Peter is the founder and CEO of Disability Sports Coach since its inception in 2005. He has been part of the development of sport for disabled people since 1997 working with English Federation of Disability Sport, Football Association and Interactive (formally London Sports Forum for Disabled People).
In his spare time, Peter is a keen cyclist and enjoys his own and others photography. In his younger days, he played national standard table tennis and still thinks he is fit enough to play competitively, and regularly boasts this to DSC’s patron Will Bayley!
Peter is looking forward to making DSC an international player in sports provision, by creating more opportunities for disabled people to participate in sport.
Dora is our Head of Service delivery and leads our network of Community Clubs, all external coaching partnerships and our various training programmes. She is also our Lead Safeguarding Officer.
Before joining Disability Sports Coach, Dora worked for Mind for more than 15 years. At Mind, Dora’s role was in developing services to tackle health inequalities through accessible physical activity programmes and community services.
Dora firmly believes that taking part in sport brings so many benefits to all aspects of wellbeing; physical, emotional and social. She says that opportunities to be physically active in a safe and professional environment must be accessible to everyone.
In her spare time Dora enjoys running, reading and spending time with family and friends.
Amardeep joined Disability Sports Coach as the Fundraising Manager in February 2019, raising funds to help the charity continue providing its vital services.
Amardeep has worked in fundraising for over eight years, and knows from family experience the key role sport and exercise plays in empowering people living with disabilities.
Outside the office, Amardeep enjoys keeping active, and has taken on several charity challenges, including a Tough Mudder and a 100km walk from London to Brighton. He particularly enjoys football and Pilates, which is rather more relaxing!
Amardeep is thrilled to be working at Disability Sports Coach and looks forward to helping the charity to reach more communities of people in need of our support.
A former journalist, Rachael was inspired to work for Disability Sports Coach from her personal experience. As a mother of twins with a learning disability, Rachael found that high quality sports provision was not readily available for her daughters and wanted to do something to change that.
She believes in the power of sport to transform the lives of people with a disability and is passionate about creating a level playing field, where everyone has the same opportunities to grow and excel through sport.
Rachael joined Disability Sports Coach in 2022 and is thrilled to be working for a charity that puts inclusive sport at the heart of its mission.
When not working, Rachael enjoys running in the woods with her dog, swimming and going to the gym.
Rachael aims to spread the word about the fantastic benefits that being a part of Disability Sports Coach brings, whether as a club member or coach.
Melissa was born in Belgium and moved to London permanently after finishing university. Melissa studied ‘Socio-Educational Care Work’ at the University of Ghent, where she learned how to support vulnerable people in society in an inclusive way.
More recently, Melissa has worked as a sports coach and mentor for Track Academy and Zest of Mind. She has also worked as a freelance sports coach for Disability Sports Coach since June 2021, coaching for both external contracts and our Community Clubs in Brent and Westminster. This direct experience will help Melissa in her new role in the operations team as Project Officer with responsibility for the Community Club programme.
During her free time, Melissa loves listening to music, exercising, having a good time with friends and family and eating good food.
Hannah joined Disability Sports Coach in 2022 as our Workforce Officer. Hannah gained her Masters of Exercise Physiology in Sydney, Australia where she worked in clinical exercise rehabilitation. Hannah has always been passionate about promoting the benefits of physical activity for all individuals, particularly the role exercise can play in the lives of those living with disabilities and/or chronic conditions.
In previous roles Hannah has worked as a swim coach, disability support worker and co-taught university practical classes on exercise programming for neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. Hannah is hoping to use her background to assist the incredible coaches here at Disability Sports Coach to continue to create and facilitate inclusive sporting opportunities.
Outside of the office Hannah enjoys going to the gym and spending any spare time roaming around and exploring everything this side of the world has to offer!
Nationwide
Adapted Sports Course & Disability Awareness in Sport & Inclusive Coaching Workshop
Nationwide
Adapted Sports Course & Disability Awareness in Sport & Inclusive Coaching Workshop
Nationwide
Adapted Sports Course & Disability Awareness in Sport & Inclusive Coaching Workshop
Nationwide
Adapted Sports Course & Disability Awareness in Sport & Inclusive Coaching Workshop
Paralympic gold medalist Will Bayley is a proud patron of Disability Sports Coach. Having burst on the Table Tennis scene in Beijing in 2008, he went from strength to strength, winning a gold medal at the 2011 European Championships in Croatia.
At the 2012 Paralympic Games in London Will took silver in the Mens Class 7 Singles and bronze in the Class 6-8 Team Event in London, taking credit for half of Team GB’s Table Tennis medal haul!
He went one step further by winning gold at the 2014 World Championships in Beijing and 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.
