Guidance

List of Disability and Access Ambassadors

Updated 31 July 2025

Please note: Disability and Access Ambassadors are not able to deal with individual issues or personal queries.

Advertising

Josh Bullmore, Chief Strategy Officer at Leo Burnett

Josh Bullmore is the Chief Strategy Officer at Leo Burnett, where he has worked for 14 years.

Josh won ‘Strategy Leader of the Year’ at the Campaign Agency of the Year Awards in 2021, 2022 and 2023. He works on campaigns for clients including The National Lottery, Google and Morrisons. He writes articles on the importance of inclusion for disabled people, and has a column in Campaign magazine.

Josh grew up with a family member with cerebral palsy. This gave him direct experience of the barriers that disabled people face. It also gave him a passion for change for disabled people. He believes the advertising industry can be a tool for change – both as an employer and an influencer of perceptions in wider culture.

Josh is a board member of enABLE, the employee action group for disability at Leo Burnett’s parent group, Publicis. He established a work experience programme for disabled people at Leo Burnett. This served as a pilot for a broader programme that Publicis is launching with 10,000 Able Interns.

Arts and culture

Sarah Howard, Head of Access at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and Trustee of Candoco Dance Company

Sarah Howard is an influential advocate for accessibility and inclusivity within the arts sector. Her career of over 30 years in theatre and dance has included roles at:

• Sadler’s Wells
• Park Theatre
• Unlimited
• 2012 Cultural Olympiad
• Candoco Dance Company
• Shakespeare’s Globe

Sarah has played a key role in shaping policies and initiatives for greater accessibility. She currently works with senior leaders at Shakespeare’s Globe to ensure access and inclusion for its visitors, artists and employees. 

Sarah’s contributions extend beyond her current role. She takes part in creative arts theatre forums and has served as a trustee, chair and governor. She has supported people in the industry from higher education students to artistic management. With a passion for the arts, she continues to engage and direct plays from a community base. This gives her a wide perspective on artistic accessibility and development.

Sarah has provided consultancy for arts access, advising institutions such as:

• the Roundhouse
• Almeida
• Southbank Centre
• Royal Albert Hall

Sarah has worked with the British Council and Unlimited on national and international creative art projects led by disabled people.

Aviation

John Fishwick, Customer Accessibility Manager for Virgin Atlantic

John is an aviation professional with over 20 years of experience in the airline industry. He has held diverse roles across airport hubs and head offices in the UK. His deep understanding of operational delivery and customer experience has made him a leader in aviation accessibility.

John champions the rights of disabled travellers in his current role with Virgin Atlantic. He has developed his expertise through years of dedication to accessible aviation. He has developed a strong network of industry peers and shared his knowledge with airlines, airports, and advocacy groups.

John is a member of boards including:

• the Heathrow Access Advisory Group
• the IATA Accessibility Working Group
• the Department for Transport Task and Finish Group

John’s role on these boards helps him to shape legislation, share best practice and foster innovation.

John is listed in the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 for his impactful contributions. He advocates for accessible travel at speaking events, webinars, and conferences.

John lost his eyesight in 2016, and his personal journey brings a unique perspective to his work. He combines his lived experience and industry expertise to address the challenges faced by disabled travelers.

Banking

Rebecca Brindley, Digital Accessibility Lead at NatWest

Rebecca Brindley is a leader in digital accessibility. She is recognised for championing digital transformation and autonomy in the disability community.

Rebecca created the Digital Accessibility Team at NatWest Group. This included defining its remit and strategic approach by gaining executive management sponsorship.

Rebecca is a passionate mentor and advocate, supporting others across disability, accessibility, and STEM. She presents at forums and events on:

• the role of accessibility in driving innovation
• the importance of effective accessibility practices and their impact on the customer experience

Rebecca was interviewed for an article in Chartered Banker, ‘Nothing about us without us’. In the article, she says:

We need to bring people in early and take advantage of inclusive design practices for neurodiverse and disabled people that work for everyone.

