Charlie is a proud chronically ill, disabled, autistic, yogi, dancer, gamer non-binary person. Their special interests include disability pride, neurodiversity, the recognition of energy impairment as a disability, and the accessibility of mainstream, community and healthcare services. Charlie integrates their lived experiences with her past work as a clinical psychologist. Their activist toolkit includes consulting via committees, public speaking, media interviews, workshop facilitation, blogging/writing, and creating public artworks.

Their lived experience is of having undiagnosed conditions including being undiagnosed with autism until the age of 39 years, being diagnosed with the rare disease of Addison’s on their death-bed, and an ongoing 30 year struggle with undiagnosed chronic fatigue, chronic pain and period pain. In 2019, after 3 years of self-advocacy including seeing 5 endocrinologists, Charlie gained access to a novel, off-label treatment for Addison’s Disease – an insulin pump for steroids to improve their quality of life.

Charlie's previous professional career was as a child clinical psychologist with a doctorate, presenting at an international conference in Italy, with publications in peer-reviewed journals and experience training other clinicians in autism assessment. These skills complement Charlie's advocacy toolkit, equipping them to be a highly-informed, articulate and academically-minded member of a range of committees and working groups since 2018.

Beyond committees, Charlie's activism has been diverse and extensive. They were instrumental in Australia's first Disability Pride Mural in Footscray and it's resurrection after being removed by local council - creating and pasting up activist artworks, advocating to Council, speaking with the media, appearing in a short film, and being an organiser of the event. Charlie is a talented creator and writer, publishing articles with People with Disability Australia, Women with Disabilities Australia and creating two successful blogs - 'Chronically Crappy' and 'Not My Bread and Butter'.

Charlie's lived experience and advocacy toolkit can deliver sustainable change for the neurodiverse, disabled and chronically ill community.