New members in 2023

On this page is more information about some of the new members of the Disabled Leaders Network who joined in 2023 after being shortlisted for the Snowdon Scholarship.

Photograph of Laura, a white woman with long blonde hair. Photographed outside, sat at a picnic table under a tree. Laura is wearing a red beret style hat and is smiling widely to the camera

Laura Chiver

Biological Sciences (zoology), University of Cambridge

I faced numerous barriers in my life due to my disability, compounded by a mismanaged foster care experience. After regaining my eyesight, to aid and inform others, I started a blog about living with epilepsy and depression. Unphased by setbacks, I managed to gain the qualifications necessary to study a Natural Science degree at the University of Cambridge and I have since been an equality and welfare representative for disabled students for multiple departments and courses. I completed my degree with several prizes and accolades which really cemented my aspirations of working in research while providing support and campaigning for the disabled community.

The Snowdon Scholarship is helping me achieve my ambition of becoming a leader in evolutionary science, as without this funding, her future prospects in this field are out of reach. This scholarship provides vital financial support for managing the practical burden of disability both in and outside of academia. Thanks to this support, I will be studying an MPhil researching herpetelogical evolutionary biology and ecology, squamate evolutionary relationships and the conservation implications therein.

Outside of academia, Laura is a big fan of broadcasting and comedy. Having spent several years working on the Cambridge University Science Podcast, Laura branched out to produce and write her own comedy radio show. After two seasons on the air, the show has now evolved into a video sketch show. Laura is also an avid card player and record collector.

A colour photograph of Maera, a white woman with dark hair tied up away from her face. Maera is wearing a white t-shirt, is stood ourside on a street pavement and is holding a camera in her hand.

Meara White

MA in Animation, Royal College of Art

I am currently studying a Masters in Animation at the Royal College of Art, where I hope to create sensory, audio-visual experiences in a wide variety of contexts, particularly based on the unique aspects of the neurodivergent mind. My practice includes a split of digital methods combined with fine art and printmaking techniques, which is a process that I have found fulfils my needs as a neurodivergent artist. Animation is an incredibly dynamic and diverse artform, and I hope to develop my visual language during my time at the RCA, working on projects that may help further social change. I would also love to collaborate with others to tell meaningful stories with a thoughtful approach.

An colour photograph of Connor, a white man who is stood outside wearing a shirt and dark smart trousers. Connor is smiling towards the camera and has his hands in his pockets.

Connor Cameron

MSc Applied Clinical Psychology, University of Bath

My name is Connor, and I obtained a first-class BSc Psychology degree from the University of Kent in 2022. During my time at Kent, I was a peer mentor for psychology students and autistic students, advising them on academic work and healthy coping mechanisms (e.g., making time for hobbies and how to implement activities concerning their hobbies). I also went on long-distance walks and runs with students when they were stressed or upset since research shows that being out in nature can improve people’s well-being. Following my graduation, I was a Learning Support Assistant at a college for people with additional needs and mental disorders within an additional needs department for one academic year. This role allowed me to help students academically and socially. For example, I created ‘group talk’, which allowed students more opportunities to share their views about each other and the world in an empathetic environment that stimulated and developed their self-confidence, openness, and identity.

During the 2023-2024 academic year, I will be doing an MSc in Applied Clinical Psychology at the University of Bath. After my Master’s, I desire to complete a PhD and then a Clinical Psychology Doctorate after a PhD since I aspire to become a Clinical Psychologist and Researcher specialising in autism. My enthusiasm for psychology stems from my own autism diagnosis, my innate curiosity to learn more about myself and the world around me, and my drive to help people have a more enriching and prosperous life.

Lastly, I would like to thank the Snowdon Trust for financially supporting my postgraduate education and ambitions. The Snowdon Trust influence my life significantly by allowing me to focus on my personal and academic dreams and goals.

Photograph of Lucy, a white woman with short dark brown curly hair. Lucy is wearing a brightly coloured cardigan and is smiling towards the camera

Lucy Stafford

MRes Neurosicences, University of Sussex

Lucy completed a Diploma of Higher Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths from the Open University and a BSc (Hons) degree in Medical Neuroscience from the University of Sussex, before receiving the Snowdon Masters Scholarship to undertake an MRes in Neuroscience. Her research interests include hypermobility and neurodevelopmental conditions and chronic pain, having undertaken pioneering research into the therapeutic use of medicinal cannabis for hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Lucy is passionate about patient advocacy and the incorporation of lived experience in research, having previously established advocacy group ‘Patient Led Engagement for Access (PLEA)’ to challenge the inequalities in accessing cannabis based medicinal products. In her role as Advocacy Director, Lucy presented to clinicians, policymakers, industry, and patients in a diverse range of settings including the House of Lords, University College London, patient charities, clinical training sessions, political drug policy reform groups and industry conferences. Additionally, she has extensive experience in advocacy within the mainstream media and launched ‘Medical Cannabis Awareness Week’ in 2021.

