Roberta Louise Francis Watene

[Image Description: Gold centered text on a black background with gold confetti reads, “The D-30 Disability Impact List. Below, centered black text in a gold box reads, “2020 Honoree”. Below, left, white centered text reads, “Roberta Louise Francis Watene”. Below, centered in a gold box, black text reads, “New Zealand”. To the right, a color headshot of Roberta with a white outline. In the bottom left corner, the white Diversability logo with “#D30DisList” centered below in white text.]

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Roberta Louise Francis Watene (she/her)

Co-Founder/Director, The Lucy Foundation

New Zealand

Dr. Robbie Francis Watene is a 31-year-old disability rights advocate, activist, scholar, entrepreneur, author, and leader from Auckland, New Zealand (NZ). Born with a physical disability (phocomelia), Robbie has dedicated her personal, professional and academic life to advocating for the rights of marginalised populations. I am nominating her in recognition of her relentless dedication to disability and human rights, and lifelong commitment to inclusive and accessible peacebuilding. Robbie is Project Lead for the Disabled Person-Led Monitoring of the UNCRPD in NZ. Her role is to conduct rigorous research that gives life to Article 33.3 of the UNCRPD. She is also the co-founder/Director of The Lucy Foundation (TLF) - an international social enterprise transforming the global coffee industry. TLF works with indigenous coffee-farming families and disabled people in Mexico/NZ, and has created what is believed to be the world's first disability inclusive value chain of coffee. Learn more about The Lucy Foundation.