Hi everyone,
Some of you I may already know but to everyone who I haven’t yet spoken to or met; it is great to e-meet you!
My name is Megan and I’m a Bristol-adjacent (born in Bristol but grew up in Gloucestershire) Disabled person who has been working in the Disability Equality space here in Bristol for the last four years and volunteering here for a bit longer.
I originally linked in with BDEF (formally Bristol Disability Equality Forum) at the start of my Bristol journey and was part of the team who interviewed Disabled activists and created the M-Shed exhibition on Disability Activism in Bristol that has been up for the last few years. Coincidentally, we are launching the teaching materials that were created as part of this project in a couple of weeks (advert is elsewhere in the newsletter)!
I am extremely happy to be joining BDEF at this point in time to take it on its next journey and developing further its work on community development and voice and influence amongst other work areas. We also have another new starter with us, Josh Richards who will be our temporary admin and communications worker until the end of March 2025. Our office is filling up quickly!
I have been working at Bristol City Council for the last four years in various Disability Equality roles. I was a steering group member of the Council’s Disabled Colleagues Network and I am vice chair on the Bristol Disability Equality Commission. The most recent piece of work I undertook there was co-producing a Co-Production Policy for Adult Social Care to work with Disabled people and carers in a better way in the future.
Aside from my work history, some ‘interesting’ facts about me …
- As anyone who knows me knows, I am a big Social Model of Disability-er
- I once exhibited a fashion collection at London Fashion Week when I was 17
- I am a part time swimming teacher
- Give me a fantasy novel series and I will work my way through it instantly
- I almost always go off when going through airport security due to the number of replacements and pins I have
Finally, I would like to say huge thank you to Alun Davies, Ruth Pickersgill, the trustee board and Dan Bourton who have spent a lot of time and energy in getting BDEF in a solid position for 2025! I would also like to celebrate the 20 years of dedication the previous director of Bristol Disability Equality Forum Laura Welti had to furthering Disability Equality in Bristol.
I look forward to getting stuck in and hopefully I’ll see and meet you at future BDEF events!