Anne is a Paralympian wheelchair racer and a Tough Mudder conquerer who demonstrates that it’s possible to break down barriers. She is also a non-executive director on UK Athletics, Active Essex and British Paralympic Association, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Dimensions U.K. and SAFE. In 2020, she was appointed as a Commonwealth special envoy Champion for Equality in Sports with a role promote the Commonwealth’s values and principles around the world by connecting sporting initiatives and supporting the implementation of SDGs relating to sport, peace and development and improving equality in sport.

She continues to advocate for an accessible and inclusive society. She holds a B.Ed (Hons) degree and supports various not-for-profit organisations both at national and international level.

As the first Action on Disability and Development goodwill ambassador, she successfully supported and campaigned for nations to ratify the UN Convention on the “Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities” and she’s a lobbyist at International Parliamentary Conferences on Millennium Development Goals.

In 2010 Harper Collins published her Autobiography ‘In My Dreams I Dance’. In 2014 she was awarded an MBE for services to Charity and Disability Sport. Anne continues to lobby to further the interests of disabled people in the UK and developing nations.

Libby is co-chair of the SAFE forum as well as chief executive at Colostomy UK, a national charity that supports people living with any type of stoma/s. Like others with non-visible disabilities, people living with stomas find air travel and the airport experience challenging at times. Libby is passionate about changing this and making access to travel the same for everyone.

She has been working with Stansted Airport since 2019 and has been an active member on the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Access to Air Travel Advisory Group. She has also been working directly with eight other UK airports since 2017, in an advisory capacity. This involves guiding decision makers, helping them to make practical changes to airport infrastructure and processes, as well as ensuring that in-house training equips customer-facing employees with the tools to deal compassionately and empathically with the needs of travellers with disabilities and hidden condition.

Colostomy UK exist to make a positive difference for anyone impacted by any kind of stoma or stoma surgery. There are now over 200,000 people living with a stoma at any one time in the UK who benefit from the work that we do as we:

• Provide practical and emotional support and advice whenever it’s needed.

• Run projects that empower and build the confidence to take on fresh challenges.

• Are a voice on the issues that matter, campaigning and advocating for ostomates’ rights.

Travel advice and support

Stoma Helpline: 0800 328 4257

Admin line 0118 939 1537

Sam is the Engagement Manager for the East of England at a national sight loss organisation called Thomas Pocklington Trust and runs Sight Loss Councils in Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

My work focuses on working with organisations, services providers and businesses to support them to improve the accessibility of their services. I manage a cohort of dedicated volunteers who make up my Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Sight Loss Councils. These are groups led by local blind and partially sighted members, who bring local issues forward. We then aim to engage and work with organisations in collaboration to co-produce resources and support them to make improvements to accessibility for the wider blind and partially sighted community.

With a background in education and a BA Hons in special education, I have knowledge of the varying needs of individuals and enjoy supporting people to learn and develop their skills through a wide range of methods. I transitioned to volunteering in the non-profit sector 10 years ago after losing my sight at the age of 24. I enjoy sharing my own lived experience and encourage my sight loss council volunteers to do the same to raise awareness of living life with sight loss. I am currently a guide dog owner, to Lizzie who retires this year after working with me for the past eight and half years. I like to speak about the impact she has had to my life and the independence she has given me. Lizzie often steels the show when we deliver in person events!

I am passionate about engaging and collaborating with organisations to create more inclusive practices and environments for blind and partially sighted people and have been representing the BPS community on the SAFE forum for the past two years.

Sonia Sparkes has Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS), diagnosed in 2007 at the age of 38. Having always been a keen traveller she soon realised that travelling with the weighty excess baggage that is MS is a very different experience to the way it was ‘before’. In her day job, Sonia works in Cyber Security Consulting and works from home which helps tremendously with coping with having MS and working full time.

Sonia hopes to be the voice on the SAFE Forum for people who outwardly have no discernible difficulties but do need a little extra help or understanding when travelling.

After diagnosis, Sonia wanted to do more than just complain about what she perceived to be a lack of service and understanding towards people with hidden disabilities, so did some research on what help was available and what was being done to help people like her have access to more suitable assistance. That research led Sonia to SAFE Forum Chair Andy Wright, who inspired Sonia to volunteer to be part of the Forum.

Sonia says: “It’s extremely rewarding to feel that I can make a difference. The Team at Stansted work so hard to make positive change happen, and I’ve met incredible people on the panel who inspire me every day.”

Kevin is a parent and carer of Callum who is 24 yrs old and has a dual diagnosis of autism and ADHD. He has learning difficulties and loves aeroplanes.

He is also the charity manager of PACT for Autism, which is an Essex based charity supporting the Autistic community across all age ranges, needs and requirements. No Autism diagnosis is needed, and no boundaries accepted. PACT for Autism works hard to ensure a voice for all Autistic people and providing much needed support and information sharing for parents and carers of Autistic children, young people and adults, including those professionals working with and for Autistic people.

London Stansted is Kevin’s local airport and his family have been frequent flyers through the airport for many years. Kevin believes the airport is an important and essential travel hub for many people of all abilities and that the airport has a responsibility to ensure safe and assessable travel for all.

PACT for Autism aims to ensure that the needs and voices of people living on the Autistic Spectrum are heard and understood, and that where reasonable adjustments are identified that they are implemented effectively. They are also keen to ensure that all London Stansted airport staff have a working knowledge and understanding of Autism Spectrum conditions and a range of strategies to ease air travel for all involved.

At the age of 53, Peta had a traumatic fall which resulted in a severed spinal cord and full paralysis from the waist down.

Prior to her injury Peta had run her own Dancing School in South Buckinghamshire for 35 years, teaching children from the age of 2–18 ballet, tap and modern dance. Her disability meant it was impossible to continue an active teaching role so her career and business came to an abrupt end.

Fortunately, her previous skills and aptitude resulted in a new hobby of wheelchair dancing, which has been very successful and involves overseas travel.

Peta has always been an enthusiastic traveller and, undaunted by her disability flew to Italy just 24 hours after leaving her long-stay rehabilitation unit at Stoke Mandeville. It is this ethos and resilience that Peta wants to share with other wheelchair users, encouraging those with a love of life and travel to fully embrace all forms of transport and explore without fear of limitation.

Motivated to support others, Peta joined the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) where she has undertaken an active volunteering role since 2019, predominately based at Stoke Mandeville. The peer support role liaises with patients with traumatic life changing injuries or illness. This is an empathetic and practical help role. During this time she became involved with the SAFE Forum and sits on the Luton London Airport Accessibility Forum.

Since her accident, Peta has regularly travelled far and wide, including to Whistler, Bali, Barbados, annual skiing trips to Andorra and train travel to Europe, conclusively demonstrating that wheelchair travel is possible, with appropriate support measures, and should not be an obstacle to enjoying worldwide adventures.