You can, you should, and you will. You have to be willing to try.
[...] there is no inclusion without accessibility, period.
Alycia Anderson, Founder of the Alycia Anderson Company, TEDx Motivational Speaker, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Change-maker, and Corporate Inclusion Coach.
I think we’re at an early point of an age of enlightenment here in that every citizen can make a contribution one way or another.
[...] When we were kids, it was the dark ages. [...] How many schools didn’t even have a special ed program? [...] But I think people are waking up.
Jim McCann, Founder of 1-800-Flowers, is often seen as one of the first innovators to use "phonewords."
We are in the 2020 (or 2021, or in the past) and still, there is the bulky wheelchair with the same wheels, with the same frame that people can't bring on board of plane. And I was like, 'That’s not the future I picture.'
It was a lot of effort, I have to say. But like when you feel this intention and motivation, I think is the best thing just is to follow it.
Andrea Mocellin, Founder and Inventor of Revolve Air, is an experienced Senior Mobility Designer with a demonstrated history of working in the design industry.
We can't have people coming out to design and build the next generation of technology who've never heard about accessibility [...] That is unacceptable, we can't keep perpetuating this problem. We have to start solving it at the source.
Lori Samuels, Accessibility Director, NBC Universal, has spent her life advocating for persons with disabilities and continues to promote and establish best practices in accessibility.
You can hear more from Lori Samuels this October at AccessibilityPlus 2021.
I learned very quickly to fight for what I wanted. And I think that set me on this sort of road of understanding that if I put in the effort, and I have momentum in my own life, and a belief in what I do, then I can achieve what I want.
Michael Curran, a founder of NV Access and a creator of NVDA, has spent his life working to ensure no person who is blind has to pay to access the internet. NV Access boasts over 200,000 users around the globe, including China, Syria, and Afghanistan.
You can hear more from Michael Curran this October at AccessibilityPlus 2021.
Accessibility is not just digital, it’s also real life.
Meryl Evans, advocate and content marketer, has spent her entire career working to improve access to online technology and effective communication. Meryl Evans is a social media marketer, writer, editor, and public speaker. She is currently serving as Marketing and Captioning Specialist for Diamond.
You can hear more from Meryl Evans this October at AccessibilityPlus 2021.
When I left the hospital I promised them they'd never see me again
Andrew Houghton, founder and president of Disability Inclusion Solutions has used a wheelchair since a 1986 motorcycle accident resulted in paraplegia. Disability Inclusion Solutions is a leading global diversity supplier source for clients seeking inclusive products and services, Universal Design consultation and in partnership with Bender Consulting Services, Inc. launched the iDisability eLearning software solution.
Disability is the one intersectional identity that everybody is always pretty much guaranteed to have at one point in their life.
Sheri Byrne-Haber is a senior accessibility evangelist and sought-after writing and public speaking expert with a history of successfully architecting strategic global accessibility programs in a Fortune 200 environment, including deploying corporate policies, accessible digital property design, and remediation using LEAN and AGILE software development techniques, analytics, and maturity modeling.
There is a tremendous amount of work to be done. But I'd say the practitioners, they feel like there's a moment right now that accessibility is having a moment and that that there is hope that things are going to get better.
Launched on the occasion of the 10th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD May 20, 2021), the GAAD Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to disrupt the culture of technology and digital product development to include accessibility as a core requirement. Our vision is for accessibility to be built into the product development lifecycle for technology and digital products.
It's the inherent self-worth, the being part of a team, the reason to get out of bed in the morning.
Patrick's organization employs individuals with autism once they've become adults at age 21, building an inclusive workforce and talented pool of employees.
