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Event 16: Is Neurodiversity a Community? Exploring Identity, Inclusion, and Intersectionality

90 minutes

Thursday 20 March 2025

09:00 to10:30 (GMT)



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About the event

When we talk about the neurodiverse community, who do we mean?


Neurodiversity may bring us together under a shared umbrella, but the lived realities of individuals could not be more unique. Our intersecting identities like race, gender, caste, class and sexuality shape the barriers, experiences and opportunities we face.


In this panel, Atif Choudhury (CEO, Diversity and Ability) will challenge and probe the concept of a neurodiversity community, asking:

  • Who feels safe under the neurodiversity umbrella? Who doesn’t?

  • How do intersecting identities influence experiences of neurodiversity inclusion or exclusion?

  • Is a truly inclusive culture possible? How can we get there?

  • What are the risks of ignoring intersectionality in the pursuit of unity? Who do we leave behind?


Through honest discussions, lived-experience insights, and practical strategies, we’ll explore how to foster an inclusive approach that celebrates the diversity within neurodiversity. Join Atif and expert panellists to reimagine a neurodiversity movement that leaves no one behind.


This is a free online event via Zoom.

Atif Choudhury | Event Chair

CEO and Co-founder, Diversity and Ability

Named on the Shaw Trust’s 2023 Disability Power 100, Atif Choudhury is a social entrepreneur with a background in economic justice and disability inclusion. Focusing on the inclusion of marginalised communities, Atif has worked on high-profile social development projects across the world, and spoken about his approach at global and national events.

He is the Co-founder and CEO of Diversity and Ability and Zaytoun CiC (the world's first Fairtrade Palestinian olive oil cooperative), Advisor to WHO Rapid Assistive Technologies Board and trustee for Disability Rights UK.

Ronisha Bhattacharyya
(She/They)

Disability Services Coordinator, Diversity and Ability

Ronisha identifies as a Woman’s Rights Activist. When not advocating for equity and freedom, you may catch her at open mics performing poetry slams on social issues. Ronisha has spent over a decade in the Global South working as a Development Communications Specialist. She earned an MA in Gender and Development at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. At the heart of what Ronisha has done in her career thus far is to tell stories of resilience, grit and ambition, while working for some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people (particularly rural women) in India. She loves a good read and travelling to remote parts of the world.

Jess Rad

National Award-Winning Keynote Speaker, Entrepreneur & Advocate

Jess Rad is an award-winning speaker, entrepreneur, and leading voice on gender equity and neurodiversity in the workplace. Winner of the 2024 National Diversity Award for Gender, she works with organisations to close gender gaps, build allyship, and shift workplace cultures ensuring an intersectional lens is always given.

Trusted by organisations including NatWest, Open Society Foundations, and Sussex University, Jess is known for her raw, thought-provoking talks that open up conversations many shy away from. She brings both professional insight and deeply personal lived experience as a late-identified neurodivergent woman, co-parent, and someone navigating premature menopause. As an Ambassador for Amaze, she is passionate about changing the narrative around neurodiversity and amplifying the voices of parent carers.

Through honesty, vulnerability, and storytelling, Jess creates spaces where people feel seen, understood, and able to rethink the way they work and lead.

Praveen Kolluguri (He/Him)

Neurodiversity and Disability Advocate

Praveen Kolluguri is an activist and passionate advocate for disability, neurodiversity, and social justice. He is a product marketing expert. He sits on the Equality and Opportunity Advisory Committee of Prospect Union and is the ex Co-chair of Able2, BT's Disability Employee Resource Group (ERG). Praveen works with institutions and organisations to foster more inclusive and accessible environments. Praveen is recognised for his work as a disability changemaker and is being celebrated as one of the 100 most influential disabled individuals in the UK, as well as a leader in his field, by the Shaw Trust Power List 2024.

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