The Easy Read Toolbox
Easy Read Made Easy - A social enterprise developed by and employing disabled people
Meet Karen
Karen Hedley - Founder and Director
Karen’s 30-year career has been dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights of disabled people. Karen is based in Canberra where she has lived experience with her own disabilities and those of her teenage children.
Karen has a passion for human rights for disabled people, in particular inclusion, accessibility and communication. Started by Karen in 2020, Next Level Inclusion is Karen’s dream day job! She quickly realised that (as much as she wanted to) she couldn’t help everyone who needed Easy Read and Easy English documents. Thus the idea of the Toolbox was born in 2021!
Winner of the 2015 ACT Chief Minister’s Inclusion Award for Lifetime Achievement in Support Work, she has provided communication and accessibility advice and creation of Easy Read documents to the recently formed National Disability Research Partnership, St John’s Ambulance Australia, the Disability Royal Commission, Rights & Inclusion Australia, Carers ACT and more.
Meet our team
Ladina Castle
Project Officer
Ladina has worked in the disability and retail sectors and runs her own photography business.
Taz
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
My name is Taz. I’m 18 and I identify as neurodiverse. I’m a self taught digital artist with a passion for anime and manga style character design, and also draw simple cartoon style backgrounds, objects, and animals. I am glad to have the opportunity to work on the EasyRead Toolbox project and contribute toward disability accessibility.
Hiimfn
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
16 year old digital artist hiimfn (they/them) is proudly autistic and has ADHD. They live in Canberra and are focusing on anime art in their school projects, as well as at home.
Kathryn
Senior Writer
I spent my professional life to date oscillating between writing science curriculum resources for primary school (I was involved in most of the Primary Connections books) and policy work for different governments. I became interested in the visual side of communication and did some design courses. You can see more of my work here: https://bit.ly/KCPortfolio2022
Becoming a mother changed my life in many ways, including discovering that I was autistic and have ADHD. I am still working through that realisation. I'm a firm advocate of the social model for disability given my experiences and those of my family.
Debbie
VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
As a disabled person, Debbie grew up in a world not designed for her, having to fight to create her own meaningful opportunities. Founding a Virtual Assistant business, Debbie works to further reach causes and people that matter, and support her clients in their advocacy roles. Debbie works alongside her assistant Karlie.
With 3 years in the virtual assistant industry, and a further 8 years in the retail industry, Debbie proves that disability does not affect ability, and believes all people deserve a safe, inclusive pathway into meaningful employment that also satisfies them.
Nhat Tran
founder of Bridge Creations
Nhat Tran is the founder of Bridge Creations, he has a graphic design background graduating with a Master of Design Strategies and a Bachelor and Honours degree in Graphic Design from the University of Canberra. He founded Bridge Creations following his health background, on one side, encountering abuse, discrimination and workplace toxicity, and on the other side growing a passion for sports. He partners with Easy Read Toolbox to develop images, icons, and infographics as a learning resource for the customers and end-users of Easy Read Toolbox.
Sezi
Graphic Designer
I am Sezi. I am 22 and am autistic. I have a passion for being creative in visual arts and have studied graphic design for two years. My aim is to keep practicing and refining my art and graphic design projects and hope that they have a positive impact on the world. I am thankful for the opportunity to work for Easy Read and help people with disabilities.
Some of my work can be seen at:
Meg Sonsbeek
Junior Writer
Hi, my name is Meg. I am 19 years old, from Melbourne, and am a Junior Writer for The Easy Read Toolbox.
My mum works in the community and disability sector, so I have many fond childhood memories of visiting her workplace to sit in on meetings or help out at events. She inspired me to path my own career in disability and inclusion.
My role at The Easy Read Toolbox includes creating Easy Read translations, researching and writing our blogposts, and producing other internal documents.
As someone with ADHD myself, I am proud to work at an inclusive and supportive workplace that is making such significant and unique contributions to the disability community.
Jacqueline Gibb
Writer
I am a late diagnosed AuDHD (Autistic & ADHD) educator, therapist and Easy Read writer, who works out of Canberra. The focus of my work is adult Autistics and ADHDers and people who are recovering from trauma.
I am very passionate about the “nothing for us, without us space”, and so I love working with Karen and the rest of the Easy Read Toolbox team on creating accessible documents for people.
I am blessed to have had a range of work experiences that help inform and guide my work, including running and managing small businesses; working in juvenile justice, youth work, and community services; training and working as a primary school teacher; and now working as a counsellor in the neurodiversity and trauma space.
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Easy Read Made Easy - a social enterprise developed by and employing disabled people
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The Easy Read Toolbox respects and honours First Nations Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of First Nations Peoples on this land and commit to building a more inclusive and accessible future together.
