Our Founders

Zuricka Hasker

The Tide & Times initiative is led by Zuricka Hasker, a death walker and end-of-life practitioner with more than 15 years of experience as a dementia doula, reiki master and energy healer.

Zuricka holds a Bachelor of Psychology and is co-founder of Dedicate House Victoria and Jacaranda House Queensland, providing compassionate end-of-life care, including voluntary assisted dying support. Her professional training includes certification from The Doula Givers in New York and the Australian Doula College, with her formal practice commencing in 2017.

Zuricka’s multicultural Sri Lankan heritage, encompassing Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Catholic traditions, directly informs the café’s inclusive approach. Her lived experience with death, loss and dementia across multiple cultural and spiritual traditions underpins the program’s deeply person-centred and culturally sensitive model.

Nicole Melbourne

Working in partnership with Zuricka Hasker, co-founder Nicole Melbourne brings more than three decades of business expertise and complex project management experience across design, communications and publishing.

Qualified in the printing industry with advanced tertiary study in editing, Nicole is the founder and director of Nikki M Group – a design and publishing firm established in Bayside Melbourne to provide specialised services for STEM education and healthcare.

Throughout her career, Nicole has facilitated meaningful, culturally sensitive communications in partnership with educational publishers, universities, government and community organisations worldwide. This extensive background in preserving stories and translating complex information into clear, accessible formats grounds her belief in the importance of dignity for each person’s lived experience.