Hello my name is Joanna and I am a Project Worker at Inclusion North
My Experience
Studied Social Work at Durham University
Worked at Skills for People for 9 years
Worked closely with Experts
Organising events and groups
Training students and professionals
Working on reducing health inequalities
My Skills and Knowledge
Good communication skills
An understanding of problems people face
Good relationships with other agencies
Supportive team member
Not afraid to challenge
What is important to me
That people have their voices heard and have fulfilling lives.
That I make a difference by helping people
People have access to green spaces and nature
What people say about me
Enthusiastic
Genuine
Kind and Friendly
Listen and don’t rush people
Always try to help
Motivated
I Enjoy
Gardening
Spending time with family
Outdoors
Cooking
Foraging
Singing and music
Meet the Delivery Team
Who are we?
The Delivery Team works across the North East and Yorkshire & Humber.
We work with:
- People with lived experience.
- Families and carers.
- Local councils.
- Organisations
- Integrated Care Boards.
An Integrated Care Board helps local NHS services work together to meet people’s health needs.
Together, we work to make things better for people with a learning disability and autistic people.
What do we do?
We support organisations to:
- Listen to people with lived experience.
- Work together with people.
- Make services better.
- Plan for the future.
- Include people in decisions.
We help with:
- Learning Disability Strategies.
- Autism Strategies.
- Partnership Boards.
- Working Together Groups.
- Meetings, workshops and events.
Why is lived experience important?
We believe people with lived experience are the experts in their own lives.
We want people with lived experience to:
- Share their ideas.
- Have their voices heard.
- Help make decisions.
- Shape services.
- Create positive change.
This is called co-production.
Co-production means people work together as equal partners.
Our aim
We want people with a learning disability and autistic people to:
- Have a good life.
- Have the same opportunities as everyone else.
- Be listened to.
- Be involved in decisions that affect them.
- Receive good support and services.
Together, we work to make positive, lasting change across the North East and Yorkshire & Humber.
Hello my name is Joanna and I am a Project Worker at Inclusion North
Joanna works as part of Inclusion North’s Delivery Team, delivering strategic projects across the North East and Yorkshire & Humber. She works alongside Local Authorities, Integrated Care Boards and partner organisations to improve outcomes for people with a learning disability, autistic people and their families by ensuring the voices of people with lived experience are central to system change and the development of inclusive services.
Joanna works alongside people with a learning disability, autistic people and family carers, including people with lived experience of detention in mental health hospitals. She supports people to build confidence, develop leadership skills and use their experiences to influence local, regional programmes, ensuring their voices shape policy, practice and decision making.
Joanna has developed expertise in facilitating meaningful co-production, inclusive engagement and accessible involvement. She brings experience of LeDeR (Learning from Lives and Deaths – People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People) and has contributed to programmes that aim to reduce health inequalities and improve outcomes. Alongside this, Joanna contributes to Inclusion North’s membership programme, supporting organisations to embed lived experience throughout strategy development, project delivery and organisational improvement.
Working collaboratively with members, people with lived experience and partner organisations, Joanna helps ensure that lived experience remains at the heart of everything Inclusion North does. Through her compassionate and inclusive approach, she empowers people to influence decisions that affect their lives and supports members to embed meaningful co-production that delivers lasting change.
Meet the Delivery Team
Our Delivery Team works across the North East and Yorkshire & Humber, partnering with Local Authorities, Integrated Care Boards, Providers, VCSE organisations and wider partners to improve outcomes for people with a learning disability, autistic people and family carers.
Together, the team brings expertise in innovation, strategic delivery, partnership working, co-production and lived experience. Co-production is at the heart of everything we do. We believe people with lived experience are experts in their own lives and we work alongside organisations to ensure their knowledge and experiences shape decisions, services and system change.
We support members to develop learning disability and autism strategies, facilitate partnership boards and collaborative networks, strengthen partnerships and embed inclusive approaches that create lasting impact.
Whether supporting system wide transformation, delivering co-produced projects or empowering people with lived experience to influence change, our Delivery Team is committed to reducing inequalities and helping members create more inclusive communities where people with a learning disability, autistic people and family carers can thrive.
