About our Health Ambassadors

Alishia Lindsay | Northern Territory

Alishia is a heartworthy, honest, polite outstanding young woman. She knows how important it is to be who you are. Alishia loves to be out and about at social events and also enjoys singing and dancing. When she has time in her busy schedule she likes to kick back and watch a good movie on Netflix.  

As a Health Ambassador for Down Syndrome Australia, Alishia is helping people and children with Down syndrome by supporting healthcare professionals to better understand and communicate with people with Down syndrome.  

Since becoming a Health Ambassador Alishia has achieved her goal of improving her public speaking ability and was awarded the 2022 Northern Territory Disability Inclusion Awards for Excellence in Rights Promotion and the Overall Award for Excellence. 

Amelia Sloan | Victoria

Amelia is a young lady who likes to make people smile and laugh. She loves spending time with her extended family and with just her mum and dad. In her spare time, Amelia loves to dance and listen to music, her all-time favourite band is 5 Seconds of Summer. Amelia also enjoys walking along the beach with her dogs, going out with friends, and singing in a choir.  

Since becoming a Health Ambassador, Amelia has been achieving her goals of improving her public speaking skills and helping doctors and nurses help people with Down syndrome. Amelia has a firsthand view of what works when treating people with a disability and she believes that through her experience she can help make other people’s health outcomes better

Caitlin Woolley | Tasmania

Caitlin is a kind, hardworking, creative friend to have. She enjoys having fun and eating good food with her friends and family, her favourite food is sushi. Caitlin enjoys watching movies, especially Harry Potter. Caitlin likes to keep fit and healthy by swimming.  As a Health Ambassador for Down Syndrome Australia, Caitlin is helping healthcare professionals learn how to treat people with Down syndrome better.  

Since becoming a Health Ambassador Caitlin has been achieving her goal of meeting new and interesting people. In March 2022 Caitlin’s Raise Your Voice speech was presented by Mr Andrew Wilkie MP in Parliament. 

Emily Porter | Victoria

Emily is a lovable, caring and funny lady who has a fabulous sense of humour. Emily loves children and babies which is a good thing as she is aunt to 7 nieces and nephews. The most important thing to Emily is family and the love of her life Michael, her husband. Emily enjoys keeping fit and healthy and likes going to the gym, swimming and walking. Emily also likes taking care of her own household bills and budget, which she has done since moving out of home at the age of 24.    

Since becoming a Health Ambassador Emily has been achieving her goals of helping other people with Down syndrome and educating healthcare professionals to always show respect for people with disability. In 2021 Emily spoke at Parliament House in Canberra to help launch the Health Ambassador Program for DSA. 

Gillian Gehrke | Queensland

Gillian is a creative, confident, passionate, and empathetic mother of three young children. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, singing, researching history and medical information and is also an artist and fashion designer.  Gillian was born with Mosaic Down syndrome and brings a unique perspective to her role as Health Ambassador for Down Syndrome Australia. Gillian believes that everyone deserves respect and honesty.  

Since becoming a Health Ambassador Gillian has been achieving her goals of advocating for change and improving the health outcomes for people with Down syndrome and intellectual disability more broadly. 

Hugo Taheny | South Australia

Hugo is a charming, honest and caring young man who would really love to be a ‘Rock Star’. Hugo is an elite athlete who is currently ranked No:1 in the world for both Shot Put and Discus, for people living with Down syndrome. Hugo also holds the world records in both events. 

The things that are important to Hugo are his family and friends, his pets and driving his Gator on the farm. Hugo really enjoys swimming, going to the movies, hanging out with his friends and family, especially when he can make a ‘family feast’.  

Since becoming a Health Ambassador Hugo has been achieving his goals of helping younger children with Down syndrome to have a better life and educating healthcare professionals to better understand and care for people with Down syndrome. 

Kimberley Adams | ACT

Kimberley is a caring and friendly lady who is strongly determined and continually strives to achieve her goal of living independently. Kimberley has represented Canberra in the Special Olympics National Games in swimming and has won Gold, Silver, and Bronze. She also completed several life skills and other courses at T.A.F.E. and produced a CD of piano duets with her music teacher. 

Kimberley is passionate about drama, and enjoys dancing, writing stories and watching movies. Kimberley loves to work with people and being part of a team. 

Since becoming a Health Ambassador Kimberley has been achieving her goal of influencing change, as a member of the ACT Disability Health Strategy Steering Committee and by educating health professionals about the benefits of inclusive communication to improve the health outcomes of people with Down syndrome. 

Naomi Lake | Western Australia

Naomi is an author, advocate, performer, and public speaker. She is a kind, honest and animated young lady. Naomi’s strong passion for children’s literacy has led her to write and publish 3 children’s books, ‘Harmony the Forgetful Hen and the Lost Eggs,’ ‘Harmony the Forgetful Hen and the Fox’ and “Harmony the Forgetful Hen and the T-rex.” Naomi has also travelled around WA visiting small schools and remote communities promoting her love of books and reading, in a hope to inspire young writers and readers. 

When Naomi is not writing or looking after her chickens, she enjoys spending time with family, dancing on stage, listening to music and keeping fit and healthy. 

Since becoming a Health Ambassador Naomi has been achieving her goal to be a part of improving health outcomes for people with Down syndrome by improving health professionals’ understanding and knowledge. In 2022, Naomi was nominated for Albany Citizen of the year (her local community). 

Olivia Sidhu | New South Wales

Olivia is a polite, loving, and independent, young advocate who loves to keep busy. The most important thing in Olivia’s life is family and Sunday Roast Nights. Olivia loves to go shopping with friends, spending time with family and working at SJB Architecture. Olivia likes to keep fit and healthy and plays netball and dances and is a big Rabbitohs fan.  

Since becoming a Health Ambassador Olivia has been achieving her goal of being an advocate for people with Down syndrome and making a difference in their lives. Olivia has been educating healthcare professionals about inclusive communication with all people with Down syndrome to improve their health outcomes.  

Rohan Fullwood | New South Wales

Rohan is a good-looking, hard-working, retired man, who likes to spend time with his family and being a good uncle. Now he has more time, he enjoys keeping fit and healthy and enjoys playing more 10 pin bowling. Rohan also enjoys traveling the world.  

Since becoming a Health Ambassador Rohan has been achieving his goals of helping people with Down syndrome especially as they start to get older and educating health professionals to make sure that people with Down syndrome are listened to and understand what is happening in their own health.