Elliot Jones

Elliot Jones’ dream is that when people hear the word dyslexia, instead of thinking: disability, they think innovator, leader, entrepreneur, visionary. He now wishes to bring this redefinition beyond dyslexia and neurodiversity into the broader disability space.

Elliot at age 17 initiated, scripted, directed and produced Unlocking Potential, a documentary that demonstrates the strengths of dyslexic thinking. Elliot persuaded a raft of successful dyslexic individuals, including business leaders, an Oscar winner, and the new All Blacks coach, to reframe dyslexia, which impacts 1 in 10 New Zealanders. The documentary’s message reached over 20% of New Zealanders after a sold-out premiere, national media reach and being a finalist at the NZ Youth Film Festival. Additionally, the documentary raised over NZ$60,000, helping more than 80,000 children across NZ through the Dyslexia Foundation.

After being selected as a finalist for Young New Zealander of the Year 2023, Elliot met with the Minister and Shadow Minister of Education to advocate for more effective New Zealand education policy to better serve those with dyslexia. Simultaneously, he chaired the first board of Young Neurodiversity Champions, an organisation uniting the ADHD, Autism, and Dyslexia Foundations of NZ, which developed and presented a white paper to the caucuses of both leading political parties in the lead-up to the 2023 election.

Additionally, Elliot brought this new way of seeing dyslexia to the corporate sector. This included speaking at the Global Women’s Champions for Change, which brought together companies from PWC to Toyota that employ 150,000+ people across NZ, and Foodies X, a personal development day for 20,000+ team members across Foodstuffs North Island, the largest private employer in NZ. More recently he was invited to speak at Harvard and was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 for his social impact on the lives of Dyslexia across New Zealand and abroad.