25/09/2026
Hi new followers 👋
Since the Business Awards on Thursday, we’ve gained quite a few new followers, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to tell you a little bit about EMpower Pathways, and how we got here.
Hi, I’m Emmalee. I’m 36, a single mum of four wonderful children and a diagnosed ADHD woman with what I like to call a ✨ sparkly brain ✨.
This journey probably began back in 2010, although I didn’t realise it at the time.
It started with something called "Dancing with Emmalee"... a little dance studio run from my backyard, offering small, inclusive dance classes. That grew into sensory baby discos and children’s birthday parties.
If you were around for those days, PLEASE comment because I’d love to know who remembers them!
That chapter carried me through to 2017, when I moved to Adelaide. At the time, I was completely in the midst of navigating an Autism and Intellectual Disability diagnosis for one of my children.
Once settled, I welcomed my fourth beautiful child in 2019 and then navigated some incredibly challenging moments in my own life, including a cancer diagnosis later that year, the same year three of my children were diagnosed autistic.
I think this is where my lived experience really started shaping the person I am today.
Nothing can prepare you for fighting to hang on for your babies physically, mentally and emotionally, while simultaneously trying to meet all of their needs before your own, even with cancer.
Then came 2020.
The world went into lockdown, I was still at home battling away through my cancer journey, and suddenly I had four kids doing home learning.
That was a flipping flop, by the way. 😂
We watched A LOT of TV and made A LOT of mess.
One of the things that genuinely saved my sanity was our support worker, Denali. We only had two hours a week...NDIS parent responsibility and all that, despite how unwell I was, but boy, were those two hours mighty.
The next couple of years are honestly a bit of a blur.
But somewhere in there, I found strength. And purpose.
This 15-year-old high school dropout and teenage mum began to study.
I started with education, which led me into schools in 2021. While I think I was pretty good at it, something never quite stuck. I was always drawn to the kids who needed that little bit of extra time, patience and understanding and I became frustrated that I couldn't give them as much as I felt they needed.
Ultimately, I realised it wasn't the role for me.
So naturally... I educated myself some more...
This time in disability.
In 2022, after moving back to Pirie following the sudden loss of my Dad, I landed my first official role in the disability sector.
And I quickly noticed something...
There just weren't enough things to DO with participants in Pirie.
So the ADHD in me decided I would open a mini golf.
From the day I decided that, to the day the doors opened?
Six weeks.
Hello, Par Tee HQ. ⛳️
We offered employment, fun, disability social groups and golf... obviously!
And really, this is where EMpower Pathways was born.
Some of the participants who signed up for those very first groups are still our participants today. ❤️
Martel got a job she never actually applied for 😂 and went to TAFE to make that role official, finding purpose of her own along the way.
The rest is kind of history.
Mixed with a LOT of hard work, dedication, interviews, participant intakes, staff, cars, locations, personal time, personal money, mistakes, learning and growth...
And here we are.
Easy, right?
Absolutely NOT. 😂
This has been one of the hardest and most challenging things I have ever done.
But the reason I started has never wavered.
My LOVE and my passion.
To create something that I would have been incredibly thankful for during some of the hardest times of my own life.
My kids are a little older now. They each have their own challenges and incredible strengths, and I've learnt so much along the way.
I've added a double diploma, a Cert IV and two Cert IIIs to the mix...but the greatest education I've ever received has come from the people I get to walk alongside every day, so THANK YOU.
I still provide supports myself.
I know our participants.
I'm heavily involved in the practical, hands-on stuff because that's where I come alive.
That... and advocating.
Get me started on that and you'd better make a cuppa because we're going to be here a while....i have alot to say!
I'm incredibly grateful for the mentors who have guided me, the people in this sector who have supported me, my family and friends, and every person who has trusted EMpower Pathways along the way.
So while this post has been a whole lot about me and how we got here...
The people I employ are absolute LEGENDS.
They are the ones out there every single day turning a vision into real-life support, relationships, opportunities and outcomes.
They make EMpower what it is RIGHT NOW.
And I'm bloody proud of what we've built. 💜
So, to everyone who's been here from the beginning....thank you.
And to all our new followers...
Welcome to EMpower Pathways....
