AccessibilityPlus

Emily Shuman leads all of the Rocky Mountain ADA Center’s workforce and daily operations. She mentors RMADAC’s staff to ensure her team has the tools needed to deliver on the center’s mission to supply informative technical assistance, customized eLearning courses & (online and in-person) training(s), effective information dissemination, and concise outbound communications. Shuman works closely with center directors from across the national network to improve operational practices and program(s) including spearheading efforts to increase accessible social media & website practices within the collective. She is RMADAC’s public spokesperson and works directly with regional, and national media to ensure the public understands their rights and responsibilities under the ADA. An accomplished writer, Shuman contributes op-ed pieces and informational articles. She also hosts the center’s popular podcast initiative which features many noted guests including Senator Tammy Duckworth and former Major League Baseball All-Star Jim Abbott. Before joining RMADAC, Shuman spent four years in workforce development, serving Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act recipients as a case and program manager. She specialized in supporting youth with disabilities by educating them on their ADA employment rights. Shuman also facilitated compliance with ADA Title II responsibilities for youth requiring reasonable modifications to access workforce services. Prior to those roles, she spent three years as a program supervisor for adults with developmental disabilities living in host homes under an HCBS waiver. Emily has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Information Technology-Management. She contributes articles to the Colorado Springs Mom Collective and the Southern Colorado native enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her teen son.

Dana Barton is the Director of Meeting the Challenge Inc. (MTC) a CP&Y company. The Rocky Mountain ADA Center is a project of Meeting the Challenge, Inc., which has operated the center under a federal grant since 1991. Before joining the Meeting the Challenge Barton served as the Business Relations and Employment Development Director at the Pikes Peak Workforce Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. In 2019, Barton was named a “Woman of Influence” by the Colorado Springs Business Journal, and in 2014, she was recognized as a “Rising Star” by the same publication. In addition, in 2014, Barton received the “Young Professional of the Year” award from the Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce. Dana is a featured writer for the Colorado Springs Moms Collective where she has written for several years in an effort to support mothers on topics that impact the daily lives of families in southern Colorado. When she is not working or writing Dana enjoys spending time with her two children and husband hiking in the mountains, raising backyard chickens, and participating as team manager for her son’s hockey team. She also loves cheering for her Alma Mater the Michigan State Spartans!

John Loeppky is a disabled freelance writer based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada who has been contributing to Accessibility.com since its inception. His work has also appeared for the CBC, FiveThirtyEight, Defector, and a multitude of others. John most often writes about disability, sport, media, and art. When he is not a writer for hire, John works for Saskatchewan’s only disability-led disability arts organization, Listen to Dis, and is perpetually finishing an MFA from the University of Regina. He can be reached at John@Jloeppky.com and his goal in life is to have an entertaining obituary to read.

Adriann Keve is the president of the Jacksonville, Florida Chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and is the Media and Marketing Chair for the Jacksonville VisionWalk, which is the signature fundraising event for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. She also serves on the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind of Florida, Greater Jacksonville Chapter, and is a member of the Jacksonville Transportation Advisory Committee. Told as a child she was losing her sight, Adriann often downplayed, or hid, her sight loss so she wouldn’t stand out. After struggling to pass as a sighted person for years, Adriann eventually embraced her blindness and has been working to improve the lives of blind people ever since. An introvert by nature, Adriann felt compelled to step out of her comfort zone and use her voice to raise awareness for blinding inherited retinal diseases and to fight for equity for the blind community. She has presented at a national VisionWalk kickoff event and participated in several awareness campaigns for the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the VisionWalk. Additionally, Adriann was recently selected as one of six representatives to travel to Washington, D.C. to advocate for legislative priorities on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind of Florida. Though the trip was canceled, Adriann met virtually with legislators and staff to advocate for those priorities. In her free time, Adriann enjoys baking, yoga, spending time outdoors, and acting as a servant to her three very demanding cats.

Jose Morales wins Employee of Excellence AwardThe ILRC’s Employee of the Quarter Award recognizes the accomplishments of employees that perform exemplary service. Nominees are selected each quarter by employee vote and meeting the qualifications listed. For this quarter, the ILRC has chosen Jose Morales for his exemplary service.From the ILRC team: “Jose is always there to help every employee and clients. He always has a positive attitude and is always thinking of innovative ways to make positive changes.”-D.F.“He is that good!”-A.L.“He is consumer-driven. He goes above and beyond to make sure our clients have, food, housing, and the basic necessities to live. He has brought in another group of people to our agency, Spanish speaking people. He makes our agency look good in the eyes of the community because he is on various of boards. He is a problem solver; he helps each department with a smile. He is consistent, dependable, and a true advocate for our agency’s mission statement.”-T.J.“Jose goes over and beyond to try and meet the needs of his consumers. Jose does not complain; he’s just does it. I have witnessed Jose ending his lunch or postponing his lunch to a later time before to accommodate consumers. These are just a few examples but there are way more that could be listed in regards to Jose excelling in service at the ILRC .”- C.B.