My advocacy is centred on the authentic disabled experience, as a woman that spent 24 years living with disabilities and not knowing. I am an equality and human rights activist and I work for NHS Lothian Headquarters where I also chair the Disability Network. I have worked professionally in a number of roles in equality policy, politics and more recently, health.

I previously sat on the board of Scotland’s largest political youth wing and was an elected member of the Scottish Youth Parliament where I took up roles in social justice and equality. I have represented Scotland at the European Parliament and more recently, represented the National Alliance of Women’s Organisations at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and the UN Generation Equality Summit.

My passion for disability justice stems from my own journey to diagnosis. After a decade of struggle and misdiagnosis, I was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. I have a particular interest in improving access to employment and the overhaul of workplace practices, to ensure the workplace is inclusive and accessible for neurodiverse employees. I am currently appointed to the board of a national charity, dedicated to advocacy and support for autistic women and girls.

I aim to work every day to prove that you can be autistic and successful, that there is a space for us, that being autistic is only a barrier because as neurodiverse women, we live in a world designed for neurotypical men – and we can fight to change that.