Before an accident in 2010 left him with quadriplegia, Dr Shane Clifton said he "knew nothing about disability".
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But the Coledale resident has since built a career in the field, and has now joined the board of Illawarra-based not-for-profit The Disability Trust.
It was while working on the Disability Royal Commission that Dr Clifton became more aware of the work of The Disability Trust, when its chief executive officer Carol Berry gave evidence as the commission heard testimonies from organisations doing good things.
"When I was later approached to join the board, its vision resonated with me - to create an inclusive world built on trust, respect and equality, where people with disability live the life they choose," Dr Clifton said.
He said he was committed to joining with The Disability Trust in addressing ableism.
"I'm interested in efforts to increase the employment of disability, and just to ensure that our services are at the cutting edge of services," Dr Clifton said.
Prior to 2010, Dr Clifton was an academic in the field of theology and ethics.
But that year an innocuous bit of fun spun his life on a whole different trajectory.
He was with his teenage children at a church in Nowra where a jump into a foam pit had been set up.
Dr Clifton rode a bike off the jump but landed upside-down in the pit, breaking two vertebrae in his neck.
"I think you imagine when you first have something like a spinal cord injury that your life is over, you can't envisage what a new life will be like, and certainly it does take a lot of years to readjust your mindset, to try and work out how to deal with profound disability of this type," Dr Clifton said.
"But over time you recover and you make a life, and actually I feel really privileged in many ways to have the opportunity to encounter the world of disability... I've met a really rich and interesting community, I've learned a lot about life, about living with the challenges of impairment, but also the strength that people with disability have, the way in which they're underestimated.
"So for me it's been really fascinating and I feel really privileged to be part of the disability community."
After the accident, Dr Clifton drew upon his background in ethics to consider his own situation and how he could "regain a sense of the good life and happiness".
He interviewed people who had lived with spinal cord injury for long periods of time, who'd led "very rich and interesting lives", and that gave him hope.
This propelled him into disability study and in 2013, he joined the Centre for Disability Research and Policy at the University of Sydney, working on the wellbeing and flourishing of people with disability.
He is also the president of the Spinal Cord Injuries Australia board.
Dr Clifton served as the director of research and policy for the Disability Royal Commission from the inquiry's early days because he wanted to ensure that lived experience informed its work, and remained there for its four years.
He said disability services were "navigating changing and challenging times" after the royal commission and the NDIS review.
"I hope that the lessons I learned at the royal commission and in my role as a member of the Centre for Disability Research and Policy at the University of Sydney, can help me contribute to the work of The Disability Trust as it navigates these changes," Dr Clifton said.
Dr Clifton joined the board alongside disability advocate Tom Baxter, healthAbility CEO Agata Jarbin, and former CEO of The Disability Trust, Margaret Bowen.
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
