Podcasts about Chief accessibility officer

Frances West, IBM's first Chief Accessibility Officer and author of Authentic Inclusion shares insights on why accessibility isn't just for people with disabilities—it's a mindset that drives innovation. She discusses the role of AI, cognitive technology, and business leadership in shaping an inclusive digital world.00:25- About Frances West She served as IBM's first Chief Accessibility Officer. She delivers talks at TEDx United Nations forums, and major conferences like Mobile World Congress, SXSW and world computer innovation technology conference.  She is the author of a book titled Authentic Inclusion.

SPaMCAST 851 will feature our interview with Mike Paciello. Accessibility which should be a basic human right has always been a struggle and now seems even farther from reality. Mike and I talk about the definition of accessibility, the issues we face, and why this is an ethical issue not just a compliance problem. Mike Paciello is the Chief Accessibility Officer at AudioEye, Inc., where he drives advancements in digital accessibility. He previously founded WebABLE/WebABLE.TV, delivering insights on disability and accessibility technology, and authored the pioneering book “Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities.” Recognized by President Bill Clinton in 1997 for his role in the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative, Mike has advised the US Access Board and other federal agencies since 1992. An international leader in accessibility and usability, he also founded The Paciello Group (TPG), a leading software accessibility consultancy acquired by Vispero in 2017. Contact Information: Email: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-paciello-1231741/ Mastering Work Intake sponsors SPaMCAST! Look at your to-do list and tell me your work intake process is perfectly balanced. Whether you are reacting to your work or personal backlog, it's time to learn to take control!  Buy a copy of Mastering Work Intake (your work-life balance will improve). Amazon (US) — JRoss — Do you want to test the water before spending part of your hard-earned paycheck?  and I offer free 30-minute “office hours” sessions. In these sessions, we'll facilitate helping to identify and create a plan to tackle one of your work intake challenges. Book time with us here:   Re-read Saturday News In Chapter 4 of , Sen states that value is generated based on the “freedoms a person enjoys that allows them to lead the life they have reason to value.” This leads to the postulate that “poverty must be seen as the deprivation of basic capabilities rather than merely as lowness of incomes.” The idea of observing and understanding poverty as a function of capability deprecation refocuses the reader on the process rather than just the outcome. As we noted in the last chapter, the journey matters. The argument is that without capabilities (i.e. access to education, health care, and transportation) low income is the outcome. While there is covariance (low income reduces access to capabilities) the relationship is obvious. Couple that with the point that poverty is relative to context and the data gets harder to compare region to region. Finally, without understanding which capabilities are in deficit it will be difficult to make policy decisions.  Previous installments of : Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 5: Week 6: Next SPaMCAST  SPaMCAST 852 will feature an essay on scaling attention. Unlike many things, attention doesn't scale no matter how hard you try. So why do people try so hard? We will also have a visit from the Evolutionary Agilist, .

Join Us for an Inclusive AF Journey with Michael Paciello! In this episode of "The Inclusive AF Podcast," hosts Jackye Clayton and Katee Van Horn welcome Michael Paciello, Chief Accessibility Officer at AudioEye, for an insightful discussion on accessibility and inclusivity. From his serendipitous start in accessibility with the National Braille Press to leading technological advances in digital inclusiveness, Michael shares his incredible journey and the evolving landscape of accessibility. What to Expect: - Light-hearted banter about fancy new podcast equipment and friendships. - Michael's fascinating career from technical writing to pioneering tech accessibility. - Historical context of accessibility innovation and its impact today. - The essential role of empathy and inclusivity in tech design. - How AI and automation are shaping the future of accessibility. - Practical steps and resources for integrating accessibility into business workflows. Get ready for a heartwarming and educational conversation jam-packed with humor, personal anecdotes, and actionable insights for creating a more inclusive world! Don't miss out—hit that play button and get Inclusive AF with us! Contact & Resources: - Michael Paciello: michael.paciello@audioeye.com - Connect with Michael on LinkedIn, Blue Sky, and X.

Today, Laura and Kevin talk with Mike Paciello, a trailblazer in the field of digital accessibility and usability. As the Chief Accessibility Officer at AudioEye, Mike shares his journey, from his early motivation to focus on accessibility to authoring the first book on web accessibility, Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities. We discuss Mike's role in the creation of the Web Accessibility Initiative, challenges companies face in prioritizing accessibility, and how AI is shaping the future of inclusive technology. Mike also sheds light on gaps in the accessibility market, and ethical considerations for emerging technologies. Finally, he dispels misconceptions about accessibility and offers his vision for a more inclusive digital world. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, accessibility advocate, or curious about the intersection of technology and inclusivity, this episode is a must-listen.Mike Paciello is the Chief Accessibility Officer at AudioEye, Inc., a digital accessibility company. Prior to joining AudioEye, Mike founded WebABLE, which delivers news about the disability and accessibility technology market. Mike authored the first book on web accessibility and usability, “Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities” and, in 1997, Mr. Paciello received recognition from President Bill Clinton for his work in the creation of World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative. He has served as an advisor to the US Access Board and other federal agencies since 1992. Mike has served as an international leader, technologist, and authority in emerging technology, accessibility, usability, and electronic publishing. Mike is the former Founder of The Paciello Group, a world-renowned software accessibility consultancy acquired in 2017 by Vispero.

Visit Mike at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-paciello-1231741/ Be A Better YOU with AI: Join The Community: https://10xyou.us Get AIDAILY every weekday. Subscribe at https://aidaily.us Read more here: https://thinkfuture.com --- In this episode of thinkfuture, host Chris Kalaboukis dives into the future of accessibility with Mike Paciello, a tech accessibility pioneer with over 40 years in the industry. From his early days at Digital Equipment Corporation to his role in launching the Web Accessibility Initiative at the W3C, Mike shares how he's helped shape the accessibility landscape. Now the Chief Accessibility Officer at AudioEye, Mike reveals how the company is transforming web accessibility by combining AI-powered automated remediation with human expertise, addressing the massive gap in accessible websites. They discuss the current challenges with voice interfaces, the limitations of overlay solutions, and their vision for a future where tech adapts seamlessly to individual needs. This episode is packed with insights on creating an inclusive digital world for people of all abilities. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thinkfuture/support

Join Mike Paciello, Chief Accessibility Officer at AudioEye, and Bryce Johnson, Principal Research Accessibility and Inclusive Design at Microsoft and Co-Inventor of the Xbox adaptive controller, in the latest episode of HearSay. Mike and Bryce discuss accessibility in online gaming and the incredible work that's gone into making the industry more accessible to individuals with disabilities. They also discuss how organizations can make their designs more inclusive using data and involving the disability community as much as possible.——View transcript: https://aeurl.xyz/hearsay-podcast-with-bryce-johnsonHearSay is produced by Sojin Rank, Mike Barton, Mariella Paulino, and Missy Jensen. Edited by Alex Dorrier.HearSay is a podcast focusing on the advocates, heroes, and leaders making the web more accessible. We're interviewing these change makers to hear what they have to say, to set the record straight, and offer their perspectives on how we can all work to make the web accessible to all.

No more headaches with managing your leave process. Head over to Cocoon.com/hr to learn more and get up to a fifty percent implementation fee discount. In this episode, JoDee and Susan discuss employee resource groups (ERGs) with Andrew Holbrook, Chief Accessibility Officer at Wells Fargo. Topics include: Different names for employee resource groups The most common ERGs The responsibilities of Andrew's role as Chief Accessibility Officer The value of ERGs Where to start if you want to create ERGs in your organization How the business should engage with ERGs Concerns and problems that can surface with ERGs External resources for mapping out your ERG strategy ERG success stories In this episode's listener question, we're asked whether it's appropriate for an HR professional to have unprofessional social media in their personal lives. In the news, there's a rising trend in promotions without pay raises, or "dry promotions." Full show notes and links are available here: https://getjoypowered.com/show-notes-episode-202-creating-and-administering-employee-resource-groups/ A transcript of the episode can be found here: https://getjoypowered.com/transcript-episode-202-creating-and-administering-employee-resource-groups/ To get 0.50 hour of SHRM recertification credit, fill out the evaluation here: https://getjoypowered.com/shrm/ Become a member to get early access to episodes, video versions, and more perks! Learn more at patreon.com/joypowered Connect with us: @JoyPowered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/joypowered @JoyPowered on Facebook: https://facebook.com/joypowered @JoyPowered on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/joypowered Sign up for our email newsletter: https://getjoypowered.com/newsletter/ 

Rob Fraser, Mayor, Northern Rockies Regional Municipality joins guest host Graham Richardson to give the latest on the Parker Lake wildfire that is threatening Fort Nelson.  On todays show: Orion Rodgers, President, Property Rights B.C joins guest host Graham Richardson to discuss if the strict new short-term rental rules will inject supply into the housing market. Stephanie Cadieux, Chief Accessibility Officer joins guest host Graham Richardson to discuss how the  Air Accessibility Summit closed with pledges to improve services, but no new penalties. The Daily Debrief Panel with Tom Mulcair, Zain Velji, and Tim Powers. Aaron Blake, Senior Political Reporter with The Washington Post on Michael Cohens testimony today in the Trump hush money trial. 

