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NSW CHAMPION

Lisa Mabin (she/her)
LIVED EXPERIENCE
Disability and Chronic Illness
KEY INFORMATION
Place of Birth: Cape Town, South Africa
Current location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Age: 25 years old
Language/s: English only
LGBTQIA+: No
NDIS Participant: No
Diagnoses: Type 1 Diabetes, Addison's Disease, Hashimoto's Disease
Healthcare Access: Primary Health Care, Allied Health, Mental Health, Secondary and Tertiary care
BIO
Lisa Mabin is a disability and inclusion advocate who is passionate about bringing about social change and social justice to the lives of people who live with disabilities, both visible and hidden. Lisa is a part of the disability community and is eager to make connections with other strong and inspiring people living with disabilities and advocating for our community.
Lisa has lived with Type 1 diabetes since she was 5 years old, and was a frequent user of the health care system where she was born in South Africa, before moving internationally and receiving her health care in the UK and now, Australia. When she was 21 years old, volunteering in a rural farm community in Europe Lisa became unwell, and was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition; Addison's Disease. This new diagnosis saw Lisa find the 'spoonie' (chronic illness) community, and begin her disability and chronic illness advocacy. In addition to Lisa's lived experience, she brings skills in digital content creation and community engagement through her passion project, The Sunflower Collective. The Sunflower Collective is an empowering and inclusive online community for all people living with disabilities, including dynamic, hidden, invisible and visible disabilities.
Lisa has balanced her dynamic disability with advocacy and work in the disability sector to contribute to social changes to build an inclusive, accessible and equitable society for people living with disabilities and other groups of diverse people. In her professional work, Lisa has had the privilege to work with other people with disability to facilitate and support those within the community to discover and maintain quality support relationships through the NDIS and to work with them to build their professional skills and confidence to develop a fulfilling career journey for themselves. This combination of experiences have given Lisa an empathetic and unique perspective on social justice, diversity, and inclusion of the broader and intersectional disability community.
ACHIEVEMENTS
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Written Publication, 'Conversations on COVID – Challenging Ableist Thinking Through Disability Leadership'
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Certificate of Accreditation: Standard Mental Health First Aider Mental Health First Aid® Australia
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Founding and content creation on The Sunflower Collective
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Participation in WWDA LEAD Lived Experience Peer - to Peer networking sessions and WWDA LEAD Mentoring Program (as a mentee)
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Working full-time in the disability sector while living with chronic illness and dynamic disability
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Travelling, working and studying while navigating new diagnoses
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Completing an Undergraduate degree - Bachelors of Social Sciences through The Open University UK
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Community Services Certificate IV - TAFE NSW
LINKS
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'Conversations on COVID – Challenging Ableist Thinking Through Disability Leadership' - Lisa writes for Women with Disabilities Australia
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The Sunflower Collective - Lisa's online community instagram
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