Day 4: Meaningful Work Program

In the 1990s, Sharon Zivkovic was employed as a Case Manager with an employment service provider and as an Employment Development Officer with local government. Having spent over 16 years on welfare herself, Sharon brought many years of lived experience to these roles.

For the past 20 years, Sharon has been the Founder and CEO of the social enterprise Community Capacity Builders. As an Autistic social entrepreneur and systems thinker, Sharon has used her innate bottom-up and associative thinking skills, and systemising capabilities, to develop and commercialise a number of social innovations.

In 2016, Sharon received a Fresh Scientist Award for her innovative work in addressing wicked problems using complexity science, and in 2021 Sharon’s work in Applied Complexity (Social Entrepreneurship & Wicked Problems) was recognised on the Map of the Complexity Sciences. Community Capacity Builders has recently established a Centre for Autistic Social Entrepreneurship. The Centre’s activities include building the capacity of disability service providers, social enterprise support organisations, and business advisors to provide services to Autistic social entrepreneurs in a neurodiversity-affirming manner.

Sharon’s other roles include Adjunct Research Fellow at Torrens University Australia, and member of Emerald Publishing’s Impact Advisory Board.

Ashton Bartz (They/Them) is the Research and Community Engagement Officer for Autism CRC, the independent national source of evidence for best practice in relation to Autism across the lifespan and the spectrum. In their role, Ashton works across the Research portfolio and the Sylvia Rodger Academy initiative, developing and delivering nationwide programs by and for Autistic adults.

Ashton is a passionate advocate, having consulted on a range of topics including Autism and disability inclusion, LGBTIQA+ inclusion, inclusive employment, and domestic, family, and sexual violence.

Prior to joining Autism CRC, Ashton worked for non-profits and local government with a focus on program development and delivery. Ashton has two qualifications in Youth Work and a Graduate Certificate in Autism Studies.

Em is a gardener, dog dad, plant enthusiast, sometimes artist and PhD graduate who lives and works on Kaurna Country. He is the author of 2 collections of poetry: ‘Lightly on the Skin’ and ‘Breathing plural’ which won the 2020 Mary Gilmore Prize.

After 9 years spent obtaining a PhD in poetry from the University of Adelaide, Em turned his other main passion into profit by starting his own gardening business which is now thriving. Em was diagnosed with Autism in March 2022 and is still in the process figuring out what that means for him.

Bianca is an experienced, award winning Victorian marriage celebrant of over 12 years.

She hosts a successful podcast with her friend Dan called “Late to the Party” – podcast for adult diagnosed (or undiagnosed) neurodivergent people.

Bianca also works part time as a Peer Support Coordinator at Different Journeys.

In her spare time, Bianca enjoys camping, yoga, bushwalking and cuddling up to her 3 dogs (and the husband and kids!).

Aviva Gunzberg has built a successful career in a male-dominated industry, despite facing significant glass ceilings as a late-diagnosed ADHD-Autistic individual.  She is a creative soul working amidst engineering types.  For Aviva, finding meaningful work meant finding meaning in the work she could find.  Drawing on her interests in art, science, and language, as well as her natural curiosity, Aviva established herself as an Architectural Lighting Designer.  She excels in solving puzzles and helping clients achieve their goals.  Additionally, Aviva is invested in her two growing kids and husband as well as improving the world for the next generation.

Leah (they/them) was diagnosed as a child in the late 90s by chance, due to an ear infection. Over the years they’ve managed to overcome many obstacles. Going to a 2-month long leadership camp away from family during high school, living away from home to attend university and even living overseas on their own. They now have recently completed a robotics degree and work two jobs, one as an electronics assembler for a farming company in Wodonga, the other as a technician at The Escape Rooms in Beechworth.