Jo has been working in the DSA Sector since 2013 as a Needs Assessor but also as a Service Manager.  She has over 10 years of Management experience in different sectors, as well as a Health Care Professions degree in Physiotherapy.  In her role as CEO for Access2Learn, Jo hopes to ensure the smooth running of all aspects of Access2Learn’s service – from the student’s first contact, right through until their support is in place.   She will coordinate our central administration team, as well Quality Assurance Staff and Assessors, driving quality and staff development.  Jo will strive to ensure that all students can get access to the support they require and have the best experience of DSA Support available.

Mark is the Chief Operating Officer at Access2Learn, whose aim is to support students and those in education with their learning, empowering them to become independent and confident learners. After graduating, Mark has worked in the University sector for over 15 years, from Admissions, Accommodation, Finance, Graduation, and for the last 12 years DSA, so has a true overview of the University Student experience. Mark is passionate about ensuring that all Students who are eligible for DSA support receive this, and learn the strategies to help them flourish in Education and beyond.

Stef has been at A2L since January 2020 and is focused on ensuring that all students have a positive and comfortable journey through the DSA process. With personal experience of close family members that have learning difficulties and mental health conditions, Stef is able to relate to many students’ personal circumstances and suggest ways to overcome any barriers they may encounter.

Shoaib has been working at access2learn since May and has 5 years of customer service experience. His passion to help students with accessing DSA support comes from him recently being a student. Higher education should be accessible to all, he hopes to make it even more accessible to meet your needs and ensure you can achieve the best you can.

Sean has been at Access2Learn since November 2021 and since beginning university in 2017 he has been passionate about the student experience, recognising it as a crucial time that helps shape many people’s lives. Therefore,  he wants to ensure that everybody has the best experience possible and ensuring those with disabilities or learning difficulties have a level playing field is something he loves being a part of. Since graduating in 2020, Sean has been working with students and so he understands the experience of being a student very well and, since working in the DSA since November, he is able to combine these bits of knowledge together to help and advise in any way he can.

Ryan has been working at Access2Learn since October 2023 as a Customer Service Assistant.  Ryan wants to ensure students can access the help they need so that higher education is accessible to all. Ryan has worked in customer service for 3 years and has experience of some of the challenges involved in accessing learning and wants to help others.

Runa has been working in the DSA sector since 2011, mainly as an assessor, but she has also taken various other roles and responsibilities within the organisation. She feels that her background in Counselling has benefited her in her Needs Assessor role, as it enabled her to have insight into the psychological impact of a disability, helping students feel comfortable and safe when talking about their condition. In her role as a QA reviewer with Access2learn, she will be focusing on ensuring that the quality of our reports aim to identify your needs, so that you can access the best support available to you whilst studying at University.

Dawn has been working in the DSA sector since 2015, she started out at Student Finance England as a DSA Eligibility Assessor and then progressed to becoming a DSA Officer so she has extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of DSA. Her experience has helped her understand a wide range of disabilities and how these can impact students. Dawn is very student focused and her passion is ensuring every student has the smoothest experience possible and that the correct support is received. In her role as QA Officer with Access2learn she will be making sure that the quality of our Needs Assessment reports aim to identify your needs, so that you are able access the right support available to you to assist with your studies.

Liz has worked in the DSA Sector since 2010 as a Needs Assessor, Senior Assessor, QA Officer, and Freelance Assessor Manager, with some time spent performing ergonomic/DSE assessments, autism mentoring and assistive technology training. With roots in nursing and community care, Liz has a breadth and depth of knowledge about a range of disabilities and health conditions, and the impact they can have on day-to-day life, work, and studies.

In her role at Access2Learn, Liz will manage our assessor team, through high-quality training and ongoing assessor development. She will ensure that students have tailored needs assessments, conducted by highly skilled, student-focused assessors who advocate students’ needs thoroughly and identify appropriate support strategies throughout their DSA journey.

James has been working in the DSA Sector since 2012. He has worked as a Needs Assessor since 2016, assessing the needs of students with a range of disabilities, and recommending adjustments to ensure students get the support they need. James has previously led on Quality Assurance and Query Management to ensure high quality customer service and reports and James previously worked at Student Finance England in their DSA teams across all of the workflows so understands the student’s DSA journey from start to finish.

Jenni has recently joined Access2Learn as a DSA Assessor. She qualified as a primary school teacher in 2009 and has worked across the Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Post 16 sectors, most recently as a SENCO in a post 16 specialist college. Jenni has recently completed the National Award In Special Educational Needs Coordination and has worked with children and young people with special educational needs, supporting them to access education and achieve to their full potential. Jenni is looking forward to working with students and helping them to access appropriate support.

Rebecca has been working as a Needs Assessor since 2015, and has experience of carrying out both DSA and Access to Work assessments. Originally having graduated as a primary school teacher, Rebecca taught for thirteen years and undertook a qualification in teaching students with additional learning needs. Rebecca also has experience of supporting disabled adults to access learning and recreational activities. She is passionate about lifelong learning and enabling access to learning in all its forms.