Clenton Farquharson

he/him

Clenton Farquharson MBE is a disabled person with lived experience of health and social care. Clenton employs his own personal assistant, and he looks after his mum’s personal budget.

He is Chair of the Think Local Act Personal partnership board, SCIE trustee, member of the Coalition for Personalised Care, and a member of the Social Care Sector COVID-19 Stakeholder Group.

His other roles include being a member of the NHS Assembly, acting chair of Quality Matters, a trustee of the Race Equality Foundation, ambassador for Disability Rights UK. He is a director of Community Navigator Services CIC, and a Skills for Care ambassador.

Besides these positions he manages to find the time to work as consultant, auditor, trainer, and coach on inclusion, equality and disability, and was named in Disability News Services' list of influential disabled people.

In his spare time he supports Birmingham City football club.

Sif Holst

she/her

Disability rights advocate for the past 20 years, serving on a large number of boards and committees including vice-chair Disabled People’s Organisations Denmark, vice-chair Knowledge Center about Disability, board member Danish Institute for Human Rights. She has a proven track record achieving success through cooperation with States and civil society on subjects such as equal health, universal design, independent living, inclusive education and labour market. Sif  has extensive international experience. From being an exchange student in Indonesia, undertaking development work in Ghana and Uganda to being a member of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Nordic Disability Council.

Matt Frost 

he/him

Matt Frost is Principal Advisor, Strategy, Policy and Partnerships in Whaikaha: The Ministry of Disabled People. Whaikaha was formed on July 1 last year and is the first Ministry which deals with disability issues within Government in a stand-alone way in the world. Matt has 15 years’ experience in the disability sector and is a proud member of the disability community as he experiences autism. Among Matt’s public service was his chairing of the Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline Implementation Advisory Group for 3 years (the first guideline in the world which dealt with autism as a whole of life issue). Matt also led the Government response to the examination on New Zealand’s implementation of the UNCRPD in Geneva last year. This role starkly demonstrated to Matt both the joys and the challenges of having disabled leaders in public service roles Matt is very committed to the idea of disabled people as leaders in the public service. His contribution will explore what behaviours he feels both disabled people and the public service may need to grow from his experience to authentically grow disability leadership in public service.

Carla Qualtrough

she/her

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Delta in 2015. She has served as Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion since 2019. Minister Qualtrough has previously served as Minister of Accessibility, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, and Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities.

A successful lawyer, dedicated volunteer, and Paralympic swimmer, Minister Qualtrough is a strong advocate for Delta, with a commitment to addressing inequality and championing diversity.

Committed to equity and inclusion, Minister Qualtrough has practised human rights law at the federal and provincial levels. She chaired the Minister’s Council on Employment and Accessibility in British Columbia, and was an adjudicator with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal. Minister Qualtrough has been visually impaired since birth.