All 4 Inclusion Awards Finalists 2026 (The Public Vote edition)
- Scott Whitney
- Apr 27
- 6 min read
To help people decide who to vote for we have used the summaries entered by the people who nominated the person and asked Claude AI to summarise in to one sentence. We have manually checked these and are happy that they reflect the reason why the person was nominated. However, our nominees do lots more things that may not have been reflected by the person who nominated them.
Those who are included in this list have three sets of judging and scoring to go through with the public vote, independent judges and Trustees Scorecard.
Please feel free to use the comments for messages of good luck to our finalists.
Unpaid Carer of the Year - Sponsored by MOVE
Paul Ridley is a full-time unpaid carer and tireless campaigner who advocates locally and nationally for carers without a voice
Adam Aldred is an unpaid carer who, while managing his own ADHD, provides unwavering daily support to the person he cares for across household management, medical appointments and complex benefit processes
Sarah Mallen is a carer and Careers Service colleague who has created a university-wide support network and resource pack for staff caring for older parents, drawing on her own experience to help
Charlie Beswick is a dedicated carer for her son and a passionate advocate whose work raises awareness of the challenges faced by those balancing caring responsibilities, unsympathetic employers and children with special needs
Valerie Gleeson is a devoted and compassionate mother who, understanding her child's anxiety, organises activities and provides practical support not just for her own child but for their friends too
Digital Accessibility Champion of the Year, sponsored by Talks with M.S.
Kaye Moors shares clear, educational daily posts that have played a key role in guiding others on their journey to becoming digital accessibility specialists.
Gemma Nunn is an accessibility expert who has transformed how eLearning is designed and delivered, championing inclusive practice within her organisation and the wider L&D community through workshops, industry talks and her own ongoing education
Chris Lynch is a disabled filmmaker and founder of Diverse Made Media who leads by example, documenting his own and others' journeys on film and driving change through his work, including the Caerus camera system
Isaac Harvey leads by example, producing accessible content and empowering others to raise their own accessibility standards
Reiti Williams is an AI Engineer and peer mentor who develops personalised learning and accessibility solutions
Grant Logan is the founder of Ability Today and the Academy for Disabled Journalists and has trained over 100 students now working across major media outlets
Inclusive Business of the Year, sponsored by Carolyn Bowers Insurance Recruitment
Patchwork Hub is a wholly disabled-led organisation which connects disabled and neurodivergent people to accessible employment while helping employers build genuine inclusion
Sociability is a disabled-led tech company whose app and enterprise products provide reliable, real-time accessibility information for venues across the UK
Together all are able is a self-advocacy organisation that empowers disabled people to speak up for their rights and needs, with members growing in confidence to achieve remarkable milestones, including one becoming a magistrate and another being elected as a local councillor
Vicki Wilson is a cerebral palsy-led entrepreneur, founder of Vicki Admin Fairy® who has built an inclusive business supporting disabled and neurodivergent entrepreneurs, created accessible networking spaces, mentors others through programmes
Key2enable is an impact-driven assistive technology company whose integrated hardware and software ecosystem enables disabled learners to access digital education
Mental Health Champion, sponsored by Leva Solutions Ltd
Barbara Hulme is a remarkably resilient disabled artist who, while managing hidden chronic conditions and cancer treatment, channels her strength into powerful artwork that tells the stories of other disabled people
Drew Taylor is a credit to the organisation and has done incredible things with the Suicide Prevention Lived Experience Advisory Group
Emma Craven is the founder of the ADHD Reframed Project who draws on nearly 20 years of experience and her own lived experience of AuADHD, fibromyalgia and CPTSD to advocate for neurodivergent people through training, webinars and speaking
Holly Matthews the founder of The Happy Me Project who, having lost her husband to brain cancer, channels her own grief and experience into running a self-development community that supports others who are struggling
Raisa Hassa is a passionate mental health champion and leader whose exceptional empathy and commitment to psychological safety creates spaces where colleagues and clients can be authentically themselves with grace and dignity
Tanya Marwaha is a speaker and mental health advocate who draws on her own lived experience to support young people and challenge the stigma around mental health within Asian communities
Menopause Champion (Sponsorship Available)
Emma Neville is raising vital awareness of menopause and premature ovarian insufficiency through her This Is Me community, working with businesses and women to break the silence around these often overlooked life stages
Liz Rowlands delivers compelling talks that uniquely combine menopause support with ADHD and mental health, bringing a joined-up approach to these often separately addressed topics
Angela Standen coaches businesses on menopause in a clear, accessible and easy to understand way
Ruth Devlin supports others through menopause via her book Let's Talk Menopause, a podcast and a holistic approach to managing hormonal changes
Kirsty Dixon champions open conversation about menopause, encouraging people to speak up and share their experiences
Anita Powell is an important black voice in the menopause space, educating and representing those whose experiences are often overlooked in mainstream conversations.
