Cathy joined Side By Side Advocacy in 2018 as part of the Individual Advocacy team. Cathy has been a passionate advocate in both a personal and professional capacity for people with disability, degenerative neurological conditions, and mental health issues for more than 20 years. Cathy has been working with people to navigate the NDIS and its complex intersections with health, education, housing, justice and aged care systems since the scheme’s inception. During the last 10 years Cathy’s advocacy has been particularly focused on working with people who grew up in institutionalised settings and people who communicate informally. Cathy draws on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and the principles of trauma informed practice to support people who communicate informally to assert their right to make decisions about their own lives. In addition to individual advocacy, Cathy has led multidisciplinary teams delivering information and referral, intensive family support and early intervention services. Cathy has a Masters in Bioethics from The University of Sydney and has contributed to published research projects, systemic advocacy projects and the development of multilingual resources and evidence-based consumer health publications.