Amanda Jane "Minnie" Baragwanath is a disability advocate from New Zealand. In 2011, she founded Be. Accessible, a social enterprise which aims to make New Zealand accessible and inclusive for all people with disabilities.

Biography

Baragwanath grew up in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. When she was 14 years old, she was diagnosed with

Stargardt disease Stargardt disease is the most common inherited single-gene retinal disease. In terms of the first description of the disease, it follows an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, which has been later linked to bi-allelic ABCA4 gene variants (S ...

, an incurable disease of the eyes which caused her to lose her sight. Baragwanath studied at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

and completed a bachelor's degree in English literature, a bachelor of communication studies and a graduate diploma in economic development. In 2011, Baragwanath founded Be. Accessible, and Be. Leadership as a subproject. Be. Leadership focused on providing leadership development programmes for disabled New Zealanders. In 2019 she renamed the organisation Be. Lab and established the Centre of Possibility at

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...

(AUT). At the Centre of Possibility Baragwanath works with AUT researchers and academics in the field of possibility design and innovation.

Recognition

In 2013, Baragwanath received the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award and in 2014 she was made a member of the

New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

. In 2017 she received the

New Zealand Women of Influence Award The New Zealand Women of Influence Awards are an annual set of awards which recognise women who make a difference to everyday New Zealanders' lives. The Awards were first made in 2013 and were initially sponsored by Westpac Bank. In 2016, Stuff N ...

for Diversity. In 2019 she was named by

Zonta International Zonta International is an international service organization with the mission of advancing the status of women.Alan Axelrod, ''International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders'', New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1997, p. 271. H ...

as one of 100 Women of Achievement in New Zealand for her leadership and advocacy for social change.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baragwanath, Minnie Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand disability rights activists New Zealand Women of Influence Award recipients Massey University alumni People from Palmerston North Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit