Amy Bickford has been a youth worker for over 25 years, championing the voices of young people as experts of their own experiences. She currently works for Devon County Council, leading a team of participation workers in co-ordinating the Network for Change. This is a young person-led network responsible for supporting neurodivergent and young people with SEND to get their voices heard about issues that matter to them, and to create meaningful change within the services they use. When she is not campaigning for change she is happiest in cold water, reading a book or hanging out with her friends and her children.
Cara Stratford is the Community and Family Support Manager for Esteem Team CIC, which is a not for profit organisation based in Exmouth. Many of the families that Esteem Team support are neurodivergent. When not working, Cara likes walking, reading (or listening to audio books) and going to the cinema. She has recently discovered she enjoys pottery. Cara and her family are all neurodivergent (including the dog)!
Joanna Merrett is a dedicated researcher with over a decade of experience working closely with home education communities. Her extensive background in this field has driven her to explore various aspects of education beyond traditional schooling, with a primary focus on home education, alternative education approaches, pedagogies, educational policy, systematic disadvantage, equity in access to national qualifications, and pathways for home-educated young individuals to higher and further education. Joanna received the prestigious Hutton Prize for her research in 2022.
Rachel Griffiths is a senior educator developer at University of Exeter and leads their inclusive education project, supporting educators to develop more inclusive teaching practices through Universal Design for Learning principles. She is also a doctoral researcher in their School of Education, finding community-led and creative ways to explore neurodivergent identities in higher education. Rachel is neurodivergent and finds autistic joy in making and performing music with others.
Saffron OʼNeill is Professor in Climate and Society at the University of Exeter, UK. She is also Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for the Geography Department, where she brings lived experience of neurodiversity into her role. She is happiest walking on Dartmoor or pottering in her allotment.