Meet Dr.Lorraine Wapling, Interim Chief Executive Officer at ADD International.
Dr Lorraine Wapling is a disability justice leader with more than 30 years of experience in international development, disability inclusion, organisational leadership, and participatory grant-making.
She joined ADD International as Interim Chief Executive Officer in September 2026, returning to the organisation more than two decades after starting her career at ADD as a Programme Coordinator. Lorraine brings extensive experience leading organisations through growth and change, with a strong commitment to disability rights, equity, and locally led development.
Most recently, Lorraine served as Interim Executive Director of the Disability Rights Fund, having previously held the role of Board Co-Chair. Throughout her career, she has worked with a wide range of international organisations, including UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, the Ford Foundation, and the FCDO Disability Inclusion Helpdesk. Her work has spanned more than 20 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, supporting inclusive policy, research, programme design, organisational development, and disability rights movements.
Lorraine holds a PhD in Inclusive Education from University College London and is widely recognised for her expertise in disability inclusion and social justice. She is passionate about building strong, collaborative teams and advancing the leadership of organisations of persons with disabilities.
Outside of work, Lorraine is an enthusiastic musician who enjoys playing in a local orchestra, singing in a choir, and playing bass guitar in a punk band.
FIND OUT MORE
OUR STRATEGY – MTIRIRIKO
Our strategy shifts power and resources to disability justice activists and organisations across Africa and Asia. It centres leadership of people with disabilities, participatory grant-making and long-term movement building to advance disability justice.
PARTICIPATORY GRANT MAKING
Participatory grant-making is a different approach to giving out money as grants where the people receiving the money also get to say how much is given to whom, and how it is spent. Find out how we are doing this.