The Snowdon Masters Scholarship has enabled Lucy to pursue her neuroscience education and research, with the goal of elucidating the mechanisms of hypermobility conditions and the therapeutic use of medicinal cannabis.

A professional photograph of Sian, a white woman with long brown hair who is smiling towards the camera. Sian has a nose piercing, hooped earrings and a hearing aid is visible in her left ear.

Sian Morris

MSc Social Anthropology, London School of Economics and Political Sciences

Sian is a recent graduate of the University of Oxford, Hertford College, where she studied Archaeology and Anthropology. Her research here focused on access to medical care in Ghana, specifically looking at the emergent medical pluralisms within clinical and native medical systems- an interest borne of her own experience of Deafness and multitude of ‘treatment’ pathways available globally.

She is now moving to LSE to complete an MSc in Social Anthropology where she plans to continue her research, with a particular focus on forced migrants and refugees and their access to medical treatment in medically pluralised social contexts. Particularly, she plans to analyse the legal implications of enforced limitations to certain treatments within refugee communities, and the consequential ethical implications.

Her other research interests include identity (particularly those facets of identity shaped by gender, disability, and religion), embodiment, gift exchange and phenomenology.

Photograph of Skie, a white woman with long brown hair and glasses, stood outside under a bridge in the sunshine. Skie is photographed wearing glasses and holding a white cane

Skie Hewitt

Clinical Neuroscience, University College London

After completing an undergraduate degree in Psychology, I knew I wanted to learn more and neuroscience fascinated me. I was so excited at the prospect of being able to live and study in London and at one of the best institutions globally. I am passionate about learning and expanding research that can be translated to effective clinical practices.

Growing up disabled has made me incredibly ambitious and I have strived to go against the statistics that suggest I have very limited employment prospects because of my blindness. I am delighted to be breaking down barriers in education and wider society as well as supporting others to do the same.

A headshot of Anna, a smiling white woman with long dark straight hair, hazel eyes, and a mole under her right eye. She is wearing a black dress with blue and white swirl accents, and her hair is pulled behind her ear on one side, showing a drop blue and green-gold leaf earring.

Anna Freed

MA The Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, University of East Anglia

Anna (she/her) has an undergraduate degree in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge, spending a year away from education working in the Natural History Museum’s Library and Archives. She is currently studying a Masters in The Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas at the Sainsbury Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.

Her interests lie in Indigenous archaeologies, histories, and heritage, with her dissertation focusing on the work of one of the first Indigenous curators in the UK, Mikel Utsi (Karesuando Sami), in the late 1940s. Long-term, she hopes to work in the nascent field of the archaeology of disability, working on centring multiply marginalised and Global Majority ways of knowing disability, and conducting research that embeds principles of co-production and power-sharing.

She has been involved in disability student advocacy during her time in Cambridge, as part of the Disabled Students’ Campaign and the departmental inaugural Equality and Diversity Committee. She now works as a consultant for Disabled Students UK, is a member of Scope’s Youth Assembly, and volunteers with Head Up!, a disabled-led organisation offering mentoring and resources for disabled young people interested in higher education.

Maria is a white woman with short brown hair who is stood outside a white, grand building. Maria has her arms crossed and is holding her head to the side, looking at the camera.

Maria Lightwood

MSc in Psychology at the University of Nottingham

Hello, I’m Maria. As a pharmacist with complex disabilities, I leverage my unique insights to bridge the gap in disability rights, from therapy access to resource allocation. My history is marked by socioeconomic challenges and disability-related barriers, and often, even survival seemed uncertain. Despite these overwhelming odds, I persevered, anchored by a singular conviction: I could bring about the change I wished to see and prevent others from enduring the pain I did.

This guiding vision propelled me to take on diverse roles in esteemed institutions such as the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, The Royal Society, and NHS Public Health Education. My journey has spanned instructional design, policy reform, clinical research, and advisory panel roles for the MEP (Medicines, Ethics, and Practice). Additionally, I advocate for disability representation through my work as a fiction writer.

