Disability Disrupters

Dr Pam MacNeill
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Disability Disrupters is brought to you by Disability Responsiveness New Zealand Ltd. It is a podcast featuring interviews with disabled people from around the globe. We delve into the lives of remarkable disabled people, learn how they have achieved their goals, and also canvas their views on the disability sector landscape, including how they perceive leadership and management within that sector by disabled people ourselves. Tune in to hear these insightful interviews, as well as updates and information about the ways in which we demand that society respond positively to our needs.

  1. 1d ago

    Interview with Renee Wells - Travel experiences

    Renee Wells I’m Renée, I’m 51, and I’ve always been someone who finds meaning in people, family and helping others move forward. I was born in Rotorua and grew up between Rotorua, Whangārei and Thames in Aotearoa New Zealand. Life has taken me through many different experiences, from studying to become a teacher to working in government organisations for the past 13 years, where I’ve continued to learn, grow and gain new skills along the way. I’ve also completed a Diploma in Professional Coaching, which has connected strongly with my natural desire to support and encourage people. Family is a huge part of who I am. I’m married with three children and am a very proud nana to my three-year-old grandson. I’m also close with my three nephews and three nieces, and their little ones have become part of our wider whānau. I love being surrounded by family and seeing the different generations grow. At heart, I’m someone who enjoys helping people find their way forward, whether that’s supporting someone through a challenge, helping them reach a goal, or turning an idea into something real. Looking ahead, I’d love to bring together my coaching experience and my love of getting things done through project management, helping people take an idea and turn it into action. Deep dive - Travelling While Disabled Pitfalls and Better Practice Source document: https://drnz.co.nz/travelling-while-disabled-pitfalls-and-better-practice/ Note: We use AI voices for our Deep Dives. The source document (link above) is the base for the discussion, if you prefer to read the source. Chapter timestamps 00:00 Introduction - Disability Disrupters Podcast 00:21 Introduction to Podcast guest - Renee Wells 00:57 Ad - Get interviewed for Disability Disrupters podcast 24:19 Update from Renee and Flight Centre 25:29 Ad - Get interviewed for Disability Disrupters podcast 26:03 Deep Dive - Travelling while Disabled: Pitfalls and Better Practice 48:32 Advert - Tipjar support for the podcast 49:25 Goodbye from Dr Pam Support the Disability Disrupters podcast by contributing to our tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Disability Responsiveness New Zealand offers personalised mentoring and workshops, view the content of these at https://drnz.co.nz/about-our-workshops-and-programmes/ Audio Shorts background music, credit and thanks to www.andrelouis.com Podcast Host: Dr. Pam MacNeill Podcast editor: Britta Offergeld Support Disability Disrupters by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Read transcript

  2. Sep 30

    Interview with Wally Noble - Disability researcher, Disability awareness presenter and Advocate

    Wally Noble My name is Wally Noble and I am a T4 paraplegic and manual wheelchair user whose work is grounded in lived experience, disability awareness, and creating greater understanding of the everyday realities faced by disabled people. I work as a researcher with the Donald Beasley Institute and also as an online presenter, delivering disability awareness training that encourages respectful communication, inclusion, and practical change. Outside of this professional work, I am a proud father of six and grandfather to seven mokopuna. I am a keen pool player and a former Waka Ama paddler. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is an important part of my life, and I consistently work on my fitness and making healthy food choices. My approach to both work and life is focused on participation, independence, wellbeing, and helping build communities where disabled people are understood, respected, and included. Wally is bookable for Workplace Health & Safety presentations, keynote presentations, workshops, and organisational briefings at https://wallynoble.co.nz/ Episode Chapters 00:00 Introduction - Disability Disrupters Podcast 00:21 Introduction to Podcast guest 00:47 Ad - Get interviewed for Disability Disrupters podcast 01:18 Interview with Wally Noble 33:07 Deep Dive - Changing the Conversation, Shifting the Power 55:28 Goodbye from Dr Pam 55:41 Advert - Tipjar support for the podcast Support the Disability Disrupters podcast by contributing to our tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Disability Responsiveness New Zealand offers personalised mentoring and workshops, view the content of these at https://drnz.co.nz/about-our-workshops-and-programmes/ Audio Shorts background music, credit and thanks to www.andrelouis.com Support Disability Disrupters by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Read transcript

