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Meet our spokespeople

We have experienced spokespeople available on a range of disability and business-related subjects. Our spokespeople are subject experts. They can give interviews and provide informed written comment and thought-leadership.

Our areas of expertise include:

  • Disability employment – recruitment, retention, and workplaces issues
  • Disabled consumer choice and disability living costs
  • Mental health and employee wellbeing
  • Disability access to education, learning, and training
  • Disability data monitoring
  • Accessibility and inclusion
  • Disability and technology
  • Disability and leadership
  • Disability and UK public policy
  • Future workplaces
  • The impact of the news agenda on disabled people and business
  • Inclusive communication and the portrayal of disability

Our spokespeople include:

Headshot of Diane Lightfoot, CEO of Business Disability Forum. She's a white woman with mid-length brown hair. In the photo she is wearing a black blazer and sitting at a desk.Diane is responsible for representing Business Disability Forum at the highest levels of business and government, and in the media. She has appeared on Radio 4 and Sky News, and is regularly asked to comment on the impact of breaking news on disabled people and business.

Diane is co-Chair of the Disability Charities Consortium, a group of nine major national disability charities in the UK. She is a member of the Disability Confident Business Leaders’ Group and Professional Advisers’ Group and also sits on the Institute of Coding’s Diversity & Inclusion Board, the Advisory board for the Centre for Neurodiversity Research at Work at Birkbeck University, the Steering Group for the RSA Inclusive Work, Disability and Ageing Network and the Steering Group for the Global Business Disability Network, hosted by the International Labor Organization. In her spare time is also Chair of the Challenging Behaviour Foundation.

Prior to joining Business Disability Forum, Diane was Director of Policy and Communications for United Response, a leading national disability charity. Whilst at United Response, Diane also took on the strategic leadership of the organisation’s employment services as a whole and she is passionate about the role that good work has to play in transforming people’s lives. Prior to joining United Response, Diane was Head of Marketing at two membership charities – NCVO and the Pre-school Learning Alliance after beginning her career in local government.

Headshot of Bela Gor.Bela is a lawyer with over 20 years’ experience of disability discrimination law and best practice.

Bela advises on a variety of subjects ranging from the law and reasonable adjustments in both employment and customer contexts, to consumers in vulnerable situations, and mental health.

Before joining Business Disability Forum, Bela represented disabled clients in some of the earliest cases under the then new Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to test the new law and has influenced the development of the legislation. She continues to write and speak about how disability legislation might be failing disabled people and business and the need for revision and review.

Image of Angela MatthewsAngela leads Business Disability Forum’s policy and research team and specialises in UK work, health, and disability policy. She is an adviser to and research partner on several academic research projects related to health, disability inclusion, and inclusive employment.

Angela regularly contributes to HR and disability ‘lifestyle’ publications. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4, speaking on topics including women’s work and care ethics, and the disability employment gap. Angela has given evidence at various Parliamentary Select Committee inquiries.

Angela has professional experience in diversity and equalities management, disability and workplace adjustments, equalities data management, employee relations, and occupational health. Angela also holds several postgraduate research qualifications.

Angela often brings her own experiences of work, health, personal and social care, and disability benefits to her speaking activities.

Lara Davis joined Business Disability Forum in November 2021 and has over 25 years’ experience in marketing communications in the public, private and not for profit sectors.

Previous roles include Head of Communications for national charity Citizens Advice and working for a health and education specialist communications consultancy.

Prior to joining Business Disability Forum, Lara worked as a freelance marketing communications specialist in the charity sector, providing her expertise to a wide range of charities. Lara leads our Changing the image of disability campaign.

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