Liberty Advisory Group

Stephen is a director and theatre maker.

They are the current Artistic Lead of Hackney-based NPO Vital Xposure and an Interdisciplinary Fellow with Oxford University TORCH and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Previously, they won the 2022 Royal Theatrical Support Trust Sir Peter Hall Director's Award, produced multi-award-winning FlawBored's first show, and worked across productions for the West End, National Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and Kiln Theatre.

Jamie is a queer / crip artist, curator, poet, writer, screenwriter, playwright, actor, facilitator, trainer and director, policy analyst and CEO.

They create poetry, comedy, scriptwriting, and drama for page, stage, and screen.

Jamie founded CRIPtic Arts, an award-winning organisation committed to developing and programming work by deaf and disabled people.

They have been recognised as one of the 100 most influential disabled people in the United Kingdom (Shaw Trust 2021, 2022)

Zita is a multi-award winning multidisciplinary artist, author, educator, community activist, equality and human rights campaigner and trade union leader.

Her creative practice includes work as a visual artist, performance poet, facilitator, writer and vocalist. She has performed from Glastonbury to the Kenyan National Theatre.

She is joint chair of Artists' Union England and Co-Chair of Public Services International Education Support and Culture Sector Workers Network.

In 2023, she won the Caribbean Global Awards, Outstanding Global Arts and Culture Award.

zack is a practising self-taught artist whose lived experience informs their socially engaged and multidisciplinary practice.

Since 2015, their collaboration with Martin O’Brien has integrated caring with artistic co-performance and photographic documentation, performing across the UK and Europe.

They have worked with Outside In, DaDaFest, Deptford X, Future Ritual, Totally Thames Festival, and Duckie.

They are a member of the Bethlem Artist Collective, Metal New Artist Network, Working Class Creatives Database, The Other MA (TOMA), and a studio holder at Triangle LGBTQ+ Cultural Centre.

Chas joined Sound Minds as CEO in 2022.

His previous roles include Disability Development Officer for the Arts Council (South East) and Head of Operations at Mental Health Media.

Most recently he has been Executive Director of Filmpro and Vital Xposure.

Chas is an artist; a classical violinist and world music and ambient DJ. He also plays in bands and produces music for film, dance, theatre and events.

Naomi Westerman is a playwright and author, and a disability rights activist.

She co-founded and runs Little but Fierce, an award-winning theatre cooperative for disabled and neurodivergent female and non-binary creatives.

She regularly writes about disability for various publications.

Eleanor Lisney MA MSIS is a founder member of Sisters of Frida and Culture Access.

She has been involved in the disability movement and worked for disability equality and accessibility issues.

She was born in Malaysia, and has lived in France and worked in the UK and the USA.

Eleanor writes on intersectional issues as a disabled woman of colour and is passionate on campaigning for social justice and inclusion.

Simon McKeown is a digital artist, with a background in fine art.

He joined the computer graphics industry in 1987 and went on to become an award-winning internationally exhibiting artist known for his work in the disability art sector.

He is a voluntary member of the External Advisory Group on Equality and Diversity and Inclusion to UK Research and Innovation - which funds £3 billion UK research spending.

Simon is a senior academic and Professor of Art at MIMA School of Art and Design, Teesside University.

Paul is a practicing artist and the co-author of the Cultural Inclusion Manifesto and is currently writing a book on art, culture, and inclusion for NASEN (The National Association for Special Educational Needs).

Paul conceived of and founded the West London Inclusive Arts Festival a festival, a festival that included six special schools and six cultural partners to progress both inclusion and inclusive practice.

Paul has spent 15 years working in SEND education.

Maria Oshodi founded Extant in 1997, the leading performing arts organisation in the UK, managed for and by visually impaired professional arts practitioners.

As the Artistic Director of the company for the last 20 years, she has directed Extant’s national and international touring productions in a range of settings, including site-specific, traditional venues and art and tech installations, alongside leading the company’s participation, research and training strategies.

Lennie Varvarides is the founder and Creative Producer for DYSPLA, a London-based Art Studio focusing on developing and producing the work of Neurodivergent Storymakers.

Since 2011, Lennie has also run a Talent Agency for British and International Actors called, MSFT Management.

For the last 15 years, Lennie has been immersed in the the creative sector both as a practicing artist and in supporting other people.