Rebecca set up a forum on digital accessibility in financial services. This led to the formation of a new industry group under the Business Disability Forum (BDF) banner.

Built environment

Jean Hewitt – Inclusive Design, Buro Happold

Jean has specialised in accessibility and inclusion in the built environment for over 20 years and has been a member of the National Register of Access Consultants since 2003. She is a senior consultant at Buro Happold, an international, integrated consultancy of engineers, consultants and advisers. Alongside this role, Jean is an Honorary Associate Professor at UCL, running the ‘Designing Inclusive Places’ module on the MSc Health Wellbeing and Sustainable Buildings Bartlett programme.

A keen writer and trainer, Jean has contributed to accessibility and inclusion guidance for Sport England, EHRC, IWFM and many other organisations and she is the technical author of the British Standards Institute (BSI) PAS 6463: ‘Design for the Mind – Neurodiversity and the Built Environment’. She has been a longstanding member of BSI’s B559 Committee ‘Design of an Accessible and Inclusive Environment’, representing the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management plus charities for sight loss, vestibular conditions and neurological pain.

Jean is a Trustee of Changing Places Toilets International, a Dementia Friend, Mental Health First Aider and a member of Buro Happold’s Inclusion Council.

Buses

Victoria Garcia MBE, Accessibility and Communities Manager, Brighton and Hove Buses, Metrobus and Spirit of Sussex

Victoria is an accessibility and communities leader and award-winning advocate for inclusive transport. She was the first person in the UK bus industry to be appointed Accessibility and Communities Manager.

Victoria’s work focuses on making public transport truly inclusive and not just accessible. This involves designing services that people need and choose to use. As part of this, she works with disability organisations and stakeholders. By learning from the lived experiences of passengers, she makes sure that co-design and co-production are part of everyday policy and practice.

During Victoria’s time at Brighton and Hove Buses, transformative changes have included:

• dementia-friendly flooring and seating
• an award-winning accessibility assistance card scheme
• the ‘Three-Tier Accessibility Philosophy’ which builds accessibility into every part of service provision
• a free accessible taxi guarantee for any wheelchair user unable to get on a bus

Victoria was previously Chair of The Sussex Coast Line at the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership. She was also seconded to the Department for Transport as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Accessibility Department.

Victoria regularly speaks about bus accessibility at industry-wide conferences. She is committed to all areas of accessible travel, including vehicle design and concessionary travelcards.

Countryside

Debbie North – Accessibility Expert and Chair of the Access for All Group

Debbie is passionate about creating a countryside for all. Since becoming a wheelchair user, Debbie has campaigned tirelessly to break down barriers in all aspects of promoting accessibility for all. Debbie lives on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. She is a member of the Local Access Forum for the YDNP and chair of the Access For All group. She is a volunteer for the National Park with the responsibility of auditing the ‘Miles Without Stiles’ routes.

For the past 6 years, Debbie has been the expert in inclusion and diversity for all for the Outdoor Guide, a free online resource dedicated to enjoying the outdoors, co-founded and fronted by TV presenter Julia Bradbury. Debbie is also a Get Outside Champion with Ordnance Survey, promoting the physical and mental wellbeing of being outdoors, and ambassador for Ramblers UK. In 2020, she was nominated for ‘Outdoor Personality of the Year’ by TGO magazine readers.

Debbie is a presenter, motivational speaker, writer and consultant. She is a regular contributor for the BBC Countryfile Magazine. Debbie is founder of the charity Access the Dales, which provides all-terrain wheelchairs for people to use in the Yorkshire Dales. Although Debbie specialises in walks for wheelchair users, she also creates multi-sensory walks for people with other disabilities and impairments.

Creative industries

Giles Barker – Workplace Disability Lead, Channel 4

Giles Barker was appointed as Channel 4’s first ever Workplace Disability Lead in 2022. He works closely with Channel 4’s Head of Inclusion to ensure Channel 4 is the best place for disabled people to work in the UK. Giles is accountable for developing a company-wide strategy for disability inclusion, built around the Business Disability Forum’s Disability Smart benchmarking framework, and to maintain and build on Channel 4’s Disability Confident Leadership status. He is also responsible for external engagement and collaboration with disability- related industry initiatives and membership organisations, including OFCOM, The TV Access Project (TAP), Disability Confident Leaders Group, and Valuable 500.

