Paula Tesoriero MNZM is a Paralympic gold medallist and an alumna twice over who is driven by a determination to get better outcomes for disabled New Zealanders.

“One of the most profound things another disabled person said to me recently was that lockdown was so much better for many disabled people because we didn’t have to face the outside world, and the barriers and stigma,” says Paula, who has recently begun her second term as New Zealand’s disability rights commissioner.

Her role as commissioner is to protect and promote the rights of disabled people. With that remit, her priorities are creating an inclusive education system, improving the evidence around disability to inform policy and service delivery, increasing employment rates, reducing violence and abuse of disabled people, changing attitudes about disability, and advocating for more accessibility across transport, housing, and health.

“I was one of those people who, from a really young age, wanted to study law. I used to watch a show called People’s Court from when I was quite little. I used to set my family up as members of the courtroom—our dog even had a role—and I was the judge.

“That fascination, which arose from a strong sense of fairness, drove the desire to study law, to the point that I never entertained the idea of anything else. Politics came a little later, and I studied under Emeritus Professor Nigel Roberts—a guru in electoral systems—and Emeritus Professor Margaret Clark, who I still remember shaping my own thinking around MMP.”

Paula loved her time at university for the encouragement to challenge thinking, and to grow a solid work ethic. “I was driven by my lecturers to be the best I could be. You gain a lot of skills, such as critical thinking, from studying and it ultimately encouraged my passion for lifelong learning in that formal setting,” she says.

She came back to do a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management in 2006.

Paula, who has a prosthetic left leg and a fixed right ankle, says she noticed an absence of disabled role models throughout her school and university years.

“That contributed to my growing up feeling I had something to hide and I had to achieve despite my impairment. With the benefit of hindsight and the evolution of my identity as a disabled person, I can see my achievements have been because of it.”

“I was cycling in my twenties but I had this view at the time that I had to hide my impairment as I was trying to build my legal career. The idea of competition wasn’t open to me until that change in self-perception.

“But I had an overwhelming desire to test myself in my chosen sport and see how far it could take me, and this tipped the balance towards ‘outing myself’ as disabled in order to make that dream a reality. And that has shaped the rest of my life and has made me a more authentic person.”

Paula represented New Zealand at the Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008, winning a gold and two bronze medals, as well as two World Championships titles in 2009. She was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009 for services to cycling and is chef de mission for the New Zealand Paralympic team for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.

“Being chef de mission is a real privilege. It involves a few different aspects: one is making sure the environment in Tokyo is such that our athletes and support staff can thrive and be their best; the other is to be the public face of the team for media.”

Before becoming commissioner, Paula held several governance roles, which she enjoyed because they broadened her thinking, allowing her to consider applying for her current role. “I also currently serve on the New Zealand Sports Tribunal, which considers doping allegations and selection appeals. And I’m a life trustee of the Halberg Foundation.”

To students studying now, Paula says, “Make the most of that opportunity in your life, make the most of the social opportunities the University has on offer, and get involved. It’s one of those rare times you really have time to think—embrace that and grab the opportunities as they come.”