Our Board

The voice of our members

The PWDA Board oversees the governance of the organisation and sets its strategic direction. Primarily, the Board’s role is to govern the organisation, and speak with and for all people with disability. 

All members of the PWDA Board have lived experience of disability.

Interim President | Daniel Flynn

Strategic Directions Board Advisory Group Convenor & Governance Board Advisory Group Convenor

Member elected, November 2024 until November 2026.
Daniel is an incomplete C5/C6 quadriplegic dedicated to disability rights and advocacy. Born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, he sustained a traumatic cervical spinal cord injury at the age of 18. With over 15 years of systemic advocacy experience, Daniel has championed disability rights and led co-design initiatives for community groups and government departments.

As a qualified facilitator with a background in IT security where he protected critical infrastructure, he brings a strategic approach to advancing disability rights. Daniel has served on ASIC-listed boards, participated in government working groups, and acted as a consumer health representative.

Interim Vice President | Jarrod Sandell-Hay

Member elected, November 2025 until November 2027.
Jarrod is a proud disabled man with 15 years’ experience working across Victoria and NSW in disability advocacy, systemic reform, and community leadership. During this time, he has worked with several state and federal Disabled People’s Representative Organisations (DROs), building deep insight into policy, self-determination, and structural barriers. He is currently the Vice President of the Self Manager Hub, where he helps lead governance, strategy, and community engagement. His work has focused on ensuring disabled people move closer to justice, freedom and liberation through choice and control over their lives. He aims to help ensure that our collective voice drives inclusive, rights-based change. He wants to support PWDA to elevate diverse perspectives, build stronger connections with marginalised communities, and influence national reform agendas. As a Director, he will help strengthen PWDA’s leadership through disability pride, integrity, and accountability to our community.

Interim Treasurer | Jeramy Hope

Member elected, November 2025 until November 2027.
Jeramy has been proud to stand alongside PWDA in championing the rights and voices of people with disability — from marching in the Sydney Mardi Gras with his daughter, to co-authoring position statements, participating in roundtables, and engaging directly with members and leaders. These experiences have deepened his respect for PWDA’s role as a fearless, participant-led advocate for systemic change. As CEO of the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Alliance and a NDIS participant, he brings both lived and professional experience to the Board. His work has centred on breaking down barriers to housing, strengthening rights, and ensuring the voices of people with disability shape policy and practice. On the PWDA Board, he hopes to help grow our influence, amplify member voices, and ensure our advocacy continues to create real-world change. His commitment is to a disability rights movement that is inclusive, unapologetic, and driven by lived experience.

Interim Secretary | Steph Travers

Membership Engagement Board Advisory Group Convenor

Member elected, November 2024 until November 2026.
Steph Travers is a person born with Spina Bifida and has psychosocial disabilities. They have studied Arts/Law at University of Western Sydney (now WSU) and also studied at the Australian College of Applied Psychology (ACAP).

They currently run their own Independent Disability Advocacy and Consulting service. In 2018 they co-founded and then Chaired Voices for Central Coast Disability, focusing on Grassroots Advocacy activities and Education in the rollout of the NDIS. They were previously Owner and Company Director of their own small business from the age of 21. They are an experienced public speaker and access and inclusion trainer, with in-depth knowledge of systems and policies affecting the disability community.

At 12 yrs old they successfully brought a Disability Discrimination test case in the Federal Magistrates Court for inclusive Education.

They have spent years navigating and advocating in Local, State and Federal Disability systems, from courts to tribunals, to councils and health districts. They have seen first-hand the inequities and inaccessibility of these systems. 

They believe we are currently at a turning point in Australian Disability Rights. They are an advocate for a Disability Rights Act, have a passion for Guardianship Law reform and Domestic Violence Responses for Women with Disability.

They are proud to be a PWDA Director and will continue to advocate for transparent, honest government engagement and co-design with the community to advance the rights of People with Disability.

