I am grateful to live, strive and thrive on Coast Salish Territory, the traditional and ancestral lands of many Indigenous peoples including the Kwikwetlem, Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, Squamish, Katzie, Kwantlen, Qayqayt and Sto:lo people. I recognise the impacts of colonisation as past, present and ongoing and I commit to truth, reconciliation and decolonising practices within my work and beyond.
Hello. Welcome.
Fit matters, this includes choosing who we work with. Hello, my name is Ness and my pronouns are he/him. I’m not one thing, I don’t fit in a box, I’m human. For me, ‘Human’ is as much a statement as it is a reminder of shared experience, imperfection, vulnerability and individuality. We are each human and this is where I choose to start from.
As a consultant and counsellor I support individuals, groups and organisations with a holistic human-centred approach. I show up collaboratively and relationally bringing a lens of eternal curiosity, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. A storyteller, I share my journey and support others in authoring and advocating for their own. And, as a competing and competitive Paralympian I‘m committed to safer more inclusive sport.
I’m an integrative interdisciplinarian with over 20 years of experience, I bring my whole self into every space.
I have a cross-disciplinary background that includes (alphabetically) anatomy and physiology, applied psychology and counselling, business innovation and management, education and pedagogy, inclusive design, industrial design, marketing communications and organisational strategy. I am deeply comfortable being pulled towards knowledge, learning and understanding ongoing. At the core of my work is actioning the critical need for human-centred approaches that address systemic barriers and challenge default culture at all levels and in collaboration.
As a queer disabled white-presenting trans person (who transitioned later in life) I am grateful for the profound awareness my identities, past and present, give me. Holding and or being perceived as holding specific identities has afforded me intimate insight and lived experience that enhances my life and work. I believe identity and relationality impact each other, that situational identity is natural and also rooted in systemic injustice and oppression.
I’m a visual thinker and a lover of puzzles, I’m also blind. Born with partial sight that deteriorated, I was trained in orientation and mobility in Australia where independence and advocacy culture are built-in. I walk fast in familiar environments and have definitely bent a few mobility canes locating obstacles. In 2025 I was partnered with my third guidedog, a black male labrador, during my office hours he can be found under my desk resting on my foot.
I have represented three countries in three para sports: Australia, Japan and Canada; in Goalball, Powerlifting and Para-Athletics. Competing internationally since 2005, I hold world records as well as world, continental, and national titles. I have represented Team Canada since 2015 including at the 2016 Rio Paralympics Games and multiple World Championships.
In 2020 I came out publicly as transgender and became the first openly trans Paralympian. I began medically transitioning in 2021 and in 2022 I made history as the the first openly trans man to compete in the men’s discus division and also the first openly trans man to be included in the World ParaAthletics Rankings. Still competing, I represent Canada in ParaAthletics in the F11/T11 classification for athletes with the least functional vision. I am currently the only openly trans man in Paralympic competition.