Heather Lacey

nosuperhero.co.uk

Heather is an activist, writer, researcher and public speaker, whose experience of cerebral palsy, Scheuermann’s kyphosis and mental illness lead her to find solace in social media and eventually start her blog, nosuperhero.co.uk. Her writing – though candid and oftentimes hard-hitting – illuminates yet celebrates the disabled experience and her experiences of chronic pain, fatigue and mobility issues. She explains: “Navigating the world as a young disabled woman has its challenges: ultimately, I want to reassure others that they are not alone, and that their experiences are valid and important.”

Heather also writes for Able Magazine and has been published in the Journal of Gender Studies and The British Society for Literature and Science. She is a frequent guest on panels and at conferences, and earlier this year chaired a panel including Ade Adepitan and Cerrie Burnell at The London Book Fair. During her time at law firm Eversheds Sutherland, Heather has promoted and contributed to the firm’s D&I strategy, acting as a Network Lead on Wellbeing and Ability, the disabled colleagues and carers network, as well as sitting on pro-manchester’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee and attending Business Disability Forum’s Northern Network. Earlier this year, Heather was a judge for the Recruitment Industry Disability Awards on behalf of Eversheds Sutherland, adjudicating entries based on Disability Confident criteria and demonstrable recruitment and retainment of disabled talent.

She has worked with organisations including Scope, BBC Ouch and Huffington Post, and is an Ambassador for Inclusive Minds, a collective that aims to improve diversity and inclusion in young peoples’ fiction. She is AccessAble’s North West Champion, promoting accessibility guides in cities across the UK, and in 2019, the University of Hull – in partnership with Team GB – recognised her as one of their Extraordinary People for her work in disability advocacy.

Navigating the world as a young disabled woman has its challenges: ultimately, I want to reassure others that they are not alone, and that their experiences are valid and important.