St Dunstaner Penny Melville-Brown made an OBE
08 Dec 09
A St Dunstaner has been recognised for her work championing the rights of disabled people, particularly in the workplace. Penny Melville-Brown of Fareham, Hampshire was made an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to disabled and disadvantaged people in HM The Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Ms Melville-Brown attended Buckingham Palace on 4 December for the investiture where the honour was bestowed on her by The Princess Royal, HRH Princess Anne.
“It’s delightful to have the work of the last ten years recognised,” Penny said. “What’s more delightful is that it has been instigated by my local community who felt that my work merited recognition. They did all the research for the citation. It wasn’t just some anonymous committee and that galvanises me to do more.”
The first female Naval Barrister, Penny was one of only ten female Commanders in the Royal Navy in 1996. Since losing her sight, she has been Chairman of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Learning & Skills Centre, has worked with the Cabinet Office on disability projects, and has been an equality adviser to the Ministry of Defence, HM Revenue & Customs, Department for Work and Pensions, and University for Industry. She has also represented St Dunstan’s and the UK at the World Blind Union. More recently, the organisers of the 2012 Olympics have benefited from her advice.
“My work is wide ranging and much of it is in the strategic and policy areas, but it does make a difference to individual people in their daily lives and that is important to me” said Penny.
Since 2000, she has run Disability Dynamics, a consultancy providing businesses with specialist knowledge of disability and diversity in the workplace.