  3. Aug 31

    Interview with David Goldfield - Marketing Director at Blazie Technologies and Accessible Technology Trainer

    David Goldfield David Goldfield is a visually impaired technology user with over 35 years of experience working in the blindness technology space. He provided tech support for Blazie Engineering and then spent 18 years providing computer training to blind children and adults. After that, he worked at Comcast as a program manager for the company’s accessibility team. David is now the marketing director for Blazie Technologies, developers of computers with an eight-dot Braille input keyboard. David is a practicing Catholic. In his spare time, you’ll find him interacting with people on Mastodon and listening to interfaith debates. David has also been a dedicated Doctor Who fan for over 40 years and enjoys audio drama, particularly science fiction. Relevant Links: Personal Web Site: www.DavidGoldfield.com Blazie Technologies, developers of BT Speak and BT Braille www.BlazieTech.com Leasey Central (an add-on for JAWS or Fusion) https://hartgenconsultancy.com/leaseycentral/ FastSMRW, a Mastodon client https://brynify.me/pages/FastSuite.php Fedra, another Mastodon client https://github.com/trypsynth/fedra Mona, my Mastodon client of choice for iOS https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mona-7-for-mastodon/id6755672518 Episode Chapters 00:00 Introduction - Disability Disrupters Podcast 00:21 Introduction to Podcast 00:47 Ad - Get interviewed for Disability Disrupters podcast 01:18 Introduction to Podcast guest - David Goldfield 44:12 Advert - NZ Election 2026 Disability Policies report 44:46 Introduction to the Deep Dive discussion 45:25 Deep Dive - The exhaustion of continually educating people about blindness and disability 01:19:09 Goodbye from Dr Pam 01:19:22 Advert - Tipjar support for the podcast Support the Disability Disrupters podcast by contributing to our tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Disability Responsiveness New Zealand offers personalised mentoring and workshops, view the content of these at https://drnz.co.nz/about-our-workshops-and-programmes/ Audio Shorts background music, credit and thanks to www.andrelouis.com Support Disability Disrupters by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Read transcript

  4. Jul 31

    Interview with Dr. Huhana Hickey - MNZM, Māori disability and human rights advocate, scholar and former lawyer

    Dr Huhana Hickey MNZM is a Māori disability and human rights advocate, scholar and former lawyer of Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Ira and Tainui whakapapa. A disabled wahine and wheelchair user, she brings lived experience and expertise to her work advancing the rights of tāngata whaikaha and whānau hauā. Huhana holds a PhD in Law and tikanga Māori from the University of Waikato and has held numerous national leadership, governance and advisory roles across disability, health, justice and human rights. Her advocacy is grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, intersectionality and the collective wellbeing of whānau and communities. She was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and disabled people. Dr. Huhana talks about singer Dame Hinewehi Mohi and her daughter Hineraukatauri. For some history and context, read the history of the [Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre](https://www.rmtc.org.nz/history). Episode Chapters 00:00 Introduction - Disability Disrupters Podcast 00:21 Introduction to Podcast 01:02 Advert - Ask Dr Pam 02:11 Deep Dive Introduction 03:04 Deep Dive - Summary of Submission to the Disability Support Services Bill 22:25  Disability Support Services (DSS) Bill - Oral Submission by Foundation for Equity Research New Zealand 27:45 Intro to Podcast Guest 28:44 Interview with Dr. Huhana Hickey 01:19:10 Goodbye from Dr Pam 01:19:23 Advert - Tipjar support for the podcast Disability Self-empowerment: Module One: Take charge of your future! Available on amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Disability-self-empowerment-Module-charge-future-ebook/dp/B0FJLKGLTV Disability Responsiveness New Zealand offers personalised mentoring and workshops - view the content of these at https://drnz.co.nz/about-our-workshops-and-programmes/ Audio Shorts, background music provided by www.andrelouis.com Podcast audio and transcript editor : Britta Offergeld Support Disability Disrupters by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Read transcript

