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Lee is a business woman, educator, mentor and volunteer. by Lorna Gordon
I’ ve known Lee for over a decade; we first met when I lived on the Northern Beaches before I saw sense and moved out West! She has always been a quiet powerhouse, a business woman who doesn’ t feel the need to be showy or an influencer, a person who get on with things and does them well.
When we first met, Lee was living in the Hills, but she has since relocated back to Blacktown, where she had her first house with her husband in Mt Druitt. But Lee’ s story didn’ t begin in boardrooms or brainstorming sessions. It started in Kempsey, a small town on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.
Growing up in rural NSW, Lee always had a love of history, writing, and learning. She jokes that her career choices were limited to“ teaching or nursing” which were the two main options presented by her high school careers advisor. But in her heart, she wanted more. She dreamed of being a museum curator, but seeing that as a distant dream, Lee chose to study to become a teacher.
She became the first person in her family to go to university, graduating with a degree in education and becoming a special education teacher. But in typical Lee style, she didn’ t go straight into the classroom after graduation.
“ I knew early on I loved being in the classroom, but I didn’ t want a typical 9 to 5 job. I liked change and development and using my curiosity, it’ s what made teaching exciting for me.”
Her passion for inclusive education, particularly for children with autism, saw her complete post-graduate studies and take part in a unique pilot program in Newcastle. This led to a role at Giant Steps, one of Australia’ s most respected autism schools, where Lee helped develop child-centred learning programs and became certified in play therapy. She also learned Braille and sign language along the way— always driven by a desire to meet each child’ s individual needs.
While on maternity leave with her first daughter, Lee was approached by Polly, a former colleague who had moved to work at St Gabriel’ s School, to help write a curriculum. No one on staff was formally trained in special education, so Lee stepped in“ just temporarily.” That temporary job became a turning point. She began creating much-needed resources, printing her own materials, and sourcing images to better support teachers and carers.
That’ s how her first business, Special Education Resources for Kids( SER $ KIDS), was born, a digital platform offering practical, Australian-based teaching tools for children with additional needs. It quickly filled a gaping hole in the education market.
Speaking, advocacy, and writing came naturally to Lee.
“ I didn’ t need to learn it to teach it,” she says.“ I already had the experience. And when you’ re getting results, people can’ t argue with that.”
What started as a teaching resource platform evolved again. Lee was an early adopter of Facebook’ s creator tools, and her deep understanding of online engagement helped her quickly build a loyal community. She became known not only as an expert in special education but also as someone who truly understood how to connect, share, and grow an online presence authentically.“ I never ran ads,” Lee explains.“ It was always about sharing information,
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6 ISSUE 121 // JULY 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT