Maryanne is blind and has been all of her life. She has 4 children one who is vision impaired. She was employed in the information technology industry for many years before moving into the community sector.
She is currently employed by Vision Australia as General Manager International and Stakeholder Relations. Maryanne was the inaugural CEO of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations 2004 - 2007. Prior to that, she spent four years as the Executive Officer of Blind Citizens Australia.
Maryanne has held a range of positions on: community, local, state, national and international boards and committees for more than 20 years. Currently her major involvements include: A Board member of the Global Partnership on Disability and Development, Member of the Steering committee of the International Disability Alliance, an executive member of the International Council for the education of children with Vision Impairment, a board member of the Australian Council of Social Service, a board member of the Australian Pacific Islands Disability Support, a member of the Australian Disability Development Consortium policy committee, Australia’s National People with Disability and Carers Council and Australia’s National Compact Advisory Committee.
Maryanne’s major focus until the end of 2012 is her leadership of the World Blind Union. The global organisation representing the estimated 161 million people who are blind or have low vision.
