Innovation Unleashed

Victoria Manning

Victoria Manning - Analyst, Office for Disability Issues, will discuss personal experiences in increasing access to information for deaf and disabled people and her work on legislation around sign language.

Victoria helped establish disability support services for disabled students at Victoria University of Wellington while studying towards her first degree.

After attaining her masters degree in mental health counselling from Gallaudet University in America, Victoria worked as a psychologist for the deaf, establishing New Zealand's first deaf mental health services. Victoria also led an 8-year long human rights case that resulted in deaf, hearing impaired and speech impaired people gaining access to the telephone.

More recently, Victoria has been working as an analyst with the Office for Disability Issues that included three and a half years of working on the New Zealand Sign Language Bill.

On the side, Victoria made an award-winning short film last year, and has just finished co-producing and directing a feature-length documentary on New Zealand Sign Language and the Deaf community. Victoria will talk about some of her personal experiences in increasing access to information for deaf and disabled people - something she's very passionate about.

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