About the author - Philip Patston   Best known as a comedian, Philip Patston has a Certificate of Qualification in Social Work and a Diploma in Applied Social Studies from the Auckland College of Education (1990). His professional background includes telephone counselling, group facilitation and training, and social research. In 1992 Philip toured the USA on a Winston Churchill Fellowship researching technology for people with speech impairment. He worked at the Human Rights Commission for four years until 1998 when he left to start his own business, Diversityworks. During his four-year stint working at the Human Rights Commission, Philip embarked on an additional career in comedy in 1995 and has become an established professional comedian. In 1999 he won the Billy T Award for commitment and contribution to New Zealand comedy, was named "Queer of the Year" and had a featured role in Shortland Street. In April and May 2000 he travelled to Australia to perform in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the High Beam International Disability Arts Festival in Adelaide. In August 2001 he performed in Vancouver at the kickstART! International Celebration of Disability Arts and Culture. In 1998 Philip attended an international disability rights and youth leadership programme in Oregon, USA. He returned seeing a need to encourage more young people with disability into leadership roles in New Zealand to ensure that leadership in the disability community passes and strengthens from one generation to the next. At the end of 1999 he received funding from Waitemata Health Ltd to run a six-month pilot mentor programme for young people with disability. The pilot programme, which matched ten young people with ten adults with disability, finished in September 2000. Philip has been working with DPA Auckland in partnership with the Ministry of Health since the begnning of 2000.

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