PAX East 2024 was huge for No Small Games and brought about many firsts for the podcast! Not only was it the team's first time at the expo, it was also Kate and Emily's first time meeting in person and first live event together. And we're bringing you along with us for our highlights from the show!  This episode is packed with our impressions of the demos we played, clips of interviews we recorded on the show floor, and deep dives with developers talking about their games. 2024 brought us a huge showing of indie games at PAX East and while we didn't get to play them all, we are delighted and a bit overwhelmed by the number of amazing indie games and demos that we did get to try! We hope you love our PAX East 2024 recap episode. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:30 - Overall Impressions of PAX East 2024 00:14:20 - Interview - Britt Dye, formerly Chief Accessibility Officer at Whitethorn Games 00:26:28 - Interview - Hunter Bond, Co-Director of DreadXP 00:39:25 - Interview - Eric Manahan, Developer of LUCID 00:51:48 - Interview - Kyle Creamer, Developer of Littlelands 01:16:00 - Interview - Lala, Social Media Manager of Toge Productions Keep in touch with us on social media: Kate's Twitter ✦ https://twitter.com/katerblossom Emily's Twitter ✦ https://twitter.com/aSpecificEgg No Small Games Twitter ✦ https://twitter.com/NoSmallGames  No Small Games Instagram ✦ https://www.instagram.com/nosmallgames  Want to learn more and weigh in on what games we should play in future episodes? Check us out and leave a game suggestion at nosmallgames.com

Here are the topics covered in this episode, and the time in the file for each. Welcome to 270 0:00 Jonathan Mosen speaks with Microsoft's Chief Accessibility Officer, Jenny Lay-Flurrie 3:15 Accessibility is a fundamental human right 47:29 You may not know texts are being truncated, and generalSiri thoughts 57:12 Impressed with my Chromebook 1:10:49 Questions about Sonos and Dolby Atmos 1:12:31 Lectrote interactive fiction interpreter 1:20:15 Transporting and caring for kids 1:22:49 Blind people and video editing 1:25:16 The good and bad of the new Stuff website 1:29:58 Everything you ever wanted to know about Matrix 1:32:37 Make Windows 10 free for blind people 1:46:22 Where is the NFB Newsline Android app? 1:54:05 What laptop keyboard meets my needs 1:55:44 Closing and contact info 1:58:42

Last month Canada's Chief Accessibility Officer released their first report on accessibility in the country.   Stephanie Cadieux breaks down her report.  

Canada's Accessibility Officer Stephanie Cadieux just released her first report, called, “Everyone's business”, which highlights the strides we've made towards a barrier-free Canada. She'll walk us through where we are and how far we still have to go.

Rural and remote doctors are burning out. What will it take to help them? Grant Hardy tells us more on our Headlines segment. Is there a difference between fragrance sensitivities and allergies? Frances Wong discusses more on our Wellness chat. Canada's Chief Accessibility Officer Stephanie Cadieux just released her first report, called, “Everyone's business”, which highlights the strides we've made towards a barrier-free Canada. She'll walk us through where we are and how far we still have to go. Let's get our Community Report from Nova Scotia with Julie Martin. Yang Wang joins us to talk about a Lunar New Year Reading and Tea, a celebration of the Lunar New Year. On our monthly voices chat we're joined by our Guide Dog and Service Animal Reporter, Devon Wilkins.

In this episode of HearSay, Mike Paciello, Chief Accessibility Officer at AudioEye, discusses his journey in the digital accessibility industry—from founding the Web Accessibility Initiative that led to the creation of the today's global standards, to his unwavering commitment to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities over the past several decades. He explores the changing industry landscape and the steps businesses must take in order to ensure an inclusive and equitable future.——HearSay is produced by Sojin Rank, Mike Barton, and Sean Bradley. Edited by Grant Lemons.HearSay is a podcast focusing on the advocates, heroes, and leaders making the web more accessible. We're interviewing these change makers to hear what they have to say, to set the record straight, and offer their perspectives on how we can all work to make the web accessible to all.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul's trip to Israel came to a close a week ago, but we still don't know who's picking up the tab. Plus, New York City's public schools with lower enrollment will have to give money back to the education department this winter. And finally, WNYC's Michael Hill talks with the city's Chief Accessibility Officer, Quemuel Arroyo, about the MTA's plan to make stations more accessible by 2055.

2023 American Council of the Blind 62nd Annual Conference and Convention Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center, Schaumburg, IL and, via Zoom and ACB Media General Session, July 4, 2023, Schaumburg Ballroom Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance: Veterans (invited); Singing of America the Beautiful, led by Kolby Garrison, Development Officer, American Council of the Blind, Greensboro, NC ACB Sponsor Recognitions, Corporate Sponsors Sponsorship Presentation: Diamond sponsor: Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer, Microsoft, Redmond, WA ACB Angels Presentations: Dan Sippl, Eau Claire, WI; Terry Camardelle, Marrero, LA; Richard Bird, Cleveland, OH Affiliate Role Call Presiding Officer: Denise Colley, Secretary, Richmond, TX International Guest Martine Abel-Williamson, President, World Blind Union, Auckland, New Zealand Eric Bridges, Executive Director, American Foundation for the Blind, Arlington, VA Jason Yasner, Deputy Director, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled ACB Highlights Video Foundation Fighting Blindness, Steve Sroka, Associate Director of Events, Libertyville, IL Door Prizes and Announcements Video of the session can be viewed at 2023 ACB Conference & Convention: General Session July 4, 2023 - YouTube The full CART Transcript can be downloaded at Download the Tuesday, July 4: General Session CART file

Frances West has followed her superpower of curiosity and love to pave a remarkable journey so far. From coming to the US as an exchange student in an all male school to becoming first ever IBM's Chief Accessibility Officer, Frances is a trailblazer. She's remained focus on the outcomes she's looking to deliver to find the path that maybe didn't exist before her. After graduating from IBM after a 37 year career, she's in her next season helping global clients execute transformative initiatives. Listen to her story to hear how she guides organizations to drive innovation through authentic inclusion.You will learn: having an intentional focus on outcomes can take "no's" from yourself and others off the table.that we all need to take time to think about who we are and what we want to say.to seek to be patient with other people's emotions especially when they don't align to how you would feel.You can follow Frances' story at:LinkedIn / FrancesWest.co / TwitterFollow my story: Main site - https://www.mattestory.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattestory/ IG - https://www.instagram.com/mattestory/ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mattestory Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattestory

Frances West is the Founder of FrancesWest&Co, a global strategy advisory company focusing on operationalizing diversity inclusion through digital transformation. Frances brings to the table 30+ years of experience across a variety of fields. She has held numerous executive positions, including being IBM's first Chief Accessibility Officer, where she managed a global team to establish IT accessibility standards, shape government policies, and develop human-first enterprise technology and solutions enabling all people to reach their highest potential.    As a first-generation Asian immigrant, Frances brings a unique personal perspective to the DEI space in addition to her board base global business background. A globally sought-after public speaker, Frances has spoken at TED, Mobile World Congress, World Congress on Information Technology, Consumer Electronics Show, and South by Southwest. She is the author of the book “Authentic Inclusion™ Drives Disruptive Innovation,” a C-suite oriented cultural and digital transformation leadership best seller selected by CES and SXSW as one of the 2019 Technology Business Book of the year.   While visiting the US on a university exchange program, Frances found herself opened up to new opportunities and new connections. Find out how this redefined her future on the One Away show.   Read the show notes on Arcbound's Podcast Page: https://arcbound.com/podcasts/    Find Arcbound here: Homepage: Arcbound.com Services/Work with Us: https://arcbound.com/work-with-us/ About: https://arcbound.com/about/ Founders Corner: https://arcbound.com/category/founders-corner/ Connect: https://arcbound.com/connect/

In the second hour of NOW with Dave Brown: Marc Aflalo looks ahead to Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (16:49). And Ryan Delehanty reflects on the latest podcast episode of “The Pulse” with guest Stephanie Cadieux, Canada's Chief Accessibility Officer (39:38).

This week, Canada's Chief Accessibility Officer, Stephanie Cadieux, about her role and her thoughts on disability inclusion in Canada. This is the June 1, 2023 edition. 

In this episode of WorkLab, Jenny Lay-Flurrie shares why inclusion for people with disabilities—from the workplace to a product to a company's culture—benefits everyone. Lay-Flurrie is the sixth guest for season 4 of the WorkLab podcast, in which hosts Elise Hu and Mary Melton have conversations with economists, technologists, and researchers who explore the data and insights into why and how work is changing.  WorkLab 

​Ability NB​ is launching a new program to make Canadian workplaces more accessible. ​Jeanne Armstrong spoke to Haley Flaro, and Stephanie Cadieux, Canada's first-ever Chief Accessibility Officer.

Jenny Lay-Flurrie “rode the wave of the nerdy” from an IT desk all the way to Microsoft, where accessibility became her day job. As Microsoft's Chief Accessibility Officer, she joined and shaped a community that spearheaded the company's accessibility journey, transforming experiences for employees and customers alike. Jenny discussed her calling to do something impactful with her career, and the doors that open when accessibility becomes a constant force through Microsoft's events, offices, devices, language and culture.Link to full episode transcript.Produced by Larj Media

Today on the show, Steven and Shaun are joined by Mr. F himself to cover the Zero Project Conference from Vienna, Austria, as a special week of coverage gets underway. Today we are delighted to be joined by Canada's first Chief Accessibility Officer, Stephanie Cadieux, to talk about her exciting new role and why she is so keen to be at the conference this week. Also, we meet Thomas Butcher, one of the people behind the conference itself. Plus there are more of your emails and feedback. Stay tuned for more coverage this week and keep your feedback coming as always.

She's kind, smart, strong, determined, funny, resilient, and a  champion for accessibility and inclusion! In this episode, I'm in talks with Canada's first accessibility officer, Ms. Stephanie Cadieux. 

On today's show: A conversation with Canada's first Chief Accessibility Officer. A preliminary review of the $10 FOI fee disclosed mixed findings on fee's initial impact, and it raises concerns over administration of the fee. Canada unveils goal to support domestic rocket launches. Wine exploring in Mexico? You bet! In this land of tequila, mezcal and beer, wine consumption and production has traditionally not been a huge part of Mexican life. But enthusiasm and a lot of recent investment are spurring growth in winemaking and eno-tourism here.

Stephanie Cadieux is a change leader, an advocate for diversity, accessibility, disability inclusion and an entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in planning and leadership roles.Her four-year appointment as the Government of Canada's Chief Accessibility Officer began on May 2, 2022.Before her appointment, Ms. Cadieux was a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2009 to 2022.  She was the Minister of Children and Family Development from 2012 to 2017, and between 2010 and 2012, held various positions, including Minister of Social Development; Minister of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government; and Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.Prior to her engagement in provincial politics, Ms. Cadieux was the director of marketing and public relations for the BC Paraplegic Association from 2004 until 2009. She was also the provincial peer coordinator for this organization from 2001 until 2004.Ms. Cadieux is a member of the disability community, using a wheelchair since the age of 18.  Her lived experience allows her to have a deep understanding of accessibility issues faced by people with disabilities.