Giles joined Channel 4 from British Telecom, where he was Group Diversity and Inclusion Lead. Before that, he spent 14 years at Transport for London, leading transformation programmes and becoming an accessibility and inclusion specialist. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2017 in recognition of his ability to influence and then deliver corporate-wide culture changes around disability inclusion.

In 2015, Giles was involved in the working group to help design and launch PurpleSpace, the world’s only networking hub for disabled employees. He has recently been made a PurpleSpace Ambassador and Chair of PurpleSpace’s Impact Steering Strategic Forum.

Energy

Jessica Taplin, Chief Executive, The British Gas Energy Trust

Jessica Taplin is the Chief Executive of the British Gas Energy Trust. This is a charitable trust that aims to reduce poverty, particularly fuel poverty.

The Trust funds and supports front-line services and needs-focused charities. These address fuel poverty and energy inequality through:

• advice on resilience and capacity-building for national organisations
• direct grant schemes to households most at risk of fuel poverty

Under Jessica’s leadership, the number of households supported each year has quadrupled. Support is aimed at households at greater risk of the detrimental impact of fuel poverty.

The Trust works with British Gas and Centrica on outreach, access to support and engagement. There is a strong focus on customer vulnerability, equality, diversity and inclusion.

Jessica is the Trust’s spokesperson on:

• national campaigns to raise awareness of the energy crisis
• using technology to improve improving data collection and analysis, to identify and better support vulnerable households
• issues such as the impact of the energy crisis on people with mental health challenges, physically disabled people and people with learning disabilities

Jessica was previously the Chief Executive Designate of the Treloar Trust, helping disabled young people through educational and residential support.

Heritage

Kim Klug-Miller – Community Partnerships Manager, Historic Royal Palaces

Kim Klug-Miller has worked at Historic Royal Palaces for over 10 years. She is passionate about creating ways for people of all ages and abilities to engage with museums, galleries and heritage sites in ways that are meaningful and relevant for them.

In 2012, Kim launched the Community Access Scheme, a sustainable model for community engagement. This scheme involves identifying, establishing and nurturing partnerships with organisations who are gatekeepers to local communities with real or perceived barriers to access.

In 2016, she initiated the Dementia Friendly Heritage Network to share best practice for engaging people with dementia with heritage. She chaired a group of over 40 organisations, which included heritage organisations from across the UK, Alzheimer’s Society, National Lottery Heritage Fund and academics. This resulted in the publication of ‘Rethinking Heritage: A guide to help make sites more dementia-friendly’.

Kim has significant lived experience of this condition through her family. She is experienced working with children, families, young people, non-English speakers and adults living with disabilities, mental health issues, dementia and those experiencing social isolation. She believes that making it easier to access and understand art, heritage, museums and galleries helps the communities around them to thrive and become stronger and more cohesive.

Hospitality

James Dixon-Box, Operations Director, Marsham Court Hotel

James Dixon-Box is the Operations Director of Marsham Court Hotel, one of the UK’s most accessible hotels. He has 26 years’ experience in hotels, restaurants and events management.

James has been a leader in accessible tourism for many years. He is passionate about educating the tourism and hospitality sector, cutting through fear and stigma. He has inspired new initiatives and encouraged businesses to create new opportunities for customers and employees.

Marsham Court Hotel is a ‘Disability Confident’ Leader. Its awards include:

• Accessible Hotel of the Year at the 2022 Catey Awards
• DEIB Hospitality Business of the Year 2024 and 2025 at the Institute of Hospitality

James is Vice Chair and Trustee of Bourne Free (Bournemouth’s Pride Charity). He is also a member of the DEIB Council for the Institute of Hospitality.

