Dave Thompson

Dave is the Chief Executive of Warrington Disability Partnership, a user led organisation, employing over 50 staff and nearly 200 volunteers. Together they provide 27 independent living services including two Independent Living Centres, Direct Payments Scheme, Shopmobility, Inclusive Sports, and a number of Employment and Educational contracts.

Until April 2015 Dave worked as a senior manager in the NHS for 20 years. He started his career as a Disability Advisor and finishing as the Assistant Director of Inclusion where he led on equality & diversity, patient & public involvement and social inclusion.

During the past twenty five years Dave has travelled across the UK and Europe as a speaker at conferences and workshops highlighting the provision of information as a key to independent living and the development of sustainable partnerships.

He has had various disability-based articles published in health and social care journals, and he has been involved in various national Equality & Diversity initiatives including working with the NHS Executive, NHS Employers, Disability Rights Commission and Department of Work and Pensions.

For the past twenty two year’s Dave has developed and presented a variety of Disability Equality training courses that has been attended by over 35,000 staff from statutory, businesses and the voluntary sector. He is a visiting lecturer at various Universities and has presented at a number of Royal Colleges.

Dave was a founder and a director of the ‘Disability Trading Company’ which operates several commercial services which support WDP. Dave is also the founder and event co-ordinator of the Disability Awareness Day (DAD). Now in its 25^th year DAD is recognised as one of, if not, the largest voluntary pan disability independent living event in the world.

In 2001 Dave received an MBE in recognition for his contributions to improving services for disabled people. In 2006 he was commissioned as a Deputy Lieutenant for Cheshire and in 2011 he received an honorary Masters in Business Administration from Chester University. In 2013 he received the Entrepreneur of Excellence in Disability from the National Diversity Awards for his drive in developing Warrington Disability Partnership and its trading company.

Dave has been a full-time wheelchair user since 1989, which was as a result of a spinal cord injury and a survivor of cancer since 1999.