Sue Salthouse has worked in the area of social justice since 1996, playing an active
role in systemic advocacy for women with disabilities. She runs her own Consultancy
company which specialises in work in the disability sector - social research, policy
analysis and advice in both government and non government areas, conference facilitation,
project development and management, TAFE teaching, and individual advocacy.
Sue is mentor to a number of young women with disabilities. Sue has worked as a research
and policy consultant to WWDA, coordinator of WWDA's Telecommunications Working Group,
and WWDA spokesperson on Industrial Relations and Employment. She has also undertaken a
number of research and advocacy projects covering a wide range of issues of concern to
disabled women. Sue convenes Women With Disabilities ACT (a WWDA-affiliate organisation),
and is a Board Member of Advance Personnel (Disability Employment Network agency),
Women in Vocational and Adult Education, and Rehabilitation International (Australia),
and Chair of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network.
Margie has a keen interest in issues of mental health. She has been a volunteer systemic
advocate since 1996 and has contributed to a number of community based disability organisations,
including the Physical Disability Council of South Australia and Disability Action (SA).
Margie has also held the position of Secretary for the WWDA Management Committee.
Margie has undertaken a Bachelor of Social Science, at Adelaide University, majoring in
Gender Studies and Politics.
In 2005 Margie stepped down from the WWDA Management Committee
to go to Canada to complete her studies, and re-joined the Committee on her return in 2007.
Rayna was born in New Zealand, and moved to Western Australia when she was 16.
She has worked in a range of areas and has completed a year of BA in Writing, which
she has put on hold in order to focus her energies on her work with women with
disabilities in Western Australia.
In 2003, Rayna established a network of women with disabilities in Perth, which
evolved into the community based organisation Women With Disabilities WA Inc. Rayna
co-ordinates this organisation on a voluntary basis. Rayna is particularly
passionate about raising awareness about women with disabilities and family
and domestic violence, and finding ways to reduce the isolation of women with
disabilities.
Pamela lives in Corryong in North East Victoria and has been involved with WWDA
for many years, having held positions of Secretary and Treasurer of the Management
Committee. Pamela has been involved with several advocacy and disability related groups
including the Victorian Women with Disabilities Network, Towong Shire Community Access
Committee and the Hume Region DHS Disability Advisory Committee.
Pamela is also actively involved with numerous other community organisations in her
local area. She has worked in part time paid employment as an outreach employment
counsellor with a disability employment agency.
Helen Meekosha is Associate Professor in the School of Social Work, University of
New South Wales, Australia. She worked as a community development worker for 17 years
in the UK and Australia prior to her appointment at UNSW. Her research interests cross
boundaries of race, ethnicity, disability and gender. In 1996 she was instrumental in
establishing The Social Relations of Disability Research Network, a group of interdisciplinary
scholars interested in Disability Studies. Later she went on to be a founding member of the
Disability Studies and Research Institute (DsaRI).
Helen has written and spoken extensively, from a feminist and a disability perspective
on citizenship, human rights, social movements, the media and the body, communications and
multiculturalism. Active in the disability movement for 20 years, she has been involved with
Women with Disabilities Australia since it inception over a decade ago and as President in 2001
accepted the Australian Human Rights Award in the community category. Helen is an Overseas
Consultative Editor of Disability and Society, on the JORSEN International Advisory, a member
of the International Advisory Editorial Board of the Encyclopaedia of Disability 2006 (Sage),
and an editor of Volume 4. In June 2005 she was the Noted Scholar in feminist disability studies
at the University of British Columbia.
Annie Parkinson, a long-standing member of WWDA, and past WWDA Vice President and President,
has over 30 years experience in activism in the women's movement, and the gay and lesbian rights
movement. She was involved in the development of the ground-breaking publication
'I Always Wanted to be a Tapdancer', a book of stories of women with disabilities published
in the late eighties. She has worked as a research assistant in the disability field, and in the
1990s, co-founded an organisation called Access Plus, a group that addressed issues which
particularly affected queers with disabilities.
Annie has been actively involved in the establishment and management of several organisations,
and has been a member of a number of management committees. Annie is currently a member of the
management committee of a small SAAP funded housing organisation which offers short-to-medium term
housing for women who have experienced sexual abuse. Annie also currently represents women with
disabilities on the national Violence Against Women Advisory Group (VAWAG) and is WWDA's representative
on the Advisory Committee of the Australian Women Against Violence Alliance (AWAVA).
Samantha has been involved in advocating and promoting her rights and the rights of other people
with disabilities since the early 1990's when she became involved with student politics at university.
She was one of the participants at the first Pathways conference (bringing together tertiary students
with disabilities from across Australia) and has continued to work with and for people with disabilities
in her professional capacity as a Social Worker. Her working background in the disability sector includes
work as a trainer, group facilitator, case manager and systemic advocate. She has extensive knowledge in
individualised funding and person centred planning and is passionate about people with disabilities being in
control of their lives. She is a past Chair of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO),
and is currently active in WA sitting on the Ministerial Advisory Council of WA and working on the implementation
of 'Count Me In' - the states long term plan for the inclusion and support of people with disabilities. Samantha
is a past President and Vice-President of WWDA.
Sheila King took up the mantle of advocate for people with disabilities after she retired from the
work force. She is the founding member of Australia For All Alliance Inc. Presently her primary task
is the construction and maintenance of the international web site www.australiaforall.com which is
devoted entirely to accommodation and tourism venues which are accessible to people with disabilities.
Sheila's forte is in undertaking research into matters which affect the lives of people with disabilities.
She has published the results of a national survey into the lack of height adjustable examination beds
in GP's surgeries. A further survey by Sheila entitled "Accessible Tourism - It's Time", reports
on the barriers confronted by people with disabilities when they travel on holidays and visit Tourist
Venues. Sheila serves on a number of Committees and undertakes a wide range of representative work in
the disability sector. Sheila is one of the two finalists in the Social Inclusion Community Focus Award
Category of the 2010 National Disability Awards.
Karin Swift is a member of several key community organisations and networks in Queensland involved in
attempting to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Karin has worked in a wide variety of roles
in both community and government settings, across a number of key areas including: tertiary education,
women's issues, advocacy, disability issues, housing issues mental health issues, and futures planning.
Currently Karin is employed part time as a Project Worker at Kyabra Community Association in the Building
Tomorrows Together Project. This project supports families with an adult son or daughter with a disability
who wants to move out of the family home into a place of their own in the community. Karin is passionate
about social justice and community inclusion and in her 'spare' time is involved in several social advocacy
organisations in Queensland. Karin is a past member of the Management Committee of Women With Disabilities
Australia (WWDA) and has presented many Conference papers on behalf of WWDA.
As well as her role on the WWDA board Karin currently holds the following positions: Vice-President of
Queensland Parents for People with a Disability; Secretary of Queensland Disability Housing Coalition;
Treasurer of AMPARO Advocacy, an advocacy organisation for people with disability from non-English
Speaking backgrounds in Brisbane; and, Member of Queensland Action for Universal Housing Design.
Karin lives in a lovely house on the south side of Brisbane with her husband David and enjoys regularly
catching up with family and friends.
Vicki Alipasinopoulos has been a member of WWDA since 1999. Vicki's background is in social work and
she also holds a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment. Vicki has been an active member of
the disability sector and attended the first Leadership and Mentoring Workshop run by WWDA in 1999.
Vicki currently serves on a number of committees in the disability sector, including the Management
Committees of the Disability Resources Centre and Blind Citizens Australia. Vicki is also currently
serving on a consumer feedback committee as part of the newly formed blindness agency, Vision
Australia. This Committee provides feedback to staff to the Training, Technology and Employment team in
Victoria. Vicki participates in voluntary work at various agencies where she provides counselling to
clients who have an intellectual/psychiatric illness. Other voluntary work involves providing emergency
relief, information, referral, advocacy and support.
Carolyn Frohmader is the Executive Director of Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) and has held this
position for more than a decade, working at the national and international levels to promote and protect the
human rights of women and girls with disabilities. Under Carolyn's leadership, WWDA has received a number of
prestigious awards for its ground-breaking work including the National Human Rights Award and a number of national
and state violence prevention awards. Carolyn also has an extensive background in women's health, health policy,
primary health care and community development.
Carolyn has a Masters Degree from Flinders University where she won the inaugural Michael Crotty Award for an
outstanding contribution in Primary Health Care. In 2001, Carolyn received the ACT Woman of the Year Award in
recognition of her contribution to the promotion of women's rights in the ACT. In 2009, in recognition of her
human rights work, she was inducted into the Tasmanian Women's Honour Roll, joining her late mother Wendy, who
was posthumously inducted into the Roll in 2008 for services to education. In late 2009, Carolyn was also selected
as a Tasmanian finalist for the Australian of the Year Awards (Tasmania).
Shirley Raspin joined Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) in February 2008 as Office/Finance Manager. Shirley
previously spent 10 years with the Tasmanian State Government in Customer Service and Project Officer (Business Processes)
positions. This employment together with her strong background in accounting ensures quality operational support and
financial management for WWDA. Shirley holds a Diploma of Business and Marketing - Certified Bookkeeper, various
certificates in finance, training and business, and is a Justice of the Peace.
Shirley is actively involved in many school and community organisations and has held executive positions with Meals
on Wheels, Little Athletics and various school associations.
This site was developed by Carolyn Frohmader for Women With Disabilities Australia.
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