autism and learning
disabilities. She has also worked as an Appropriate Adult supporting vulnerable
individuals whilst in police custody. For the past ten years Charlotte has
confidently designed and delivered social skills groups and workshops for adults
with autism. As well as working for ASM she is also employed part-time for
Resources for Autism in Barnet managing their adult services. Charlotte is able
to support individuals emotionally as well practically as she holds certificates
in Person Centered counselling and a diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
David Perkins, Director David was Head of Services at Prospects, the National
Autistic Society's specialist employment service, from 2007 – 2013; he left in
June 2013 to set up AS Mentoring. He has extensive experience of supporting
people with an ASC into employment across the UK and abroad, and of providing a
wide range of training, assessment and consultancy services to employers and
other organisations in the UK, Europe and the US. He has worked continuously
with people with autism since the early 1980s. David has spent the bulk of his
working life in the voluntary sector and prior to the NAS spent many years
running a group of specialist adventure playgrounds in London for over 1200
disabled children, (some 30% of whom were autistic). He has a BSc (Hons) in
Operational Research from Lancaster University. Photo of Emma Emma Hills,
Employment Consultant Emma has been teaching psychology and health related
subjects to adults since 2009 with the majority of her work focusing on
providing social purpose education in the community to hard-to-reach groups,
including those with disabilities. Much of her work focuses on supporting
learners through transition and has led her to develop herself as a coach as
well as an educator. More recently she has found herself key-working with
learners with disabilities in a transition college as well as training and
supervising the staff who support them. Emma mentors and tutors a diverse range
of learners including learners on the autism spectrum in her continuing work in
the community. Emma works part-time as an Employment Consultant with ASM and
finds her knowledge and experience gained from facilitating community courses
such as 'confidence building', 'communication skills' or 'interviewing skills'
compliments the role well. She has a BSc Hons Psychology, PG-dip Social
research, PGCE in post-compulsory education and is a registered health and
social care trainer as well as a full member of the Association for Coaching.
Emma is also currently studying for an MA in Education: Culture and Identity, at
Goldsmith university. Photo of Eve Eve Riches, Employment Consultant Eve Riches
is an employment consultant for AS Mentoring, where she provides one to one
support and workshop creation and delivery. Eve has a background in teaching
Psychology and has been involved in mentoring for her whole career. She has a
lifetime of lived experience of neurodiversity. Outside of ASM, Eve works as a
life coach and mentor. Photo of Gurleen Gené Wyrley-Birch, Employment Consultant
Gené is committed to raising awareness and understanding of ASC to improve
social inclusion, acceptance and understanding; to making a real difference to
the lives of people on the autism spectrum and in broader society. Over the past
12 years, while caring for and advocating for her son, Gené has developed an
in-depth knowledge and understanding of autism as well as related challenges
including ADHD, PDA, Social Communication Disorder and Sensory Processing
Disorder. She has a creative, positive and flexible approach and is determined
to combined her personal and professional experiences to help clients into work
and successfully retain their jobs. Throughout her previous roles in both
Investment Banking at JP Morgan and UBS Warburg and Commercial Conferencing,
Gené had an active role in recruiting, training and mentoring new team members.
Gené has worked across many sectors, including Finance, Pharmaceuticals,
Defence, Utilities, Aviation and Telecommunication. Gené Holds a BA degree in
Industrial & Organisational Sociology and Industrial & Organisational Psychology
from the University of Cape Town. Photo of Gurleen Georgia Thursting, Employment
Consultant Georgia has worked with autistic adults and children in a variety of
settings including education, play and social settings for the past year. As a
support worker with Resources for Autism, she continues to support her clients
in achieving their personal and work goals and loves to get creative with her
approach. Georgia also works for Share Community in Battersea as a music tutor/
therapist, building the confidence of adults through music and artistic
expression. She also enjoys planning and delivering online workshops for adults
with Autism, focusing on well-being, physical health and emotional expression
through music making. Outside of her work in Autism, is a trained musician,
singer/ guitarist and enjoys performing at events across the UK. Photo of
Gurleen Gurleen Manku, Regional Employment Consultant Gurleen has 18 years'
experience of autism. She has a sibling on the spectrum, and has previously
worked in primary education for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN),
and has been a SEN Secondary School Govenor. In 2015 Gurleen volunteered at
Autism West Midlands to support adults with autism to find employment. She then
worked for Enable, Shropshire Council as a Job Coach in various workplaces
supporting adults with autism and learning disabilities. Gurleen is highly
experienced in delivering Pre-employment support, mentoring and Workplace
support at AS Mentoring across the West Midlands since 2015. Gurleen holds a BSc
in Business Psychology and is a member of the British Psychological Society,
within the Division of Occupational Psychology. She has also completed her
Masters in Occupational Psychology. Photo of Gurleen Mahlia Amatina, Employment
Consultant Diagnosed with autism as an adult, Mahlia has first-hand experience
of the challenges that can arise from a range of workplace settings, but more
importantly; how to overcome these. Outside of AS Mentoring, Mahlia works as a
visual artist, where she raises awareness and understanding of neurodiversity
through different art forms. With a special interest in autism and work, Mahlia
is keen to combine lived workplace experience with her mentoring skills as an
employment consultant to support clients. Photo of Helen Mark Blake, Employment
Consultant Mark has a broad range of experience across social care with several
client groups and in varied settings. Following an arts degree he spent a couple
of years on voluntary projects with disabled adults living independently, and
with homeless men in an emergency night shelter in central London with
subsequent paid roles including community support work with disabled adults
moving back into the community following long periods in residential hospitals.
