Presented by– November Champion, Online Accessibility Expert

I work to ensure that everyone here considers people with disabilities while creating digital content and platforms, from initial design to testing with the Assistive Technologies that people use to make their digital experiences whole. This means my day can include working with designers, content strategists, developers, testers, and product owners, and reporting on how we’re doing to Risk and Compliance. I also like to respond personally to any concerns our clients with disabilities have so that we can center their voices in our day-to-day decision making (and reduce risk at the same time).

The bulk of my career has been user-focused. I started doing accessibility work over a decade ago while at Thomson Reuters, where I also performed user research by recruiting participants and facilitating user studies (and I also spent time as an Agile product owner and strategy manager). I honed my facilitation skills in a private course at Bentley University’s User Experience Center outside Boston.

Accessibility and equal access is not just a career for me, but also a passion. I’m on the board of directors for Starkloff Disability Institute, a non-profit dedicated to making people with disabilities ready for the workplace, and making workplaces welcoming to those with disabilities. I’m also a trained audio describer and work with MindsEye to bring audio description to people with visual impairments at local cultural events.

My Bachelors is in Industrial Relations/Human Resources and Political Science from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, and my Juris Doctorate is from Saint Louis University, with an emphasis in employment law.