Dr Theo Blackmore

Personal statement

Theo joined Bath Spa University as a Senior Research Fellow on the 'We Are The People' project in April 2023. He previously worked for Disability Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as the manager of the two-year National Lottery-funded ‘Disabled Peoples’ Organisations Sharing Experiences During Covid’ project, for which he secured the funding.

Theo’s work in the disability sector started in 1995, when he created two Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) in Cornwall, working as a volunteer. Since then he has been employed by national DPOs, the MS Society, and Cornwall Social Services, as well as with a range of partners throughout the sector, giving him a great breadth and depth of knowledge spanning almost thirty years. 

His career has included work to strengthen the sector through capacity building, increasing funding and recruiting younger disabled people to work in DPOs. His work continues in the sector, with a series of podcasts for Disability Cornwall spanning a range of topics including intersectionality, disabled women and mothers, and DPO issues.

Theo’s research outputs include his work for Disability Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which can be seen here, and which includes the internationally acclaimed oral history project, Disability in Cornwall: Remembering and Reflecting.

Academic qualifications

• PhD Education, University of Exeter
• MSc Educational Research Methodology, University of Exeter
• BA (Hons) The History of Art and Architecture, University of Reading

Areas of expertise

• UK Disabled Peoples' Organisations
• The UK Disability Movement
• Disability History