In 2017, Will was awarded an MBE for services for Table Tennis and in 2019 he appeared in the seventeenth series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Former GB Paralympic Swimmer, Athlete Mentor and BBC Sports Broadcaster Kate Grey become the 4th Paralympian to become a Disability Sports Coach Patron and further pledged her commitment to improving community sport for disabled people.
Kate knows being active has changed her life for the better and wants everyone to have the same opportunities, “I’m very passionate about working with communities to get people active and living healthier lives regardless of their ability. Being active and involved in sport has changed my life for the better and provided so many opportunities.”
Having originally attended DSC Summer’s Festival 2016, Kate was impressed with the sheer number of people engaged regardless of their background.
Kate also served as a Trustee of the charity from 2018 until 2023.
Ben Quilter, former European and double World Champion Judo player has become the latest athlete to become a DSC Patron. With over 15 years of international competition experience, Ben added a Paralympic Bronze medal to his trophy cabinet at the London 2012 Games.
Looking ahead Ben said, “I am delighted to be part of DSC and their Community Club programme, and am looking forward to inspiring people with disabilities getting more active.”
Susie Rodgers is a Paralympic swimmer based in London. She swims in the S7 category and has amassed a total of 20 international medals since her GB team debut in 2011.
Her achievements include being a five time European Champion, a multiple British and European record holder and winning three bronze medals at her first Paralympic Games in London 2012.
Susie won three further medals at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, including a gold medal in the 50m Butterfly event. She was awarded an MBE in 2017.
She is proud to be a patron of Disability Sports Coach alongside her fellow Paralympians.
“It is great to be on board with DSC and I really look forward to watching the development and progress of the organisation as it grows. Physical activity has always been a huge part of my life, even before I decided to become an elite athlete. It can change lives at every level.”
Our trustees provide the strategic leadership, management and
operations of Disability Sports Coach, and approve our annual delivery and
business plans.
Karen Sorab is a social entrepreneur with over 20 years senior leadership experience in the charity sector. She is the founder, former CEO and current Chair of BeyondAutism, a UK registered charity, providing education for people with autism and training for those who support them.
Karen has both lived and professional experience of people with autism, learning difficulties and communication disorders. She has extensive knowledge and understanding of the education sector, especially in special educational needs and has first-hand knowledge of adult social care.
Karen is a passionate supporter of Disability Sports Coach who believes that access to sports brings both physical and mental wellbeing to people with disability. Karen’s daughter, Alex, is an active member of a Community Club and the online programme. Alex has grown in confidence and independence through her participation in all the activities offered by the charity, as a result Alex has not only discovered new sports but has also made lots of new friends.
Sam is a solicitor, having spent ten years working in private practice before moving to work as a lawyer within an insurance broking business. Sam joined the board in 2021.
A keen runner, Sam appreciates the physical and mental health benefits of sporting activity, and relishes the opportunity to provide those benefits to a broader base of people. Although as a Mansfield Town fan, Sam knows that sport has its ups and downs!
Chris is a communications and stakeholder engagement professional. Having set up his own business and worked for a number of PR & Marketing agencies, Chris brings his experience in social change communications and passion for grassroots sport to Disability Sports Coach.
A firm believer in the social and personal benefits that sporting involvement brings to young people and communities, Chris is determined to increase the opportunities available to all those wishing to participate in sport across the country.
Chris is a chartered accountant and has been working in the financial services industry since 2001 both as an external and internal auditor.
Married with three children, Chris is passionate about sport having been involved as a player and supporter throughout his life. He is a strong believer in the joy and benefits that it can bring to all and is keen to help Disability Sports Coach improve lives by providing people with access to sport where they otherwise would not have the opportunity.
Agneta is an investment professional and has been working in the financial services industry since 2013. Agneta is an Investment and Risk Actuary, with her work focusing on research, design, development, and delivery of innovative investment funds and solutions to help meet the investment objectives of institutional clients and their assets.
From a very young age, Agneta has always been deeply passionate about sports (thanks to her father who was also her PE teacher!) having played basketball, boxing, track and field and dancing. Agneta firmly believes that sports benefits people as much mentally as it does physically – for her, exercise is self-love, inside and out, which is why she is passionate about fitness and healthy living. Her mission is to increase awareness and opportunities available to disabled people and is excited to be part of the Disability Sports Coach journey to reach more people to lead healthy, happy and active lives.
After a career in finance, project and operations management, Meagan now works in the charity sector, supporting the families of children with disabilities with information and advice around all aspects of living with a child with a disability.
Meagan is a keen swimmer and a longstanding supporter of the work of Disability Sports Coach. She believes that the social, emotional and health benefits of sport should be accessible to everyone, regardless of skill or ability. Meagan’s daughter Grace is one of the founding participants of Community Club Wandsworth.
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