Meet the Team Behind Puggles

Gordon Ellard has been involved in swimming for 25 years. He has taught thousands of children to swim and personally trained, mentored and coached in the UK, Thailand and Australia. Gordon is the founder of the Bangkok Dolphins, Thailand's largest swimming school and the only swim school accredited by the Thai Ministry of Education.

He has written various swim training courses that deal with teaching children to swim who are not native English speakers but are learning in an English-speaking environment. Gordon holds qualifications in Baby Swimming, Learn to Swim and Competitive Swimming with the STA in the UK, Swimming Coaches and Teachers Australia (SCTA), Swim Australia and AUSTSWIM.

Gordon holds a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and is currently working with SCTA and Swim Australia to deliver courses in Melbourne.

A marketing professional fluent in Auslan, Laura previously taught swimming at the Northcote Swimming Pool. Both of Laura's parents are profoundly deaf, so she learned Auslan so they could communicate as a family.

“The thing that is great about Puggles Swim is the exposure it's going to give to swimming teachers who may otherwise not know how to communicate with deaf children, and it gives more deaf children the opportunity to learn how to swim and familiarise themselves with water.”

With over 25 years' experience as a high-performance expert, Joanne knows what it takes to succeed in any environment. Joanne is passionate about helping others realise their full potential through the implementation of psychology and neuroscience. She has worked with schools, athletes and business executives to achieve impressive outcomes, including Olympic potentials who have gone on to achieve high-level success, including Olympic Gold and World Championship titles.

Joanne has successfully delivered her groundbreaking programs and educational seminars in Australia and overseas, working with the Australian High Commission, numerous private schools, international sporting organisations and individual Olympic champions.

Joanne works with:

• Schools to improve resilience and grades for their students
• Parents and students who want to improve their grades
• Athletes who want to accelerate their performance
• Leading sporting bodies who want to create high-performance teams
• Career development

Julia is passionate about teaching, specifically teaching adults and children how to swim and training adult learners to become energetic, enthusiastic and engaging swim teachers of tomorrow. Julia is intrigued by the continuum of teaching methods and is always trying to understand and be empathetic to the learner, finding the best way to ensure their engagement and ongoing learning.

Carol Webb joined the Board in 2018 and has over 15 years' experience in the Human Resources arena. She has developed and implemented a broad range of leadership, strategic human resource management and organisational capability programs. As an experienced HR consultant, she has a proven ability to coach managers, facilitate a range of corporate programs and work at Board level. She has extensive experience in change management and strategic planning, and has a passion for education and training.

Carol has a young son who is deaf and is committed to enhancing the level of support and opportunities for children and young people with hearing loss. She is excited to be able to contribute to DCA and ensure its long-term success. Her formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and a Master of Management.

Nicholas Layton is a student, athlete, mate, and record breaker. He's passionate about swimming and is currently a member of the West Melbourne Propulsion Swim Club. Nick's success in the pool is a testament to his tenacious attitude, he's not afraid to take on a challenge, both inside and outside the pool, irrespective of his hearing loss.