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 | Marayke Jonkers

Member elected, November 2022 until November 2024.
Marayke is a paralympian who is passionate about creating a world where people can fulfill their full potential. As part of the Australian Paralympic Swimming Team, Marayke won three medals at the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Paralympic games. She has expertise within the disability employment sector including implementing a pilot project for university graduates with disability, writing literature and consulting.

She is founder and president of Sporting Dreams, a previous board member of the Sunshine Coast Sports Federation, the 2016 ambassador for the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ), and participant in a range of commemorative events (including Queensland day, multicultural awareness week, Australia Day etc).

Marayke holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Community work) including disability studies/gender and public health, and a Bachelor of Arts (Communications), public relations and journalism. She enjoys developing public relations campaigns that highlight social issues and investigate how people with disability can be better represented in the media.

Co-Vice President | Eva Sifis

Member elected, November 2023 until November 2025.
Eva Sifis is a professional showing commitment to the disability arts sector, bringing more than three decades of experience to the table. Having faced brain injury in 1999 and late stage lymphoma in 2009, Eva demonstrates resilience and dedication to advocacy for people with disability.

At the forefront of the Acquired Brain Injury community, her influence is strengthened by unique perspectives from wide-ranging experiences. After working, producing and performing in the disability arts sector, Eva’s impact within the advocacy space is steadily growing. Eva launched ‘By Accident’, Australia’s first peer developed and led series of facilitated conversations catering to those with brain injury or experience of trauma and her leadership in this initiative reflects passion for equity and the employment of persons with disabilities.

Eva held key roles with organisations Arts Access Victoria and Voice At The Table and presently consults for Women with Disabilities Victoria and Australian Federation of Disability Organisations. Her role with Give A Care Support services is now developing the foundation. Eva’s roles as a trainer, producer, artist, entrepreneur and advocate showcase her diverse skill set.

Co-Vice President | Kevyn Morris

Member elected, November 2023 until November 2025.
Kevyn Morris is committed to advocating for people with disability. As a disabled man facing six chronic and degenerative conditions, Kevyn’s personal journey has fuelled his passion for instigating transformative change in the lives of Indigenous people and influencing governmental, public and organisational attitudes and laws.

Kevyn serves as a representative for people with disability over the age of 65, contributing to the Dementia Australia Advisory, the National Older Persons Reference Group and Arthritis Australia’s Advisory Committee. Kevyn also serves as a Board Member of the Murray Arts Board in the North-East border region of Victoria. Kevyn is also involved with the Reconciliation Action Committee with Dementia Australia, the Older Persons Advocacy Group, Dental Health Victoria and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation’s both at the state and federal levels, as well as committees, focus groups and steering committees with Standards Australia, Services Australia and the NDIA/NDIS.

Secretary | Suresh Rajan

Member elected, November 2022 until November 2024.
Suresh has been involved in the advocacy space for well over 30 years with strong experience as president or board member for a range of disability and ethnic community organisations. These include the National Ethnic Disability Alliance, the Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre, Ethnic Communities Council of WA, Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia, Chair of the Disability Sub Committee of FECCA, Treasurer of Attitude Foundation, Lifeline WA, the Anti-Racism Steering Committee and NDIA CaLD Strategy Group.

An accountant by profession, Suresh brings a sound financial background to the PWDA Board. He has been involved in the writing of the 2020-2030 WA State Disability Strategy, and is a committed advocate for many people with disability across Australia who have been impacted by our health systems.

Suresh is well known in media circles, with experience running a number of radio programs. He was the host of ‘Ethnicability’, a radio program called addressing issues of ethnicity and disability.

Treasurer | Presley Chihuri

Board appointed July 2023 until November 2024.
Presley is an extensively experienced and highly skilled lived experience disability advocate. He is passionate about making a positive difference and supporting other people with disability achieve their dreams and reach their full potential.

Through his experience of living with disability, Presley has gained a unique understanding of the challenges and barriers that people with disability experience. He strives to change the narrative about disability and increase opportunities for people with disability to experience capacity building, especially those from disenfranchised and CALD backgrounds as well as regional and remote areas. 

Presley is the founder of Ability AU, a new leading and innovative NDIS organisation that is dedicated to improving the life of participants and their carers. He is heavily involved in the organisation and brings a valuable perspective that is tailored towards people’s needs and interests. Presley believes that with the right support, everyone can achieve their dreams.

Director | Haidi Badawi

Member elected, November 2022 until November 2024.
Haidi is a woman from a cultural and linguistically diverse (CaLD) background with lived experience of mental and physical disability based in Melbourne, Victoria. She is committed to furthering the human rights and the best outcomes for all people with disability across Australia in the spirit of “Nothing about us without us”. 

As a molecular biologist, Haidi holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons), an MEd Degree in Educational Leadership and has four registered patents in science innovation. Haidi is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and member of the Disability Leadership Institute Australia.

With 22 years of experience in leadership and learning, she has been a founding member and Ambassador of WomenH2H, and an active member with a number of boards and forums including the board of Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV), the United Nation Australian Association (Victorian Division), and an Advisory Board member of the Gene Technology Access Centre (GTAC) affiliated with the University of Melbourne.

Director | Arun Barramundi

Member elected, November 2022 until November 2024.
Arun is a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant and a public policy professional. He was born in Melbourne and currently lives in Canberra.

Director | Daniel Flynn

Casual appointment, September 2024 until November 2024.
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.

Director |Trinity Ford

Casual appointment, September 2024 until November 2024.
Trinity is a proud autistic trans woman, policy consultant and training lawyer, with six years’ experience in the disability sector. She has a multi-system neuroimmune disease, psychosocial disability and Tourette’s Syndrome.

When Trinity worked with offenders with intellectual disability, she watched coercive and abusive systems fail people. Disability supports and autonomy helped them heal. This spurred her research at the Disability Royal Commission, and as an advocate for staff needing reasonable adjustments. Trinity now privately volunteers her legal skills to help people through NDIS appeals.

Director | Declan Lee

Casual appointment, September 2024 until November 2024.
Declan Lee has a degree in criminology and is currently studying Juris doctor at UNSW and have a lived experience of disability, namely cerebral palsy and hearing impairment. He has a wealth of knowledge in both government and non-government sectors organisations in the disability sector.

Declan has worked for various organisations including the National Disability Insurance Agency, The Ageing & Disability Commission of New South Wales, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Investigate New South Wales working in both disability and non-disability roles. Declan is also a disability advocate representing young people with Cerebral Palsy through Cerebral Palsy Alliance’s Advocacy arm CPActive where I represent people with Cerebral Palsy in federal and state politics.

Director | Stuart Mawbey

Casual appointment, September 2024 until November 2024.
Stuart wants to achieve better outcomes for people with disability in all facets of life, including but not limited to our built environment, whole of society access and inclusion; particularly in the fields of human rights, disaster planning and response, employment, and quality of life needs.
Stuart also brings skills from the Emergency Service, such as risk management, leadership roles, training and development.

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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