Allied

This month, we're excited to share a conversation with Sam Sepah, Lead Accessibility Research Product Manager at Google.In this conversation, which was recorded live in September 2023, Sam takes us on a journey through his experiences at Google and beyond, showcasing how innovation in accessibility technologies has transformed product experiences for users with disabilities.Additionally, Sam shares his insights on the global impact of accessibility advocacy and its role in shaping a more inclusive future. Drawing from his experiences, he discusses the challenges and triumphs of advancing accessibility on a global scale, shedding light on the cultural nuances and collaborative efforts that contribute to creating universally accessible solutions.Sam is interpreted in this podcast recording, but if you'd like to watch the episode in American Sign Language, you can do so at www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/innovating-for-inclusion

This month, we're excited to share a presentation by Albert Kim, which was recorded live during 3Play Media's ACCESS 2023 conference.Albert is an award-winning accessibility subject matter expert and public speaker who previously worked with Doordash, Intuit, ServiceNow, Korn Ferry, Siteimprove, and Fable. He is also the founder of Global Accessibility NextGen Initiative, a global community of future accessibility champions and leaders. Albert pioneered the Neurodiversity & Mental Health inclusion in digital accessibility and currently serves as an invited expert at W3C Cognitive and Learning Disabilities Task Force as well as Mental Health Sub-Group.In this presentation, Albert discusses the challenges of using technology for individuals with chronic mental health conditions.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website.Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Joe Baker is the Senior Product Manager for Accessibility for the Design System at Atlassian and has previously worked on several digital accessibility teams, including at Amazon and Microsoft. He is passionate about building sustainable accessibility programs and design systems to ensure all customers are considered when building products and services. Utilizing his background in front-end development and UX design, he shares his guidance on his site Diga11y.com to help advocate for pushing past compliance and to focus on the user experience of people with disabilities.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website.Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Derek Throldahl entered the media accessibility industry in 2007 as a live closed captioner for news, sports, education, and corporate events. He now heads the live captioning department at 3Play Media Minneapolis, where he oversees workflows, meets with existing and prospective clients, and pushes industry advancement to provide high-quality captioning and language accessibility for live events.Josh Summers trained as a live and offline closed captioner in 2003, working in the broadcast television industry. He helped implement and develop 3Play Media Canada's voice-captioning department and managed its team for several years before moving into a multi-pronged, customer-facing role focusing on live and offline workflows, production efficiencies, and best practices.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website.Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

At the end of every year, 3Play Media co-founders and co-CEOs Josh Miller and Chris Antunes propose media accessibility predictions for the year ahead.This month, Elisa chatted with them about their predictions for 2023, trends from this last year, and where the future of media accessibility is headed.The conversation revolves around five predictions: 1. Audio description will become a media accessibility given rather than an afterthought. 2. End users' voices will be heard, and studio-quality captioning will continue to be the standard for high-end content. 3. Despite the hype around OpenAI, it will not change the media accessibility landscape much in 2023. 4. Media accessibility will continue to become an even higher priority globally. 5. Despite the challenging economic environment, the world's largest companies will continue to set a high bar for accessibility and inclusion.

Cheryl Rayburn was 16 years old when she was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder that involves the loss of cells in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. She finished high school, graduated from Missouri State University, and began a career in the mortgage industry. After 10 years, she stopped working because of her vision loss. In 2015, Cheryl toured Alphapointe and enrolled in training, studying braille, orientation and mobility, activities of daily living, and adaptive technology. Eventually, she started working for Alphapointe, an agency of National Industries for the Blind, so that she could help people with low vision.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website.Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

This month, we're excited to share a fireside chat with lifelong disability rights advocate Judy Heumann.Judy has been instrumental in the development and implementation of legislation such as Section 504, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.Judy has 20 years of non-profit experience working with various disability organizations, including being a founding member of the Berkeley Center for Independent Living and serving on a number of non-profit boards. Judy has also written a memoir, been featured in an Oscar-nominated documentary, and produces a podcast called “The Heumann Perspective.” In this conversation, which was recorded live in August 2022, Judy discusses her personal story, key issues taking place in today's accessibility landscape, and where the future of accessibility advocacy is headed.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website.Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Jacquelyn Sawyer and Liz Vacchiano play different roles in the guide dog process. Hear from both of them about how a puppy becomes a guide dog.Jacquie Sawyer is an expert in influencer marketing strategy and joined The Dogist as The Director of Partnerships in the Spring of 2020. A renowned marketer, she has run campaigns for Google, Sephora, Converse, and many others. A vet tech in college and a dog lover to her core, Jacquie now resides in New Jersey with her husband, Steve, their dog Artie, and their Guiding Eyes for the Blind puppy in training, Biscuit.Liz Vacchiano has been working professionally with Guiding Eyes for the Blind for two years and just started raising her third puppy, a German Shepherd named Kathleen. While in college at the University of Delaware, she interned at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center and raised two puppies for The Seeing Eye. After college, she was a kennel technician at The Seeing Eye before working as an Assistant Dog Instructor at Canine Companions. In her free time, Liz works at her family's 300 acre farm in New Jersey and is restarting an off-the-track Thoroughbred. Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website.Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Charlotte Dales is the Co-Founder and CEO of Inclusively, a workforce inclusion platform that connects job seekers with employers who are committed to attracting and retaining people with disabilities. Charlotte's cousin Cameron became the first licensed aesthetician in the state of Florida with Down syndrome, and after witnessing Cameron's career fulfillment, Charlotte became passionate about replicating her employment success story for disabled talent and started Inclusively.Under Charlotte's leadership, Inclusively is proud to be modernizing recruitment by creating structure and transparency around accommodations, which benefits all job seekers. Charlotte graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and 2 children. This is her second start-up venture; she sold the first to American Express.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website.Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Today, we're joined by Dr. Joel Snyder, who is known internationally as one of the world's first “audio describers.” He is a pioneer in the field of Audio Description, a translation of visual images to vivid language for the primary benefit of people who are blind or have a vision impairment. Since 1981, he has introduced audio description techniques in over 40 states and 64 countries and has made thousands of live events, media projects and museums accessible. Most recently, Dr. Snyder was named a Fulbright Scholar to train audio describers in Greece over a four-week period in 2019. In 2014, the American Council of the Blind published Dr. Snyder's book, The Visual Made Verbal – A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description, now available as an audiobook and in Braille from the Library of Congress, in screen reader accessible formats, and in English, Polish, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chinese print editions; a version in Italian is planned for 2022. His PhD is from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona with a focus on audiovisual translation/audio description. Dr. Snyder is the President of Audio Description Associates, LLC and he serves as the Founder/Senior Consultant of the Audio Description Project of the American Council of the Blind.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

We're excited to share an exclusive bonus episode with 3Play Media co-founders and co-CEOs Chris Antunes and Josh Miller. Chris and Josh met at MIT's Sloan School of Management, where they launched 3Play Media in 2007.In 2022, 3Play serves more than 10,000 customers across multiple industries, helping them increase the value of their online video by making it accessible, usable, searchable, and SEO-friendly.In this conversation, which was recorded live at our ACCESS conference in March 2022, Josh and Chris outline their vision for 3Play's recent acquisition of Captionmax and National Captioning Canada. These two companies add a complementary suite of services to the 3Play Media family, cementing 3Play Media's position as the premier media accessibility provider in North America.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Alan Hejl is the Accessibility Strategy Manager at General Motors and a disability justice advocate. Alan has a passion for bringing people together and connecting different skill teams to ensure people with disabilities are included in the automotive design process, and promoting the accessibility of autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and beyond to be inclusive for all. He brings his work in accessibility advocacy to his community, providing guidance and advice to local businesses and government on how to meet and exceed ADA standards for the true inclusion of people with disabilities.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