This year, I’m pursuing a master’s in psychology to equip myself for deeper involvement in disability policy reform. This became a reality thanks to the transformative sponsorship of this trust. Looking ahead, I’m excited about pioneering research that merges pharmacy and psychology, focusing on innovative therapeutic solutions for pain management, CPTSD, and autism.

Photograph of Philip, who is wearing a white coloured Gilet and a patterned shirt. Phillip is using a wheelchair and is sat holding a drink in his right hand

Phillip Hoare

Digital Media Production MA, University College London

I am a games designer looking to develop accessible games in my own studio, after I have finished my masters degree in Digital Media: Production. I have a background in video games design, theatre production as well as experience in coding. In my spare time I love to draw, having designed and illustrated my own tattoo, as well as write!

Photograph of Weronika, a white woman with shoulder length brown hair, who is wearing a checked shirt and is photographed outside, overlooking a city landscape

Weronika Wiesiolek

Part III of the Mathematical Tripos (MASt Theoretical Physics), University of Cambridge

Upon completing an interdisciplinary degree with a double major in Physics and Computer Science, I decided to further explore the current questions of fundamental science, combining Theoretical Physics with approaches from Mathematics and Computer Science. During my undergraduate degree I have done research related to e.g. Machine Learning for scientific applications, and Quantum Computing and Information Theory. My aim is to bridge boundaries in STEM, both between different underrepresent communities and between scientific disciplines.

I have been the Outreach Officer of the Women in Science and Engineering association at the University of Birmingham, and have organised various diversity-related initiatives, also in collaboration with the disabled communities in UoB. Going further, I aim to utilise this experience to empower disabled individuals within academia and workplaces.

Photograph of Jacob - a white man with short brown hair, who is photographed outside on a balcony overlooking a city

Jacob Kellagher

MSc Political Science and Political Economy, London School of Economics

Hello! My name is Jacob, and I am a full-time student at the LSE studying the MSc in Political Science and Political Economy. I graduated with a BA in History from the University of Oxford in July 2022, and then spent a year working in politics, both in the private sector as a political consultant and within my local Labour Party helping to organise campaigns. Alongside my degree, I also work part-time in Parliament as the Administrative Assistant to the Shadow Minister for Europe and the Americas in the FCDO. All in all, I am fascinated by politics, both on a professional and an academic level, and I can’t wait to get really stuck into the subject this year!

My core academic interest is structural inequality, with both of my two independent research projects at undergraduate level analysing political phenomena produced by structural socio-cultural inequality, with one focusing on caste politics in India and another on the political polarisation of LGBT rights in the UK. It is that same interest in inequality – and an accompanying desire to create a fairer, more equal society – which drives my involvement in Labour politics, and my decision to study Political Economy to learn how best to tackle political and economic manifestations of inequality. I’m also studying the MSc Political Economy course because it gives me the opportunity to formally study economics and improve my ability to independently appraise economic policies, which will give me the tools to potentially help make good policy in the future!

Looking ahead, my future aspirations are quite varied – I’m keen to pursue a PhD in tax policy and work in politics for a while, then to train as a barrister specialising in tax law, and then perhaps to go into politics myself to advocate for and hopefully implement redistributive policies.

The common thread linking all my experiences, interests, and future goals is my ambition to help build a fairer, more equal society, and the origin of that ambition is rooted firmly in my experience of being disabled. Growing up with undiagnosed ADHD, I’ve experienced some of the barriers felt by people who are ‘different’ from the norm, in both the education system and society more broadly. My core political aspiration is to foster a society in which every child in every school has an equal chance of reaching their full potential, and I hope that studying this degree at LSE will be the next step forward in pursuing that aim!

Photograph of Rhiannon, a woman wearing a long brightly printed dress, sunglasses and a summer hat. Rhiannon is smiling towards the camera, with her head tilted to one side. The weather is sunny.

Rhiannon Hawkins

MSc Earth Futures Research, University of Glasgow

Hi! My name is Rhiannon and I am currently undertaking an MSc in Earth Futures Research at the University of Glasgow. My main research area focuses on the impact of climate change on mental health and well-being. I have been working in this area over the past three years with the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) being involved in various podcasts, conferences and webinars. I also work for the RCPsych in helping to rewrite the training framework for higher clinical trainees in England who want to become psychiatrists specialising in working with Autistic people. I have also published two academic journal articles surrounding these topics for the Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH).

