Travels From Victoria
Carly Findlay
OAM, Award-Winning Writer, Speaker and Appearance Activist
Award-winning writer, speaker and appearance activist, Carly challenges people's thinking about what it's like to have a visibly different appearance.
Carly identifies herself as a proud disabled woman living with a severe skin condition, Ichthyosis. In 2015, she organised Australia's first Ichthyosis meet, bringing together 75 people affected by the rare skin condition.
Since then, Carly has received numerous awards, including the 2010 and 2013 Yooralla Media Awards for Best Online Commentary for her body disability-focused writing. In 2013, she also won the best personal blog category for Kidspot Voices and the 2014 BUPA Health Activist award for Positive Life Change. Carly was also the finalist in the Best Australian Blogs competition in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
In 2014, Australian Financial Review named Carly one of Australia's most influential women. She also received one of Westpac's 100 Women of Influence Awards that same year.
In 2019, Carly published her first book, "Say Hello". She writes on disability and appearance diversity issues for numerous publications such as CNN, ABC, The Age, SBS, Frankie Magazine and Sydney Morning Herald. Carly also uses her award-winning blog to write about Ichthyosis and promote causes such as "Love Your Sister" and "Donate Life". She also edited the 2021 anthology, "Growing Up Disabled in Australia".
Currently, Carly works as the Access and Inclusion Coordinator and Access Advisor at the Melbourne Fringe, helping artists make their work accessible and working closely with disabled artists.
She is a regular on several ABC radio programs and has appeared on ABC TV's "You Can't Ask That" and "Cyberhate with Tara Moss".
As well as being an activist and award-winning blogger, Carly is also an accomplished speaker. She has spoken on numerous stages, including at the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Writers Festival, the University of Western England, and Melbourne University. Carly also organised "Access to Fashion", a Melbourne Fashion Week event featuring disabled models to raise awareness and explore disability inclusion in the fashion industry.
As a highly regarded speaker, Carly focuses on disability and appearance diversity topics, including access and inclusion training, disability training for the media, and keynotes based on her personal experiences.
In 2020, Carly received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her work as a disability advocate and activist.