A developer in the mid-'90s, Nic Steenhoutwas approached by clients facing issues not yet part of the public consciousness. On the emerging web, accessibility hurdles kept people with disabilities from engaging in a technological revolution.Confronted by this gap within the digital landscape, Nic began championing web accessibility. He transitioned into the non-profit sector, where he collaborated with people with various impairments and was introduced to new assistive technologies. Twenty years on, Nic continues his accessibility work as an independent consultant for both the private and non-profit sectors. Having worked on three continents, he's engaged with thousands of individuals with disabilities. Blogger, podcaster, and public speaker, Nic offers real-world insight into everyday accessibility issues.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Tori Clark is a digital accessibility consultant at Airbnb. Tori has worked in the accessibility field for a decade, bringing her lifelong passion for disability rights to the worldwide web. Raised by public school teachers, Tori believes that accessibility education and awareness can be seeded at every stage of the product development lifecycle and loves to help that learning blossom. She specializes in UX for low vision and motor disabilities, lending her lived experience as a native user of Windows high contrast settings and Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Additionally, Tori founded an emerging nonprofit called Digital A11ies, which aims to normalize web accessibility at a grassroots level.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Lori Samuels is the Senior Director of Accessibility at NBCUniversal. Lori leads strategic accessibility programs to institute best practices in inclusive design, provide training for software development teams, drive cultural maturity in disability inclusion, and fortify executive sponsorship.Lori has had career roles in Software Engineering, Engineering Management, Technical Program Management, and Accessibility Consulting. Her passion for making technology work for people of all abilities started in 1993 when she was Director of Engineering at Broderbund Software. She went on to start Intuit's enterprise accessibility program and delivered the first-ever accessible version of QuickBooks. Prior to joining NBC, Lori led accessibility programs and initiatives at Microsoft.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Jill Brooks is a captioning expert and all-around accessibility trailblazer. Jill worked at the National Captioning Institute for more than two decades, beginning her career in various production roles and working her way up to serve as the President & Chief Operating Officer. The arc of her career cemented her expertise in steno captioning, voice writing, and live caption creation.Jill now applies her knowledge and experience to her current role as 3Play Media's Senior Director of Live Operations.Learn more about 3Play Media's live captioning service.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Brice Christianson is a professional sports sign language interpreter and founder of Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting. Brice was born to two Deaf parents and grew up surrounded by Deaf culture. Growing up, Brice attended sporting events with his father and interpreted for him so he could have access to the game. Twenty-five years later, Brice proposed to the Milwaukee Bucks to become the first professional sports team to provide ASL interpretation. Inspired by interpreting for his father and the successful launch with the Bucks, Brice launched Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting to usher in a new era of accessible and inclusive experiences for Deaf and hard-of-hearing sports fans.Watch this episode with ASL interpretation.Connect with Brice on LinkedIn.Learn more about Play-By-Play Sports Interpreting.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Michele Landis is an expert on digital inclusivity and Section 508. She is the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Accessible360, a court-certified digital accessibility auditing firm dedicated to creating practical solutions for equitable access. Accessible360 offers comprehensive user testing, code development, and project management to ensure compliance continues. Michele thinks the best part of her position is increasing awareness and helping clients learn what it means to become compliant and accessible to all. For Michele, digital accessibility is not only the right thing to do, it's also good for business.Connect with Michele on LinkedIn.Learn more about Accessible360.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nat Lyckowski is the Neurodiversity@IBM Global Business Resource Group Co-Chair. She is proudly neurodivergent and the parent of an autistic IT Professional. With more than 10 years of experience coaching and mentoring neurodivergent individuals and their caregivers, Nat empowers acceptance culture by designing safe spaces to self-identify, and by developing education and initiatives that improve trust and allyship. Nat has represented IBM at a conference with the United Nations, highlighting the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion for neurodivergent professionals. Connect with Nat on LinkedIn.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.

