One year ago I became Executive Director of Inclusion International. It has been the most rewarding year of my professional life.

I knew I was joining an organisation with a proud history, a powerful mission and an extraordinary global network. What I couldn’t fully appreciate until I arrived was the warmth, generosity and commitment of the people behind it.

The year has reinforced something I have always believed: organisations don’t change the world – people do.

To our staff team, whose passion, expertise and unwavering commitment to inclusion continually inspire me; to our Officers and President, Sue Swenson, who placed their trust in me from day one; and above all, to our members around the world – thank you. You are the reason Inclusion International exists. What we point to globally is what you have achieved locally.

A year of listening

Just a few weeks after joining, over 600 members of our global community came together in Sharjah for the 18th World Congress – our first in person since 2018.

Alongside it, 260 self-advocates from 45 countries met at the Global Self-Advocacy Summit, and more than 90 family members from 35 countries gathered at the Families Summit.

I couldn’t have imagined a better introduction to Inclusion International, or a better way to experience the strength, diversity and ambition of our movement.

Since then I’ve been fortunate enough to visit every region except Latin America and Asia-Pacific – both are high on my list for the year ahead.

But the moments that have stayed with me haven’t been the airports or the conference rooms. They have been sitting with self-advocates who spoke with courage about the barriers they still face; listening to families whose determination never wavers; discussing inclusive education in Kenya and deinstitutionalisation in Jordan – and then getting on with turning those conversations into action.

You can read the full account of what our members achieved last year in our 2025 Annual Report.

What comes next

There is still much to do. Around the world, people with intellectual disabilities continue to face exclusion from good employment, die earlier from avoidable causes, and face violence and discrimination.

At a time of economic uncertainty, changing political priorities and increasing pressure on civil society, our work has never been more important.

As I begin my second year, my ambition is simple: together we make inclusion the expectation, not the exception.

  • Inclusive employment. We need to create new programmes which drive innovation in inclusive employment, allowing sectors to access the incredible untapped talent pools in our community.
  • Inclusive education. We need to drive forward inclusive education, recognising that truly inclusive systems benefit all children and young people, and represent a powerful investment in the future.
  • Care and support. We need to continue to develop the global care and support agenda, working across the intersection of disability and gender, and embedding disability as a feminist issue – building systems of care and support that empower rather than exclude.
  • Leadership. We need to continue to build the capacity, skills, confidence and leadership opportunities for self-advocates and their families. As the rallying call at COSP had it this year: from nothing about us without us, to nothing without us.

To everyone who has welcomed, supported, challenged and encouraged me over the past twelve months, thank you.

The story of Inclusion International has always been written by people who believe a better world is possible. I hope you’ll write the next chapter with us.