Committee and Staff

Dr Samantha Neylon has worked across the private, not for profit, charitable and public sectors supporting older Australians and those living with disability.  Sam has skills and experience in developing and growing services, change management, governance, strategy, risk, finance and leadership along with a passion to ensure clients, families and teams are supported to enable individuals to live the lives they choose their way.  Her person-centred approach celebrates each person uniquely and is underpinned by a drive to contribute to a society which promotes inclusivity and eliminates disadvantage.  Sam’s values and lived experience of disability fuel her desire to empower others and make a difference one step and one day at a time.

Tess is a passionate advocate for disability rights and healthcare innovation. Over the past decade, she has focused on advancing mental health services, suicide prevention, and inclusive healthcare. Her work includes co-designing transformative mental health units and services in Victoria.
As a consumer researcher, Tess amplifies lived experiences to drive systemic improvements and policy changes. Her collaboration on the Neve website for WWDA demonstrates her commitment to empowering women with disabilities and advancing WWDA’s mission.

With a background in social science and expertise in consumer engagement, Tess excels in peer counseling, strategic planning, and community development. She has served on advisory committees, reflecting her belief in diverse perspectives to create meaningful change.

Rachelle is a proud Wiradjuri woman, and brings more than two decades of executive leadership across government, academia and the not-for-profit sector in roles spanning health, disability, aged care, bioethics, and human rights. She is AuDHD and profoundly deaf, and brings lived experience of trying to navigate systems not built for people living at the margins of visibility.

An Adjunct Fellow at the Robinson Research Institute, Rachelle is known for bridging rigorous scholarship with practical reform. Her research traverses disability justice, reproductive politics, and decolonising healthcare for First Nations people, interrogating how policy decisions differentially value bodies and lives.

A Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Rachelle brings to the WWDA Board deep expertise in strategy, risk, regulatory governance, policy, cultural competence, trauma-informed practice and community engagement, alongside a strong commitment to intersectional feminism and disability rights.

Fuelled mostly by caffeine and dogs, she is also raising a gloriously sassy daughter, who sharpens her feminism daily and reminds her that the future is watching.

Steph Travers is a disabled woman with lived experience of spina bifida, autism, and psychosocial disability. She studied Arts (Psychology) and Law at the University of Western Sydney, and psychodynamic psychotherapy at the Australian College of Applied Psychology.

Steph is a legal advocate specialising in social security and guardianship law, and Managing Director of Amplify Access, a disability rights consulting and advocacy firm. Her work sits at the intersection of law, systems reform, and lived experience, grounded in trauma-informed, rights-based practice, with a strong focus on challenging paternalistic approaches to disability support and decision-making.

She co-founded Voices for Central Coast Disability in 2018 and is currently a Director and Secretary of People with Disability Australia (PWDA). In 2025, she attended the United Nations Conference of States Parties as part of PWDA’s delegation.

Over the past decade, Steph has served on numerous local, state, and national advisory bodies focused on inclusion, safety, and systemic reform. Her current appointments include the Attorney-General’s Department Elder Abuse Steering Committee and the Women’s Safety Commission Advisory, where she applies an intersectional trauma-informed lens to governance and policy, particularly in relation to violence, abuse, and coercive control.

With over 18 years’ experience in business leadership, governance, and legal activism, Steph is committed to ethical, transparent, and member-led governance. She is particularly passionate about strengthening collaboration between disability peak bodies through planned strategic alignment rather than reactive responses. She is eager to contribute her lived experience and expertise to support Women With Disabilities Australia to lead reform for disabled women – particularly in addressing domestic and family violence, embedding supported decision-making, and strengthening the organisation’s long-term financial independence and sustainability.

Kristina is a people, culture and organisational development leader with extensive experience in equity and inclusion, learning and development, business operations and financial management. Her professional background spans adult education, leadership and accounting, giving her a strong foundation in governance, strategy and analytical decision‑making.

As a woman with disability, Kristina draws on lived experience to inform her work, with a deep commitment to strengthening visibility, representation and opportunities for women and girls with disability. She is passionate about creating environments where the voices of women with disability are valued and where systemic change is supported.

Sophie (she/her) is a lawyer and policy professional who is passionate about gender equality, human rights and intersectionality. Sophie’s work in policy is informed by her experience as a Workplace Relations, Safeguarding and Discrimination lawyer, her passion for research and advocacy, and her lived experience of disability. She is also a public speaker and facilitator, with experience delivering workshops on neurodiversity, disability inclusion, consent and sexual harm, and gender equality.

