Managing Director
Wendi Aylward
Wendi’s interest in travel and cultural exchange was fostered at a young age by her father who had explored the globe in his younger years. Raised in Sydney’s southern suburbs, a teenage obsession with all things Japanese led her to Japan (via Europe and the US) where she worked for 2 years before returning to Australia to begin a career in the youth travel industry. For the past 16 years Wendi has continued her career in cultural exchange including roles with DFAT and CIEE and has been the managing director of AIFS Australia for the last 5 years. She has lived in Boston, London and Tokyo, speaks Japanese and maintains her passion for Japan.
She is an active member of the NSW Backpackers Operators Association (BOA) and the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) and was a founding member of the Australian Internship Industry Association (AIIA) and the Cultural Au Pair in Australia Association (CAPAA).
Wendi lives in Sydney with her husband Tomihiro and children Taiyo and Ren. She is still trying to find time to play her new jazz guitar…
Favourite city: Tokyo
Inbound Department
Au Pair in Australia
Stephanie Prenzlau
Steph is originally from Frankfurt, Germany but has lived in Africa, South & North America and throughout Europe. She speaks German, English and a little bit of French and Spanish. Besides living in eight different countries Steph has been involved with cultural exchange programs from the other end – by hosting two au pairs herself when her children were young. With that first hand experience Stephanie provides support to au pairs coming to Australia as well as the families hosting them.
Favourite city: Sydney
Sylvia Gustafsson
Sylvia is originally from Germany, can speak German, English and a little bit of Swedish and Russian. She has a Masters in Cultural Studies & Anglistics and has had the pleasure of first hand experience as an Au Pair in New York for one year with Au Pair in America! Sylvia now uses her experience to provide support to au pairs travelling to Australia!
Favourite cities: Bremen & New York
Aline Horst
Aline is originally from Brazil, but has travelled and lived throughout the world; she believes that discovering new cultures, meeting new people and sharing stories together is a great way to have grown up! Her cultural exchange experiences include working as an au pair in Munich for one year, studying and working in tourism for three years in Munich and studying in New Zealand and Australia’s Gold Coast. Her passion lies in the tourism and she has studied and worked in the industry for a few years. Aline can speak Portuguese, German, Spanish and English.
Favourite cities: Rio de Janeiro & Munich
Professional Internship Australia
Cem Celik
Cem is from Istanbul, Turkey and recently became an Australian citizen. After his bachelor degree in tourism & hotel management in Turkey, Cem continued his education in marketing in Southeast Bavaria in Germany. Since then he has worked in tourism and international education industries with leading companies in Turkey, Germany, and Australia for the last several years. He also brings extensive experience to AIFS’ international cultural exchange programs. Along with his native language Turkish, Cem is fluent in German and English. Cem has been managing the internship program which offers new horizons to international professionals from all around the world in Australia.
Favourite city: His hometown the bridge between the continents: Istanbul
Steve Morris
Steve comes to AIFS Australia all the way from San Diego in California where he was a summer camp counsellor, hiring people on the Camp America program. He has a Bachelor of Economics and a background in accounting, outdoor education and summer programs in the USA. He has travelled extensively on his way to Australia from the US and has taken part in WOOfing in South Africa. Steve speaks English and Spanish.
Favourite city: Sydney
Work and Travel Australia
Nina Schmidt
Nina is originally from Berlin, but now calls Sydney home. She has worked in the tourism industry in Germany, the UK, France, Italy, the USA and Australia and has taken part in a range of cultural exchange programs. These include being an au pair through Au Pair in America, the Work & Travel Australia program and completing a hotel internship in Chicago. Nina speaks German, English, French and Japanese.
Favourite city: Chicago
Meri Jankuloska
Meri has roots in Macedonia, but spent most of her life growing up in Germany. She has worked in the hospitality and tourism industry in Germany and Australia and worked for an Embassy in Madrid. Her cultural exchange experience includes a high school exchange in Pennsylvania, USA and a language course in Spain. Meri speaks German, English, Macedonian, Spanish and Serbo-Croatian.
Favourite city: Madrid
Outbound Department
Sarah Lockhart
Sarah had a work background in the arts, music and hospitality industries before finding her true vocation in cultural exchange. She is passionate about working with people and providing experiences that can change their lives. Her cultural exchange experience includes hosting an au pair from Sri Lanka when she was a child and she grew up hosting international students. When she was 16 she participated in a high school exchange to the US and upon returning to Australia became a volunteer advisor for the program for three years. Several years later she applied to become a camp counsellor in the USA and now coordinates the Camp America program. During her time at AIFS, Sarah has worked in both the inbound and outbound departments.
Favourite city: Sydney
Christine Brecht
Christine also hails from Germany and has a background in the tourism industry. She has completed a Master of Tourism Management in Sydney and now helps run the Camp America, Au Pair in America and AIFS Volunteer programs. Christine travelled to the USA for one year where she lived and worked as an au pair with Au Pair in America in 2001 and now provides support to Australian girls travelling there to do the same. Christine speaks German, English and some French and Spanish.
Favourite city: Muscat
Jenna Brown
Jenna is a first generation Australian with a very multi-cultural background, which has made her particularly curious about other countries and cultures from a young age. She has lived in Berlin, taken part in cultural exchange with an internship and study in the Ruhr area of Germany and has had extensive travel experience throughout Europe. With a professional background in the tourism industry and a business degree in tourism and marketing under her belt, Jenna is more than passionate about cultural exchange. Within AIFS Jenna helps run the Camp America program and coordinates all marketing activities.
Favourite city: Berlin
AIFS Accounts
Tony Chew
Tony is from Penang, Malaysia but completed his final years of high school and university in Australia. He studied Business Communication, majoring in accounting at the University of New South Wales. Tony speaks English, several Chinese dialects and Malay.
Favourite city: Bangkok
