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Meet the Maple Youth Services Team
Mohammed Hammoud - Head of Operations
My name is Mohammed Hammoud, and I am a highly motivated individual who has been involved in the social work industry since 2015. Below is a summary of my background, studies and professional career.
In 2011, I commenced and successfully completed a Diploma of Social Science. Quickly after, I completed a Bachelor of Policing Studies and graduated in 2014. Between the years of 2014 – 2016, I was as a youth worker and provided supports to vulnerable children within the Out of Home Care sector. In 2016, I was promoted to a coordinator role, for an ACA provider. My primary role was to provide safety and support to children in Staffing Solutions settings.
In November 2017, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to work for the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). I commenced working as a Casework Support Worker (CWSW) for Lakemba Community Services Centre (CSC). In May 2018, I joined Blacktown CSC and commenced working as a Child Protection Caseworker. I immediately began working with vulnerable children and young people, their families, communities and interagency partners to represent an agent for meaningful change in their lives.
In August 2021, I was presented with the opportunity to apply for the Emerging Leaders program campaigned by Blacktown CSC. I applied and I was successfully given the opportunity to act as a Manager Casework (MCW) on three separate occasions between 2021 and 2022.
I gained invaluable practical skills. My desire and passion for child safety and wellbeing remained firm as I continued in an acting DCJ managing environment. In November 2022, an opportunity to join Maple Youth Services (MYS) as a General Manager, presented itself.
Shortly after, I was promoted to the Head of Operations position. My role remained the same however, my responsibilities increased. I became responsible for overseeing the day-to-day activities of the organisation to ensure a safe, empowering, and effective environment for children and young people.
Within this role, I continue to display hard work, dedication and a high level of quality within my practice. I hope I continue to be given the opportunity to further grow and prove my ability as a Head of Operations, for MYS.
‘Change the world of a child and you change the world’.
Lee-James Mcmahon - Team Leader
Hello all, for those of you who don’t know me yet, I am Lee, one of your team leaders. I have been with Maple now for around 8 weeks and so far, it has been a great pleasure working alongside the youth workers and getting to know the kids that we support.
I am originally from Glasgow / Scotland and have now been in Australia coming up to 1.5 years. My passion for supporting children originally stemmed from my education, I completed my diploma in social care services before moving on to children and youth management. I have more than 8 years’ experience working in the youth and child protection sector. Providing care, support, and guidance to children who have had complex backgrounds including previous trauma, challenging behaviours, mental health, or disabilities. Throughout my years within this care sector, I have always had one goal and that is for everyone have the best support and outcome in life along with being treated individually to their own needs.
I originally started off working as a youth worker within the residential setting before working my way up to a Team leader, Senior house leader and then Manager. So, I have been in the youth worker role myself and can understand what struggles everyone can face and hopefully with my own experiences I am able to guide and support you all to provide that best care that we can for all the kids.
I look forward to working with everyone going forward.
“Be the change, that you wish to see in the world”
Rahil Prasad - Accounts Officer
Hi, my name is Rahil Prasad and I have recently moved to Australia to pursue my studies and explore my career opportunities. I come from an accounting and finance background with a number of years of track records. I had been involved in work such as financial management, tax preparation and bookkeeping with an objective to promote growth and efficiency for any company I work for.
I am a very easy-going person who loves to socialise, make new friends, explore nature and outdoor activities, reading, being updated with current affairs and going on dates.
The reason why I joined Maple Youth Services was due to the work they do for our young people to live with stability and producing a brighter future. As a growing company, it has been a privilege for me to take this opportunity and utilise my knowledge and experience in achieving growth and efficiency and giving back to society.
Manuella Ibrahim - HR Administrator
My name is Manuella and I am the HR Administrator for Maple Youth Services. I am currently studying to become a teacher for physical education for secondary students. Before realising that I wanted to be a teacher, I also wanted to be a police officer or a physiotherapist. My background is half Sudanese and half Armenian. I previously had retail experience where I worked at Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren and HypeDc. I also played volleyball professionally for 7-8 years and although I played volleyball, I love watching the NBA. I was a coach for NSW Volleyball for about a year, where I coached youth from ages 7-18. Being a coach made me realise that I wanted to work with kids more and that is why I applied with Maple, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity.
A fun fact about me is that I love to eat. You will always find me eating in the office. My favourite cuisines are Mexican and Thai, can never wrong with Pad Thai and a Burrito.
Elisha Tulay - Team Leader
My name is Elisha, and I am a Team Leader at Maple Youth Services. I graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work and a Bachelor of Criminal and Community Justice and knew when I finally finished at university, I wanted to go straight into the line of Child Protection.
I first began my journey with Maple as a Youth Worker. Working alongside such amazing children and dedicated Youth Workers truly made me feel like I had landed my dream job. So naturally, when the opportunity presented to become a Team Leader for MYS, there was no question in my mind that this was the perfect next step for my career.
My heart has always been set on preserving families and ensuring the safety of children. I am extremely excited to bring my passion and experience to this role and contribute to the positive impact we make at Maple Youth Services.