Jeff spent most of his career in Financial Services and has moved on to make more significant impact in the world as the Chief Accessibility Officer at Disability:IN. Listen to episode 21 to hear Jeff's experience with Retinitis Pigmentosa, and his successful career path. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/careersfortheblind/message

In this episode, Haley Garofalo speaks with Quemuel Arroyo, the Chief Accessibility Officer for the MTA. Together, they discuss his winding career path and how he came about creating a brand new role for the MTA. Quemuel Arroyo, Chief Accessibility Officer and Special Advisor to the Chairman at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Arroyo joined the MTA from Charge, a micromobility docking startup where he serves as interim President and Global Head of Community. Prior to Charge, he served as Chief Accessibility Specialist at the New York City Department of Transportation. He received a Bachelors of Arts in Urban Design and History of Architecture and Master in Public Administration from New York University. Arroyo lives in Harlem and serves on the boards of New York City Outward Bound Schools, Project Sunshine, Hudson River Community Sailing, and chair of the Heidi Latsky Dance Company. He is an avid scuba diver and takes pleasure exploring the "sixth borough", NYC's waterways. For a full transcript of this episode, please email career.communications@nyu.edu.

Accessibility reporter Meagan Gillmore chats about Stephanie Cadieux, Canada's new chief accessibility officer. From the May 17, 2022, episode.

In her Pacific regional report, Sylvi Fekete chats about Stephanie Cadieux's new role as Canada's first chief accessibility officer. She also tells us about a new initiative by PALS Adult Services Society to help people in the autism community live independently. From the April 7, 2022 episode.

