Rhys Kennedy is a self- diagnosed ‘change and innovation addict’.
“I’ve always enjoyed finding better ways and looked to find easier, faster, smarter ways to get things done and achieve better outcomes. For me, that’s what innovation is all about – I really want to see more innovation in our sector. In fact, I’m desperate for it. And when you set yourself a vision or simply imagine a better world, you soon see the need to innovate and the need to change. That’s what excites me. The opportunities presented now have never been greater.”
Rhys has been the CEO of CPL – Choice, Passion, Life (formerly the Cerebral Palsy League) since late 2016, but he’s been part of the CPL family for over 10 years: he started as an Occupational Therapist with CPL in Rockhampton.
“Back in the day when I thought keeping my hair long was a good look, and I chose pizza and beer over steak and salad, I decided to study occupational therapy. When I did my student placement (at the old Cerebral Palsy League actually!) I was supervised by an incredibly talented OT who, through her treatment of young children with cerebral palsy, showed me that anything is possible. Even having time for a haircut!
“I couldn’t comprehend why there weren’t more people and more therapists doing this. I saw people’s lives changed before my eyes.
“Whilst I am not personally providing therapy anymore, I am driven to get out of bed every day to ensure we are influencing a system and creating a business that is focussed on affording these opportunities for people with disability.
“We can never accept the reasons of the past or tolerate the barriers that prevent us from supporting people to live the life they choose.
“I know a lot of people describe the NDIS as being as complex as Sudoku and they’re not wrong. But it’s everyone’s responsibility to learn what they need to know and I’m excited to join forces with Multicap to educate, inspire and challenge support workers to broaden their knowledge and be the progressive generation of professionals they have the power to be.
“I want to share our successes as well as our problems – I know from experience that there’s nothing we can’t do when we work together.
“I know our team of support workers are passionate and I want to encourage this however I can – through training and education, as well as inspiring and motivating them to be the best they can be.
“The Disability Support Workers Conference is a fantastic tool to help us do this, providing insight from some of the leading names in the industry to keep up-to-date with current best practise and updates in the industry.
“Whether you’re new to the sector or an old hat, it’s a great platform for likeminded individuals to come together and share their successes, as well as their issues or where they’ve fallen short, and build upon them. We can all learn something. We can all develop and emerge better than ever before.
“At CPL we are passionate about supporting people, providing great service and finding better ways to support our clients. We are constantly striving to be the best at what we do, but to be the best, we need to have the best, and that’s why we take the professional development of our employees so seriously.”