In September 2006, 8 young people met to brainstorm the youth group name, logo and events. James, Ellie, Sam, Olivia, Sam, Stuart, Susan and Hester ate through several pizzas and voted Sonic as the name of the group-to-be. Excited at the prospect of having great sponsorship from Vodafone Australia Foundation, these guys got to work planning the first events, and Sonic was born!

Sonic Co-ordinators

Hester
“I've been working at The Shepherd Centre for 4 years as a family counsellor, helping to support families of children who have been newly diagnosed with a hearing impairment. I hail from Oxford, England and moved here 6 years ago after marrying an Aussie. In my "spare time," I am mum to 2 beautiful boys. After developing ideas for Sonic with my colleague Susan over the past year, I'm really excited to see it become a reality."

Lydia
”After finding out about Sonic from Hester in January, I joined The Shepherd Centre part-time to work on planning Sonic events. I studied English literature at uni in the States and worked as a receptionist after moving to Australia. I'm loving the experience of helping out with this new group and I hope those who are involved will have a great time at the upcoming events."

Sonic Youth Advisors

Aaron
"Hi my name is Aaron and I am currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Medical Science at the University of Sydney. Life is pretty hectic some days with study, work and various extracurricular activities. Since I got my cochlear implant in 2003 I feel as though I have a whole new lease on life and my eyes have been opened up to a world where deafness is no longer the disadvantage it was once. It's important to be positive and focussed but above all have fun, and hopefully SONIC will go some way towards achieving this!"

James
"I am a medical student at the University of Sydney. In addition to my studies, I also like to play sports and to tinker around with things (usually breaking them in the process, but you can't win them all). I have been deaf in both ears since infancy."