Our team

Ellie Waddel | Managing Director

Ellie brings a warm blend of parental empathy and leadership experience to our team, and focuses on making The Hive a place of choice for both children and parents. She benefits from 25 years’ experience in leading and managing teams across various sectors (education, events, marketing) in the UK, South Africa and Australia.

With us since inception in 2015, Ellie leads the management team and works closely with the parent Executive Committee and school leadership to ensure that vision and strategy align with operational decisions, for maximum benefit to our Hive children and families, and always with safety as the highest priority. She has overseen the growth of the centre from 90 to 160 licensed places, the design and build of dedicated Hive spaces, and has doubled the team to more than 25 dedicated and experienced staff.

ellie@thehivebondi.com.au | 0403 361 065

Sydney Mennell | Centre Director

Originally from Canada, Syd travelled the world before falling in love with Australia in 2015, where she quickly discovered her passion for working with children. She's since graduated with a Diploma in Early Childhood Education, and gained several years of hands-on experience in various early childcare settings.

On the team since early 2018, Syd climbed the ranks, becoming Centre Director in 2024. Syd ensures that every care session is run safely and efficiently, staffed by a dedicated and professional team, and bursting with fun for the kids. A firm believer in the knock-on benefits of staff wellbeing, Syd nurtures her team, ensuring professional development opportunities are tailored to the needs of the staff and the centre, meaning that your children are always benefiting from the latest pedagogy and research.

Since Feb 2023, Syd has overseen our ever evolving - and hugely popular - timetable of extra-curricular afternoon activities, ensuring that children with busy parents get equal opportunities to try a whole range of exciting activities: from drama, to soccer, to skateboarding, to pottery - with more to come…

sydney@thehivebondi.com.au | 0450 896 686

Lucia Martin-Mortess | Senior Educator & Kindy Lead (Joint)

Lucia’s own primary school OSHC experience left her wanting to play a meaningful role in this important aspect of children’s lives, and she brings the biggest smiles, the most positive energy and a whole mountain of intuition, empathy and experience to this special role on our senior team.

Having been a much-loved kids’ dance teacher for many years, Lucia hit the ground running with the Hive back in 2022. Her warm and confident manner with large groups of children - especially the younger ones - makes her the perfect fit for our Kindy Lead role, helping them ease into ‘big school’ and also preparing them for greater independence as they approach the transition into Year 1. Lucia is your go-to for all matters relating to your Kindy kids.

Lucia is currently studying a degree in nursing at UTS, and she plans to specialise in paediatric ICU or progress to paramedicine - so her medical know-how is an added bonus for a centre like ours!

lucia@thehivebondi.com.au | 0450 896 686

Aaron ‘GG’ Gee-Gamkrelidze | Senior Educator, Y3 Lead, Sports Coordinator

Originally a Canberra man, GG has been in Sydney since 2018. With the Hive team since early 2023, GG’s warm energy and love of All Things Sport made him a natural choice for the role of Sports Coordinator, ensuring the kids have a range of exciting, varied and safe sports equipment, perfect for refining skills, trying new things, practicing teamwork and keeping fit!

The Y3 Lead position allows GG to role model empathetic behaviours to Hive kids at a pivotal stage in their childhoods and his warm, funny and fair approach makes him a real hit with boys and girls alike. GG is your go-to for all matters relating to your Year 3 children.

In 2024-26, we’re fortunate to benefit from all the latest relevant theories and practices which GG is learning, as part of his Certificate III in Outside School Hours Care.

gg@thehivebondi.com.au | 0450 896 686

Asha Lia Lorenz | Y1 Lead

Born and raised in Bondi, Asha has always had a strong connection to the local community. A former BPPS student, she’s been part of The Hive team since 2022, bringing valuable experience and a natural passion for working with children.

As the Year 1 Lead, Asha plays a key role in supporting young students as they grow in confidence and independence. She loves sports, outdoor activities and creative play, making sure every child feels engaged and included. Seeing them develop new skills, build friendships and leave each day with a smile is the most rewarding part of her role.

Currently studying Criminology at university, Asha brings a keen interest in problem-solving and learning to her work, always looking for ways to create a positive and enriching environment for the kids. Outside of The Hive, she loves spending time at the beach, staying active and making the most of Sydney’s great outdoors.

Jena McCue | Y2 Lead

Jena has been part of The Hive team since early 2023, bringing enthusiasm and a genuine passion for working with children. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Primary Education and is dedicated to creating fun, engaging, and supportive learning environments where every child feels confident and included. In her role leading Year 2, Jena helps young students develop their independence, build friendships, and grow their confidence.

A former Bondi Beach Public School student, Jena has always felt a strong connection to the local community. Growing up by the beach, she loves spending time in the sun, swimming, and making the most of everything Bondi has to offer. At The Hive, she enjoys seeing children thrive and making sure they end each day with a smile.

Outside of work and study, Jena enjoys music, playing the piano, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Jara Poslusny | Business Operations Director

From a strong background in business retail leadership, Jara (“Yara”) joined us in 2016, applying his motivating approach to problem-solving and constant improvement to the development of effective and efficient processes for our ever-growing and evolving centre. He’s successfully navigated the team through various streamlining projects and software implementations, allowing us to grow safely and effectively to accommodate our increasing number of bookings.

Jara works hard to ensure that everything behind-the-scenes works smoothly, offering maximum support and security to our staff and families. He’s the go-to for all families with queries around accounts, billing or Child Care Subsidy.

jara@thehivebondi.com.au | 0475 877 387

Our Educators are trained in CPR, First Aid, Asthma & Anaphylaxis - placing our team well above the regulatory minimum first aid training requirements.
All staff complete an annual Child Protection refresher course as well as undertaking 3 days of intensive professional development workshops each January.

The Junior crew…

We love these guys! Our Juniors help out during the school holidays (and during term if their school timetables allow), providing valuable support to the team and bringing wonderful new relationship dimensions for the kids. They learn tonnes and gain loads of useful experience whilst they’re with us. They undertake training alongside the rest of the team, but do not administer first aid and are never solely responsible for the supervision of children.