  5. Jun 30

    Interview with Tim Young - CEO at Smart Access Limited

    Tim Young - CEO at Smart Access Limited Tim Young is the CEO of Smart Access, which has developed a data collection, categorisation, and navigation system for pedestrians with access needs to plan a safe journey. Tim started his business, which aims to improve infrastructure accessibility, after facing many obstacles and uncertainty when traveling around the country as a tetraplegic and wheelchair user. Tim also uses his experience in his role as Chief Technology Officer of My Life My Voice to develop digital tools and conduct training on technology to improve outcomes and opportunities for disabled people. Tim has completed a MSc in Psychology, developed an educational video game, a work placement program for disabled job seekers, and Co-founded the Magical Bridge Trust to build more accessible playgrounds. Episode chapters 00:00 Introduction - Disability Disrupters Podcast 00:21 Introduction to Podcast guest - Tim Young 00:33 Ad - Get interviewed for Disability Disrupters podcast 24:29 Deep Dive - Unpaid labour critique 41:10 Goodbye from Dr Pam 41:23 Advert - Tipjar support for the podcast Disability Self-empowerment: Module One: Take charge of your future! Available on amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Disability-self-empowerment-Module-charge-future-ebook/dp/B0FJLKGLTV Disability Responsiveness New Zealand offers personalised mentoring and workshops - view the content of these at https://drnz.co.nz/about-our-workshops-and-programmes/ Audio Shorts, background music provided by www.andrelouis.com Podcast audio and transcript editor : Britta Offergeld Support Disability Disrupters by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Read transcript

  6. May 30

    Interview with Sadie Dingfelder - Author, science journalist, neurodiversity advocate

    Sadie Dingfelder - Author, science journalist, neurodiversity advocate Sadie has prosopagnosia — face blindness — which means she can't recognize anyone by their face. Not her mother, not her coworkers, not her husband (she once grabbed a jar of peanut butter out of a stranger's cart because she thought he was her husband. He was two aisles over). Sadie has written a memoir about her face blindness and other conditions, called Do I Know You ? , Temple Grandin wrote the foreword. Because of her Face blindness, Sadie built her own assistive tech system: She photographs everyone she meets and writes notes about them. What they look like, what they were wearing, what we talked about. It's basically a manual face database. It works, mostly, but it's exhausting — and it freaks people out when they notice. Here's the irony: the technology Sadie actually needs is the one everyone else fears. Facial recognition. The thing governments are banning and privacy advocates are protesting is, for her, just... what normal people already have built into their brains. Sadie tried an early version of a face recognition app right when the pandemic hit — and of course **it didn't work with masks**, which is exactly when a faceblind person needs it most, because masks wipe out the few cues they do use (hair, glasses, context). Face blindness affects roughly 1 in 50 people, but there's no accommodation framework, no widely available app, and most people don't even know it exists. Sadie didn't find out she had it until she was 40 — along with three other rare neurological conditions (stereoblindness, aphantasia, and severely deficient autobiographical memory), all missed for decades because she had just learned to work around them. Sadie is a former reporter for the Washington Post and currently works for National Geographic in the USA. You can find Sadie on Sadie’s website where you can follow her on social media, contact her and read her blog If you prefer a hardcopy of her memoir and are located in New Zealand, you can purchase Do I Know You ? at PaperPlus 00:00 Introduction - Disability Disrupters Podcast 00:21 Introduction to Podcast guest - Sadie Dingfelder 00:43 Ad - Get interviewed for Disability Disrupters podcast 01:14 Interview with Sadie Dingfelder 28:01 Deep Dive - Why does Society label People instead of recognising that it is systems that are impaired 50:21 Goodbye from Dr Pam 50:34 Advert - Tipjar support for the podcast Disability Self-empowerment: Module One: Take charge of your future! Available on amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Disability-self-empowerment-Module-charge-future-ebook/dp/B0FJLKGLTV Disability Responsiveness New Zealand offers personalised mentoring and workshops - view the content of these at https://drnz.co.nz/about-our-workshops-and-programmes/ Audio Shorts, background music provided by www.andrelouis.com Podcast audio and transcript editor : Britta Offergeld Support Disability Disrupters by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Read transcript

