This event is for funders only.
When
Tuesday 21 May 2024
1pm - 2.30pm AEST (ACT, NSW, QLD, VIC)
12:30pm – 2:00pm ACST (NT, SA)
11am – 12:30pm AWST (WA)
Virtual event only
Zoom link to be shared closer to the time.
Overview
We invite you to join us in conversation with Kirsten Deane, Deputy Director of Melbourne Disability Institute — which is building an evidence-base needed to guide social and disability policy reforms and advance opportunity and equity for people with disabilities, their families, and their carers.
Our discussion will focus on the NDIS review, its implications and directions for philanthropy.
Please note:
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- This is a virtual session only.
- The session will be recorded.
Audience
This event is for Philanthropy Australia funders in the disability space at the New Gen, Active, Engaged, and Impact membership tiers.
If you are not yet a member or want to learn more about the philanthropic work in this area, please reach out to programs@philanthropy.org.au.
Presenters
Catherine McAlpine – Chief Executive Officer, Inclusion Australia (formerly the National Council on Intellectual Disability, NCID)
Catherine is the Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Australia, the national representative organisation for people with an intellectual disability and their families.
She is a respected leader in the disability community, with previous senior roles in state and national advocacy and not-for-profit disability organisations. Her focus is on supporting the rights and empowerment of people with intellectual disability and their families. She has spoken as a witness at the Disability Royal Commission at several public hearings, including on employment, inclusive education, and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Catherine has a track record of collaboration and innovation to increase the inclusion of people with a disability. This is informed by her previous roles in the corporate sector, and running a small business, which gave insight into the need to base reform around sustainable business models.
Kirsten Deane – Deputy Director, Melbourne Disability Institute
Kirsten Deane is the Deputy Director of the Melbourne Disability Institute and an Enterprise Professor in Disability. Based at the University of Melbourne, MDI facilitates and supports interdisciplinary research that addresses the complex and systemic issues facing people with disability. MDI brings people with disability, families, government and non government organisations together with researchers to co-produce research that has real-world impact on policy and practice and helps to build a more inclusive and equitable society. With more than 15 years experience in the disability sector and a background in research, policy, advocacy, campaigning and communications, Kirsten is most well known for her role as Campaign Director for Every Australian Counts, the grassroots campaign that fought for the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Kirsten was a panel member on the recent independent review of the NDIS and has also served on numerous boards, committees and advisory councils, including Co-Chair and Deputy Chair of the National People with Disability and Carer Council. Kirsten has three children and as a result has excellent conflict mediation skills.
Network Co-chairs
Nick Taylor – Disability Portfolio Lead for a private philanthropic trust and the Chairman of the Board for Wheelchair Sports NSW
Nick Taylor is the Disability Portfolio Lead for a private philanthropic trust, and the Chairman of the Board for Wheelchair Sports NSW. A native of South Africa, Nick grew up in a sports obsessed family of four siblings. In 1998, just after he finished high school, Nick was involved in a serious car accident that left him paralysed from the waist down. At the time, Nick was leading his team in the South African National Basketball Championship and despite his absence from the grand final, his team would go on to win the national title in overtime. They dedicated the win to their fallen captain, who would also be named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Nick received a bachelor’s degree in business science in Cape Town, including spending a year on a wheelchair basketball scholarship at the University of Texas. Going from strength to strength, Nick then secured a role with a leading international management-consulting firm in Johannesburg and got back to representing South Africa, playing wheelchair basketball in both the World Championships and the Paralympics.
In 2006 Nick immigrated to Australia to build a brighter future for himself in Sydney. He became an Australian citizen and sat out of international competition in wheelchair basketball for three years so he could switch his nationality in order to represent Australia. He did so at the highest level by playing in the London Paralympics in 2012, winning a silver medal and two years later in Korea, he and his team would be crowned World Champions!
Kirsty Nowlan – Executive Director, The Achieve Foundation
Dr Kirsty Nowlan is the Executive Director at The Achieve Foundation, leading large systems change initiatives across both international development and in Australia. She has worked across areas as diverse as ageism in Australia, child mortality and fragile and conflict-affected states. Underpinning all the roles in her career is a deep commitment to social justice. Kirsty is dedicated to making better outcomes happen for people with disability and shaping society to embrace the diversity of human experience as a strength.
Alongside her work with The Achieve Foundation, she is on the boards of The Centre for Social Purpose – a membership organisation that works to support operational excellence in for purpose organisations – and Peacifica, an Australian-based organisation that aims to promote peace through genuine partnerships with Pacific Islanders. She holds a PhD on international law and politics and her thesis explored the evolution of new forms of power through citizen activism around international trade negotiations.