Joseph has served as LineSync's Principal Architect since its founding, and went on to create Wheel Pad alongside Julie Lineberger, after their godson experienced an accident resulting in quadriplegia. After witnessing his godson's struggle to find an accessible apartment (and his resulting nine-month residency in an accessible hotel room), Joseph realized his own expertise could be the solution they were looking for.By 2015, a prototype of the universally accessible housing accommodations offered by Wheel Pad was already winning awards. From there, the idea (and the company) grew, as Wheel Pad began to offer larger models and ultimately wound up with an essentially completely customizable solution. Visit Joseph's website.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Kathy Martinez is an internationally recognized disability rights leader and the President/CEO of Disability Rights Advocates (DRA). Martinez speaks and publishes on a wide array of topics related to disability employment, including the emergence of disability as an essential component of workplace diversity and inclusion and the importance of expectation in ensuring youth with disabilities grow up with an assumption of work—a topic on which Martinez, who herself was born blind, offers compelling and personal perspective.Connect with Kathy on LinkedIn.Visit DRA's Website.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Often referred to as the ‘David Suzuki of design,' David Berman's career has been influenced by many different industries – but design has always remained at the center of it all. David has over 30 years of experience in design and communications and has worked extensively in the adaptation of content for electronic distribution, including accessible web and software interface development.David regularly teaches WCAG accessibility as part of his professional development workshops. His work includes award-winning projects for the City of Ottawa, the Ontario government, and Canada's federal government. David has provided consultancy, training, and testing to IBM, the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services, AODA office, and the Norwegian Design Council on Accessibility Issues. Visit David's website.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Miranda Hoffner has been working for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for the past seven years as an accessibility expert, creating sustainable systems to ensure accessibility is infused at all levels of the organization, for staff, guests, and artists.Miranda has reshaped Lincoln Center's commitment to inclusion through policy, innovative programming, and internal consensus building. She also served on the inaugural Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council. In addition, Miranda has created and managed two graduate fellowships and programs, coaching future leaders in accessibility. Connect with Miranda on LinkedIn.Visit Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Belén always felt passionate about video games and learning languages. She also knew she wanted to do something in the gaming industry. She entered the language industry as soon as she graduated from college and started to work in a game localization company as a linguist and project manager. But that wasn't enough, so she decided to obtain an MA in Audiovisual Translation. But that chapter of her life came to an end when she decided to quit to pursue a new and more motivating challenge: get a Ph.D. in multimedia accessibility. So she moved from Madrid to Barcelona and developed her thesis on subtitling in virtual reality that she obtained with distinctions. This experience was life-changing, and she could finally understand the importance of accessibility and found a new motivation in life: fight to make fun accessible for everybody. Games were so important for her development as a human being, and why shouldn't games be accessible for everybody?Connect with Belén on Twitter.Connect with Belén on LinkedIn.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Emily Yates is an Accessibility Consultant and Journalist living in the U.K. She currently works as an Inclusive Design Associate at CCD Design & Ergonomics. Emily frequently presents and writes on disability, having fronted several documentaries for BBC Three and written for the Guardian, the Independent and Telegraph Travel. She authored the Lonely Planet Guide to Accessible Rio de Janeiro, endorsed by the International Paralympic Committee and available to download by athletes, tourists, and locals alike ahead of the 2016 Games.A wheelchair user herself, Emily is also a disability awareness trainer for Enhance the UK and manages their Undressing Disability campaign, championing the right for disabled people to have access to sexual expression. She recently delivered a TEDx talk on this issue and is currently studying for a PhD in Women's Studies at the University of York.​If you'd like to collaborate on a project, hire her as a speaker or just have a chat, here's how to get in touch with Emily:Visit Emily's website.Connect with Emily on Twitter.Connect with Emily on Instagram.Connect with Emily on LinkedIn.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Thomas Tobin is an author, speaker, and consultant on all facets of quality for technology in higher education: Universal Design for Learning (UDL), evaluating online teaching, copyright, academic integrity, and non-faculty career paths. Visit Thomas' website, purchase books, and get speaker info: http://thomasjtobin.comFollow Thomas on Twitter.Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Derek Mei is a Senior UX/UI Designer at 3Play Media who is passionate about understanding interactions between people and the technologies we use. He has an eye for aesthetics and a knack for the functional, and wants to fuse together his knowledge of both code and design to create digital products that excite users and simplify their interactions with digital products. In addition, he wants to help others understand the power of design, whether it be writing about his experiences on Medium, or using his skillset to give back to less-privileged people and communities.Visit Derek's website.Connect with Derek on LinkedIn.Check out Derek's posts on Medium.Subscribe to The Handoff with Derek Mei.Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you for listening to Allied! For transcripts, show information, and updates, visit our website: https://www.3playmedia.com/alliedpodcast/Follow us on social media! We can be found on Facebook and Twitter.