Farewell to Sally Thomas who put disabled people at the heart of every decision
Published 10 July 2026
Sally Thomas retires from the CCS Disability Action Services Ltd Board after a significant contribution to the organisation and beyond.
Even in her last message to CCS Disability Action, Sally Thomas turned her attention outward. There was no mention of her many years of voluntary service. Instead, she asked that her gratitude be passed on to the wider team. That instinct, to put others first, is one the people around her have come to know well.
On 30 June 2026 Sally stepped down from her role as Chair of CCS Disability Action Services Limited, having committed to the role for a one year term. It is the close – for now at least – of a long and generous contribution to the disability sector in Aotearoa New Zealand, one that grew from her own life as a parent.
Sally's eldest son was born with an impairment. Her family’s experiences with Conductive Education when he was a pre-schooler, drew her into the sector and she never let go.
Sally built a portfolio of governance and advocacy roles that would be hard to match.
She managed Conductive Education Canterbury and became National Coordinator for the New Zealand Foundation for Conductive Education, the peak body connecting Conductive Education centres across the country. Since 2016 she has been a Trustee and Co-Chairperson of the Adult Conductive Education Trust, which supports disabled adults in Christchurch to keep their physical, cognitive, and social skills into adulthood.
Her reach went well beyond one service. In 2013, Sally was one of eight members of the Enabling Good Lives Christchurch Local Advisory Group. That group helped lead a pioneering demonstration of Enabling Good Lives, a landmark shift towards giving disabled people real choice and control over their supports. Around the same time she worked for Lead School Transition and sat on the board of the Chris Ruth Centre.
She was also, as CCS Disability Action Chief Executive Mel Smith puts it, one of the people who brought Project Search to life in Christchurch, through what Mel calls her "relentless pursuit to support young people to be able to aim higher and dream bigger when it came to what comes next after high school".
Sally came to CCS Disability Action's National Board as the Upper South Regional Representative for the Nelson and Marlborough region. She threw herself into it – always asking thoughtful and considered questions, always with care and kindness and always with disabled people at the centre of her thinking.
In June 2024, she took part in the organisation’s Governance Forum in Christchurch, where local Chairs endorsed the restructure that would consolidate 18 incorporated societies into a streamlined three-entity model. When the new national service entity came into being on 1 July 2025, Sally became its Board Chair, helping to steer the organisation through one of the biggest changes in its 90-year history.
"Sally is one of those wonderful people who have held many roles with us over the years," Mel says. "She has always been a staunch advocate for the sector, service providers, disabled people, and whānau." Mel believes it is Sally's gift for keeping everyone focused on what matters, that is her most significant legacy. "Thank you," she says, "for your time, your energy, your relentless focus, and the ability to always ensure that our focus is the impact for disabled people."
Sally leaves after an agreed one-year tenure as Chair, with the new structure still bedding in. "I am excited to see what the future holds. I think we forget that it is still early days, but so much has been achieved."
She also leaves with the relationships she built and a belief in its future. "It has been a pleasure getting to know the wider CCS Disability Action whānau," she shared. "I will always remain committed to the organisation."
Thank you, Sally. You will be missed.
About CCS Disability Action
CCS Disability Action is the largest pan-disability support and advocacy organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand.
We support people with all types of impairments and have been working alongside disabled people since 1935.
We are at the forefront of service provision, advocacy and information sharing in the disability sector. We partner with disabled people, their families and whānau to enable them to have choice and control in their lives. Our vision is to see every disabled person and whānau hauā interwoven into the lives of their whānau and community.