Meet The Team

Founder and CEO

Jasper (sign name: 'badger')

Pronouns: he/him

Founder, Disability Benefits Adviser and Community Trainer

Jasper founded WheelieQueer in April 2021. He supports Deaf and disabled people with their disability benefits and provides LGBT+ inclusion training.

Being profoundly Deaf, autistic, and having hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Jasper is well-accustomed to how stressful the benefits system can be, on a personal level. Jasper also has an MSc in Clinical Neuropsychology providing him with a medical background, which has helped to understand different conditions (including his own) and the medical jargon used when applying for disability benefits available in the UK and Ireland.

He is a wheelchair user (prone to customising his chair, Ffion!) and communicates through spoken English and British Sign Language.

Pawsonal Assistant

Social Media Team

Luna (sign name: 'moon')

Pronouns: she/her

Bengal x Mainecoon 1 year old Luna helps Jasper with many important roles that include:

Maintaining office schedule to ensure there's enough time for naps and play;
Helping to manage burnout and breaks by dutifully roaming across keyboards;
Helping with paperwork by curling up on the papers; and
Reducing stress with her heart-warming smile, love of cuddles and pets

Her interests include running off with crisp packets, stealing pens, befriending printers, and people-watching from window shelves.

Disability Benefits Advisers

Vivine

Pronouns: she/her

Vivine's role is supporting Deaf, neurodiverse and disabled people with benefits such as PIP, at every stage. Vivine is a SODA (Sibling of a Deaf Adult). Her older sister (who is profoundly Deaf) taught her sign language from the age of 4. As she got older, Vivine immersed herself within Deaf Culture and was an ally within the Deaf Community.

Vivine was also a Flight Attendant for 10 years and had the exciting opportunity of not only travelling the world, but was called upon to look after Deaf/Deaf-Blind passengers on a flight, who booked to go on their holidays. Covid unfortunately happened, and her career took an unexpected turn.

Vivine found herself working within the National Deaf Mental Health Services (Jasmine Suite) in Birmingham and she now currently does remote work as a Deaf CAMHS Family Support Worker (covering Central England).

Vivine communicates through spoken English and British Sign Language.

Ela

Pronouns: she/her

Ela is one of our other disability benefits advisers - ensuring that our clients feel listened to, supported and given the autonomy in managing their disability benefits claims, whether that's a new application or challenging a decision.

Ela has been profoundly Deaf from birth and understand the struggles of being unique and finding your identity in a world with expectations. As well as personal experience, studying BA Hons Social Politics and Crime focusing on disability modules, Ela was a manager in a Deaf-led support care company, supporting people of all ages and background to fight for equality and inclusion. She is passionate to ensure that everyone is able to lead the life they deserve as freely as possible.

Ela communicates through Spoken English and British Sign Language

Social Media Team

Clare

Pronouns: she/her

Clare is our social media manager, running the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram content.

Clare is a Freelance Social Media Consultant. She has a background in working in Education, but moved into Social Media Consultancy to focus on improving her work life balance with Chronic Fatigue.

She has a BA (hons) in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography and is excited to use her knowledge to help WheelieQueer.

Clare is most excited to join the WeelieQueer team to help more people get access to the services which are desperately needed for so many.

Media and Marketing Team

Ida

Pronouns: she/her

Ida writes the WheelieQueer newsletter on worldwide disability and LGBT+ topics, as well as disability benefits roundups.

She is a content and fiction writer from Germany, who now calls England her home.

Having previously written scripts for short films and acting as a playwright for a small theatre company, she now works in content and commercial writing. Her proudest moment to date was probably when she finished writing her first novel in the summer of 2022.

She communicates through spoken English and German (and a little French).