Andy Shipley is a nature connection practitioner, freelance disability and inclusion consultant and Town Councillor. He has over 25 years leadership experience in national and local government, public bodies and voluntary organisations. Andy's experience of living and working with a visual impairment has enabled him to become a leading advocate for the creation of social and environmental conditions that enable disabled people to participate and lead independent lives. In 2013 Andy was made a Fellow of the Clore Leadership programme.
Andy is an experienced Facilitator and in recent years, he has been directing his facilitation skills towards creating inclusive nature connection experiences working with his new organisation Natural Inclusion and many other partners. He leads multi-sensory experiences in nature, to create a more fully inclusive appreciation of ourselves and the habitats and ecosystems that support us. He has worked on a succession of projects in partnership with the University of Exeter, to inform and shape the attitudes and practices of the natural heritage sector, to create more inclusive visitor experiences.
In 2021 Andy elected to Princes Risborough Town Council in which capacity he is working to make the town more accessible and inclusive for all residents and visitors. He is also a member of Network Rail’s Built Environment Accessibility Panel, in which he provides insight and advice to support the organisation in ensuring that the projects it sponsors achieve high quality inclusive outcomes.
Andy is a former Chair of the Fieldfare Trust, campaigning and supporting countryside managers to create more accessible and inclusive footpaths, rights of way and experiences in nature. He is a former member of Natural England's National Outdoors For All Working Group. He is a former Chair of BucksVision, the charity promoting independent living and social inclusion for the visually impaired population of Buckinghamshire. He is also a former Commissioner for a Sustainable London 2012. He provided oversight of the sustainability goals set for the Olympic and Paralympics, in particular, ensuring they were the most inclusive games ever. Andy was also appointed as a Community Curator for the National Paralympic Heritage Trust’s ‘Together we Build programme, contributing to the development of a manifesto to create a more accessible cultural experience in Buckinghamshire.
In addition to his role as Chair of visual impairment charity Bucksvision, Andy organised and led the charity’s "Risky Business" activities, taking mainly working aged visually impaired participants to undertake challenging activities that push their boundaries and grow their confidence. These included climbing, skiing, flying microlight aircraft and tank driving.
Andy himself has undertaken a number of extreme challenges including sky-diving and bobsledding as charitable fundraising activities. He sings regularly in a choir and is also a keen runner, participating in Parkrun and several competitions throughout the year.
At RNCB Andy was captain of the cricket, football and rugby teams and won several athletics medals.