  7. Apr 30

    Interview with Dan Shepherd - General Manager, Community and Inclusion

    Dan Shepherd Dan is Blind Low Vision NZ’s General Manager, Community & Inclusion, and leads a portfolio of work that is community facing and aims to change attitudes towards vision loss and people who are blind, deafblind or low vision. Diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa when he was 15, Dan subscribes to a ‘nothing at us, everything with us’ approach to finding solutions that work for disabled people. Leading an authentic, 100% client led team to educate and influence accessible and inclusive communities, after his own journey of adjustment and acceptance Dan is proud be part of a bigger picture leading change for disabled people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Article on Dan being appointed as General Manager, Community and Inclusion, Blind and Low Vision New Zealand. 00:00 Introduction - Disability Disrupters Podcast 00:21 Introduction to Podcast Episode 00:40 Podcast seeking contributions from Listeners 01:04 Introduction to Podcast Guest - Dan Shepherd 01:22 Interview with Dan Shepherd 23:52 Advert - Bill asking for Tip jar contributions 24:42 Deep Dive - A challenge to inspiration porn 29:09 Goodbye from Dr Pam Support Disability Disrupters by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Read transcript

  8. Mar 31

    Interview with Yenn Purkis - Autistic Author, Speaker, Advocate

    Yenn Purkis Yenn Purkis is an Autistic and ADHD, non-binary, asexual advocate and author. They also have a diagnosis of atypical schizophrenia and anxiety. Yenn has been a disability advocate since 2005 when their first book, the autobiography Finding a Different Kind of Normal, was accepted for publication. Yenn has worked as Deputy CEO (External Relations) at the Disability Leadership Institute, served as Accessibility Manager for Rebus Theatre, and worked as a public servant for 17 years. A prolific author, Yenn has written or co-authored 18 published books. They have been presenting since 2002 and have delivered talks worldwide, including presenting at TEDx Canberra twice. Yenn is a sought-after speaker with extensive lived and professional experience in disability advocacy and systemic inclusion. Their website is: https://yennpurkis.com/ For a list of all their published books: https://yennpurkis.com/books/ Some of Yenn’s TEDx and conference presentations: Autigender: Disability, Gender, and What You Can Do as Allies | Yenn Purkis | TEDxCanberra Disability, Resilience and Achieving the Supposedly Impossible: Yenn Purkis at TEDxCanberra 2023 Au-Some Conference: Yenn Purkis - A journey through self-advocacy Brimbravo, where you can book Yenn as a speaker https://brimbravo.com/speakers-profile-yenn-purkis/ 00:00 Introduction - Disability Disrupters Podcast 00:21 Introduction to Podcast 00:45 Interview with Yenn Purkis 27:32 Deep Dive - Disability Responsiveness 48:37 Goodbye from Dr Pam Disability Self-empowerment: Module One: Take charge of your future! Available on amazon Disability Responsiveness New Zealand offers personalised mentoring and workshops Audio Shorts, background music provided by www.andrelouis.com Podcast audio, transcript and captions editor : Britta Offergeld Support Disability Disrupters by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters Read transcript

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About

Disability Disrupters is brought to you by Disability Responsiveness New Zealand Ltd. It is a podcast featuring interviews with disabled people from around the globe. We delve into the lives of remarkable disabled people, learn how they have achieved their goals, and also canvas their views on the disability sector landscape, including how they perceive leadership and management within that sector by disabled people ourselves. Tune in to hear these insightful interviews, as well as updates and information about the ways in which we demand that society respond positively to our needs.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Pam MacNeill
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Disability Responsiveness New Zealand (DRNZ)
  • Show Website
    Disability Disrupters