MEET OUR FOUNDERS
CELIA HENSMAN
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Celia has multiple disabilities including Loeys-Dietz Syndrome, Marfans, POTS and most significantly she lives with a permanent central line in her chest receiving daily blood infusions and complete artificial nutrition. She has never known life without having her disability, and consequentially from a young age she has been an active disability rights campaigner. Celia takes pride in her disabled identity, working hard against systematic ableism, discrimination, and archaic stereotypes about the talents, potential, and ability of disabled people.
Celia is an experienced political campaigner on disabled representation, inclusion, and accessibility, having worked in various sectors including private, public, employment, legal, and policy sectors. She has previously worked as a communication and campaign manager, policy researcher, and disability ambassador. She is a diversity and inclusion specialist consultant, drawing on her own experiences and challenges of living with a disability. Celia has has actively campaigned and volunteered for various organisations in the not-for-profit and charity sectors.
[Image shows Celia, a white female, in a headshot pose, she has long brown hair and dark brown eyes, she is wearing a white jumper pulled down off her shoulders to reveal a white tube, her background is plain cream]
CHLOE SCHENDEL-WILSON
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Chloe has been working with with young people with learning disabilities since she was a teenager.
She began volunteering with the YMCA when she was at school. She then worked in Bournemouth on the ‘Chatterboxes’ scheme, a grassroots organisation that sought to improve the representation of young people with disabilities across Dorset. She is currently a Member of the YMCA East Surrey’s Board of Trustees.
Before setting up The Disability Policy Centre, she spent five years working as a political advisor across both local and national Government, advising both Cabinet Ministers and Members of Parliament as an expert on equality and diversity.
[Image shows Chloe, a white woman, she has long light brown hair and blue eyes, she is smiling in this headshot photograph, she is wearing a white and blue patterned top and her background is plain off-white]
OUR STORY
Celia Hensman and Chloe Schendel-Wilson met one another whilst campaigning to increase disabled representation in Local and National Government. Through their work, Celia and Chloe became aware of the lack of involvement that disabled people had in policy discussions, and the lack of consideration for disability in the formation of legislation. Together they decided that change needed to happen, and The Disability Policy Centre was formed.
Celia and Chloe came together to form two sides of one coin, using their personal experiences to drive forward the fight for the rights of both disabled people and carers across the United Kingdom. The Disability Policy Centre ensures that accessibility is at the heart of legislation, breaking down barriers and ensuring that we live in a society where nobody is held back from achieving their potential.
OUR LAUNCH
We were delighted to launch on The International Day of People with Disabilities 2021. We are proud to be the first dedicated think tank in the UK, set up to improve the lives of disabled people, and people with long-term health conditions, across our country.
On the day, our Directors were delighted to be invited to Number 10 Downing Street to take part in a roundtable with the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work. We discussed what measures need to be taken to improve the lives of disabled people in regards to representation, employment and day-to-day life.