Naomi Johnson

she/her
Neuro and Disability Inclusion Consultant, Speaker and Advocate
Spectrum Circle Ltd

Award category:

Business and Finance

Naomi Johnson is a passionate advocate for neurodiversity and disability inclusion, bringing leadership and strategy experience across various sectors, including tech, retail, charity, legal, and banking. Currently, she consults on Disability and Neurodiversity Inclusion Strategy, focusing on making DEI, neuro and disability inclusion, and accessibility translatable across sectors to ensure equity becomes standard practice.

Recognized among the Top 80 Neurodiversity Evangelists in the UK in 2023, Naomi is not only an advocate for change but also a public speaker. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing the complexity of intersectionality and the need to remain humble and curious in this work.

As a neurodivergent individual who went undiagnosed for many years and as a parent of neurodivergent children, Naomi’s advocacy is profoundly personal. Her journey, filled with educational struggles, mental health challenges, and experiences of burnout, mirrors the experiences of many and underscores the importance of challenging traditional narratives of neurodivergence.

Naomi’s impressive career includes previous roles at Amazon, where she served as the Disability Inclusion Leader for Amazon Worldwide Stores and Co-Director of Neurodiversity for the Amazon Disability AG/ERG Global Board. Additionally, she has held roles such as CTO for Kaleidoscope Group and Head of Internal IT for a service provider. Her more ADHD career path choices have also seen her as a Scuba Instructor, a Norland Nanny, and a Pony Trekking guide.

Driven by her desire to dismantle barriers and create a more inclusive society, Naomi’s commitment to disability inclusion has led to more inclusive hiring practices, better accessibility adjustments, and stronger support structures within workplaces globally. As a champion of the social model of disability, she advocates for universal design and equity in all aspects of life and work. Having worked strategically across many countries with varied challenges and disability narratives, Naomi brings a unique and valuable viewpoint to her advocacy.

Q&A

Naomi Johnson
A career doesn’t have to be what you first set out to be or do. Find mentors to guide you on the tough days, to remind you how awesome you are, to help you grow and navigate. Challenge the narrative and stereotypes, change isn’t instant or easy, but you are one of the changemakers.
Every time I support someone, when I mentor company leaders, when I challenge bias, create systemic change, I set a ripple across a space. I have spoken about disability inclusion and neurodiversity in presentations which have been viewed by over 100,000 people, to individuals who when greeted with my openness about who I am, disclose, tell me their life story, and sometimes ask for support or guidance. From a child who enthusiastically told me she was newly diagnosed autistic as she knows I am too, to the leader who challenged his entire organisation to do better, to create accessible docs/presentations/emails as a standard practice. I have worked in companies with less than 50 employees and over 1 million, I would hope, every day, I have a positive impact somewhere.
To continue influence large scale change, to focus on making DEI, neuro and disability inclusion, and accessibility built into strategy, to ensure equity becomes standard practice. To keep pushing the narrative around intersectionality of disability, which is often forgotten.
As an ADHDer I am not that great at switching off! Going on adventures with my kids and dogs, singing along with to music in the car, cooking, playing games and whatever my current hyperfocus is!
My two children, every day. Their enthusiasm, humour, kindness, curiosity and openness is awesome to watch and learn from.
Dogs, we currently have 2, an enormous 55kg Newfoundland called Maggie and a completely bonkers rescue Spaniel called Oscar. Over the last year we have fostered 17 different dogs and puppies whilst they found their forever homes with Rosina Animal Rescue.
Many people’s inability to see other peoples views and experiences. I find it astounding how many people are not interested and cannot begin to understand what it is like to live or exist in any other life. The world would be a very different if people had more empathy and openness.
I think that businesses are becoming better at arranging suitable reasonable adjustments for disabled people. Now more work needs to be done to give disabled people fair opportunities to progress in their careers. I would love to see more disabled people in senior leadership positions, especially on the boards of FTSE 100 companies.

Areas of expertise

Accessibility, Business, Charity, social enterprise, Children and young people, Cross Sector, Disability Advocacy, Education, Employment, Equality, IT, Tech, Web design, Neuroinclusion

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