Meet the QDN board of directors. A passionate and dedicated group of leaders.
Sharon Boyce
Chairperson
Des
Ryan
Deputy Chairperson,
Committee Chair of Audit and
Compliance Committee
Nerine Williams
Director,
Committee Chair of Nominations and
Performance Committee
Mark McKeon
Company Secretary
Danielle Brown
Appointed Director
Talitha Kingsmill
Director
Nigel
Webb
Director
Alison Barber
Director
Karen McCarthy
Director
Sharon Boyce, Chairperson
Sharon is a part-time education academic and consultant in disability awareness across the state. She is passionate and committed to social justice – empowering people with a disability and supporting real living independence.
Sharon is the Chair for the Queensland Disability Advisory Council and Regional Chair of the South-West Regional Disability Advisory Council.
Among the awards she has received are the Queensland Regional Achiever Award in 2012 for her work in awareness raising and creating inclusive communities across Australia, a Human Rights Award in 2008 for her contribution to creating inclusion across the community, and a Disability Action Week Award in 2003 for her work writing an accessible children’s story book.
Des Ryan, Deputy Chairperson,
Committee Chair of Audit and Compliance Committee
Des has a twenty-year history with not-for-profit boards in Central Queensland providing care services to people with disabilities or training. Des has been a board member of Spinal Life Australia’s since 1996, resigning in January 2018, and leading the transition from a community-based board to a mixed board with a diverse skill set from the business and corporate sector.
Des has worked across a vast range of organisations supporting people with disability, including work to increase the employment of people with disability. Des has a strong interest also in Information Technology and has his own established database business Able Disabled. Des was awarded the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow Award in 2000, and Companion of Central Queensland University in 2008 and is a recipient of the Order of Australia Medal in 2013 for his service to people with disability.
With 50 years personal experience with a disability, Des is working to influence change, driven by the members of this network so that we can influence the direction of the NDIS into the future. Des says the highlight of his life as a person with a disability has been employment and volunteering. These are the two areas, in my mind, that put the cream on the cake. I would like to be able to maximise that opportunity for many others now and into the future.
Nerine Williams, Director,
Committee Chair of Nominations and Performance Committee
Nerine lives in Brisbane with her husband, their two children and their dog. Nerine is a proudly Autistic, multiply disabled advocate who experiences physical, cognitive, and sensory challenges. Nerine describes herself as an assistive technology enthusiast, searching out AT that gives her a feeling of joy and collaborating with WA-Based AT Chat on several projects. Nerine also enjoys crafting, cooking, learning new things and meeting new people.
Nerine is a QDN member who actively participates in Peer Support and focus groups as well as advocating through QDeNgage.
Nerine’s professional qualifications include a Masters of Management (Human Resources), Graduate Diploma of Management and Graduate Certificate in Information Systems. Her non-linear career has been centred on education and stakeholder consultation and has spanned the fields of human resources, information systems, governance, and leadership. Nerine has lived experience of disability in metropolitan, rural and remote Australia including navigating education, employment, NDIS, and the health sector. Eighteen months ago, Nerine started the Brisbane support group for people with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) and is now working with other members to build a QLD-wide community.
Nerine is described by others as being generous in sharing knowledge and she has a particular talent for connecting people with resources and each other to get better outcomes. She is keen to learn about other people’s experiences to better understand the challenges faced by people with disability and to help make informed decisions that best represent the priorities and needs of QDN members and their families. Nerine applies her quirky thinking and problem-solving skills in combination with her lived experience to contribute to her community. She is passionate about accessibility for all Queenslanders, particularly in the areas of education, employment, and healthcare.
Mark McKeon, Company Secretary
Mark was appointed Company Secretary of QDN in early 2023, having previously been QDN’s Finance and Administration Coordinator from early 2017 to July 2020.
Mark is an accountant with early career experience as an audit manager with a large accounting firm in Australia and the UK, industry experience as a financial controller and then company secretary of a listed public company in Queensland, governance experience as secretary of two large government owned corporations in Brisbane and Gladstone, and not-for-profit experience as Finance Manager of a Brisbane-based community legal service.
In addition to his current role at QDN, Mark operates a finance, governance and administration consulting business, Mark McKeon Consulting. Mark welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the work of QDN and to use his experience and expertise to support the Board for the benefit of QDN members.
Dr Talitha Kingsmill, Chair of Nominations and Performance Committee
Talitha has 25 years’ experience across the private and public sectors in education, educational leadership, consultancy, research, law, regulatory compliance and policy development.
With 17 years of experience working and raising a family while living with Retinitis Pigmentosa, Talitha is a passionate advocate for equitable, accessible opportunities for all. She has nominated for the QDN Board to make an authentic and informed contribution to the Board and its members.
With an extensive background in Board and organisational governance, Talitha is proficient with ethical, inclusive and accountable decision-making processes. She has a thorough knowledge applying regulatory frameworks, relevant legislation and incorporating statutory requirements concerning human rights, corporations, working with children, conflict of interest and not-for-profit organisations.
Talitha’s experience in education extends across primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. It includes significant work with students with a wide range of disabilities, and their families.
Talitha’s lived and professional experience provides rich insights to the confronting and very real challenges and obstacles for people living with impairment and disability. Her work as a Solicitor in courts and tribunals, public speaking, facilitating professional development sessions, presenting to Executive Boards and committees and keynote speaking at international and national conferences equips Talitha to be a powerful and articulate advocate for all QDN members.
Talitha believes that access in all its forms is fundamental to equitable opportunity so that individuals may live their best lives. Talitha understands that a collective voice achieved through collaboration and consultation is powerful and passionately advocates for this.
Talitha has received many awards acknowledging her excellence in research and academic achievement, including an Australian Council for Educational Leaders Research in Educational Leadership and Management Award (2017), an Australian Catholic University Higher Degree Research Award (2012) and ACU Top Graduate Award – Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) & Graduate Certificate (RE).
Nigel Webb, Director
Nigel is a past Director of QDN – June 2009 – October 2020 and was elected annually as Chair of the Board by its Directors between February 2010 until the AGM of October 2020.
Nigel was appointed to the Queensland Disability Advisory Council (QDAC) in September 2022. He was appointed as a Queensland Delegate of The Australian Disability Strategy Advisory Council (ADSAC) in June 2023/24 by the Minister/s. Nigel is employed by Choice, Passion Life as a Client Liaison Officer supporting 14000 clients throughout Qld & NSW.
Nigel says," With the final reports for the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS review released with their respective recommendations, the NDIS Amendments Bill working through the respective Parliaments now, is the time that the voices of people with disability must be elevated more than ever and for QDN members and non-members to be actively involved".
He has also been an active QDeNgage Consultant, a Housing Champion and a Peer Leader co-convening the NDIS Self-Management Peer group in recent years.
Nigel is delighted to see the success of the Emerging Leaders program and the Leadership Bursary that QDN supports each year. The Peer Leaders and each group situated within their communities must be encouraged and must flourish.
Nigel is also humbled to have been awarded Life Membership by QDN Directors’ in October 2022.
Alison Barber, Director
Alison Barber is a mother of 3 young adult children and lives with her husband of 37 years.
Both of her sons live with multiple medical complexities and disabilities which, between them, has resulted in approximately 30 brain surgeries, living with hydrocephalus, acquired brain injury, both having gastronomies and being tube fed for the majority of their lives, in addition to being on different levels of the autistic spectrum.
Additionally, Alison personally acquired a C2 incomplete spinal cord injury in late 2019 and is now a permanent power wheelchair user. I She believes the combination of a somewhat unique life experience enables her to be able to represent multiple viewpoints with relation to issues like the NDIS. and I pride myself in attempting to be the best advocate I can be, for those with both visible and invisible disabilities.
Alison is a convenor for the Caboolture Peer Support Group, a State Carer Representative for Carer’s Queensland, a member of the Statewide Spinal Chord Injury Delivery Service- Codesign Project, a founding member of University of the Sunshine Coast’s research Project into Technology Enabled Homes for People with Disability and she is actively involved in numerous other disability and NDIS related projects.
Alison originally graduated university with a double degree in both primary and early childhood education. After working in this field for many years, she retired from teaching, when her and her husband established, owned and operated one of the first veterinary hospitals in Queensland.
Her sons’ medical complexities necessitated relocating closer to the children’s hospital in Brisbane, and she spent many years homeschooling and raising her children.
Alison is passionate about advocacy for all people living with disabilities, both visible and invisible.
Karen McCarthy, Director
Karen McCarthy, a former lawyer, business graduate and keynote speaker on change and resilience, wife, and mother of two teenagers. Karen has lived experience of legal blindness and acquired brain injury, having incurred these disabilities in her mid-30s.
Over her career, Karen has demonstrated her expertise in governance, performance, and compliance; strategic thinking and policy shaping based on collective experience and evidence; and marketing, advertising, grant writing, and fundraising.
She also has experience in risk management and a basic understanding of auditing, accounting, and financial management.
Karen brings strong analytical and critical thinking skills, as well as the commitment to sound governance, integrity and accountability that she has cultivated over a 20-year legal career.
Karen worked for 15 years at the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, where her work included assessing briefs of evidence and prosecuting cases in court, she also led a team of lawyers.
After losing her sight, Karen continued her legal career with the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission. Her responsibilities were both outward-facing, in assessing complaints from the public and making recommendations for findings against police and public officers, and inward-facing, in giving advice to internal stakeholders concerning the operations of the Commission itself.
Since starting her speaker business in 2022, Karen has gained practical skills in marketing and advertising, including appreciating the value of a strong brand and the effectiveness of speaking to the clients' needs, rather than the solution you offer.
Karen is endlessly curious, an excellent listener, a confident speaker, and an eager learner with knowledge of the Art of Hosting and Harvesting Conversations That Matter. Through my own vision loss and ABI, I gained insight into the unique challenges faced by those whose life is affected by disability.