I am highly passionate about researching the impacts of climate change on mental health and well-being as climate change is increasingly posing a direct threat to both human and non-human welfare. Thus, mitigation and adaptation strategies must be developed to protect all communities globally against these threats. Furthermore, I undertake the work of rewriting the autism training programme because as an autistic person, I want to ensure that our community is better understood by medical professionals to attempt to dismantle harmful stereotypes placed upon our bodies. In terms of the future, I have been awarded a fully funded PhD by the UKRI to research to understand the impacts of flooding and drought on community mental health in Scotland. The research findings would be used to develop risk management plans which could be adopted by the Scottish Government. After this, I would like to pursue a career in policymaking to ensure all voices, particularly disabled voices, are heard when developing climate mitigation policies to end the perpetuation of eco-ableism.

Photograph of Rachel, sat outdoors in front of a pink flowered shrub. Rachel has long brown hair, is wearing a black top and glasses. Is smiling at the camera

Rachel Robles

Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, University of Bern

Passionate about creating scalable data products and advocating for disability and health justice, Rachel Robles (she/her) is a graduate student at the University of Bern studying Artificial Intelligence in Medicine. Rachel holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Operations Research Engineering from Cornell University, and has over seven years of experience in creating data pipelines to report KPIs and model opportunities.

Since 2020, Rachel has also gained skills in patient advocacy as she joined a movement of chronic illness patients seeking disability justice. Through this, she has represented fellow patients in sessions with governmental agencies with the hopes of providing more equitable outcomes in the healthcare system. She is a current member of Patient Led Research Collaborative (PLRC), where she uses her skills in coding and data modelling to aid in the data cleaning of patient surveys, and is a contributing author to The Long COVID Survival Guide.

Richard is a white man in his thirties with brown hair and a short beard, wearing a plain black t-shirt. He has a big smile and is looking off to the left away from the camera leaning on his long cane in his right hand. This photo was taken during his engagement shoot with a professional photographer on Brighton pier, you can make out a bit of a rollercoaster in the background.

Richard Wheeler

MSc Disability Studies, Rights and Inclusion, University of Leeds

Richard received a Snowdon scholarship in 2023 to assist him in pursuing his MSc in Disability Studies, Rights and Inclusion. Alongside his studies, he will continue in his role as Community Engagement Officer and chairing the Disabled Workers and Carer’s Network at Brighton and Hove City Council. His long term career goals involve using his skills and knowledge to increase awareness and appreciation for disability related issues cross-culturally, providing strengths-based leadership and advocating for disability justice throughout Parliament and beyond.

As a blind scholar, Richard is passionate about digital accessibility and in his spare time he sits as a member of the Sight Loss Council, volunteering for Thomas Pocklington Trust. He is also a trained Domestic Abuse Community Ambassador, recognising that Disabled people are impacted by domestic abuse at much higher rates than non-disabled people. Over the next year, he will be launching the Brighton and Hove Goalball Club and putting himself through more rigorous challenges such as Tough Mudder and the Brighton marathon. He hopes to complete the Loughborough Challenge through a combination of Education, Volunteering and Physical Endurance. He is extremely grateful to the Snowdon Trust for the opportunity to make this happen.

A photograph of Qihang, stood in a museum looking into the distance. Qihang has short dark hair, is wearing a striped shirt, dark jeans with a yellow belt and white trainers

Qihang Wu

MSc Musculoskeletal Science, University of College London

I graduated from Changchun University and majored in Acupuncture and Chinese Medical Manipulation. My postgraduate programme which is Musculoskeletal Science will be started this September at University College London. Based on my undergraduate and previous working experience, I found that quality of life can be considerably affected by musculoskeletal disease especially if we pay less attention to rehabilitation, so I want to be more professional by the postgraduate study.

In the future, I hope I can also contribute to inclusive education, which has not been implemented in all universities in the world because I did some research about it when I was doing my undergraduate. Higher education could be the foundation of career development for the disabled, so equality in higher education is essential and I hope it can be improved in the future.

Photograph of Nathalie, a person with long dark hair that has been dyed purple. Nathalie is wearing a black top with flowers, and is smiling towards the camera. She is sat in front of a plant.

Nathalie Podder

MSc Security & Resilience, Imperial College London

I am currently studying Security & Resilience at Imperial College London; I am also a trustee and BME Officer of Imperial College Union and a member of Imperial College London’s university council. I spent the last two years as Deputy President (Welfare) at Imperial College Union.