Fionna Stolzenburg - Abl Network

Abl Lead Profile

Hi, my name is Fionna Stolzenburg and I am Vale Childcare and Early Years Team Workforce Development Officer.

A currently non-practising Solicitor I ran my own successful childcare business for over 10 years whilst my children were little before joining the team in September 2022 working full time whilst slowly winding down and selling my business.

Why I joined Abl

The reason I joined ABL is because, I have a speech impediment in the form of a stammer. I have made it my goal to never let it stop me in my career aspirations, but it is a constant fight against historic perceptions of such impediments.

There are so many simple things that workplaces and colleagues can do to alleviate the pressure when disfluency presents itself and it has nothing to do with intellect or nerves.

I know many people with other visible and invisible disabilities need a voice too so I wanted to understand their needs and help in some tangible way to make their work life easier whatever level of ability they may have.

Future aspirations for Abl

For the network to become a reliable source of information and support to anybody with visible or invisible disabilities.

To raise awareness within the organisation but also the wider community on how different needs can be managed so that people are enabled to live their working lives with confidence in their abilities as opposed to their disabilities.