Meet the Directors | Faraway
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MEET THE DIRECTORS

LAURIE KENNEDY - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Laurie uses his lived experience as an autistic adult to help develop strategies and processes in the community that can help improve awareness and understanding of accessibility and needs of those on the spectrum that want to accomplish their career goals.

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His background is in marketing and autism advocacy and wants to make North East Lincolnshire a more welcoming place for those with unique minds.

Laurie Kennedy - Executive Director

JAYNE MORAN - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dr Jayne Moran founded Faraway after persuading the local Commissioner to fund some Autism Mentor posts. This was specifically so we could employ Autistic people to support other Autistic People – something members of the Adult Autism Forum (AAF) had been asking for since Jayne and Thomas Jones had created this space in 2016 for local Autistic Adults to have a say in how they want to receive support in North East Lincolnshire.

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Jayne’s dream for Faraway is for it to become completely led by Autistic people and she is working her socks off to enable this to happen!

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THOMAS JONES - ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

As a co-chair on the Autism Board, Thomas has been making North East Lincolnshire more accessible for autistic people for 3 years. He has a lived experience of autism that has helped him to better understand the struggles of those in the autistic community and what changes need to be implemented to make North East Lincolnshire more autism friendly.

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In 2019, Thomas developed the successful Autism Champions project that helped several local organisations gain a deeper understanding of autism and how it can better understand and support autistic staff members.

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JO MINCHIN - ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Jo is an autistic person, an autism parent and an autism professional working for the NHS in my local CCG. Parenthood came first, then her own late diagnosis in 2003. Then finally, after more than 15 years as a parent advocate and autism activist, in 2015, she became an autistic Expert by Experience within the Transforming Care Program in the UK, putting her at the sharp end of mental health provision for autistic people and people with learning disabilities.

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"If I have a mission statement, it is that the human spectrum is wide and diverse, and that we all have a rightful and equal place on it."

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