Bonnie Lee B.HSc(OT)
Director / Occupational Therapist
Bonnie completed her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in New Zealand and has 15 years of experience working with children. She specialises in paediatrics and has an interest in; Sensory Processing, Anxiety, Social Skills and Autism (ASD), Executive Function Disorders, Developmental Delays, Dyspraxia/Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and Learning Difficulties.
Bonnie enjoys being outdoors and is passionate about travelling. Although Bonnie now considers the Gold Coast home, she loves returning to New Zealand to visit family and friends.
Kristy Harris B.Occ.Thy.
Director / Occupational Therapist
Kristy has a strong interest in helping children to overcome the challenges impacting their participation in important daily activities such as learning, playing, and social interactions. This includes children experiencing difficulties with executive function skills, emotional regulation, social skills, and general academic pursuits.
Kristy is actively engaged with Southern Cross University where she supervises occupational therapy students and contributes to the Occupational Therapy program. She is also a member of OT Australia and an associate member of Indigenous Allied Health Australia.
Being married with 3 young girls, like many parents Kristy’s spare time is spent doing homework, cleaning, and making school lunches. However, when she’s not working, she is a proud Manly Sea Eagles supporter (don’t hold it against her), and enjoys going home to the country to spend time with extended family. Kristy feels privileged to be welcomed into the lives of the families she works with, and feels truly blessed to have a career that she loves!
Emma Hoare B.Occ.Thy (Hons)
Occupational Therapist
Emma completed her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University on the Gold Coast. Emma has always been passionate about paediatrics and as an occupational therapist believes all children should have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential and lead happy and fulfilling lives.
Emma has had a special interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for many years. This interest continued throughout her studies and as a result she formed her honours thesis research on the ‘Professional development needs of early childhood educators to provide an inclusive classroom for children with ASD’. From this research, she developed a free online resource for early childhood educators with information about ASD and strategies that can be implemented in the classroom to support inclusive education.
Emma loves spending time with her partner, family, friends and two silky terriers, spoiling her three nieces, keeping active, playing netball and swimming in the ocean.
Sara Hansen
Admin Support
Sara is the ‘Chief of Admin’ with Empowered Kids, and is an integral part of the team! She brings a wealth of experience to her role including a Bachelor of Education Early Childhood with a minor in Human Resource Planning, and a Diploma in Children’s Writing.
When not supporting the Empowered Kids team, Sara is a pop culture enthusiast with a fondness for movies and superheroes. She loves early morning walks around the beautiful beaches of the southern Gold Coast, and being a little bit silly with her partner and ten amazing nieces and nephews.
Harry Curr B.Occ.Thy
Occupational Therapist
Harry completed his Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. He has a strong passion for working with children and uses the strengths of his calming demeanour in his approach to practice. Being a member of Occupational Therapy Australia, Harry prides himself on providing evidence based practice, along with a client and family centred approach to reach the goals of each child.
Harry loves the outdoors and enjoys keeping active by regularly engaging in hot yoga, tennis and golf. He is driven to support children to develop confidence and enjoyment in their everyday lives!
Jacinta Greenup (B.Occ.Thy)
Occupational Therapist
Jacinta completed her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University on the Gold Coast and has always had a strong interest in improving an individuals quality of life. Jacinta is driven to make a difference to the children and families she works with, always striving to achieve their individual and unique goals. Jacinta believes in supporting children to develop their skills, increase their self-confidence, emphasise each child’s strengths, and focuses on celebrating every success no matter how small. She is passionate about supporting children and families to develop strategies which will enable each child to achieve fulfilling lives.
Jacinta has a special interest in early childhood development, dyspraxia/ developmental coordination disorder, sensory processing, ASD and anxiety. Her background in sport and as a disability support worker has enabled her to develop a fun approach to therapy. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, keeping active, surfing, swimming in the ocean and boxing.
Sam Kemp (B.Occ.Thy)
Occupational Therapist
Sam completed her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University on the Gold Coast. Sam has an interest in Sensory Processing, Social Skills, learning difficulties and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Sam has worked in a range of areas, though supporting children and their families has always been a particular area of interest. Sam has a special interest in supporting children to improve their school readiness and school skills and has worked with a variety of children in a tutoring capacity for many years now; this experience contributed towards Sam wanting to study Occupational Therapy.
Sam has training in DIR Floortime therapy and Challenging Behaviour in Classic Autism. Sam is passionate about increasing children’s confidence, building motivation and supporting them to achieve their goals.
Sam enjoys spending time with her husband and family, camping, going to concerts and watching the NRL and F1.
Stacey Brown
Admin & OT Assistant
Stacey is our Administration and OT Assistant at Empowered Kids. As a mother of two young children, she has experienced first-hand the difference that occupational therapy can make in a child’s life, as well as their family’s, and is passionate about supporting others on their own OT journey.
Stacey is currently studying her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University on the Gold Coast, as well as Yoga Teacher Training. She has a particular interest in how yoga and mindfulness-based interventions build resilience, lessen anxiety, and improve emotional wellbeing in children through the interplay of body-mind-breath.
In her spare time, Stacey loves hanging out with her family and friends, creating fun memories with her kids, practicing yoga and drawing.
Kira Kinsey (B.Occ.Thy)
Occupational Therapist
Kira completed her Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University on the Gold Coast. Kira has always enjoyed working with children and prior to becoming an occupational therapist, Kira worked as a disability support worker, swim teacher, Nippers coach, and lifeguard. This background has helped grow Kira’s passion for building her clients’ confidence through a fun and engaging approach.
Kira is passionate about collaborating with families, educators and other health professionals to promote long term positive outcomes for children and young people. She values every child’s strengths, celebrating successes, and growing a child’s confidence to reach their goals!
In her spare time, Kira loves spending time with her friends, art and crafts, exploring national parks, spending time in the ocean and keeping active. She also enjoys her trips home to country Victoria to see her family and Wathaurong Mob.