I joined the Board of MDAC UK in August 2019. Five months earlier I heard about Validity’s work from a fellow Board member for the first time and that they were looking for new Board members. As I learnt more about the work Validity too, I knew it would be a good fit for my skills and interests. I’m a freelance knowledge transfer consultant, working with researchers, policy makers, and others to support them to apply research into practice. I am also a crowdfunded open justice journalist, usually reporting coronial inquests into the deaths of learning disabled and autistic people.

Validity is made up of a small group of staff who consistently deliver results, which make a real improvement to people’s lives. I am proud to play a small part in an organisation that stands up for people’s human rights and who through its strategic litigation and wider advocacy work, is not afraid to speak out and challenge where needed, does not waver under pressure and is guided by a set of principles and values that never lose sight of the need for equality and justice for all people with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities.