Tap into some serious positivity whilst understanding the true meaning and impact of diversity & inclusion.
With an OAM, an AM & 17 Paralympic medals under her belt, in 2021 Ellie Cole became Australia’s most decorated female Paralympian.
At age three, her right leg was amputated after she suffered a life-threatening sarcoma cancer, but rather than dwell on adversity, Ellie has instead shown an incredible ability to overcome the odds.
It’s not only her courageous story but her unrivalled sense of humour, wonderful humility and never-say-die attitude that make her a true inspiration.
Talking Points
Motivational Mindset
Shifting your mindset can be the difference between a happy, fulfilled existence and a daily struggle. After a year of unsuccessful chemotherapy, Ellie’s parents made the heartbreaking decision to amputate her leg. She jumped into a swimming pool eight weeks later for rehabilitation - and from that moment built an inspiring and glittering career. Motivational Mindset
Ellie focuses on embracing life and adapting to change. She believes that having a disability has taught her that things don’t always go our way, and how important it is to focus on the positive and move forward.
A lot of people have emotional limitations that prevent them from living the lives they want to live - but Ellie says these are stepping stones that are easy to overcome - once you know how.
Diversity, Inclusion & Positive Impact
Throughout Ellie’s career as a Paralympic athlete, she has seen first-hand how genuine acceptance and encouragement of diversity and inclusion practices can be a serious game changer. Not only does diversity provide society and individuals with an empowering competitive advantage, but it also brings together people from different backgrounds to excel in creativity, problem solving and innovation. Diversity, Inclusion & Positive Impact
Here Ellie shares her tips and experiences in building brilliantly diverse teams and communities and the enormous benefit we can all enjoy from it.
Accessible Communities & Environments
The tourism industry contributes 10.8 billion dollars to our Australian Visitor Economy, which is greater than the Chinese tourism industry. With an estimated 20% of Australian adults having a disability and an ageing population, the disability sector is set to grow. So, how we can change our world to accommodate people living with an impairment? Accessible Communities & Environments
Through the process of universal design our world can be accessed, understood and used by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. An inclusive world is not waiting for a special occasion to address issues in our environment, but by doing the best we can to address issues in our communities so they are able to be enjoyed by all.
On behalf of the Senior Leadership Team, we’d like to thank Ellie for a fantastic session last week. Everyone in the group thoroughly enjoyed meeting her and listening to her story. She is v ... keep reading Strathfield Council
The thing that struck me most about Ellie is how down-to-earth she is. Even though she's a 6 time Paralympic gold medal winner, she could just as easily be the friend you knew from school. She's funny and she quickly connected with the audience (250 people who were under 30 years old). Wow, what an inspirational young woman!
