As a child of Deaf parents, Martie Miranda follows her passion for diversity – specifically persons with disabilities.  She started her career as a Sign Language interpreter in 1997 and subsequently provided access to Deaf people while employed by the Free State Association for Persons with Disabilities, the Free State Provincial Government Department for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, and since 2009 at the University of the Free State (UFS).  In 2015, she became Head of the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support at the University of the Free State. Here, she plays a role in ensuring that the UFS increasingly becomes a universally accessible environment for students with disabilities, but most importantly, to move towards an institutional culture that embraces and welcomes students with disabilities.

After being part of a pioneering group of Sign Language interpreters trained in South Africa, she became a trainer, mentor, and one of 10 accredited Sign Language interpreters in South Africa in 2014; she is also a member of the South African Translators’ Institute.  During 2015, Miranda obtained her Baccalaureus of Management Leadership (cum laude), with a field study conducted on a holistic student support approach for students with disabilities at the University of the Free State.

In 2018, she was elected and served as the Chairperson of the Higher and Further Education Disability Services Association (HEDSA) until 2023. During this tenure, she supported TVET colleges and other universities with advocacy and advice on setting up services to support students with disabilities. She also established partnerships in regions to share best practices, which assists in improving services provided to students with disabilities.

Currently, she drives the universal access and universal design approach at the UFS to include all students, also students with disabilities, inviting a commitment and attitudinal shift to achieve inclusivity. This is necessary to move beyond being the responsibility of one department, but rather as the university’s collective aspiration.