Profile:

Barbara Anello

An activist/advocate with a long history in the disAbility movement and a not so long history in the social justice movement, Barbara serves on a diversity of local, regional, provincial and national boards and committees including:

current board / committees:

• DAWN Ontario: DisAbled Women's Network Ontario, acting chair,
• North Bay Network for Social Action, co-chair/founder,
• North Bay & District Health Coalition, steering committee member
• Canadian Women's Health Network (CWHN), director
• Ontarians with Disabilities Committee, regional contact, webmaster
• Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee North Bay, chair/founder
• Brain Injury Association Network (BIAN), chair/founder,
• Ontario Social Safety NetWork (OSSN), steering committee member,
  Rogers Inquest Committee member, Access to ODSP Committee member
• Ontario Health Coalition provincial admin committee member
• Women in Public Policy, national advisory committee member
• Ontario Women's Network on Child Custody and Access, steering committee member
• 9th International Women in Health Meeting (IWHM) Canadian Advisory Committee member,
• Ontario Coalition for Social Justice, regional representative
• Assaulted Women's Helpline, community partner
• Justice with Dignity Campaign - Committee to Remember Kimberly Rogers volunteer webmaster, member
• Nipissing NDP Riding Association, Vice President - Provincial Council
• Homelessness and Housing Network of Ontario (HHNO), co-rep from North Bay

Barbara has served on the boards of the North Bay General Hospital, the Ontario Training Advisory Group on Disabilities, DAWN Canada, the Ontario Brain Injury Association and was a founding director of the Muskoka, Parry Sound, Nipissing Local Training and Adjustment Board (LTAB) Area 20.

Barbara has utilized her technology skills as a volunteer webmaster for organizations including:

• DAWN Ontario,
• Brain Injury Assocation Network,
• North Bay Network for Social Action,
• Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee
• Canadian Council of the Blind,
• GAP: Group of Active Parents for Childrens Rehab Services,
• Justice with Dignity Campaign's Committee to Remember Kimberly Rogers
• Gender Equality Alliance of Nipissing (GEAN)
• 9th International Women's Health Meeting (IWHM) (English version)

In addition to webdesign, Barbara, an advocate of online communities, founded and manages several electronic listservs:

• DAWN Ontario Women with DisAbilities e-list (306 members);
• BIAN e-list (145 members) for persons affected by brain injury;
• Technology e-list (89 members) to help build technical capacity of Women with DisAbilities;
• D-WILD: Women's International Linkage on Disability e-lisy (163 members) co-moderator
• Ontario Workfare (OW) Watch list, (171 members) co-moderator
• Sharing Our Stories E-List, where Women with DisAbilities meet to Share our Stories
  
  

With her tenacious commitment to advocating for change and injury prevention, Barbara was instrumental in lobbying efforts that resulted in the passing of Bill 124, the mandatory helmet legislation.

In June of 1995, Barbara was awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship at Queen's Park for pioneering innovative injury prevention initiatives. In 1999, Barbara was one of ten individuals profiled in the book, Opening Horizons, recognizing Canadian entrepreneurs with disabilities who have made a contribution to the Canadian economy. In the September 1999 issue of Chatelaine Magazine, Barbara was one of three women profiled in the feature Thriving Lessons "How three gutsy women bounced back from financial disaster" authored by Gail Vaz-Oxlade.

Barbara has a diverse employment background ranging from chemical engineering in the public sector, advertising & marketing in the private sector, to community development and activism in the non-profit sector. Between voluntary gigs, Barbara occassionaly does some paid work as a freelance Internet marketing strategist, communications specialist, and human resources consultant.

A native of North Bay, Ontario, Barbara immigrated to Canada at the age of 6. She has two sons, aged 13 and 6. Her eldest son is gifted and her younger son has a pervasive developmental disorder. As a woman with a disAbility, Barbara refers to the diversity of abilities in her nuclear family as a "learning experience".

Barbara's interests include advocating for a strong and effective Ontarians with Disabilities Act, promoting entrepreneurship among women with disAbilities, and on social and economic justice issues.

High on the list of Barbara's passion is utilizing the World Wide Web to inform, educate, and entertain mixed ability audiences about disability and gender issues, perceptions, and attitudes.