Funding approvals
2023-24 Access Coordinator Training Program

• Bridie McKim: McKim graduated from NIDA in 2018 to become one of the first actors with disability to play a lead role on Australian television in The Heights, produced by Matchbox Pictures for the ABC, also airing on BBC1. Her other screen credits include Stan’s original series Bump and original film Christmas Ransom, Hulu’s Joe Vs. Carole, and Netflix’s series Dive Club and Irreverent. McKim’s theatre credits include Downstairs Belvoir’s production of Tuesday, and Black Swan State Theatre Company’s production of The Cherry Orchard. McKim has cerebral palsy and uses her lived experience to advocate for people with disability within the arts and wider community.
• Brooke Scobie: A queer, Goorie AuDHD multi-disciplinary creative, passionate about equity for neurodivergent communities. Scobie has over 15 years in community services and five years in the arts. They hold qualifications in Creative and Indigenous Writing, Applied Social Science, and Management. With a diverse background in community work, Scobie has experience in the mediation, counselling, youth work, housing, out-of-home care and education sectors. Scobie’s experience in the arts lies in writing, producing and artist management, while their writing has earned them second place in the 2020 Judith Wright Poetry Prize and a finalist spot for the 2023 David Unaipon Award. 
• Chanel Bowen: Bowen is a member of the disability and hard-of-hearing communities and advocates for disability stories on screen. She has partnered with A2K Media for Disability Justice Lens, Bus Stop Films as Producer’s Attachment on Babycat, and serves on the Minister’s Advisory Committee for Disability in Western Australia. Bowen received the Regional to Global Screenworks and Australians in Film Internship for 2022 allowing her to expand her producing experience with Animal Logic Entertainment and Truant Pictures in the USA. Bowen has been recognised as a SPA Ones to Watch in 2023 and is mentored by Rosemary Blight.
• Declan Caruso: An award-winning director, producer and writer from regional QLD, now Sydney-based. Having started his career in hybrid children’s and television commercial direction and production, Caruso was selected for Screen NSW’s Emerging Producer Placement in 2022 and continued at the agency as Acting Screen Investment Manager – before returning to the industry as Executive Assistant and Production Coordinator at Lingo Pictures. Caruso worked on the recently-released Lingo series After The Party and Erotic Stories, and upcoming series Prosper; and continues to develop and produce for his scripted production label Psychedelia Films. 
• Liz Cooper: An award-winning writer/director with 20+ years’ experience. Cooper creates an intimacy that is realised across her work in drama, documentary and online content. Her 2016 short film Wolf, financed by Screen NSW Emerging Filmmakers Fund, was preselected for Cannes Critics Week and Official Competition. Cooper has produced over 30 hours of engaging content for the Raising Children Network and Accessible Arts NSW. As a proud disabled artist, Cooper has been part of leadership initiatives including Sync Twilight Leadership Program and Front and Centre program. She is dedicated to advancing disabled leaders in film and the arts.
• Michèle Saint-Yves: Saint-Yves primarily writes for performance - stage, screen and poetry – and has directed and produced plays, social impact documentaries and short films. Her ground-breaking access-embedded, neurodivergent and dementia friendly play Clock for No Time won the SA RUBY AWARD 2022 for "Outstanding Work: Collaboration". Saint-Yves has been selected for multiple screen industry development initiatives such as with Matchbox Pictures, AFTRS Talent Camp, Mercury CX Springboard Plus, many in partnership with the South Australian Film Corporation. Recently her screen projects have been shortlisted for Adelaide Festival Film Lab, Mercury CX Quicksilver grant and SBS-SAFC Full Tilt initiative.
• Phoebe Neilson: A passionate advocate for disability equity and inclusion. In 2020, Neilson joined A2K Media, a Disabled-led production company. A2K Media's pioneering work earned them the Screen Australia 2021 Enterprise Business & Ideas funding – facilitating the upcoming launch of their Disability Justice Lens initiative. Neilson was a core member of the research team behind the award-winning 'Disability and Screen Work in Australia: Report for Industry 2023’. With a Postgraduate Degree in Psychology, a working knowledge of Auslan and lived experience of chronic illness, she is excited about creating accessible, authentic portrayals of Deaf and Disabled lives in Australian screen content.
• Sarah Carroll: An award-winning Pasifika, queer and neurodiverse writer, performer and theatre producer working on Dharug Land. Carroll (she/they) has two successful one woman shows under her belt, Cherry (Sydney Fringe Award Winners and Hollywood Fringe Nominee) and Unkissed (Shopfront – ArtsLab). They have participated in the AFTRS Talent Camp, Midsumma Pathways, Brand X Ground Zero, Accessible Arts NSW, Antipodes Theatre Winter Lab and Q Theatre Lab. Carroll’s writing work has been published with ACON (Stories Out West) and The Writing Zone as part of the Western Sydney University Writing and Society Research Centre. Carroll strives to champion for underrepresented voices to be heard and create works that uplift and engage audiences in new and exciting ways.
• Stephanie Dower: A Brisbane-based screen producer, writer and consultant. In 2021, Dower produced and edited a short film, Sunshine, a project funded through Screen Queensland’s RIDE Shorts program. She is currently developing an exciting slate through her production company Dower Productions with notable projects including travel series Carry On, and feature film Seeing Scout. An advocate for disability inclusion, Dower was appointed to Screen Queensland’s Equity and Diversity Taskforce and is a current member of the SPAA Council through their Leadership Diversity Mentorship. She also co-hosts Attitude Foundation’s ReFramed Podcast, is an Associate at Get Skilled Access and can regularly be found on panels at Screen Forever, Film Festivals and other industry events.