It is not often that most of us have the opportunity and honor to meet a real trendsetter and pioneer. Today, you get to meet such an individual.   Mike Paciello has been a fixture in the assistive technology world for some thirty years. I have heard of him for most of that time, but our paths never crossed until this past September when we worked together to help create some meetings and sessions around the topic of website accessibility. As you will hear, Mike began his career as a technical writer for Digital Equipment Corporation, an early leader in the computer manufacturing industry. I won't tell you Mike's story here. What I will say is that although Mike is fully sighted and thus does not use any of the technology vision impaired persons use, he really gets it. He fully understands what Inclusion is all about and he has worked and continues to work to promote inclusion and access for all throughout the world.   After you hear our podcast with Mike, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to email me at michaelhi@accessibe.com to tell me of your observations. Some directories do not show full show notes. For the complete transcription please visit https://michaelhingson.com/podcast About our Guest: Mike Paciello has been a pioneer and influential figure in the accessibility industry for more than three decades. He wrote the first book on web accessibility and usability (Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities), and has since achieved many notable milestones. He is the founder of WebABLE.Com and co-founder of WebABLE.TV. Mike currently serves as AbleDocs VP of US Operations. Mike served as co-chair of the United States Federal Access Board's Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC), co-founder of the International Committee for Accessible Document Design (ICADD), and was recognized by President Bill Clinton for his contribution to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). He was the recipient of the 2016 Knowbility Lifetime Achievement and the 2020 ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium Social Impact awards. Contact Mike at mpaciello@webable.com or mpaciello@abledocs.com About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset. Thanks for joining us this week, we have a guest I've been looking forward to for quite a while his name is Mike Paciello. And I'm not going to tell you a whole lot about him because he gets to do that himself, except I will tell you that he's very deeply involved in the web accessibility world. Why do we deal with web accessibility a lot on this podcast? And why do I continue to bring it up. Because if you've listened to many of these podcasts, you know that there is an ever widening gap between websites that are accessible and those that are not. And it is something that we all need to deal with. Because there are so many people in this world who don't get to access all the websites that everyone else can access for one reason or another. Mike has been very deeply involved in dealing with those issues for a lot of years. And I'd like to introduce you to him now. And we can talk more about it. Mike, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Mike Paciello  02:23 Thanks, Mike. Great to be here.   Michael Hingson  02:27 So how did you even get involved in this? I mean, you you are cited you, you, as far as I know, don't have any what people would call physical disabilities and all that. So how did you get involved in all this?   Mike Paciello  02:41 Well, it's a it's a long and winding story that probably folks have heard many times in the past, but I was worked at a a computer company that no longer exists anymore. It maybe exists in parcels at HP. But it was Digital Equipment Corporation back in the 80s. I actually   Michael Hingson  03:03 just this morning was reading something from someone on a list where they were talking about the old desktop synthesizer.   Mike Paciello  03:10 Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I know that memories. Yeah, I know the guys that worked on that. And Tony Vitaly was one of the lead engineers on that. And Tony, now we're good friends. He passed away several years ago from ALS. Ironically enough, it he discovered it while he was at the seaside conference. Boy, I think so. So this was in the late 90s, maybe in early 2000s. But at any rate, I was working as a technical writer at Digital in the mid mid 80s, right through the early 90s. And was asked to take on a project voluntarily, which involved providing our computer software documentation we did mostly operating system software, to the National Braille Press in Boston. And I just thought it was interesting. And so I followed up and they said, and maybe you'll get a request once or twice a year. I hadn't had the project for more than a few hours. And I got a cost a call right away from Bill reader who was the writer? Yep. You know, Bill, yes. And he said, Hey, we need this, this this this? Can you bring these down? And I said, Sure, I'd have been happy to. And so I hadn't carried the physical publications, which as I found out, they would then take and transcribe into and reproduce in Braille. And Bill was awesome. He gave me a complete tour of, you know, the factories and the offices and what they did. And right away he started talking about, you know, screen reader. Well, actually, it was a screen reader technology that was braille translation software at that particular time. It's so that that piqued my interest, and i i At the same time I was doing that I also happen to be working in the very first instances of markup language. This is pre SGML, which, as anyone that knows the standardized, standardized or Standard Generalized Markup Language was the precursor to HTML, which is makes up the web. But it was actually a, a markup language used to basically mirror what an editor, a physical editor of a red publication would do, you know, take a ticket document from an individual divided up into, you know, logical portions on on, you know, within a page. So this is a paragraph, this is a list, this needs to be indented. This is a title, this is a heading, those type of things. And Dale SGML could do that electronically. And at the time, I specifically was working on a project that involves converting our electronic documents or digital into postscript, which anyone knows a postscript is that free PDF? Yes. So I thought to myself, if we can do these electronic conversions from basically a text markup file, to a postscript file, which is, you know, kind of a graphical a page, right? Right. Why not output it to Braille? And that led me on my quest to go figure out how to do that.   Michael Hingson  06:36 So what did you What did you end up doing?   Mike Paciello  06:39 Well, I curse I had established a few contacts, because of this arrangement that digital had with the National Braille Press. And one of those contexts was George cursher. Anyone that knows anything about this business knows that George is a champion and a hero, and just one of the greatest human beings I've ever known. And Matt, and it's great to be to be called a friend and a colleague of his,   Michael Hingson  07:08 and George was the person who kind of really was the proponent of the DAISY format, which is used today not only in audio recordings to make them fully accessible and navigable, but he did it for Braille as well.   Mike Paciello  07:22 That's right. That's exactly right. And I'll tell you, a lot of people remember George for when he worked for what you would call it out there in New Jersey and Princeton for the blind index,   Michael Hingson  07:36 RFP coding, right. Now Learning Ally, right,   Mike Paciello  07:40 right, right, exactly. However, before he joined RFB, nd he had his own little company called computerized books for the blind, write it so I established a contact with him, he and I started talking about markup languages. He pulled it a couple of other people like Joe Sullivan, from Duxbury Systems. And Yuri Minsky, who was the President CEO of soft spot, which was a major producer of SGML editing software. And we formed together with many other colleagues, also international colleagues, what was a working group called the International Committee for accessible document design. We did that in the late early 90s, early 90s.   Michael Hingson  08:30 So you, you put some processes together? And how successful were you at being able to get postscript translated into Braille?   Mike Paciello  08:43 Well, no, no, as far as I know, there was no success there. Yes, story. The story with postscript is, you know, Adobe, eventually converted everything into a PDF. And that's where the success so to speak, relatively speaking, came in play. Adobe actually had members that were part of our, the internet international committee for accessible document design. And they got involved effect their lead engineer at that time was Carl Orthey. And Carl met with George myself in another great colleague, who worked with me at that time at Digital TV Raman. And we looked at ways of, again, taking the PDF and converting into something that was accessible. So that's that's so there's no real story as far as I know around postscript. It's all about PDF at that level.   Michael Hingson  09:42 It's, it's interesting. You had a lot of good beginnings and laid a lot of foundations. But But today, it seems like a lot of the accessibility that we're seeing is still somewhat sporadic and spotty. In that not everything gets to be put into or can easily be put into an accessible form. Even with Adobe, there is a lot of document, there are a lot of documents that are released and created by various people that aren't accessible. Why is it that Adobe and other organizations don't really follow through and try to create native accessibility? Right from the outset?   Mike Paciello  10:28 Yeah, well, you know what that is, it's it comes down very simply to it's a business decision. You know, corporations. for all intents and purposes, they've got a mindset, they're all about reporting back to their boards of directors, and reported profits. I mean, it's just a business's business, especially here in you know, in this in this country, where we're driven, you know, by a by, you know, why the markets in so businesses, businesses look at it, and I've yet to see this not be true. Even for those companies that I believe Excel, where accessibility is concerned, a businesses have never been able to figure out really how to turn accessibility as you and I know it into a business value proposition, they haven't figured out how to make it, how to make money out of it, there are all kinds of numbers that are thrown out there about discretionary income by people with disabilities. But it doesn't come down to that. It's it's channels, it's business lines, it's, it's we're talking about, you know, companies don't want to talk about making business unless we're talking about billions of dollars now. And then, you know, it won't take much longer looking at the recent, the recent profit reports, you know, by by Apple and Amazon, that we're going to be talking about trillions of dollars. So if we can generate that kind of thing, then then, you know, a business business really does want to want to investigate. And secondarily, designing architecting, developing all of the engineering lifecycle or product lifecycle disciplines that are associated with ensuring that whatever it is that we're building, and I'll just use just a software environment, because that's, that's what I'm most familiar with, whatever software platform or interface that we're designing or developing, you know, it has to be accessible, they're not doing enough, you know, out of the box, it's not being done in the concept, you know, conceptual design and architectural, and then fall all the way through. If you know, what I'm doing right now, as I'm illustrate, I'm using, you know, kind of a gesture to show, you know, for the beginning, all the way to the end of the lifecycle, there, every piece of that needs to be accounted for, where ensuring something is usable, and accessible to a variety of people, disabilities, and the persona types associated with it. And companies just typically don't make that kind of investment. Unless someone at the top is driving it. And, you know, you can look at, you know, I think Microsoft is a is a good company right now to kind of hold up there, because I believe that they've done a great job at raising the bar. Because all of its being driven by Jenny in by, you know, by their CEO, you know, he himself has, I think, at least one son with with a disability. So he's got a personal connection to it, but you don't see that at 90% of most businesses. So again, like I said, it's a, it's a value cost analysis, that, you know, from an accessibility standpoint, it's probably never going to really, truly wash. Now that even   Michael Hingson  14:04 go ahead. Oh, go ahead. No, I was just gonna   Mike Paciello  14:07 say, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. And that doesn't mean that we shouldn't tackle this pervasive, really, you know, like global challenge, using other means by which to, you know, kind of change the world and change thinking. And I really think that that's probably another big piece of it.   Michael Hingson  14:28 We see them with Microsoft, but even with Microsoft, now with new windows 11. There are a lot of things that are technically accessible, but they're not obvious and they're not obviously located so that one can see them, you know, as an example. It used to be in his latest Windows 10. If you wanted to go to what we're now calling even with Windows and app that's installed on your machine, you hit the start button. And then you could use the arrow keys to go down and find the AP. But that's not the case in Windows 11 anymore. And there are additional keystrokes or other things that you need to do. They have not kept the same obvious process. And yes, it's accessible because you can find it. But is that really is usable, and was a lot of thought given to that when they were creating windows 11. And it seems to me that Jenny has has done a lot and we're speaking by the way for those who don't know, of Jenny Lefevere, who is the Chief Accessibility Officer for Microsoft, and Jenny is deaf, we met at a convention a few years ago. And obviously, you, you work with her pretty well. But I just think that there are things that they aren't, they're still not giving a lot of thought or as much thought as they should, to some of the architecture and ways to make Windows is obviously usable as it should be.   Mike Paciello  15:59 You know, I mean, Mike, I can't, I can't deny that I totally agree. I think, you know, what we see out on the web in terms of social networking, social Mark marketing, we see what Microsoft wants us to hear, right, but we're not inside. In I am not at all surprised, because I frankly, I hear this about a lot of the other, you know, big companies, who was it was at Forbes was at Forbes, or was a fast company that just came out with this glowing article. It in mentioned, it was it was really kind of interesting. It mentioned Microsoft, Amazon, Google. Facebook, who else was in there apple in all these great, wonderful things that they do in I mean, you can't deny the fact that they've made some awesome, you know, steps forward and done some great things in behalf of the entire disabilities marketplace. Right. But force, but at the same time, you and I both know, I see every single day, if not hundreds, you know, dozens, you know, if not dozens, hundreds. So whichever way you want to look at it, I have people who are seeing exactly what you're saying. Yeah, great, but now I can't use Windows, I've seen that. I've seen that whole discussion on Windows 11. So what happened? Who's Who's not watching the the watching the ball there? How can you not at this point in the game, when you're in industry, as mature as Microsoft is? Including the accessibility space? How could you miss these things? You can't. So someone's making decisions that should either is, is not well educated, well versed and accessibility, or be and I think this tends to be more likely scenario. They're doing it because they're being driven by whatever financial incentives that they have. Right?   Michael Hingson  18:04 Right. But But here's, here's another aspect of that. I agree that in especially in this country, we tend to be very driven by the financial aspects of it. What Uh, what about our stockholders, we've got to report directly to them. And they're the only ones who matter, which I'm not convinced is true. But that's what what companies do. But when do we get to see companies believe? It says much about the cost of doing business to include people with disabilities, and we'll deal with blindness here. But in general, to include people with disabilities as it is others look at Adobe, if you install Adobe Acrobat, or if you look at a lot of the things that that you can do with Acrobat, and Acrobat, DC today, we have Acrobat, DC, licensed as I do here, you get options for different kinds of languages, you get a variety of different kinds of settings. And obviously, those were put in because people somewhere thought it was important to have more than English, then of course, part of that is you want Acrobat to be able to be marketed all over the world. But even in this country, you want Acrobat to be able to produce documents and English and Spanish and Chinese and Japanese and other languages as well. But so there's a mindset there, that that's important. But I think part of the issue with corporate decisions is there isn't a mindset yet about dealing with disabilities, even though more than 20% of all people in this country and around the world have some sort of disability there isn't a mindset of inclusion for those people yet.   Mike Paciello  19:56 Yeah, I totally agree. Um, you know, we all I often talk about culture, we often talk about acumen, we I used to have a domain that was called thinkaccessibility.com. And it's true with the mindset is, they're just not doing it. But I also feel like in I kind of apologize, because I haven't been able to come up with the right answer yet. But I used to talk in terms of what, you know, what, how do we change the world? I mean, that's, that's what we're trying to talk about, right? We're talking about changing the world change the world's mindset, as it relates to people with disabilities, in, in accessibility. In terms of any kind of interaction or, or or inclusive design doesn't matter whether it's hardware, or software, wood, or paper, or electronic. The same thing is true all the way across the board, I still see buildings that are built, and they don't meet the ADA standards. Right. Right. So So what is it? I used to talk about, you know, back in the, in the 90s, particularly, we went through this phase, where alternative energy became, you know, a big thing. In many governments, many, many governments put billions of dollars into alternative energies for a lot of reasons, right? They want to stop fossil fuel pollution and things along those lines, right? The the atmosphere, but there were a lot of reasons for doing it. But the the government's and the people, the scientists behind it, saw, had had the foresight, they saw a vision of what the world would be like, in 5060, you know, 100 years or decades ahead, in from the term from the standpoint of preservation, for from the standpoint of, you know, global warming, pollution, things along those lines, it became intrinsic to life, for every human. We haven't achieved that in the disability accessibility. A world in our world, we have not created a mindset that says, We need to change the world, because if we don't, this is what's going to happen in the years to come. Right? That makes sense. It does.   Michael Hingson  22:31 And, you know, part of the problem is the term disability is still, we're great at redefining words, right? I mean, we've re defined, we've redefined diversity all over the place. And now diversity generally tends not to include disabilities. And will but we haven't been able to define disability yet to not mean you're not able. And so it is a problem. And I'm just not sure how we're going to get around that. But somewhere, we need to do that, to get the mindset to shift so that people can truly understand and accept that just because a person has a different ability set than they and it doesn't include some of the things that that their ability set includes. That does go the other way as well. And it isn't all of a physical nature necessarily.   Mike Paciello  23:24 I totally agree. I tell you every I mean, what's also factually true is, you know, the profession, the business and the community that you and I are part of, is it is in and of itself kind of a civil rights notion, right? It is. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, in the US, it's absolutely that, well, actually, most countries, it's absolute. That's why you have, you know, Ada, like legislator, legislation and laws throughout, you know, throughout the world. But here's the interesting thing about that. Every great civil rights movement, every great movement, has always had a great leader and a vocal leader and a visible leader. And I've always thought that that's one of the things that we miss, we don't really have, we have some great leaders, we've got some great people out there. Jenny being one of them, for example. You know, when I, when I grew up, Ellen Brightman was like, it was like my hero key and Gary Moulton. Were just, you know, awesome. Good. George cursher, you know, to this day is, but we don't have, you know, a Martin Luther King, like individual, you know, a Mahatma Gandhi, like individual who, who doesn't just bring the cause, but brings the recognition in, in in creates change as a result of that in in so I still kind of think that that's something that we we probably need in this industry to to to change the world the way that we want to change it.   Michael Hingson  24:56 Yeah. And and the problem is that to bring the recognition that take a Martin Luther King, the the thing is, there were some differences about him. But there were enough similarities between him and everyone else that people could rally around him. And I'm not sure that when you're viewing people as physically disabled or developmentally disabled, when you bring that disability in, there's, there's a part of it, that I'm not sure that anyone yet has figured out a way to get around the closest person who I ever encountered. And I never met him personally, but person who I think could have achieved that, although not in the exact same strident way that Dr. King did would be Jacobus timber, the founder of the National Federation of the Blind. He was he was the deep philosopher, and extremely vocal about it and very innovative, but he was blind. And I think that that's that problem is what we face in terms of dealing with disabilities.   Mike Paciello  26:11 Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. Yeah, so I mean, I think that's just one, one piece of the, you know, of the puzzle, so to speak, to try to solve this worldwide mindset that that needs to be changed.   Michael Hingson  26:31 Yeah, and I'm not sure how we're going to get around it. Because I think we also tend to not be violent, and we shouldn't be violent about what we do. But we do need to somehow cross this barrier. And maybe the way we need to do it is to be more forceful, collectively, and get people to to notice, but there are things that that companies could do take apple. So Apple, finally came to the realization and it took in part of the threat of a lawsuit to make it happen. But Apple finally took the iPhone and made it accessible. The iPod. And they even went so far as to make iTunes you available, although I don't hear as much about iTunes you today. But still, it was the method by which a number of people could get class lectures, and so on. And they made all of that accessible. The problem that I see with what Apple did is that they didn't take that last step. That is to say, there is still nothing in the App Store today that mandates any level of accessibility for the apps that they allow to go through the store. And they could make an incredible change in mindset and shift in mindset. If they would just say, your app has to have some level of accessibility. And that's going to be different for different kinds of apps. But at least I ought to be able to control apps that go through the store. And I recognize that a lot of apps are going to be graphical in nature, but they still ought to give me the ability to control the apps and manipulate the apps and my example that I use are star charts, you know, I'm not going to see star charts. But for me to take the time to describe it to someone and describe what I want to get them to manipulate it rather than me being able to manipulate it and then saying to someone, what do you see, I still don't even get that. And apps go in and out of accessibility in the app store all the time. Apple could, with a fairly simple process, make accessibility as mandatory in the store, as it does other things. It would seem to me.   Mike Paciello  28:54 Yeah, well, what companies do about their own products is definitely one thing. But again, I still think it comes down to dollars and cents. No, they're not gonna push any harder than they have to, because they just don't have the C level people who should be, you know, putting this on their agenda and in prioritizing accessibility the way it ought to be, as we as we see it.   Michael Hingson  29:21 Right. Right. But what's but what's the message there? The message, it seems to me is still we're still not really important enough for us to do that.   Mike Paciello  29:31 Oh, that's right. You're not a viable entity? Yeah, absolutely. There's no doubt about that. They'll never say it. But in fact, that's really what's going on in the boardroom. Now. One One thing that we tried to do have been unsuccessful up till now. But when Jim Tobias and I shared the the last five weeks, one of the things that we had already laid groundwork for doing was implementing the Five weight requirements, which include all the the web accessibility requirements into the Americans Disabilities Act, because the Department of Justice was a participant there, they're following what we're doing. And we made some good head rows, headway into it. But it came to an abrupt abrupt stop. As a result of politics, frankly speaking. We, my my last meeting, ironically enough, at the White House, was the day before the 2001 or 2016 election. Yeah, yeah. 2016 election. And I listened to President Obama's chief technology officer, and his chief science officer, both talked about the players that they were laying out for the next four to eight years. In all those things got trashed right after that election. So again, not not not really, in no way am I see he could have a political position here, because I don't I stay out of politics, but I'm just sitting, having been the chair, a co chair, rather, of a committee, whose charter was to enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities by enhancing technology for accessibility. We lost, we lost, we lost quite a bit at that level. Now. You know, will it ever get into ADA? I don't know. I really don't know. It's it's more or less than table, that the Department of Justice position at this point is well, you know, things are fair, you know, are out there for everybody to follow. They don't need enforcement. But the reality is, lawsuits are gonna keep coming until until until enforcement is mandated. And then then corporations will do one or two things, they'll either comply, because they'll have to obey. Or they'll do what they typically do, which they send lobbyists groups in and fight it.   