Mark has also spent time as a residential care worker in adolescent residential
units. The last 30 years has seen a focus on Adults and Children with
Disabilities in a both a Day Service and Residential Home setting. As a Manager
of services in these fields Mark has increasingly focused his support to
children and adults on the autistic spectrum and has become keenly aware of the
challenges faced by them and their families in achieving independence and
realizing their potential. It is this interest that has led to an involvement in
a mentoring role with AS mentoring and employment. Photo of Helen Mike Leat,
Employment Consultant Mike comes from a background in advocacy, design and
communication. Through his own business he previously ran an Easy Read design
service which employed people with a learning disability and autism. In 2015 he
co-produced a DVD on Autism and Mental Health for the Autism Partnership Board
in Surrey. Mike previously worked for The National Autistic Society Assist
service providing one to one support/mentoring sessions, and facilitating social
and support groups for autistic adults. After completing an undergraduate module
in autism with The Open University, Mike went on to complete a Postgraduate
Certificate in Autism and Asperger syndrome. Mike also works with a project
called ‘Autism by Experience’ which is a team of mostly autistic adults
providing Understanding Autism training to staff in a variety of roles including
health and social care. Photo of Laura Lauren Moore, Employment Consultant
Lauren has a number of years experience of supporting people with autism as well
as additional needs. Her main influence for working with people on the spectrum
is her younger sibling who was diagnosed with autism at a young age. Over the
past decade she has worked in a school specifically of young people with social,
emotional and mental health difficulties, starting as a Teaching Assistant and
then working as the Intervention Co-ordinator for the secondary department.
Lauren also worked in a specialist autism college as a Learning and Behaviour
Specialist, moving up to become a Learning Support Co-ordinator. She studied
History at undergraduate level and has more recently graduated with a Masters in
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in July 2018. Photo of Rachel Rachel
Pearson, Senior Regional Employment Consultant Following a successful 13-year
career in the City Rachel moved into HR and Business Consultancy specialising in
organisation restructuring projects involving (often large scale) job review,
recruitment and redundancy programmes. She has extensive experience of working
with SME employers and large organisations in the public and private sectors
around all aspects of the employment relationship. Rachel previously volunteered
with the National Autistic Society's Prospects Team and she now works as an
employment consultant specialising in supporting people with an ASC to find and
retain work. She also works with the NAS's Employment Training and Adult
Services Teams supporting students and employees, and providing advice and
guidance to employers. With a close family member on the autistic spectrum,
Rachel also volunteers with her local NAS branch in Surrey. She holds an MSc in
Human Resource Management and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of
Personnel & Development. Photo of Siobhan Siobhan Pauley, Employment Consultant
Siobhan has first-hand experience of supporting someone with Asperger’s Syndrome
and ADHD as her son has moved through various life transitions, experiencing the
hurdles faced by people on the autistic spectrum. She spent 30 years working
within Human Resources of a large financial institution attaining her MCIPD
status, where she became the company’s Reasonable Adjustment Officer. It was her
responsibility to ensure that employees with disabilities were able to receive
the right workplace accommodations to enable them to access various roles in the
company. This has given her considerable insight to enable her to support our
clients. Following a career move, Siobhan is setting up AS Mentoring services in
and around Poole, Dorset- as well as working part time to support an individual
with profound learning difficulties within an independent living service.
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