Anna Lawson
Anna Lawson is a Professor of Law at the University of Leeds. From January 2025, she will be Co-Director of the Law School’s Centre for Law and Social Justice and, from 2014 to 2023, she was Co-Director of the University’s multidisciplinary Centre for Disability Studies.
Her work focuses on disability equality and human rights at international, national and local levels, with a particular focus on accessibility and reasonable accommodation. She was a member of the co-ordinating research team of the Academic Network of Experts on Disability and subsequently the European Disability Expertise Network from 2008 to 2023. Anna has worked closely in different capacities with a range of national and international human rights and disability organisations. She is patron of the National Association for Disabled Staff Networks for UK Universities; an honorary Master of the Bench at the Middle Temple Inns of Court, London; and an elected Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences. In recognition of her contribution to equality, she was awarded the Bob Hepple Memorial Prize in 2016.
Photo: Martin Bentsen
Masumi Ono
As Chief of Social Inclusion and Participation Branch in the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs, Masumi leads a dedicated team of specialists on issues related to older persons, youth, persons with disabilities and family. Her 25+ years of UN experience include supporting the development of Sustainable Development Goals from the Secretary-General’s office, mobilizing high-level advocacy work on education finance, preparing reports for the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly on cross-sectoral themes such as gender, poverty eradication and UN system coherence, and managing trade facilitation programmes in the Asia Pacific region.
Before joining the UN through the National Competitive Exam (YPP), she worked in Finance having obtained MBA and BA (Economics) both from Cornell University (USA). https://www.un.org/en/desa
Irene Mbari-Kirika
Irene Mbari-Kirika is the founder and Executive Director of inABLE.org. She is recognized as a dynamic, global strategic leader and an executive-level innovator who has created technology-powered special-educational environments to positively affect the lives of blind, visually impaired, and multi-disability youths in Africa. Her leadership was instrumental in developing Kenya’s Standard for ICT Products and Services, advancing digital accessibility.
Irene is also a prominent speaker and the organizer of the annual Inclusive Africa Conference, which champions disability and digital inclusion across the continent. She holds a Global Master of Arts in International Affairs from Fletcher School, Tufts University, and serves as the board chair of G3ICT, the Global Initiatives for Inclusive ICTs. In recognition of her exceptional contributions, she was awarded the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya by the Kenyan government in 2016.
Bent Madsen
Since 2010 Bent Madsen has filled the chair as CEO of the National Building Fund. He joined the organization in 2001 and was appointed Deputy CEO in 2006. Prior to that he worked at the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Economic Council of the Labour Movement (a Danish economic policy institute and think-tank working to promote social justice in Denmark).
Mr Madsen holds the Presidency of Housing Europe (the European Federation of Public, Cooperative and Social housing), and is Chairman of NBO – Housing Nordic (the Nordic association of co-operative social housing organizations).
Furthermore, he serves as member of the boards of the Danish Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Council of the Labour Movement, The Social Network, the Danish Disability Council, and the association “Hjem-til-Alle” (A Home for Everybody). Among his prior positions is membership of the Danish Competition Council.
He holds a Master of Economics from the University of Copenhagen.
Photo: Christopher Kebbel
Jutta Treviranus
Jutta Treviranus is the Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) and professor in the faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto. Jutta established the IDRC in 1993 as the nexus of a growing global community that proactively works to ensure that our digitally transformed and globally connected society is designed inclusively. Dr. Treviranus also founded an innovative graduate program in inclusive design at OCAD University. Jutta is credited with developing an inclusive co-design methodology that has been adopted by large enterprise companies such as Microsoft, as well as public sector organizations internationally. Jutta has coordinated many research networks with and by people with disabilities.
Jutta was recognized for her work in AI by Women in AI with the AI for Good – DEI AI Leader of the Year award as well as by Women in AI Ethics. She is the chair of the Accessible and Equitable Artificial Intelligence standards committee for the Accessible Canada Act.
Olivia Dahl
Olivia Dahl is a young danish researcher specializing in the sociology of everyday life for individuals with disability/disabled people. Her work explores crip studies, identity theories, disability paradigms, and the sociology of emotions.
Among other things, Olivia co-founded “The School for Crip Poetry” with the danish poet Caspar Eric, creating a space for disabled individuals to express their experiences of exclusion, inaccessibility, and stigma through poetry.
Her research has been widely communicated through lectures, workshops, and media appearances, contributing a sociological perspective on disability to various professional and public forums. Olivia is engaged in research networks and is a Universal design Hub – Bevica Foundation member. She is currently funded by the Elsass Fonden.
Valerie Fletcher
Executive Director, Institute for Human Centered Design
Fletcher has been Executive Director since 1998 of the Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD), originally founded as Adaptive Environments, an international design and education non-profit whose mission centers on the role of design in social equity. IHCD is a deep content expert in Inclusive Design and accessibility. Valerie oversees IHCD’s consultation, design, and education services and created the IHCD User/Expert Lab. Current participatory research focus is generating data to inform designing for people with a spectrum of brain-based reasons for disabilities. Her research focus is collaborating on neuroscience as a evidence basis for inclusive design practice and assessment. Fletcher earned a master’s degree in ethics and public policy from Harvard University. She is on the Board of the International Association for Universal Design (IAUD) and a Trustee of the Boston Architectural College. The Helen Hamlyn Centre at the Royal College of Art in London named her Inclusive Design Champion 2022.