Transitioning from being a manager to an individual contributor
Nine months ago, I was presented with a choice. My job responsibilities had grown beyond the ability of one person to manage the role. Even though I thought...
Twitter and Inaccessible “Voice Notes”
Photo by Yucel Moran on Unsplash Once upon a time (in tech, this is maybe 2–3 years ago), Twitter actually cared about accessibility. For a while, they were...
Uber, CVS, and Rite Aid in the news over disability discrimination
Photo by Nijwam Swargiary on Unsplash Rite Aid settled a case last week with the Department of Justice, which required them to make their COVID portal and...
Using plain language is essential for content accessibility
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash When writing for your audience, it’s essential to keep things simple at the lowest common denominator for your audience. If...
Vetting accessibility vendors
It used to be there were just a handful of major accessibility vendors in the game. SSB Bart Group (now Level Access), Deque, and Cryptzone (now Cyxtera) And...
VMware’s First Accessibility Hackathon
The first week in February 2020, marked VMware’s first accessibility week which consisted of an accessibility summit followed immediately by an accessibility...
Want an employee who is a natural problem solver? Hire someone with a Disability
Dark convoluted maze with cartoon person standing outside of the entrance Why are problem-solving skills desirable in business? The ability to troubleshoot...
Want to add value to your startup? Be accessible
Most startups don’t even know what accessibility is. Here is why it could be the most important business strategy you ever invest in Two hands shaking in...
Website copy says more about your company than you think
A LinkedIn connection posted a critique of the following language in a press release. To protect the guilty, I have deleted the company name, exec’s name,...
We don’t all “have the same 24 hours
By itself, the statement “we all have the same 24 hours” is an empty maxim. Commonly followed up with by “What you do with it is up to you,” or “Successful...
What do American employers owe their employees with mental health conditions
Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash This article will start with a general discussion on accommodations and then move on to the specifics of a mental health...
What does an “accessibility flywheel” look like?
A simplified estimated example of an Amazon flywheel A business flywheel is an alternative to the more traditional “funnel” that graphically portrayed...
What executive administrators need to know about making events more accessible to people with disabilities
Photo by STIL on Unsplash When I was growing up, my father always said, “If you want to know who runs the show, ask an executive assistant.” He is rarely...
What great accessibility managers want from their leadership
Accessibility managers are frequently perceived as contentious troublemakers Accessibility, by its very nature, creates friction, and friction in turn can...
What it’s like to be a liberal, female, disabled archery competitor
23 months ago, we had a group of teammates visiting from Austin and the Pacific Northwest. We wanted to do a group bonding event, only there were some...
What MacKenzie Scott is missing in her donations
Love Amazon or hate them, no one disputes that MacKenzie Scott is very well off, owning 4 % of Amazon stock. Ms. Scott has taken the huge step of committing...
What one wheelchair user thinks about being called “wheelchair-bound”
If you’re not disabled and you don’t have the lived experiences of your colleagues with disabilities, there’s a non-zero chance you’re going to make a...
What people should know BEFORE writing articles or creating products about accessibility
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash I read a lot of articles about accessibility. Some of them (and not just the ones I write) are very, very good. Others are...
What people with disabilities hope to see in a Biden Presidency
Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash My first presidential countdown clock started on January 20, 2017, the day President Trump took office. My expectations...
What’s in a name (sign)?
Books have always been an enormous part of my life. I’ve always been a voracious reader. Being in a wheelchair in the 70s for four years continuously in...