Working at Scope’s Communication & Inclusion Resource Centre together for the past couple of years, Lisa Ho and Georgia Burn have built a great relationship through their work. They are both advocates of creating an inclusive community for people with a disability.

With Scope’s 70th birthday giving the pair a reason to celebrate and reflect, they’ve shared some of the proud moments they’ve had along the way.

Lisa started at Scope in 2015, joining the team in a casual position after completing a Certificate I in Work Education. Lisa works for Scope as a communication access assessor, which involves being a mystery customer at a business or service while evaluating the staff and the setting on communication accessibility.

Lisa’s potential as educator, advocate and leader was apparent when as a child, she became a role model and mentor to others in mastering and using electronic communication devices. Lisa says she was happy to find work with Scope, an employer that is providing meaningful employment to people with disability.

“I was hoping to look for a job that suits a person with a disability and thankfully Scope was able to fulfil my wishes,” she says.

Lisa says she has found Scope’s relationship-based support has helped her to develop as a professional.

“My colleagues give me feedback on how to improve my performance and Scope also encourages me to develop my skills in other areas such as presenting at conferences,” she says.
Lisa’s most memorable time in her time at Scope was when she was offered and accepted the role of Master of Ceremony at the Scope Annual Awards last year.

“I must have done a good job because the former Assistant Minister for Disability Services Jane Prentice MP, who was a guest at the awards, invited me to be one of the presenters at the National Disability Awards at Canberra in December 2017.”

Working together with Lisa, Georgia is a speech pathologist who’s been with Scope for over two years. Georgia was inspired to join the team after hearing about how Scope was leading the Communication Access global movement with its Communication Access Symbol.

“I really wanted to be part of something exciting that has a huge impact for people with communication difficulties and the wider community,” Georgia says. “I wanted to live in a more inclusive and aware society.”

Georgia’s proud to be part of a diverse and skilled team and says Scope is one of the best workplaces in the world.

“I’m part of a mixed team of speech pathologists, educators, experts with lived experience of disability, communication technology specialists and researchers.

“We have a fantastic, collaborative working environment, where you feel supported to think outside of the box, exercise your creativity, and work with some really amazing people. We’re constantly learning and bettering the work we do – and in this way, it has helped me achieve some of my goals.”

Georgia says her favourite memory would have to be awarding the Communication Access Symbol to V/Line and Public Transport Victoria (PTV).

“This was an enormous project that required collaborative teamwork from almost everybody! I remember being at the launch party for V/Line and PTV, and seeing everybody celebrate a huge achievement – which was making public transport for over 2 million passengers with disabilities a more communication accessible, inclusive and enjoyable experience.”

A collaborative approach helps Georgia, Lisa and the broader Scope team achieve better outcomes in Communication Access. They’re working together to achieve some exciting and far-reaching outcomes with positive impacts for people with disability and the wider community.