Director | Wildaliz De Jesús Arocho

Member elected, November 2025 until November 2027.
A Boricua currently in Whadjuk Noongar land with a Bachelor of Environmental Science from Universidad Metropolitana, a Master of Studies in Environmental Law, Juris Doctor, and a Climate Change & Health Certificate. Wildaliz is a member of the Women’s Climate Congress and brings expertise with a neurological disability to climate conversations. She advocates for disability inclusive climate and environmental teamwork. She is also a member of MSWA’s Client Codesign and Advisory Committee. Her writing portfolio includes disability experiences with MS in the heat. She has written articles on the impacts of extreme heat for the ABC and co-authored the recent research article ‘Embodied Experiences of Thermal Injustice: Truth-Telling Through Disabilities.’ Wildaliz also loves Salsa music and calls her inclusive dance routine ‘Everybody Salsa.’ You can access more about Wildaliz through her website www.treecharge.com.au.

Director | Alexandra Bignell

Strategic Directions Board Advisory Group Convenor & Governance Board Advisory Group Convenor

Member elected, November 2024 until November 2026.
Alexandra Bignell is an Autistic woman raising an Autistic son. Navigating the NDIS sparked her passion for advocacy, driving her to champion the rights of people with disability in the workplace and other settings.

Realising the importance of having a voice, Alexandra pursued a Master of Disability Inclusion and became a Disability Inclusion Advisor in local government. Her focus is on addressing the systems and policies that create barriers for people with disability.

She has over 15 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector, working with Boards and Corporate Governance. Currently, she serves as a Board Member and the Governance and Strategy Officer for the Autism Self Advocacy Network Australia and New Zealand.

Alexandra believes people with disability should lead political reform, not be an afterthought. As a Director of the PWDA, she aims to strengthen the organisation’s advocacy and ensure voices of people with disability shape policy.

Director | Priscilla Brice

Member elected, November 2024 until November 2026.
Priscilla Brice is an autistic non-binary person with lived experience of mental health challenges. They are a professional advocate for and with mental health consumers and are passionate about social justice and upholding human rights.

In 2010 they founded All Together Now, a nationally-based non-profit organisation focusing on educating Australians about racism. They were Managing Director of this organisation for 12 years before commencing as CEO of BEING Mental Health Consumers, the peak body in NSW for people with lived/living experience of mental health challenges. They are currently the CEO of the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance, the peak body for mental health consumers and people with psychosocial disability in Australia.

They have been a Board Director for Web Industry Professionals Association (Vice-President), All Together Now, the Mental Health Coordinating Council, and the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance (Chairperson).

Their qualifications include an MBA and GAICD, and they have been awarded several scholarships including a Churchill Fellowship and the Directing Change scholarship from the Australian Network of Disability.

They feel privileged to be a PWDA Board Director and will use this position to improve the lives of people with disability by increasing their human rights through long-term advocacy and systemic change.

Director | Tahlia-Rose Vanissum

Member elected, November 2025 until November 2027.
As a proud Woppaburra woman with a psychosocial disability and chronic illness, Tahlia-Rose brings lived experience, national policy expertise, and a deep commitment to First Nations gender and disability justice. She has led work across government, community and research sectors, including at the First Peoples Disability Network, the National Disability Research Partnership, and in shaping the outcomes of the Independent NDIS Review. Her leadership is grounded in community, guided by cultural obligations to care for her community, and driven by the trust placed in her by those who’ve shared their stories of harm and hope. Our voices matter, Tahlia-Rose wants to advance culturally responsive reform that centres those of us at the intersections of Indigeneity, race, gender, trauma and poverty. She will advocate for transparent, rights-based governance, build pathways for emerging disabled leaders, and support PWDA’s future as a truly representative, people-led organisation.

Advisory groups

Our advisory groups give advice and support to our board of directors and executive staff in many important areas.

Find more information on PWDA’s advisory groups here.

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