Disability Disrupters26 Aug 2025

S1E14 - Interview with Neelu Jennings - Politician, Disability Advocate and Adventure athlete

Neelu Jennings

Neelu Jennings is a politician, disability advocate, and adventure athlete from Lower Hutt, New Zealand. A member of the Green Party, she has stood for both local and national office while raising two children as a full-time parent. Neelu brings deep expertise to her advocacy, holding a master’s degree in disability policy and a postgraduate diploma in public health, alongside professional experience with the Office for Disability Issues.

As the founder of Integrated Sport NZ and a decorated para-athlete, she has broken barriers in sport—becoming the first blind person to complete the Coast to Coast and the Crazyman multisport races, as well as climbing Mt Aspiring and paddling across Cook Strait. Her leadership has been recognised with an Attitude Award and a Woman of Influence Award. In April 2025, Neelu and Optimed’s Craig Norman teamed up to race the Porirua Grand Traverse - the multisport event involved legs in a double kayak (12k), a tandem mountain bike (28k) and a supported trail run (18k).

00:00 Introduction - Disability Disrupters Podcast 00:21 Introduction to Podcast Guest 00:40 Advert - Disability Self-empowerment: Module one: Take charge of your future! 01:58 Interview with Neelu Jennings 30:59 Employment Matters - part 3 35:04 Advert - Fast braille translation service 36:04 Goodbye from Dr Pam 36:20 Advert - Tipjar support for the podcast

Disability Self-empowerment: Module One: Take charge of your future! Available on amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Disability-self-empowerment-Module-charge-future-ebook/dp/B0FJLKGLTV

Disability Responsiveness New Zealand offers personalised mentoring and workshops - view the content of these at https://drnz.co.nz/about-our-workshops-and-programmes/

Audio Shorts, background music provided by www.andrelouis.com

Podcast audio and transcript editor : Britta Offergeld

Support Disability Disrupters by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/disability-disrupters

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Episoder(28)

S1E28 - Interview with Wally Noble - Disability researcher, Disability awareness presenter and Advocate

Wally Noble My name is Wally Noble and I am a T4 paraplegic and manual wheelchair user whose work is grounded in lived experience, disability awareness, and creating greater understanding of the every...

30 Sep 56min

S1E27 - Interview with David Goldfield - Marketing Director at Blazie Technologies and Accessible Technology Trainer

David Goldfield David Goldfield is a visually impaired technology user with over 35 years of experience working in the blindness technology space. He provided tech support for Blazie Engineering and t...

31 Aug 1h 20min

S1E26 - Interview with Dr. Huhana Hickey - MNZM, Māori disability and human rights advocate, scholar and former lawyer

Dr Huhana Hickey MNZM is a Māori disability and human rights advocate, scholar and former lawyer of Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Ira and Tainui whakapapa. A disabled wahine and wheelchair user, she brings liv...

31 Jul 1h 20min

S1E25 - Interview with Tim Young - CEO at Smart Access Limited

Tim Young - CEO at Smart Access Limited Tim Young is the CEO of Smart Access, which has developed a data collection, categorisation, and navigation system for pedestrians with access needs to plan a s...

30 Jun 42min

S1E24 - Interview with Sadie Dingfelder - Author, science journalist, neurodiversity advocate

Sadie Dingfelder - Author, science journalist, neurodiversity advocate Sadie has prosopagnosia — face blindness — which means she can't recognize anyone by their face. Not her mother, not her coworker...

30 Mai 51min

S1E23 - Interview with Dan Shepherd - General Manager, Community and Inclusion

Dan Shepherd Dan is Blind Low Vision NZ’s General Manager, Community & Inclusion, and leads a portfolio of work that is community facing and aims to change attitudes towards vision loss and people who...

30 Apr 29min

S1E22 - Interview with Yenn Purkis - Autistic Author, Speaker, Advocate

Yenn Purkis Yenn Purkis is an Autistic and ADHD, non-binary, asexual advocate and author. They also have a diagnosis of atypical schizophrenia and anxiety. Yenn has been a disability advocate since 20...

31 Mar 48min

S1E21 - Kylee Maloneys award winning broadcast with Victoria Maxwell - Crazy for Life

In this special edition of the Disability Disrupters podcast, Kylee Maloney presents her award winning broadcast, interviewing Victoria Maxwell about Victoria's one woman show called Crazy for Life. K...

28 Feb 30min