Sylvana Mahmic is the CEO of Plumtree Children’s Services and has worked for over 28 years in the early childhood intervention field, with particular expertise in whole-of-family and peer-led approaches. She is the co-creator of the peer-led program Now & Next and has incubated two peer-led organisations.
Sylvana has served on over 25 advisory groups including six Ministerial appointments and has been a member of the NSW Disability Council. She has held executive positions on the Board of Early Childhood Intervention Australia NSW/ACT and was a founding board member of Diversity Disability Alliance. She was a member of the NDIS Independent Advisory Council between 2013-2024.
She is a member of the NDIS Children’s Expert Advisory Group, Access Advisory Group NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, and the Australian Museum Access and Inclusion Advisory Panel.
Currently, she is undertaking postgraduate research with a focus on individualised funding, which has been her interest since 2009, when her son commenced with self-managed funding.
Qualification: BEd MEd
Additional Language: Bosnian
Recognitions
- International Women’s Day 2019 – Honour Roll Nominee | Inner West Council
- Centre for Disability Studies Excellence in Education and Training Award 2019 | Centre for Disability Studies
- Citizen of the Year – Australia Day 2017 | Inner West Council
- Woman of the Year Award 2008 | New South Wales Government
Peer-reviewed publications
- Exploring long-term outcomes of a peer support programme for parents* of children with disability in Australia
- Identifying and Shifting Disempowering Paradigms for Families of Children With Disability Through a System Informed Positive Psychology Approach
- How do parents acquire information to support their child with a disability and navigate individualised funding schemes?
Additional publications and resources
Reports
- Early Childhood Intervention and Therapeutic Supports for Children and Young People under Age 16 | ECI Best Practice Network
- Getting the best from DisabilityCare Australia: Families, Information and Decision Making
Podcasts
- iriss.fm- Families as Peer Workers in Early Childhood Intervention
- dsc Disability Done Different: Candid Conversation- ECEI and the Role of Family
Videos
- Building Capacity Using Family Centres Approaches to Promote Children’s Best Life- February 2020
- Closing the 2019 Family Conference
Blog posts
- Family-Centred Practice: Are we there yet?
- Now & Next Capacity Building through Family Leadership, Peer Work and Education
- Disability and Friendships: What I Wish I Knew
- Family Agency is the foundation of Your child’s future
- Enhancing outcomes for children and families through team collaboration – Singapore Keynote 2024