Housing

Emma Palmer, Chief Executive, Eastlight Community Homes

Emma Palmer is the Chief Executive of Eastlight Community Homes. Eastlight has 15,000 homes, and is invested in its local communities and led by residents.

As CEO, Emma created a £3 million community engagement programme to:

• provide better accessibility to services
• tackle community issues
• improve landlord trust and credibility

Eastlight Community Homes has retained its ‘G1/V1’ rating from the regulator of social housing. G1/V1 is the highest rating a housing association can achieve. It shows that the Regulator is confident in how Eastlight is run and how it manages its finances.

Emma is the housing sector lead with disability charity Purple. She received a lifetime Achievement Award in Housing from the Chartered Institute of Housing in 2023. 

Emma is also the Chair of Build East. This consortium of 15 housing associations leads on policy, insight and housing sector expertise in the East of England. It regularly responds to government consultations.

In her non-executive career, Emma is:

• a board member and chair of the customer service committee of A2Dominion
• a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing
• a regular speaker at conferences and seminars

Insurance

Edward Grant, Chartered Financial Planner

Eddie Grant is a strategic financial planning leader, chartered financial planner, pension trustee and non-executive director. He is a former president of the Personal Finance Society and its longest-serving non-executive board member. He played a leading role in shaping the organisation’s growth and governance for 8 years.

Eddie was a director at SJP, the UK’s largest wealth management firm and a ‘Disability Confident’ employer. He led initiatives to improve accessibility and client vulnerability support. He served as a trusted industry spokesperson on:

• financial advice
• professional development
• digital legacy
• support for clients in vulnerable circumstances

Eddie also led efforts to transform vulnerable circumstances education. 

He is a board member of the European Financial Planning Association. He is also Vice-President and Council Member of the Insurance Institute of London.

Eddie was Vice-President of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). He worked with CII to launch its first vulnerability-focused qualification, increasing awareness of accessibility needs in the sector.

Eddie is Founder and Chair of the Finance in Society Research Institute (FISRI) Advisory Board. He connects academic rigour and real-world transformation, advancing financial planning’s social value.

Rail travel

Alison Smith – Head of Accessibility and Inclusion at the Great British Railways Transition Team

Alison is the Head of Accessibility and Inclusion at the Great British Railways transition team, where she has been working with colleagues at the Department of Transport and across the rail sector on development of the first ever National Rail accessibility strategy. To support this, a National Rail accessibility advisory group made up of disabled people and representatives from disabled people’s organisations and charities has been established to directly inform priorities and proposals. Alison and her team are also delivering a second phase of the Department for Transport’s accessibility audit of stations, aimed at providing information improvements for customers and helping the industry with insights and analysis to inform future station investment priorities.

Alison has had a long history in the rail sector, working at Network Rail, where she headed up their accessibility and inclusion team, launching a new accessible travel policy, station guides and new organisation wide disability and equality training. She has also worked for various train companies, and the Rail Delivery Group looking at customer experience and accessibility improvements, with the aim that everyone’s journey matters.

Recruitment

Kate Headley – The Clear Company

Kate co-founded the Clear Company diversity and inclusion consultancy in 2003. As part of the executive team, she has successfully grown the business to one with a global reach and recognition as pioneers of inclusive best practice. Her clients include organisations who are leaders in their sectors in inclusive hiring and talent management. She is a fully qualified HR professional who has spent over 20 years specialising in recruitment and diversity. She is a sought-after speaker and advisor, helping to tell audiences about the benefits of being diversity-confident.

Kate was a founding member of the Department of Work and Pensions’ disability employer engagement steering group, which was created to develop a platform for individual MPs to activate and support disability best practice in their constituencies. In 2011, Kate founded and continues to chair the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI). RIDI is a not-for-profit movement to increase disability confidence in the UK recruitment industry, and has changed the lives of more than 500,000 disabled job seekers.

Kate is a government advisor on disability and diversity and serves on the external panel of experts to the Cabinet Office. She is a founder partner of the government’s Disability Confident Campaign.