Sophie has a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Gender Studies from the University of Melbourne, and a post-graduate Law degree from Monash University. Sophie lives on Wurundjeri land in Melbourne.

Belinda (she/her) is a passionate and experienced leader, committed to building high-performing teams and driving meaningful, inclusive change within the not-for-profit sector.
With a background in psychology, Belinda is deeply dedicated to supporting people to live their best lives through a focus on holistic psychosocial wellbeing. Having worked extensively in both mental health and aged care within the community sector, she prioritises addressing individual needs and strengthening the support networks that empower people to thrive.
In her most recent role focused on ageing and dementia, Belinda led national service delivery teams, developing innovative, person-centred support models. She is passionate about improving the lives of people with younger onset dementia and is particularly proud of the initiatives she championed to make a lasting difference for individuals and their families.
Belinda has an interest in the intersection of disability, health, and aged care systems in Australia and how these services can work more seamlessly together—particularly to better meet the specific needs of women.
Belinda is privileged to live, work, and play on the lands of the Bunurong people.

Diana Piantedosi (she/they) is a public policy specialist and researcher with senior leadership experience across national and state disability and health sectors. As Senior Manager, Policy & Advocacy at WWDA, Diana leads national initiatives to advance disability and gender equity through evidence-based reform across disability, health and social policy.

In 2026, Diana completed a PhD in Sociology at La Trobe University and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Deakin University. Their research examines how decisions are made within public institutions, and how lived experience and other forms of evidence can shape equity in policy, research and clinical practice.

Before joining WWDA, Diana served as Director of Policy, Advocacy and Community Engagement at Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV). They bring over a decade of leadership experience across the not-for-profit sector and commercial finance, with specialisations in risk, compliance and organisational change. They are driven by a commitment to equity and accountability in public systems, and to policy reform that reflects lived expertise and delivers real-world change.

Diana is proud to live and work between the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation and Kaurna Country.

Alex (she/her) is a communications leader dedicated to harnessing the power of human-centred stories to drive social change. With over 15 years’ experience including a decade in the humanitarian and not-for-profit sector, she has led high-profile campaigns that elevated community voices, influenced policy conversations, and generated millions in support for emergency responses and social programs.

Alex has led communications during large-scale domestic and international crises, producing powerful campaigns that cut through in politically sensitive contexts and helped mobilise vital resources. She is a delegate with the International Committee of the Red Cross, deploying to disasters and conflicts around the world to report on Red Cross’ work. Most recently, as Director of Marketing and Communications at NASCA (National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy), Alex reshaped the organisation’s public profile, securing record audience growth and fundraising outcomes while elevating the voices of First Nations youth.

Alex is driven by a belief in the power of storytelling to advance equity and inclusion, bringing a trauma-informed, strengths-based approach to her work. Her passion lies in amplifying stories that connect people, inspire action, and create lasting impact for communities. She currently lives and works on the lands of the Gadigal and Wangal peoples.

Claire Bertholli (she/her), currently lives on the lands of the Awabakal people in Newcastle. She is a youth worker and disability advocate. She uses her education and practice in sociology and anthropology, in tandem with her lived experience of being a wheelchair user with a physical disability, to influence social and community change. She has involved herself in many advocacy projects in various disability, intersectional feminist and youth centric NGO’s across Australia and internationally.

In her spare time she enjoys getting her wheels dirty on outdoor walks or in her beach wheelchair, enjoying food with friends and family, sharing pop culture recommendations with anyone who will pay attention and being in the thick of it at live music events.

Claire is extremely excited to share her journey as Youth Development Officer, as she has been passionately engaged in many ways with WWDA initiatives since 2020/21 and knows what power and resilience can come from providing young people with platforms and opportunities to share valuable parts of themselves.

Sarah Hamilton (she/they) is a strategic communications researcher and strategist, interested in supporting marginalised communities, creating accessible resources, and understanding digital culture. They are currently living on Yuin Country. She is also a PhD Candidate with Monash University, studying narrative storytelling, worldbuilding and online memory.

Sarah has worked in advocacy communications since 2020, taking on her first roles while studying a Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Wollongong. They hold a Master of Strategic Communications Management at Monash University, which included a thesis on the influence of digital culture and communication in changing social attitudes, particularly when interacting television portrayals of survivor culture and trauma.

Sarah has a range of interests, including ancient history, cycling, and storytelling through game and abstract media.