Dr Ariella Meltzer

Dr Ariella Meltzer is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Impact, UNSW Sydney. Ariella specialises in complex qualitative research. Her research is based in disability studies, youth studies and social policy, and centres on the themes of relationships and social change. She is particularly interested in relationships that are embedded within disability, family and community support, youth, mentoring and peer support contexts. To date, some of her key research has been about:

• How to support the relationships between people with and without disability, particularly family and sibling relationships which include a person with disability
• The experience and impact of relationships that young people have with trusted adults and mentors
• How relationships facilitate and function within peer support

Ariella’s research also often applies a systems thinking lens to examine how inter-personal relationships and different structural, service and funding conditions can promote improved outcomes in social and economic engagement for marginalised and disadvantaged groups.  

Ariella is experienced in project management and complex qualitative research, including projects involving multiple stakeholders; longitudinal components; multiple methods; sensitive fieldwork; participatory, inclusive and accessible methodologies; and diverse informational needs for different audiences. She is known in particular for her work on Easy Read methodologies for use with people with intellectual disability.