WWDA LEAD WEBINAR SERIES - Webinar 2

NDIS and Gender Webinar

Join us on Thursday 27 May to hear why women are not accessing the NDIS at the same rate as men. Our expert panel will discuss the current barriers and what we can be done to ensure equal access to the NDIS.

The webinar is for all women, girls, feminine identifying and non-binary people with disability.

Our host and speakers:

Akii Ngo (they/them) - Masters of Social Work (in progress), GradDipCCM, B.HumNut (Nut&Diet), DipProjMgmt, CertIVTAE

Akii is a disability leader and gender equity advocate passionate about disability rights and empowerment. They are a proud, young disabled, non-binary femme and queer person of colour. Akii is a first generation Aussie from a refugee background, who lives with multiple complex chronic illnesses and disabilities. A survivor advocate, board director and company secretary of Disability Justice Australia and sits on a number of advisory committees and working groups across Australia within the health and advocacy sector. In addition to advising and consulting for LGBTIQA+ rights, gender equity and trauma informed violence prevention (especially since many of Akii’s disability are a direct result of intimate partner violence). Akii was the recipient of the 2020 Australian Disability Leadership Awards in Social Change and the 2021 7News Young Australian of the Year, Leadership Semi Finalist.

Akii is passionate about accessibility and universal design, representation and is a fierce advocate for people with chronic pain, chronic illness, and disabilities (visible and invisible) due to their own lifetime of lived experiences. They are a qualified public health nutritionist and health promotion practitioner with over 10 years’ experience throughout Australia and overseas in capacity building, advocacy, policy, co-design and systemic health promotion practice. Akii has spent their entire career dedicated to making a positive and sustainable difference to the community. Akii is also an internationally published model and believes in creating positive change and perception within the media, beauty and fashion industry for disabled individuals and communities.

Claire Bertholli – Disability Advocate/WYAG Member (she/her)

Claire (she/her) is a young woman with disability and a youth disability advocate from Newcastle, NSW. Claire loves chatting with friends, lazing near beaches, immersing herself in pop culture and being a snack food enthusiast.

As well as being an active member of the WWDA youth advisory group, Claire actively participates in NDIA facilitated participant working groups. she has consulted policy makers in the scheme regarding the information given out to participants concerning the NDIS. Recently she has had the opportunity to personally address the NDIA Executive team at their April 2021 executive meeting.

Karen Fankhauser - Disability Advocate/ Accountant

Karen has had a lifelong disability, but it was a stint in a nursing home in 2013 that sparked her interest in disability advocacy.

Karen has been a member of the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Disability Advisory Committee for the past seven years and was elected as Chairperson in 2019. She was appointed to the Victorian Disability Advisory Council in 2019.
Karen was awarded the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Citizen of the Year in 2018 for her commitment to her work as an advocate for the achievement of greater inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities In the community.

She has was a member of the Sunny App expert advisory panel for 1800RESPECT and is now on the WWDA Lead Project Steering Committee.

Margot Beavon-Collin Disability Office Bearer for the University of Sydney Student Representative Council (She/her)

Margot Beavon-Collin is a disabled trans woman living on Gadigal land. She is currently studying History and Political Economy at the University of Sydney, where she currently serves as a Disability Office Bearer for the USyd SRC. She is a passionate activist, and a regular face at events and protests across the Greater Sydney area. She is particularly active in work to unionise and empower disabled workers, especially those employed by Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs).

Heidi La Paglia -Senior Policy and Programs Officer WWDA. (She/her)

Heidi La Paglia is a 28 year old woman with disability who has worked at Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) since the beginning of 2019. In this time, she has worked on a number of initiatives, including the Our Site website and the coordination of the WWDA Youth Network, as well as on policy, representation and systemic advocacy work.

Heidi recently authored a number of submissions for WWDA on the NDIS including WWDA’s Submissions to the Parliamentary Inquiry and NDIA on the introduction of independent assessments, and WWDA’s response to the NDIA’s consultation paper on Interventions for Children on the Autism Spectrum. Heidi has an interest in ensuring that disability supports are accessible to all genders and has been advocating for better recognition and support for Autistic women and girls, since she, like many others, received a late diagnosis as a young adult.

When: 27 May 2021 12pm – 1:15pm (AEST).