Different Ways, Same Purpose.
‘m Anica.
I’m a Professor, researcher, speaker, writer and disability advocate. I’m also a mum, a passionate traveller, a lover of musicals and theatre and an unapologetic Ed Sheeran fan. All of these things are true at the same time, and I don’t think I should have to choose between them.
I’m a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Inclusion at Royal Holloway University of London, where I’ve been based since 2015. My work sits at the intersection of disability, inclusion and participation. Through research, speaking, training, advisory work and public engagement, I explore how organisations, institutions and everyday environments can become places where disabled people can participate fully and thrive.
My work doesn’t stay inside the university. It turns up in keynote talks, museum exhibitions, parliamentary briefings, podcasts, documentaries, training programmes and conversations with organisations trying to figure out what genuine inclusion actually looks like in practice.
I navigate the world as a registered blind woman, usually with my guide dog Maisie by my side. My lived experience is not separate from my research. It shapes the questions I ask, the way I work and why I care so deeply about the topics I study.
My Story
I have lived with a progressive genetic eye condition called cone-rod dystrophy my entire life.
As a child I was visually impaired. Over time my sight gradually deteriorated, and by my mid-twenties I met the legal criteria for blindness. Today I have less than 0.5% vision remaining.
Growing up, I spent a great deal of time navigating systems that often didn’t know what to do with disability. Some people focused on what I couldn’t do. My family took a different approach.
Our family motto was simple:
Never say you cannot do it, only that you may need to find your own way.
That idea has stayed with me throughout my life.
At sixteen I moved to New Zealand on my own to complete high school early. Since then my journey has taken me across multiple countries, universities and disciplines, eventually leading to a professorship in the United Kingdom.
The experiences of being disabled, navigating inaccessible systems and finding alternative ways forward continue to shape both my life and my work.
Research
I am a qualitative researcher with a passion for interdisciplinary work and international collaboration.
My research focuses on improving inclusion, participation and economic opportunity for disabled people. This includes work on entrepreneurship, paid and unpaid work, leadership, higher education, museums, travel, leisure and everyday life.
At first glance these topics can seem quite different. To me they are closely connected. Again and again, I encounter the same underlying question:
Who gets to participate?
The same structural barriers appear across workplaces, universities, museums, public spaces and communities. They simply wear different disguises.
I use co-created and participatory approaches that centre lived experience. My work draws on ethnography, diary methods and visual and creative research approaches. My aim is to produce research that is not simply about disabled people but genuinely shaped by disabled people.
Teaching and Capacity Building
I teach Responsible Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Responsible Business Management.
I have guest lectured at institutions including the Ivey Business School (Canada), NYU London (UK), Syracuse University (USA), University of Turku (Finland), University of Bayreuth (Germany) and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany).
Alongside formal teaching, I design and deliver training programmes on disability inclusion, accessibility, research methods, sensory access and organisational change for universities, businesses, charities, museums and public-sector organisations.
I am also Co-Founder and Director of the Spring Institute on Disability, an international initiative bringing together researchers from across disciplines and continents.
Beyond Academia
Not everyone reads academic papers, and that’s exactly the point.
I regularly work beyond traditional academic spaces through documentaries, podcasts, exhibitions, media projects and public engagement initiatives. I am particularly interested in finding creative ways of making research accessible and engaging to wider audiences.
Recent work includes projects on disability, access to culture, sensory inclusion in museums, media creation and wellbeing, and disability inclusion in higher education.
Volunteering and Advocacy
I volunteer for Guide Dogs UK as a speaker, fundraiser and campaigner. Over the years I have delivered more than 100 talks to audiences ranging from primary schools to corporate leadership teams. I also support visually impaired and blind people as a peer-to-peer support buddy via the Royal National Institute for the Blind.
I also serve on several advisory boards and committees, including roles with Guide Dogs UK, the Centre for Responsible Management at FIIB, the Access to Work Collective and the Centenary Project.
Advocacy is important to me because research alone does not create change. Real change happens when evidence, lived experience and action come together.
A Bit About My Disability
I have cone-rod dystrophy (CRD), a progressive genetic condition affecting both central and peripheral vision.
The vision I have remaining is blurry and constantly flickering. I also experience photophobia, which means I am extremely light-sensitive. This is why there is usually a pair of sunglasses somewhere on my head, ready when I need them.
I also experience visual hallucinations associated with Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS), a condition experienced by some people with significant sight loss. My hallucinations range from colourful geometric patterns and neon glowworms to occasional lampposts, bollards, walls, trees and the occasional unexpected elephant.
To work, read and navigate the world I use a range of tools, including screen-reading technology, my guide dog Maisie and, when needed, my long white cane Harry.
Like many disabled people, I spend a lot of time adapting to environments that were not designed with me in mind. That experience continues to inform my teaching, research, speaking and advocacy.
What’s Coming
I’m currently working on a memoir entitled Different Ways, Same Purpose.
The book explores growing up with sight loss, becoming blind as a young adult and finding a way forward in a world that was often unsure what to do with disability. It is a story about family, belonging, ambition, identity and finding your own path when the obvious route is closed.
More soon.
Life Outside Work
Outside work, you’ll usually find me travelling, reading, exploring museums, discovering new food, attending a musical or theatre production or listening to Ed Sheeran.
Or just cuddling with Maisie.