Mr Ryan is a former teacher, public servant and parliamentarian who has devoted his career and personal life to helping and advocating for other people.

The need to help and advocate for others stems from Mr Ryan’s early childhood when he experienced significant violence, neglect and abuse at home from a very young age. At age 15, state child protection authorities arranged for him to be removed from his family and placed in a boys’ home where he remained for three years.

These early experiences had a detrimental effect on Mr Ryan, but he used this experience to motivate him to move forward and look for ways to assist others, which he did through his early work as a teacher at one of Sydney’s most disadvantaged schools.

After almost a decade in the teaching profession, Mr Ryan was elected to the NSW Parliament in 1991 and served as Shadow Minister for Disability Services from 2003-2007. During his time in Parliament he chaired and participated in many parliamentary committees investigating social justice issues, fighting for increased funding for post school programs and advocated for self-managed funding plans for people using disability services. 

After Parliament, Mr Ryan joined the NSW public sector where he managed many reform projects aimed at strengthening human rights for people with disability – many of which had been supported by the sector decades but had not been pursued up until that point. These included regulating the private boarding house industry, greater employment opportunities for people with disability, the introduction of options for self-managed funding and the closure of large institutional residential centres.

This dedication to public life saw Mr Ryan made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2018 for significant service to the Parliament of New South Wales, and to public administration, particularly the development of accommodation policy for people with a disability.

Over his 40 years of public service, Mr Ryan has been a strong advocate for progressing the rights of people with disability, paving the way for better integration within the community and opportunities to live more independently.

Outside of his working life, Mr Ryan also devotes a considerable amount of his personal time to serving the community, which includes volunteer work as a Justice of the Peace, and actively supporting people in his local church.

Akii (they/them) is an international multi-award-winning disability, gender equity advocate and activist who is deeply passionate about disability rights, intersectionality, inclusion, survivor-advocacy and non-tokenistic co-design. They are a proud, disabled, neurodivergent (Autistic, CPTSD & ADHD), gender-diverse trans femme non-binary and Queer/LGBTIQA+ person of colour, from a refugee background. Akii lives with numerous complex chronic illnesses, disabling chronic pain and various physical disabilities.

They are an expert consultant, trainer, educator, keynote presenter and internationally Published & represented model. Recently working as Sydney WordPride’s Accessibility Manager, is a Consultant: Senior Co design & Engagement for the NDIA focusing on the LGBTIQA+ strategy, a Councillor on the Victorian Disability Council, a United Nations International Day of People with Disability Ambassador and sits on many advisory groups, steering committees and lived experienced panels for numerous causes across Australia.

Akii is a qualified public health, policy and health promotion practitioner with over 13 years of extensive experience, multiple tertiary qualifications and varied expertise throughout Australia and overseas, spending their entire career dedicated to making a positive and sustainable difference to the community.

Dwayne has an extensive history working in diverse roles across the community sector. Prior to his role as CEO at NEDA, Dwayne worked in a senior management role at the Richmond Fellowship, and also held the position of Executive Officer at the National Brain Injury Foundation. Previously, Dwayne has held the position of Chair at Advocacy for Inclusion (AFI), and has also been a member of the ACT Chief Minister’s Disability Advisory Council.

Since 1983, Dwayne has worked with marginalised communities both domestically and internationally (Sweden, USA) in homelessness, child protection, refugee, criminal justice, disability and mental health sectors. Dwayne holds several qualifications in Disabilities Community Sector Management and is passionate about social justice and allowing people to be heard over the white noise of the sector.

Cheryl joined SCSS in March 2017 after working in the Aged Care sector managing QLD’s Care Services for a National Provider. Cheryl has owned and worked in private businesses and the Community Sector for more than 30 years in a number of management positions in health, human and social services, the housing industry and in Local and State Government.

Cheryl is passionate about ensuring that those less fortunate can access the services they require to live full, healthy and satisfying lives in their own community. Cheryl’s skills and experience in business, community and stakeholder engagement, economic and community development, project management and managing large teams through industry reforms and organisation restructures will support SCSS and their clients through the transition to the NDIS and into the future.

Cheryl has qualifications in Social Science, Business Management, Population Health, Project Management and Training and Assessment.

When not working Cheryl is either enjoying her family or living her passion for travel, discovering new countries, their cultures, food and people.