Drisana Levitzke-Gray
Advocate
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Drisana is the fifth generation in her family to be born deaf, and is dedicated to helping other deaf people and advocating for their human rights. Drisana cherishes Auslan as her first language, and promotes the Deaf community as one without borders, with a rich language, culture, history and traditions.
In 2015 Drisana was the recipient of the 2015 Young Australian of the Year Award and the 2015 Western Australian Young Australian of the Year Award in recognition of her passion and dedication raising awareness of Auslan and advocating for the right of deaf children to access Auslan from birth.
Drisana pushes boundaries and challenges society to embrace diversity by accepting and including deaf people. She was the first Deaf Auslan user to fulfil her civic duty as a juror, has delivered two TEDxTalks in Auslan, and consistently promotes a positive image of deafness, which states loudly and proudly: "It's OK to be deaf". In 2016 she was inducted into the WA Women's Hall of Fame.
Drisana is an ambassador for Our Watch and the Full Stop Foundation, using her platform to help build a future that is free from sexual, domestic and family violence.
As a Deaf Australia ambassador Drisana has raised significant funds to promote and raise awareness of Auslan and dispelling myths and challenging perceptions.
In 2019, Drisana was featured in a children's book, 'Stand Up for the Future: a celebration of inspirational young Australians'.
Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd. (2019). Stand up for the future.
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