Michael Hingson  32:06 Yeah, well, and you bring up a really interesting thing regarding lawsuits, because lawsuits can can be a powerful and valuable way to help the process if the litigation is brought for the right reason, namely, we really want to help fix the problem. But we're also seeing a lot of lawsuits. And it's been going on well, certainly before the ADEA. But we'll use the ADEA. And, and and our situations and experiences as the example, lawsuits today are often filed by lawyers who just want to make a bunch of money. They're very frivolous lawsuits. I saw one last week, where a lawyer decided to sue a company actually a bunch of different companies, because they said their websites were inaccessible. And they use the same boilerplate on on all of the lawsuits. And in reality, from the time the plaintiff, quote, looked at the website that I am aware of, until the time the lawsuit was filed was about a month. And in that time, unbeknownst to the defendant, or to the plaintiff, the company took action to make the website accessible because it was the right thing to do. So that by the time the lawsuit was filed, in reality, the claims were totally baseless because the website had become accessible and usable, demonstrably speaking, but yet the lawsuit was still fired filed, and there are so many of those frivolous lawsuits. It seems to me that one of the things that we ought to figure out ways to do is to get Bar Association's and others to go after these lawyers who are doing these frivolous lawsuits, because they're not doing anyone any good.   Mike Paciello  34:07 Yeah, yeah, there's no doubt about there are a lot of evil, it's chases out there. They've been out there for as long as I've been, you know, in the software and web accessibility, because it's, I mean, I don't know if we'll ever be able to change that unless, unless we do what would there is there has been some inroads made in terms of how much a person can sue for and, and in some of the motivations for but yeah, yeah, I mean, it's sad, in unfortunately, they they bring in individuals with disabilities, you know, to be part of the of the suit itself. And that creates angst in the communities as well. Right. So I mean, it's, yeah, it's, it's funny, I gave a talk at the UN years ago on fear based incentives, and I hate them. I mean, it's such a stands for any kind of fear based incentives. But the fact of the matter is that we see it does. It does effect change, right. So you've seen large corporations in organizations in educational institutions who have made the changes because they were forced to as a result of those lawsuits. I don't like it. I don't think anybody likes to be quarter, you know, put into a corner and then have to fight out. It just gives accessibility and disabilities a bad name overall. But it is effective. Set   Michael Hingson  35:36 offer, marketing, fear based marketing is all around us. I mean, turn on a television, and you hear commercials, like your check engine light is going to turn red at some point. And then it's going to be too late. You have to get our car warranty. Now I'm in fear marketing is all around us.   Mike Paciello  35:56 Yeah, that's true. And I work separately. It is ironic, because it is kind of ironic that you're talking about that, because we are kind of talking about messaging, and marketing. It's one of the reasons why would I built web able, one of the things that I really wanted to focus on was trust based marketing, that anyone that I did business with, has to has to be truthful in everything that they say and everything that they do. And so I've worked really hard at that focus, I'm actually updating our pages right now to add another set of value statements associated with trust, and in truthful marketing, because I believe it's ironic my drive here is to make sure that people with disabilities and consumers with disabilities, you know, what they're being told, or what they're being sold, is, you know, an accurate reflection of what your product can or cannot do. So or what a service company or a service based company says they can and will do, because I believe, frankly, speaking, very analogous to the lawyer, you know, the English face lawyer scenario, is I believe that there that that individuals with disabilities, not unlike the elderly community are often take advantage, taking advantage of, because they don't know everything that's going on it, you know, their disability puts me into a situation where they, they, they often are not aware of what the true motivations of a corporation or organization really are.   Michael Hingson  37:38 Right. And it's, it says an important for those of us in the disability community to understand corporate dynamics, and do as much as we can to become a part of the corporate world, because change does have to come from within, and it won't come unless we help bring it about and unless we work as hard as we possibly can to get other allies on the inside. But I still think ultimately, it's it's going to require that mindset shift. And I'm, I'm not convinced that it needs to be a costly thing to bring about accessibility, especially if you create a native way to make it happen right from the outset. Then you're building it into the cost of doing business, which is what Apple did, of course, with the iPhone, and the iPod and the technologies that are in the   Mike Paciello  38:37 Mac voiceover voiceover right. And then voiceover,   Michael Hingson  38:41 it's a cost of doing business. And I'm not even sure I totally like that. But it's, it's okay. It's a cost of doing business to make sure everyone can use the product. And I think that's a reasonable thing to do. But that's why I think that they, they need to take that last step. And get to the point of recognizing that part of that same cost of doing business has to be to say, to developers, you've got to have some sort of basic amount of accessibility, just like we do with the with the iPhone and the iPad and the Mac itself, because you're leaving people out. The The problem is that Apple put itself in that position by being a policing agency for what goes into apps and how apps work. I understand. I don't even I haven't looked lately, but I understand that if you create a piece of software that looks like it has a Windows desktop, that was true of Windows 10. Anyway, Apple wouldn't release it in the app store because it didn't look abolition often look to Windows II and of course their competitors. They have the ability to make and they do make decisions based on what they choose.   Mike Paciello  40:02 Yeah, yeah, there's no no no doubt about that, again, businesses are in the business of doing business. Right. And, and, and that's why we have things, you know, like trademarks and copyright and, and patent infringement and patents, and, you know, all of that it's all proprietary, proprietary systems closed open. This that's, that is the world that we that we live in today is as as we started, as you said, from the beginning, the sad part of all of this is that in that the decision makers, the architects, the designers, are not really truly thinking about accessibility and building an infinite start.   Michael Hingson  40:44 And it would make it just and it's not that hard to do. If they would do it. Tell me about the web accessibility initiative a little bit.   Mike Paciello  40:53 Gosh, sure. Well, I'll tell you, as much as I know, I mean, I haven't. I've been on the fringes of it more or less for the last 15 years or so. But I'll tell you the, the interesting story about the about the way is that I and I was working as a volunteer, I was working at digital and working as a volunteer to kind of with MIT, in the WCC to just kind of build some content, leads, you know, email lists, you know, some some resource information, and just keep it there for accessibility. Organizations like trace ad, which then under Greg Vanderheiden, was at the University of Wisconsin, now down at University of Maryland, Baltimore, I think that's where they're at. And in WGBH, here in Boston, under Larry Goldberg's directorship in cast, they also were organizations that were kind of pulling together these resources around around the web. And so while I was there, I came in contact with a few key people like Daniel da, and of course, Tim Berners. Lee, I was working closely with with Uri Rybicki before he passed the 96. In others, Dave Raggett, just a few other people that were there, in ultimately, you know, we started talking about, you know, can we do something with this. But at the same time, conversations were being carried on with with the National Science Foundation is Department of Education, and a couple of European consortiums, including tide. And what happened was, Tim, as I understand it was approached by either Vice President Gore, or President Clinton at at that particular time said, hey, look, would with the W three C, would you guys be interested in kind of building a project around people disabilities that access to the web? And Tim came back to myself DlG Villar a dragon and said, Hey, do you guys think that we could do this, but would this be something that we could do and ultimately, that led to us putting together a plan and a proposal for an initiative at the time was called the web accessibility project or whap. And I never liked it. Never like, you know, from a marketing standpoint, you know, a branding simple, I just knew it wasn't gonna work. So when we decided that we were going to launch it in 1997, Danielle, and Danielle and I went back and forth, okay, what can we name this whole thing? And I came up with way Wi Fi. That was marketable, it was easy to say and easy to brand. And Daniel liked it. And and we were back in 1997. Now at the I think it What was it? Like everybody, I think it was the sixth, sixth or seventh. Why would conference, I think the seventh I want to say seven, but even six. And I've got my stuff right over here on my other shelf. I can't see it right now. But we launched it there. It's at Stanford and see in Santa Clara. And that's that led to, to the launch of the initiative. We got funding, US government funding matching funds from MIT in matching funds from the tide initiative for three years. So we built a three year business plan for it. Ultimately, I at that time, actually, I changed jobs and Dale Yuri had passed away 96 It's now 1997. And I was the executive director of the European ski and sky foundation. So under that notion, I went out and helped help lead and build the the Web Accessibility Initiative Program Office. And ultimately that led to us hiring Judy Brewer. Who was in Massachusetts, it had been very well known for her activity with. With her boy, I can't remember the name of the organization was I want to say the mass mass association for disabilities. But she had led the effort to requiring Microsoft to ship Windows, Windows 95, with certain accessibility features into it. And so she was a great hire, you know, to leave the office, I went back off and eventually left the OSI Foundation, and started up my own company TPG.   Michael Hingson  45:43 And now you've since fairly recently sold TPG, right?   Mike Paciello  45:49 Today, it's already been for almost five years.   Michael Hingson  45:54 What did TPG do? What what did you form the company to do?   Mike Paciello  45:59 Yes, so I, what I really wanted to do was forming a professional services organization, company that helped make web web applications and software, regardless of the platform, usable and accessible to people disabilities. So I built an initial team, we went through several iterations of the team, before I could pull the right group of people together. But ultimately, that's, that's, that's what we did. And that's how I sold it became one of the most, if not the most well known brand, in software, professional services around web and software accessibility in the world. And that led to the company at the time, was VFO. Now now known as Despero, and they acquired they acquired TPG is specifically for that we had the largest bring not the largest company, but the largest brand most well done. It was because we were built on a foundation of trust. Every client that we had, came to us by referrals, we never did outbound sales ever. And, and we had lots of lots of repeat business enough to keep you know, ultimately, I think when I saw that we had about 40 or so people on staff in some of the world's best, best of the world in this business. Now my drop it in their knees, because they're all there are there. So they've gone off and formed their own companies. You know, I find I find that a little bit of a legacy. They you know, a car girls would often in antennen, and now he's with level access. Leone, Watson went out and started petrological. And she's got, you know, seven or eight members of her key team are all former TPG employees. Sara Horton is going off. She's doing her thing. So and I've gone off and done my so there's, there's been a lot of it's kind of interesting, a lot of breakout companies from from TPG.   Michael Hingson  47:52 And now you're doing web ABL.   Mike Paciello  47:56 And now I'm doing web ABL. Yeah, I've kind of labeled right. Web evil and evil docs.   Michael Hingson  48:02 And you're married. So you have three jobs. What's that? And you're married? So you have three jobs?   Mike Paciello  48:08 I probably have five because yeah, there's that parent tells me I have like five jobs now. So yeah, we're able to able to access web people. It really started out at TPG. It was my idea to kind of build a marketing, but I wanted to honestly, I built a news aggregator which the front of it is front end of it is a news aggregator. But ultimately, I wanted to be a digital marketing social networking marketing company strictly within the context of of, of accessibility and disability. And that's, that's where it's at.   Michael Hingson  48:47 And what Able Docs?   Mike Paciello  48:49 Able Docs is a right now, it is primarily known for documentation accessibility across the board. So it's not just PDFs its word, its Excel, PowerPoint. We're dealing with Google Docs. But it is a company that is involved in digital accessibility. We've recently branched out and started building on our, our own web accessibility services. So we did an acquisition of web key it out in Perth, Australia, so that we brought them in. And we're buying some tools and we're building some business long there. So so I've been helping Adam Spencer's, the CEO there at Apple docs. Adam has a long history in documentation accessibility, and they're one of the world leaders in that. So I'm here to help them build their USN branch.   Michael Hingson  49:43 Pretty exciting, isn't it?   Mike Paciello  49:44 Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's startup all over again. So it's kind of fun from that standpoint, but a lot of hard work   Michael Hingson  49:52 well, and doing it in the COVID era. Well, you get to do it at home. So there's, there's there's lots of time do it. So at least you just don't have to travel as much right now.   Mike Paciello  50:03 Honestly, that's the thing I missed the most. I love travel. Yeah, I do too. I love traveling. I love speaking, I will go no everywhere and anywhere to do that, you know, to kind of carry the mission. So I missed that the most.   Michael Hingson  50:17 I I've never really minded being on airplanes, although I understand the whole issue with COVID right now, but I've never really had a problem with it. I enjoy traveling. I haven't been to a place yet that I couldn't find some things to like about it. And I've enjoyed everywhere I've gotten to go and all the people I've gotten to speak to and speak with and educate. Yeah, I miss it as well.   Mike Paciello  50:42 Yeah. Well, you and I saw each other down in Washington, DC. We do in Baltimore. So the NFB and, and then m&a Bling. But I right after that COVID started to break out again with the Omicron variant. So I stopped all travel. So right now and I've done probably five or six other events since then. Right now, if all things work out, I'll be at CSUN.   Michael Hingson  51:09 Tell me about that. You're going to be the keynote speaker this year?   Mike Paciello  51:13 Yeah, I was kind of surprised. I got a call from from from CSUN. And they asked me there their executive director asked me if I would see any uploading, asked me if I would consider I was really shocked. To be honest with you. I haven't been at CSUN. In you know, in four years right now. Yeah, in four years. Because my first wife passed away. And I was like, at home for I retired after I sold TPG. I retired for, you know, for the better part of four and a half years. And you know, was caretaking for Kim. And I really couldn't travel. So I did go to C center. I've been to CSUN since 2018. Yeah, so be four years now. So when they call when I can't think it now just lost her name. Oh, see any? Sorry. I went didn't see anyone see any called me. I was really surprised. But she asked me if I would consider giving the keynote and, you know, see son to me. See, says where I got my start in terms of networking and meeting people and getting involved in the community, not just on the national level, but on the international level. And that I think really spearheaded an awful lot for me in just about every other company that that's out there. So it holds a very dear in your place to me, Harry Murphy's the director, the founder of CSUN. He and I are close friends, even to this day. He retired over 10 years ago. And I served on I served on two advisory committees to to see some over the years. So when Sandy? Yeah. Well, she asked me, I said, Yeah, I'd be happy to. So I've got so   Michael Hingson  53:04 so what are you going to talk about? Can you give us a hint? Well, the theme   Mike Paciello  53:07 is trying to get make it a little bit interesting, intriguing accessibility users and the golden goose, why trust is a vital digital asset. So kind of goes with what you and I've been talking about what we've been talking about. We we in I did actually talk about this at m&a Bling. That I think there are four key attributes of our business in our industry that needs to be pervasive and promulgated and in founded, organizations and companies need to be fully immersed in. And that's innovation, collaboration, transparency, and trust. When those four attributes are built together, then then I think we come out with a winning value proposition. And so I'm planning on taking using a trilogy of three stories, life stories, and bring them all together to show how they work out that way and the value behind them.   Michael Hingson  54:12 Yeah, I've been in sales a long time having started while working for Kurzweil and taking. Actually, my first foray into sales was the Dale Carnegie sales course, which was a 10 week program once a week with live lessons and then other things during the week, but in Massachusetts, and the the interesting thing, and the overriding message that was constantly addressed during that course was that when you're selling, you're really advising you're, you're helping people and you're establishing a rapport and if you You're doing it just to drive somebody to get your product no matter what, then you're not selling the right way it is all about trust.   Mike Paciello  55:08 Yeah, absolutely. There's no doubt. Well, I think it's all for these areas, I really, you know, especially because we're in high tech in a digital economy and digital society. So innovation is critical, right? Working together, right? dispelling the myths associated with with competition. And collaborating, I think is crucial, especially again, in our space, transparency, transparency, you know, organizations need to be, you know, transparent about what they can and can't do. This is one of I think, one of the, I don't know, I don't know exactly where to attribute it to. But this much, I do know that people with disabilities are more than happy to work with you or your organization, your company, they're there, they'll they're one of the first ones to jump on board, and help you to make things useful and accessible, right? Because it benefits that. But if you're not transparent with them, right, if you know, tell them what is what is truth, right? What my product can or can't do upfront, it worse, you, you know, you, you mark it, or you sell something that's not trustworthy, or truthful, you're gonna lose them as a community, and you're gonna, you're gonna, you're gonna get five bad vibes, because this is a very close knit community of individuals. So you've got to be transparent, it's okay to say, look, we've gone this far, I've done this much. Our plan is to go this far in over the next three, five years is what we're going to do. People with disabilities will, will will support you, they know you're making some inroads towards accessibility. They applaud the effort now, okay, so they see your plan for the future. As long as you stay true to that mission. They're all in, and you'll get all the support in the world that you need from them. Which is why trust is so important. Because once you break those first three, and you break the trust, then you got nothing.   Michael Hingson  57:14 In 2016, the Nielsen Company did a study of brand loyalty. I don't know all the details of how it got commissioned, or whatever. But one of the main points of the study was that persons with disabilities tend to be very brand loyal to those companies that include them want to work with them want to make their products available to them. And the brand loyalty is extremely strong because of that, which really goes along with exactly what you're saying.   Mike Paciello  57:48 Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I remember when Jacob did that, that study. I think I may have even been involved in it some at some level. But yeah, that's it's absolutely true. I think people with disabilities, with maybe the strict exception of possibly elderly individuals are the most free and loyal community of individuals population of individuals ever, period. When it works. Sorry, you're not going to, you know, people, I mean, you know, this, people are Jaws users use JAWS because it works. Right, right. Even though Jaws is flawed, JAWS has has bugs in it, right. Just like every other piece of it I've ever I've ever seen. I've never seen a bug free piece of software at all technology. But once users got into it and started using it, it became very, very clear that this is going to be even though they've got to pay for it. Compared to say, and, VA, right. They're very, very, very strongly loyal to it. And that's been true about all 80. Frankly,   Michael Hingson  58:58 but NVDA is is catching up NVDA has come a long way and is working better it is free, but it is still not Jaws know, at least in people's minds. And still not Yeah,   Mike Paciello  59:12 nothing. Nothing is just me just, you know, Freedom owns 80% Plus that market. Right and in who have you seen over the years that have kind of gone by the wayside? Be You know, because they just churn market. Right. So   Michael Hingson  59:30 and that will, that will be the case. As long as as you said, the trust is there. If if the sparrow breaks the trust ever, that's going to be a big problem.   Mike Paciello  59:43 Yeah, I totally agree. I absolutely agree. They know it. I know it. And more importantly, all of the individuals have visual disabilities, the users know it.   Michael Hingson  59:54 Yeah, no doubt about it. It's it's been that way and I've been using For a long, long time and have watched how they've grown and developed, and they've done some things that that have been challenging, but in the long run, it works, as you said, and that's what really is important.   Mike Paciello  1:00:13 Yeah, yep. No doubt about it, Mike.   Michael Hingson  1:00:16 Well, we have been going on for an hour How time flies when we're having fun. And I want to really thank you, if people want to reach out to you, how might they do that, learn more about the things you're doing and so on.   Mike Paciello  1:00:30 Well, if they want to learn about Web Able, if you get what we're doing, I mean, we are we're on a sponsorship drive right now. So we're really looking for sponsors going into 2022. So you can send me email at M as in Mike Paciello, P a c, i e l l o at webable.com if they want to contact me at Able Docs for documentation, accessibility and even professional services around software and Web. And you can send me email at mpaciello@abledocs.com.   Michael Hingson  1:01:02 Well, we've been we've been working together now for what since September, and October, and m&a billing and all that. And I know you're talking with folks that accessiBe, and there's a lot of exciting stuff going on there. And hopefully, we'll all be able to work together and make this a little bit more of an inclusive world. And hopefully, we'll be able to change mindsets, and get people to maybe look at the world a little bit differently than they're used to, and maybe look at it in a little bit broader and more inclusive way.   Mike Paciello  1:01:34 I totally agree. Totally agree.   Michael Hingson  1:01:38 Well, Mike, thanks very much for being here with us. And hopefully, you'll you'll have a chance and come back again. We'd love to have you back anytime. If you would have anything you want to talk about, then let us know. We'll try to catch the speech at CSUN. Not sure whether I'm going to travel down there or not this year, we'll see. But hopefully we'll we'll we'll work it out somehow. But thanks again for being here on unstoppable mindset. And for those of you who want to learn more about us, you can you can find us at Michaelhingson.com that's M I C H A E L H I N G S O N.com/podcast. And you wherever you heard this podcast, you can go anywhere where podcasts are posted and and released and you can find us there. So join us next week for another edition of unstoppable mindset wherever you are, wherever you happen to be at the time, and with whatever hosts you use. We'll be looking forward to seeing you then.   You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com. accessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

