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Elly Desmarchelier
PrintElly Desmarchelier is a sought after speaker, writer, event facilitator and disability rights advocate. As a proud disabled woman, Elly was the national spokesperson for the Defend our NDIS campaign during the 2022 Federal election.
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Testimonials for Elly Desmarchelier
Elly is a brilliant communicator. It is a truly complex thing to help someone who hasn’t experienced something, take their mind to a place of meaningful imagining. Elly not only accomplishes this with aplomb but also brings a mastery of knowledge, policy and data to her exploration of disability and the experience of disabled people. She is remarkable.
Future Women
Elly was part of an incredibly powerful panel discussion at DSC's 2023 Annual Conference and it was nothing short of brilliant. She's a very confident and polished public speaker with a real gift for talking about disability rights in a way that really lands. We've been told repeatedly at the event and since that her panel was not just a conference highlight, but one of the best panels some attendees have ever watched. In short, Elly doesn't just talk - she sparks real, important conversations and changes perspectives.
Disability Services Consulting
Elly is an incredibly powerful, captivating and magnetic speaker. She has a unique authenticity with her hard-hitting, vulnerable lived experience married with measurable facts that reaches directly into people’s heads and hearts.
Grace Tame, 2021 Australian of the Year
If you want to explore disability issues in a warm, accessible and meticulously informed light, Elly is your woman. Since having her speak at one of our team events, I've had relentless requests to get her back.
News and Features Commissioning Editor - Hireup
Fee Range: POA
Elly Desmarchelier's Biography
Elly Desmarchelier is a sought after speaker, writer, event facilitator and disability rights advocate. As a proud disabled woman, Elly was the national spokesperson for the Defend our NDIS campaign during the 2022 Federal election. Her fierce advocacy has gained her access to rooms where decisions are made that impact the lives of Australians with disability, such as speaking at the Prime Minister’s 2022 Jobs and Skills Summit.
From appearing on national TV on shows such as The Project, The Drum, Q&A and 7.30 to speaking at the Sydney Opera House for the 2023 All About Women Festival, Elly shares her insights and experiences on being a disabled woman in modern society. Her writing has been featured in national publications such as Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and the ABC.
Elly is featured in the National Archives of Australia exhibition: Disrupt, persist, invent: Australians in an ever-changing world for her advocacy work, particularly on the Defend Our NDIS campaign. She was also a finalist in the Marie Claire’s 2022 Women of the Year Awards.
Fuelling her advocacy, Elly is determined to create change for the 1 in 5 Australians with disability and believes that’s only possible if people with disability have a seat at the table.
In her down time, you will find Elly at home in Brisbane with her partner, Chantelle with their two lazy but loveable dogs.
Speaking Topics Include
Elly can provide a fully tailored speech unique to an industry or area of interest
Disability Rights, Inclusion and Accessibility - "why we all have a responsibility to include people with disability in our communities, the benefits of doing so and how we go about it" Elly can speak to the ways that our society can benefit from embracing diversity and inclusion. While also highlighting the reality facing people with disability in Australia and the barriers they face. Elly is motivated to provide real solutions and leave the audience feeling empowered to take action to make their communities more inclusive.
Proudly disabled
Elly has lived experience - Elly is proudly disabled. Born with Cerebral Palsy and diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 28, the bigger the barrier, the more stubbornly determined Elly is to overcome it.
Creating change
Elly knows how to create change - through her time in politics and on the campaign trail, Elly has learnt lots along the way, fine tuning her advocacy to deliver tangible change for people with disability.
Gender equality and LGBTIQ+ issues
Elly is passionate about gender equality and LGBTIQ+ issues - Elly recognises that women with disability face even greater inequalities than men with disability. As a proud feminist and member of the LGBTIQ+ community, Elly understands the issues faced by people from many marginalised communities and is passionate about working with them to find solutions.
Politics and Law
Elly worked in politics for almost a decade. She now uses the knowledge of how decisions are made to campaign for the rights of people with disability. Elly is passionate about more people understanding the democratic process in order to create tangible social change. People hold the power, they just don’t know it - yet!
Leadership during tough times
When times are tough, Elly shows leadership - At a time when the NDIS was at a crossroads, Elly stepped up as National Spokesperson for the Defend Our NDIS campaign and showed vulnerability in sharing her own NDIS story. During a hotly contested election, Elly’s work made the NDIS one of the top 3 issues talked about across the campaign period (Essential Media, 2022) and delivered real commitments for people with disability.