Ally of the Year, sponsored by Ringrose Law
Atarah Green is a passionate BSL interpreter who first learnt sign language as a child to communicate with a deaf classmate and now balances interpreting alongside a full-time teaching career
Gavn Neate does fantastic work with WelcoMe, championing accessible and inclusive experiences for disabled people
Alex Winstanley consistently supports disabled people through his work with Happy Smiles and his books
Emma Freivogel is a dedicated ally who supports disabled people in finding employment
Naomi Yeboah is a Learning Disability Nurse and Autism Specialist Practitioner whose personal and professional experience drives her work delivering training, consultation and person-centred care while challenging stereotypes and promoting inclusion across health and social care
Chris McEwen leads a gym training disabled boxers of all abilities, challenging assump4ccess and participate in boxing.
Visible Disability Personality of the Year, sponsored by The University of Manchester
Georgina Colman is a visibly disabled advocate and founder of Purpl whose lived experience drives her mission to make life fairer and more affordable for disabled people Dr Mark Fosbrook PLY works at WMCA to improve disability access and inclusion across the West Midlands, championing the region as a leading example of disability inclusion and providing vital support to the Birmingham Disability Festival
Katy Deacon is a wheelchair user living with MS who applies her own lived experience to engineering accessible design solutions and supporting others to embed accessibility into their work
Claire Dellar is a disabled, neurodivergent wheelchair user and NHS England Accessibility Ambassador who turns lived experience into national-scale change, training thousands of professionals, shaping procurement standards
Victoria Davies is a wheelchair user living with FND who, through Happy Smiles Training and her wider community work, advocates for disabled people across Wigan, driving tangible improvements in social care, SEND transition support and public accessibility while serving on boards and representing her community at events nationally
Esi Hardy is a disability inclusion trainer and consultant who works with professionals across sectors to build workplaces where disabled people can genuinely thrive
Hidden Disability Personality of the Year
Chandos Green challenges mainstream perspectives on issues impacting society including disability benefits
Beth Kume-Holland lives with multiple long-term health conditions, has built a transformative employment platform closing the disability employment gap
Jenna Robinson is a determined advocate living with FND and a stoma who, just 13 weeks post-surgery, campaigns tirelessly to raise awareness of hidden disabilities, challenge the stigma around accessible toilet use and support others through her raw, honest storytelling in the media and online
Hannah Cohen is a visually impaired coach, speaker and advocate who, having rebuilt her life after losing both her husband and her sight, uses her lived experience to help individuals and organisations understand hidden disability, reduce stigma and create genuinely inclusive spaces
Nana Saeed Marfo is an excellent speaker and inclusion champion who, through his Mr Unique Voice persona, advocates for those around him
Samantha Ming is an NHS leader and TEDx speaker whose I Lead With It framework reframes disability as a leadership strength, driving cultural change through lived experience and authentic storytelling
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