Lorraine Wapling

I joined the DRF team after serving as a Board member for many years, believing passionately in the need to support the global disability movement. I come from London, UK, but spent much of my early career living and working in countries like Uganda, Tanzania, and Malawi. I chose Kenya as the location for my PhD research on inclusive education and throughout my 20 years plus working around disability inclusive development, I’ve been able to spend time with diverse communities across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. I’ve used my experience to help create and run a specialised development consultancy, which has a strong focus on disability inclusion and through which I’ve been able to work with many leading UN and bilateral agencies. I have co-authored several influential publications including Travelling Together: How to include disabled people on the main road of development and Beyond Charity: A donor’s guide to inclusive grant making, and I’ve spoken many times at the UN for the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In addition to my role at DRF I am a Board member for the UKs National Deaf Children’s Society and in my spare time I play bass guitar in a post-punk band, sing in a rock choir and play violin in the Warminster Philharmonic Orchestra.

Book recommendation: Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco