Hearing others talk about what they heard and what made sense to them can help us to see things in a new way. With that in mind we invited two good friends of CRU, Lesley Chenoweth and Karin Swift, to converse with journalist, Nance Haxton about the series. Lesley Chenoweth AO is an academic, activist and adjunct Professor at Griffith University. Lesley committed her career to advancing the rights of people with disability and ensuring their voices are heard. This included time working at CRU...

Kevin Cocks is very clear that his passion for standing up for people has stemmed from the values learnt in his childhood in western Queensland. Since acquiring his disability in his early 20's, Kevin has engaged in disability advocacy, co-founded an innovative service; won a class action to change the Australian Building Code and served as Queensland's Anti-Discrimination commissioner for seven years. In this episode we hear Kevin reflect on his earlier life and some of the ways he was...

In a career spanning over three decades, Leanne Burke has worked in a range of settings to support people with disability. Guided by the example of her first teacher, her big sister Maria, Leanne is committed to creating the best life for the people she works with. Leanne's leadership has been in quietly and consistently demonstrating what is possible for people and what good quality looks like over time has been a great contribution to the sector. In sharing what she's learnt Leanne...

Anne Cross is the founding director of the Community Resource Unit and the recently retired CEO of Uniting Care Queensland, one of the largest service providers of disability and aged care in Queensland. Her career coincided with various developments that have come to define our understanding of professional services and their place in people's lives. Throughout all this change, Anne has made a point of listening to and learning from the people she has worked with. Anne's story is an example...

Margaret and Jeremy Ward have been active members of the disability community in Queensland since the 1980's. They have invested in collective family advocacy efforts and in developing their own leadership skills and the skills of others. They were also instrumental in the creation of organisations such as QPPD, CRU, QAI and Pave the Way. In this story they share the personal struggle for their daughter Mena to attend the local school alongside her peers. They describe the importance of...

Josey McMahon and her twin sister Cathy grew up in a large family in rural Queensland until Cathy moved to live in a large institution where she remained for 47 years. This is the story of how Josey reconnected with Cathy and helped Cathy reconnect with the wider world once again. At its heart this story is about personal change, reconnection and the power of family.

Matt Stone, the host of this season of CRUcial Conversations, discusses the upcoming series with CEO of Community Resource Unit Ltd Margaret Rodgers. Matt and Margaret reflect on the stories and what people can expect from this exciting new series.