Retail

Elisabeth Wooller – Strategic Sourcing Manager at Sainsbury’s

Beth Wooller is a Strategic Sourcing Manager at Sainsbury’s, where she leads teams in the successful launch, delivery and evaluation of multi-million pound value creation and cost saving programmes. She is also the Chair of Sainsbury’s EnAble network and recognised as one of the UK’s most influential disabled people in the Shaw Trust Power 100 List.

Beth has presented widely on accessibility, including at 10 Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament and to employers across the UK. She shaped the strategy for disability inclusion at Sainsburys for over 160,000 employees, and launched EnAble, the company’s first ever disability network.

Beth is also an ambassador for AccessAble, actively raising awareness of and enhancing accessibility information for over 70,000 venues across the UK. Prior to entering the retail sector, Beth worked as a management consultant at Deloitte MCS Ltd.

Sports and physical activity

Tim Hollingsworth OBE, CEO Sport England

Before his role with Sport England, Tim was chief executive of the British Paralympic Association (BPA) for 7 years. He led the team into 4 Paralympic Games, including a best-ever Winter Games performance at PyeongChang 2018 and the record 147-medal haul at Rio 2016 as Paralympics GB finished second in the medal table (up from third and 120 medals at London 2012).

Tim has also been at the forefront of the work that has increased the profile and interest of the Paralympic movement, driving the commercial and business growth of the BPA as a charity that challenges perceptions of disability in society.

Before the BPA, Tim held the roles of director of policy and communications and chief operating officer at UK Sport. Prior to that, he had a decade’s worth of experience working in senior corporate communications roles. Tim was awarded an OBE in 2017 for services to sport.

Technology and web accessibility

Hector Minto, Director of Accessibility Evangelism at Microsoft

Hector has been a leading voice in the field of assistive technology and accessibility for 25 years, developing technology solutions to empower people with disabilities to participate in education, employment and society.

Hector has committed his whole career to inclusive technology and has worked on UK government projects for alternative communication, employment and skills, and business confidence on disability. He has led innovation projects on gesture technology, eye-tracking, learning experiences and home automation.

In his role as Director of Accessibility Evangelism at Microsoft, Hector is actively engaging with Microsoft’s global workforce and partners to showcase inclusive design, product accessibility, the inclusive hiring program and accessibility innovation from Microsoft Research. He also works with product teams, ensuring that Microsoft are continuously adapting to the changing needs of the diverse population using their products across the globe.

Tourism

Ross Calladine, Head of Business Support, VisitEngland

Ross is VisitEngland’s in-house accessibility specialist, developing and delivering initiatives that engage tourism businesses and destinations in accessible tourism.

Ross led the development of England’s first Accessible Tourism Action Plan, and has produced a large number of guidance and support tools for the industry. He champions leaders in the field through VisitEngland’s Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award.

Seeing strong partnerships as the key to success, Ross founded England’s Inclusive Tourism Action Group, which comprises leading accessible tourism stakeholders. Having amassed over 13 years of dedication to the field of accessible tourism, listening to disabled people, developing world-leading guidance for businesses and destinations, Ross has become a respected subject matter expert, not only in the UK but worldwide.

Universities

Professor Deborah Johnston, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Framework) London South Bank University (LSBU)

Professor Johnston is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at LSBU, where she is responsible for education. She is also Chair of the Disabled Student’s Commitment (DSC). She joined LSBU in April 2020 from SOAS University of London. She is an economist by training.

Professor Johnston is an advocate for accessibility and equality for disabled students and staff. She also advocates more widely for social change in higher education. She is inspired by her personal experience of studying and working with a speech difference.

Professor Johnston has a strong network of senior leaders and disability advocates in academia, business, and charities. She has built this by working with groups such as:

• STAMMA
• London Higher and other mission groups
• Disabled Students UK
• Disability Rights UK
• National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NASDN)

Professor Johnston is a member of the Office for Students’ Disability in Higher Education Panel. She also promotes the visibility and representation of disabled university staff, showcasing their contributions through initiatives supported by NADSN and Disabled Women in Academia.