This week the AT Banter gang talks with Jeff Wissel, Chief Accessibility Officer at Disability:IN. They discuss organization's mandate, the importance of inclusive hiring practices and how many large corporations have started setting the standards for inclusion, accessibility, and diversity. Show Transcript: https://atbanter.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/at-banter-podcast-episode-269-jeff-wissel.pdf Show Notes Disability: IN https://disabilityin.org AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324. Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

Your smartphone can see, hear, and speak—even if you can't. So it occurred to the engineers at Apple and Microsoft: Can the phone be a talking companion for anyone with low vision, describing what it's seeing in the world around you?Today, it can. Thanks to some heavy doses of machine learning and augmented reality, these companies' apps can identify things, scenes, money, colors, text, and even people (“30-year-old man with brown hair, smiling, holding a laptop—probably Stuart”)—and then speak, in words, what's in front of you, in a photo or in the real world. In this episode, the creators of these astonishing features reveal how they turned the smartphone into a professional personal describer—and why they care so deeply about making it all work.Guests: Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO. Saqib Shaikh, project lead for Microsoft's Seeing AI app. Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer, Microsoft. Ryan Dour, accessibility engineer, Apple. Chris Fleizach, Mobile Accessibility Engineering Lead, Apple. Sarah Herrlinger, Senior Director of Global Accessibility, Apple.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

