In News

The Shaw Trust has announced the winners of this year’s Disability Power 100 List at an awards ceremony at the Landmark Hotel in London. The event was held in person for the first time in three years and was attended by over 200 guests.

This year’s Top Ten includes:

1 – Rose Ayling Ellis, actress.
Rose played EastEnder’s first character to use BSL, before becoming the first deaf contestant on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. She has been involved in campaigning for the BSL Bill to be passed by government.

2 – Shani Dhanda, broadcaster and entrepreneur.

Shani holds seven executive and advisory roles as well as being an ambassador at five disability organisations and featuring in a variety of TV productions, including Loose Women, Rip off Britain and more.

3 – Victoria Jenkins, CEO and founder.

Award winning adaptive designer and disability advocate, Victoria became disabled in her mid-20s and is an ambassador for Models of Diversity and Purple Tuesday.

4 – Anna Landre, Activist and scholar.

An activist and scholar, Anna’s work focuses on disability policy, she is currently working as the Ukraine crisis focal point at the Partnerships for Disaster Strategies.

5 – Dr Halima Begum, Chief Executive of the Runnymede Trust.

Halima is Chief Executive of the Runnymede Trust, the UK’s prominent UK civil rights and race equality think tank. Her expertise is widely sought and she advises a number of organisations.

6 – Ellie Simmonds, Paralympian.

Ellie has competed in four Paralympic Games achieving a total of five Gold medals. She is also the youngest person to become the youngest person ever to be rewarded an MBE from the Queen and is an ambassador for Scouts, WaterAid and patron of the Dwarfs Sports Association UK.

7 – Kim Tserkezie, Actor, presenter and writer.

Kim has worked in the industry for over 25 years with a career which spans comedy, drama and documentary. She started her career as a presenter for BBC’s Disability Today and is now a full time member of BAFTA and the BFI’s Disability Screen Advisory Group.

8 – Amy Francis Smith, Architect and designer.

Campaigning for legislative change, her work focuses on improving accessibility within in the building industry. It is her third year of being featured on the Power 100 list.

9 – Dr Elliott Spaeth, Lecturer.

Elliott is a lecturer in academic practice, specialising in inclusive learning and teaching in higher education with a particular focus on disability and neurodiversity. He is passionate about making higher education an inclusive place for everyone.

10 – Andrew Miller MBE, Broadcaster.

Starting in broadcasting in the 1980s, Andrew is one of the first generation of disabled presenters of British television before becoming a producer and moving into arts administration.

You can see the full list of 100 people on their website here. https://disabilitypower100.com/the-list-2022/

Related