Michael Stafford
ICT Lead
He/They
Michael is ASAN AUNZ’s ICT lead. He looks after the website and the systems the team uses every day. Before ASAN AUNZ, he worked as a software engineer and consultant for about seven years. He also co-directs a neurodiversity-affirming occupational therapy practice.
Michael is Autistic and has ADHD. He was diagnosed at 32, and in his words, ‘Everything shifted while remaining the same’. He is direct about what he needs, but finds that working out what those needs are is often the harder part.
He joined ASAN AUNZ because the work fits both his
professional life and his personal one, and because of the organisation’s
culture. He believes in its goals because Autistic people often lead innovation
and shape culture, and are some of the hardest workers, yet are still too often
seen as a burden. Outside work, Michael enjoys gaming, reading and writing,
though true to his ADHD, his greatest hobby is starting new ones.