 Rosemary Musachio's life has been based on miracles and dreams.  Like any other birth, Rosemary's was a miracle but with a twist.  Since she developed cerebral palsy at birth due to brain damage, Rosemary was presumed a vegetable by the doctor who delivered her. Yet, another miracle happened when Rosemary proved that doctor dead wrong.  For every limitation she has, she has been able to overcome it in one way or another.  Although she cannot walk, she dances in her wheelchair to music.  Although she cannot talk, she uses a word board to communicate quite eloquently.  Although she cannot use her hands to perform daily tasks, she uses a head pointer to type on a keyboard.Despite all her challenges, Rosemary has been able to accomplish a great deal during her life so far.  She has made many of her dreams come true, one of which was becoming a writer.  A year after graduating Cleveland States University Magma Cum Laude with a B.A. in Communications, she became a monthly columnist for Sun Newspapers in Cleveland, Ohio.  Her column, Bit of a Challenge, was the paper's most popular column, running for ten years.  She also had articles published in The Plain Dealer and Italian Gazette.  Additionally, she edited and published two monthly disability-related newsletters, The Able Informer and Ability Age.  Issues still roam around the Internet.  In her spare time, Rosemary writes poetry.  In fact, one of her goals is to publish a book of her poetry.Besides establishing herself as a writer and a poet, Rosemary has pursued another dream of traveling and setting new heights…literally.  She has visited Italy (5 times so far), Germany, Austria, France, and Spain.  During one of her visits to Italy, she even met the Pope!  She also has a daredevil spirit.  Several years ago she did tandem hanggliding in Ridgley, Maryland, where she went up twice at 2500ft and 5000ft.  A year afterwards she took a ride on a customized motorcycle through eastern Metroparks and Chagrin Falls in Ohio.  She even rode horses on a dude ranch in Colorado.  No wonder her motto is “If you don't accept challenges, you are not living.”In September 2001, Rosemary saw an ad by TecAccess, a Virginia-based technology company, in a disability newsletter.  It needed web testers, so she applied for the position.  That commenced her fifteen-year career as an electronic and information technology (E&IT) accessibility analyst.   Besides TecAccess, she also has worked for two other similar companies.  Working for those companies has allowed Rosemary to present at major disability conferences including California State University, Northridge (CSUN), United States Business Leadership Network, and National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA).Now that Rosemary is the Chief Accessibility Officer for Ruh Global Communications, she has realized another of her dreams.  She is following her father's footsteps since he was a local public relations man.  She also loves the creativity that is involved in being a marketing specialist, crafting content and developing campaigns to convey important messages and ideas to the world.  Particularly, Rosemary wants to help persons with disabilities like herself get their voices heard loudly.When people say how inspiring Rosemary is, she shakes her head and rolls her eyes.  Of course, she is humbled by and grateful for the compliment.  Yet, she feels there's nothing inspiring about living life to the fullest despite disabilities.  Ironically, her parents and friends have been Rosemary's inspirations.  Without their love and support, she might have ended up where that doctor at the naval hospital insinuated to place her. 

Steve Burns reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patricia O’Connell interviews Jill Houghton, President and CEO of Disability:IN. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Patricia and Jill discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the variety of Disability:IN programs promoting inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace.   Listen in to learn what your company can do to accommodate your employees with disabilities and serve your customers who have disabilities. Key Takeaways: [:26] Patricia O’Connell welcomes Jill Houghton to CEO Stories on This is Capitalism. [:57] Disability:IN is a global nonprofit that empowers businesses to achieve disability inclusion and equality. The organization grew out of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). [1:16] The primary sponsor of the ADA was Congressman Tony Coelho. He recognized that the ADA could not legislate attitudes, but businesses have the power to employ and shape our workforce. [1:37] Disability:IN is the place where talent with disabilities and business intersect. Businesses respond to their professional peers. When they know that disability inclusion makes good business sense, they’re very responsive and competitive. [2:10] Disability:IN partnered with the American Association of People with Disabilities. They created a benchmarking tool called the Disability Equality Index to help businesses take a deeper dive into their policies and practices and identify opportunities where they could be better. [2:42] The Disability Equality Index is a tool that looks at leadership and culture, employment practices, enterprise-wide access, community engagement, supplier diversity, and Non-U.S. operations. Companies answer the questions and substantiate their answers. [3:14] Disability Equality Index scores are from zero to 100. Scores of 80, 90, and 100 earn a designation of being a Top Place to Work for People with Disabilities. There is no such thing as perfection. A score of 100 means that they’re on the journey and committed to doing better. Disability:IN helps companies do better. [3:50] Jill discusses the wide variety of programs at Disability:IN including mentoring, consulting, and certification. [5:00] Jill has a learning disability. She grew up embarrassed that she didn’t read well or test well. She didn’t get into law school so she went to Washington D.C. and interned for Senator Robert Dole during the passage of the ADA. That led her to work in the disability field. [5:49] Jill married a man who has a spinal cord injury. She has an 11-year-old who has ADHD and an anxiety disability. Her home is a “trifecta.” Jill was not diagnosed until after she failed the LSAT, but all her life she had trouble on timed standardized tests. [8:00] Some companies have presented objections over the cost of accommodating workers with disabilities. It’s important to recognize that one in four Americans have a disability. As well as recruiting talent with disabilities, companies need to retain their currently employed talented people with disabilities. [9:10] We encounter disability as we age. This COVID-19 pandemic with remote work exposes disabilities like depression and anxiety disorders. Before the pandemic, we had not talked about these taboo topics in the workplace. [9:42] The ADA was passed 30 years ago. Twelve years ago, the ADA was amended to broaden the scope of covered disabilities to include such things as ADHD. Business is beginning to see a competitive advantage to include all people with disabilities in their business. [11:44] How businesses that are inclusive of people with disabilities fare better than those that are not. It pays to be inclusive of people with disabilities. [12:23] Accenture and Disability:IN teamed up to create the Disability Equality Index (DEI). Many best practices were mined from the index, including setting goals for your hiring and accessible technology and including businesses owned by people with disabilities in your supplier diversity program. What gets measured gets done. [13:48] The DEI emphasizes leadership and culture. You can call accommodation a productivity tool, assisting an individual to perform the essential functions of their job. It’s important that all employees know how to request accommodation and for managers to know who pays for the accommodation and how the process works. [14:42] It is a best practice to have a centralized equality fund so that managers know where that expense comes from. Data shows that on average, accommodations cost less than $500. [15:29] The Board Chair at Disability:IN is the Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft and is deaf. The Board Treasurer has a global business role at Accenture. He is an amputee. These are senior leaders, identified as being people with disabilities. Disability is just part of their identity. [16:33] Anxiety, depression, learning disabilities, autism, diabetes, and other disabilities may be invisible to others. The global pandemic has created an opportunity to lead with humanity and to get to know our team members and check in with each other. [17:34] It’s a personal choice to identify as having a disability and it can be scary. Jill shares a personal experience from a recent virtual event where a senior leader in a multi-national company came out as an individual who has dyslexia. A leader sharing their story creates a culture that frees others to share their circumstances. [19:11] Jill would advise companies starting to look at their disability practices to start an Employee Resource Group for people with a disability. Your greatest resources are your people. Don’t talk about people with disabilities without involving people with disabilities. Then leverage tools like the DEI. Participate in the Disability:IN campaign “Are You In?” [21:36] “Are You IN” is more than a pledge; it’s a commitment backed with measurable actions. These are companies that have participated in the DEI that are calling on their peers to take this critical step. [22:23] Jill recaps the progress in the public space in the 30 years of the ADA, and where we go from here, including mobile devices, the Cloud, and remote work with virtual platforms, meetings, and file sharing. Companies are starting to acknowledge that this is an area where there is great room for improvement. Engage your people. [24:03] A more inclusive workforce allows you to relate better to your customers. Use focus groups. Jill uses as an example Marriott International’s engaging with professionals with disabilities who travel to make sure their hotels are accessible to all. Do the right things for your customers; your employees with disabilities will help. [25:08] Patricia thanks Jill Houghton for being on the podcast, This Is Capitalism.   Mentioned in This Episode: Jill Houghton Disability:IN ADA Tony Coelho American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) Disability Equality Index Robert Dole The ADA Amendments Act Accenture Getting to Equal: The Disability Inclusion Advantage Are You IN Marriott International

