Guidance

List of Disability and Access Ambassadors

Updated 11 June 2026

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

Philippa Jackson, Head of Inclusive Environments at University College London (UCL)

Philippa Jackson holds the inaugural role responsible for shaping and leading the inclusive environments agenda at UCL. She works closely with peers across the sector, both in higher education institutions and nationally through the Association of University Directors of Estates. She has led the development of an inclusive design education package for estates professionals, which will shortly be rolled out across UCL, and is in discussions with other bodies about a sector-wide version. She has also initiated and led projects which explore how technology can enhance accessibility within the built environment. These have resulted in industry awards that recognise her contribution and commitment to sharing best practice.

Pippa sits on the British Standards Institute committee for B/559, which authors the BS 8300 standards for inclusive design, and has served on government advisory panels for the built environment. She is heavily involved in the Access Association, the professional body for inclusive design, where she has served as president and national secretary. As president, Pippa led a successful initiative to review the accessibility of colourful crossings in London. This resulted in Transport for London pausing new installations while they did further research.

Pippa is an inclusive design guest lecturer. As a disabled woman working in the industry, Pippa is passionate about demonstrating that neither gender nor disability should be a barrier to a successful career in the built environment.

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

Gini Mitchell, Founder and Operations Director at Wild with Wheels CIC

Gini Mitchell discovered the challenges of accessing the countryside after becoming reliant on wheeled devices to get out and about. She trained as a disabled forest school leader and walk ambassador for the North Downs Way National Trail and Cross Channel Geopark. 

During her first campaign for disabled access in her local nature reserve, Gini founded Wild with Wheels CIC to offer interactive nature walks and wellbeing activities to adults and children with physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities. The first of its kind in the UK, its innovative work has encouraged more organisations and walking groups to offer guided walks for wheeled users, with sensory nature activities to bring a closer connection to nature.

As well as encouraging new participants to access the landscape, Wild with Wheels CIC continues to improve access to ‘demand led’ locations. It achieves this by identifying places needing structural improvements, such as surfacing and removing or replacing barriers. 

Gini also trains outdoor access auditors, along with teaching how to lead inclusive and accessible nature walks. She has also written a toolkit outlining best practice access to the countryside. She regularly works with focus groups on accessibility, green and blue social prescribing, and mental health. She gives advice to public rights of way, Natural England, National Trust, English Heritage, nature and wildlife reserves, as well as the tourism sector.  

Previously, Gini worked in support and teaching roles with Mencap and other organisations for young people with learning disabilities. She also has experience working with elderly people and those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

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 of Charis Grants

Jessica Taplin is the Chief Executive of Charis Grants. Charis Grants is a UK organisation that manages financial and practical support for energy companies, housing associations, local authorities and charities.

Charis Grants manages national and regional schemes to help vulnerable people and families. These schemes provide:

• direct financial help
• energy and retail vouchers
• white goods and household essentials
• digital devices

Under Jessica’s leadership, the organisation is aiming to grow its impact and work with more partners. She wants to continue to make sure support is fair, efficient and easy to access for people in need.

Before joining Charis Grants, Jessica was the Chief Executive of the British Gas Energy Trust. This is an independent charity that works to reduce poverty and fuel poverty.

While she worked there, the trust helped 4 times as many households each year. The focus was on helping people most at risk from the energy crisis.

Jessica also spoke on national campaigns about how rising energy costs affect:

• people with mental health conditions
• disabled people
• people with learning disabilities

She also led work to use data and technology better to identify households in need.

Earlier in her career, Jessica was the Chief Executive Designate of the Treloar Trust. This trust provides specialist education and housing for disabled young people.

Heritage

Nicole Stockton-Davies, Access and Inclusion Manager at English Heritage

Nicole Stockton-Davies is English Heritage’s first visitor access manager. She is responsible for developing the charity’s approach to accessible visitor experiences, embedding inclusive practice across an organisation which manages heritage sites in communities across the country.

Nicole is an active member of Visit England’s inclusive tourism action group, contributing to national outputs on accessible tourism. She is also a member of the Access Association, through which she maintains connections with architects, consultants, campaigners, and trainers to help promote accessibility. Nicole has worked at various heritage sites, including the House of Commons, the Tower of London, and is a trusted advisor on accessibility issues.

Nicole’s commitment to improving outcomes for disabled people is deeply rooted in long-standing professional experience and personal insight. As a self-identifying neurodivergent person, she is particularly motivated to challenge exclusionary systems. Throughout her career, she has focused on identifying the root causes of exclusion, influencing organisational thinking, and promoting inclusive approaches that extend beyond individual adjustments.

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

Lee Corless, National Employer Lead at the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE)

Lee Corless is a senior HR and diversity and inclusion leader. He has over 20 years’ experience advancing disability inclusion and neurodiversity employment across the UK and globally. He has a proven track record influencing government bodies and employer coalitions, shaping policy frameworks, and embedding sustainable inclusive workforce models in large and complex organisations. 

