Derek Jordan

Director | Support Worker | Gamer | Community Builder

Hi, I’m Derek.

I’ve worked across the disability, education, and support sectors for more than 15 years, including as a Support Worker, Support Coordinator, and Education Support Officer within specialist school settings.

I care a lot about creating spaces where people feel comfortable, included, and genuinely happy to be there. I love seeing people connect naturally through shared interests, games, creativity, and community.

I grew up on a farm, so I’ve always enjoyed being outdoors, gardening, building things, and keeping busy. These days my hobbies are a mix of practical projects, gaming, movies, music, and getting far too invested in board game strategy.

I’m also usually the first person singing around the space or encouraging a group singalong — even when nobody asked for one.

I enjoy fantasy, sci-fi, footy, gaming, movies, and a good bit of banter. If there’s a board game happening, there’s also a strong chance I’m trying very hard to win it.

Most importantly though, I want Forge & Quest to feel welcoming, relaxed, supportive, and somewhere people can genuinely feel part of a community.

Qualifications & Experience

  • Over 15 years in disability support and education

  • Support Coordination experience

  • Specialist school experience

  • Community mentoring and support

Favourite Games

Risk, Catan, Ticket to Ride, Diablo, Valheim, HeroQuest, Half-Life, Blood Bowl and honestly, almost anything if there’s snacks involved

Kitty Taylor

Director | Teacher | Creative | Community Builder

Hi, I’m Kitty.

I’m a teacher, creative person, and someone who genuinely loves building spaces where people feel safe enough to fully be themselves. I’ve spent more than 13 years supporting children, teenagers, young adults, and families across disability-friendly and specialist education settings, including classroom teaching and leadership roles.

I care deeply about creating spaces that feel warm, human, supportive, and welcoming — not overly clinical or rigid. I want Forge & Quest to feel like a home! Somewhere people can relax, laugh, get excited about their interests, and feel genuinely accepted and part of something!

I have a very cheeky sense of humour and spend a large amount of my time making silly jokes, laughing at things I probably shouldn’t, and getting very invested in people’s creative ideas and projects. The first thing I’ll probably ask you is whether you have a cat, because somehow everyone at Forge & Quest seems to own an incredibly sassy cat that emotionally controls the household.

I’m probably best described as organised chaos. One minute I’m helping someone with a creative project, the next minute I’m somehow convincing myself we absolutely need another 3D printer despite already owning several. At this point, the participants at Forge & Quest have basically taken on the role of trying to keep my 3D printer purchases under control… with varying levels of success.

Outside of Forge & Quest, I love running, cooking, moving my house interior around every other week (sorry husband), and I also have two extremely energetic, hilarious and gorgeous boys that I try my best to keep up with! I also coach an under 12s girls football team and somehow manage to arrive at F&Q every second week with a new injury I swore I definitely wouldn’t get from “light training.” I also become emotionally invested in Mario Kart far too quickly for someone who insists they’re “just playing for fun.”

Qualifications & Experience

  • Qualified Teacher

  • Bachelor of Community & Outreach Education

  • Specialist school teaching and leadership experience

  • Trauma-informed practice training

  • Community coaching and mentoring experience

Favourite Games

Mario Kart (unfortunately very competitively), Donkey Kong, Ticket to Ride, and Settlers of Catan. Absolutely not Left 4 Dead- as the title basically describes my experience every time….