The Disability Trust has become the first major not-for-profit organisation in Australia to appoint a person with an intellectual disability to its Board with Andrew Radford becoming a Director.
Andrew has been a participant with The Disability Trust for more than 23 years and he has also been an advocate for people with disability, a small business owner and a member of The Assembly documentary series which aired on the ABC recently.
He was among the group of people with autism who were chosen to complete a journalism course under the guidance of Leigh Sales which included interviewing high-profile Australians, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Andrew works at his local library in Batemans Bay and also runs his own car-washing business.
His elevation to The Disability Trust’s Board has been ratified by the current Directors and he will formally begin his tenure in February.
The Disability Trust Chief Executive Officer Carol Berry said Andrew exemplified the organisation’s vision of creating an inclusive world built on trust, respect and equality, where people with a disability live the life they choose.
“We went through a process at TDT where we spoke to our members about wanting to create a role on our board which was specifically for a person with intellectual disability,” Carol explained.
“Our members supported that proposal and then we had some deep thinking about who would be a really fantastic person to join our Board and Andrew was really the first person that came into our minds.
“Andrew is someone who has a really fantastic track record in the advocacy space. We really wanted someone who understands advocacy from an individual perspective but also someone who understands how to advocate on behalf of other people with disability so Andrew absolutely fulfilled that criteria.
“He’s also someone who has been a client of The Disability Trust and we really want that strong client voice.
“Andrew has had some amazing life experiences – he’s someone who has had exposure in terms of speaking at conferences and he’s shown that he’s willing to be in the public spotlight. I think there will be some attention in this role so we wanted someone who is comfortable in that space.
“But also, Andrew is someone who absolutely upholds the values of The Disability Trust. His whole way of being in the world really does stand for what we stand for so we saw him as a really good cultural fit.”