Lee is an expert in strategy, governance, culture transformation and equitable access to work. Lee is a member of the leadership team that established one of the world’s most renowned autism at work programmes within a leading global investment corporation, and has earned recognition as a global leader in neurodiversity inclusion. 

In Lee’s current voluntary role, he is dedicated to expanding BASE’s reach and impact, enhancing its support and knowledge-sharing initiatives with the business and corporate community. 

As a speaker, Lee combines his professional expertise with personal insight as an autistic self-advocate. He is committed to improving workplace adaptation for neurodiversity and inspiring neurodivergent people to pursue fulfilling employment.

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

Adam Blaze, Chief Executive of Activity Alliance

Adam Blaze is the Chief Executive of Activity Alliance, the leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity. He began this role in January 2023.

Adam has dedicated his career to changing attitudes towards disabled people in sport and activity. Before his current role, Adam spent 15 years at Sport England. He has also worked for The Football Association and Loughborough University. He has a wealth of experience in leading teams in equality, investment management, and impact measurement. This is crucially strengthened with lived experience of disability within his family.

Adam’s passion lies in creating meaningful and sustained change so that everyone has opportunities to be active. Adam has a strong focus on developing people and is a qualified coach and mentor. Adam sits on the board of Moving Communities and was previously on the Sport and Recreation Alliance equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) committee.

Technology and web accessibility

Manisha Mehta, Disability Inclusion Leader at Amazon

Manisha Mehta is a global leader with over 20 years’ expertise in HR, disability, and inclusion. She has been involved in high-impact strategies across disability, neurodiversity, and accessibility at major multinational corporations, including Amazon and Unilever. She has built extensive networks across the technology sector, government bodies, non-governmental organisations, and disability communities worldwide. 

Manisha has partnered with other senior executives to transform organisational culture, enhance accessibility, and embed sustainable mechanisms that promote awareness. Her expertise spans employees, customers, and communities. It encompasses data-driven talent strategies, digital and physical accessibility enhancements, and external advocacy and policy engagement.

Manisha has spoken at major events including The National EDI in the Workplace Conference 2024 and the UN Global Compact Network UK webinar series on neurodiverse voices in the workforce. At AWS re:Invent 2024, her session highlighted technology’s role in equalising opportunities for neurodivergent people. She actively engages with industry bodies and contributes to cross-industry collaboration across the technology sector.

At Amazon, Manisha leads the global disability and neurodiversity inclusion strategy and helps shape an approach that balances consistency with local cultural and regulatory nuances. She established the Disability Inclusion Alliance to create a unified, collaborative model for scalable, technology-driven solutions embedded in core Amazon processes. She is also proud of Amazon’s ‘Careers 4 All’ supported employment programme with BASE, creating sustainable UK careers for adults with disabilities, and of the organisation’s supported internship programme.

Tourism

Jane Cooper, Managing Director of Access and Inclusion UK

Jane Cooper is the founder and Managing Director of Access and Inclusion UK, an organisation that provides access consultancy, training, auditing and inclusive design services to the tourism sector. She is a trained access auditor with the Centre for Accessible Environments, and has 30 years’ professional training and development experience.

Jane is Chair of the England Inclusive Tourism Action Group. She is also an Honorary Executive in Residence at Sheffield Hallam University, a reviewer for the Rough Guide to Accessible Britain, and a judge for some of the country’s top tourism awards. Access and Inclusion UK’s most recent projects include the development of an accessible tourism destination toolkit for Visit England, a project to identify accessibility features, and the design and delivery of a training programme for destination managers, also for Visit England. 

Jane has co-authored the inclusive tourism content on the Visit Scotland business support hub. She is also supporting Failte Ireland with their inclusive tourism programme.

Jane writes for Autism Parenting magazine in the United States, and was invited to speak at the 2018 World Summit on Accessible Tourism in Brussels. 

As the mother of a daughter with a rare chromosome condition, Jane is a long-standing advocate for disabled people. She initiated the campaign for Changing Places toilets in Derbyshire and raised over £1 million for a therapy pool at Ashgate Croft School in Derbyshire, which earned her an Excellence in the Community Award.

Universities

Professor Deborah Johnston, Vice Chancellor at University of Bedfordshire

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 is Chair of the Disabled Student’s Commitment, a voluntary scheme which aims to enhance disabled students’ experience of higher education. She was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor at London South Bank University, and Pro Vice Chancellor responsible for learning and teaching at SOAS University of London. She is an economist by training.

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, the largest UK charity for people who stammer
• London Higher and other mission groups
• Advance HE and QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education)
• Disabled Students UK
• National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NADSN)

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, supporting the initiatives of NADSN and Disabled Women in Academia.