What would you do if you had two bony antennae sticking out of your head? Well, if you lived on this starless planet, you might use them to sense the world around you. ***There were some tech issues in the editing of the first 5 minutes (lol, this is what happens when you try to host, produce, and edit a podcast on your own), but it gets better after 5 minutes I PROMISE!*** HOSTED by Moiya McTier (https://twitter.com/goastromo (@GoAstroMo)), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Mahadeo Sukhai is the world's first congenitally blind biomedical research scientist. He's also the Head of Research and Chief Accessibility Officer for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. You can find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahadeo-sukhai/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahadeo-sukhai/) Mona Minkara is an assistant professor of bioengineering at Northeastern University. She studies chemical reactions in the lungs. You can follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/mona_minkara (@mona_minkara) or click the following links to learn more about her work: Her website: https://monaminkara.com/ (https://monaminkara.com/) Her lab website: http://www.minkaracombinelab.com/#1 (http://www.minkaracombinelab.com) Her Planes, Trains, and Canes series: https://planestrainsandcanes.com/#1 (https://planestrainsandcanes.com) John Furniss is a professional woodworker. You can learn more about his work (and buy his beautiful pieces!) at https://www.furnissstudios.com/ (https://www.theblindwoodsman.com/) or follow him on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theblindwoodsman (@blindwoodsman) and tiktok at https://www.tiktok.com/@theblindwoodsman?language=en&sec_uid=MS4wLjABAAAAz2YbxCP3Bp7RzANm0cgbEr6CA1RC-dozu9DAWsR35VTF_HGoDhIIqVsmHlrHvHnb&u_code=d8e8d2g2j2de79&utm_campaign=client_share&app=musically&utm_medium=ios&user_id=6741484075833607174&tt_from=copy&utm_source=copy&source=h5_m (@theblindwoodsman) HIGHLIGHTED CAUSES - https://www.etivision.org/ (Empowerment Through Integration), an organization dedicated to changing the narrative about people with disabilities FIND US ONLINE - patreon: http://patreon.com/goastromo (patreon.com/goastromo) - twitter: https://twitter.com/ExolorePod (https://twitter.com/ExolorePod) - instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exolorepod/ (https://www.instagram.com/exolorepod/) - website: https://exolorepod.wixsite.com/exolore (https://exolorepod.wixsite.com/exolore) CREDITS - Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/ (https://www.purple-planet.com) - Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/ (http://stephenjreisig.com/) ABOUT US Have you ever wished you could travel to a different world? Exolore can help with that! In each episode, astrophysicist/folklorist Moiya McTier explores fictional worlds by building them with a panel of expert guests, interviewing professional worldbuilders, or reviewing the merits of worlds that have already been built. You'll learn, you'll laugh, and you'll gain an appreciation for how special our planet really is. Support this podcast

We're delighted to welcome Microsoft's Chief Accessibility Officer, Jenny Lay-Flurrie as the first guest in our new Accessibility Insights series.Robin Christopherson MBE, Head of Digital Inclusion at AbilityNet hosts a monthly online chat with individuals who are each working to improve digital accessibility and digital inclusion.Among other discussion topics, Jenny and Robin chat about Microsoft and Covid-19, Be My Eyes, and Microsoft's recent Ability Summit.Listen back to this bitesize, 30 minute session, originally recorded as a webinar and broadcast via AbilityNet on Tuesday 21 July 2020.  You can download the transcript of this session and view the video recording of the session on the AbilityNet website. Get in touch via enquiries@abilitynet.org.uk with feedback, questions and comments.

Sunday, July 5 6:45p.m.: ACB Welcome Show 7:00p.m.: Call to Order: Dan Spoone, President, American Council of the Blind, Orlando, FL Invocation: Rev. Michael Garrett, Missouri City, TX Presentation of Colors: Buffalo Soldiers, (initially featured at the 2019 ACB Conference and Convention, Rochester, NY) "The Star Spangled-Banner": Sung by Jason Castonguay, Manchester, CT Welcome: Janet Dickelman, Convention Coordinator, Saint Paul, MN 7:20p.m.: President's Report: Dan Spoone, Orlando, FL; Executive Director's Report: Eric Bridges, ACB Executive Director, Alexandria, VA 7:50p.m.: Diamond Sponsor Presentation: Microsoft: Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer, Seattle, WA 8:10p.m.: Life Member Presentations: Dan Spoone, ACB President, Orlando, FL; and Nancy Becker, ACB Chief Financial Officer, Brooklyn Center, MN 8:25p.m.: ACB Angels Presentations: Tony Stephens, ACB Director of Development, Alexandria, VA; and Dan Dillon, ACB Board Member, Hermitage, TN ACB Angel Presentations: Durward K. McDaniel (1915 – 1994), Oklahoma Cathie Skivers (1925 – 2019), California 8:40p.m.: ACB First Timers: Kenneth Semien Sr., Chair, Durward K. McDaniel First Timers Committee, Beaumont, TX 8:55p.m.: ACB JPMorgan Chase Leadership Fellows: Eric Bridges, ACB Executive Director, Alexandria, VA 9:15p.m.: Roll Call of Affiliates: Denise Colley, ACB Secretary, Lacey, WA

Welcome back to Tech Talk, everyone! We're still at home! On the show this week, Steven waxes lyrical over his massive new TV, and all the accessibility features it has, including audio description and voice guidance... he's very impressed! He can even see who is at his front door on it! This is thanks to the Ring doorbell app, which also has had a few updates. We natter about the Microsoft Ability Summit, and we hear a snippet from the keynote opening of the event by Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft Jenny Lay-Flurrie. Also, Robin explains his brilliant Bose frames, and the issues that occur when you smack your face into a cupboard... ouch! But they do now support Soundscape, which he's loving. Also in this week's episode: The Optacon swap gathers pace! Echo dot recommendations, more on Fraggle Rock, Dolphin EasyReader App, Lou Rawls, and alarms for when your mother-in-law is coming round. What to talk to us? techtalk@RNIB.org.uk (mailto:techtalk@RNIB.org.uk) is the place to send your emails to the guys.  Until next week!

What lessons can we learn from others about how to win the case for accessibility within our organisations? And what are the best tactics for achieving lasting change? Let's let the panel enlighten us with their take on this important issue.Chair:Christopher Lee, Managing Director, IAAPPanel:Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer, MicrosoftSarah Herrlinger, Director of Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives, AppleChristopher Patnoe, Senior Programs Manager, Google AccessibilityPaul Smyth, Head of Digital Accessibility, BarclaysDownload a text transcript of this episode from the AbilityNet website.All speaker info and slides are available on the TechShare Pro 2019 schedule page.Follow us on Twitter with #TechSharePro. Get in touch via enquiries@abilitynet.org.uk with feedback, questions and comments.

This episode features an interview with Rosemary Musachio, Chief Accessibility Officer at Ruh Global Impact, and LaMondre Pough, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ruh Global Impact, as they share their personal and professional perspective on caregiving. You'll hear powerful stories from Lamondre and Rosemary about their good and not-so-good experiences with caregivers and some of the systemic changes that need to happen in order to improve the quality of caregiving for persons with disabilities. LaMondre also reveals a new media initiative that will highlight and amplify diverse voices.     

In our fifth of six conversations about science fiction, we feature Dr. Mahadeo Sukhai (CNIB’s Head of Research and Chief Accessibility Officer). Podcast host James Denas and the doctor go deep on topics like the role science fiction plays in the development of future scientists, where science fiction becomes science fantasy and why Star Trek is the superior series. They also reference “the Songs from Distant Earth” by Arthur C Clarke.

In collaboration with Jack Chen, Blind Abilities presents ExcelAbility. A collection of podcasts from Jack Chen’s ExcelAbility Team. ExcelAbility, empowering excellence and success for people with disabilities. to learn more about ExcelAbility and to connect with the team,  check out ExcelAbility on the web at www.teamexcelability.com Jack Chen delivers talks and training for corporations and other organizations on empowering success for people with disabilities. Jack participates in Extreme Ultra Events, marathons, climbed Kilimanjaro, and was on the Sea To See Team in this years 2018 race Across America.null Podcast summary In this episode we speak withJenny Lay Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft. Jenny experienced increasing deafness as a child but never let it prevent her from pursuing her dreams. Join to hear Jenny’s attitudes, techniques, and practices that enabled her to achieve incredible success. Click here for a transcript of this episode. Key lessons Jenny will show us that  Not hesitating to self advocate to get what you need,  not seeing yourself as different Embracing all of life as developing problem solving and innovation skills Identifying your own board of directors to serve as mentors have led to her tremendous success. Connect Send us your comments, feedback, or tell us about your own story of success. We’d love to hear from you. Follow us on Twitter @TeamXLAbility Like Team Excelability on Facebook Visit Team ExcelAbility on the web for more resources

Podcast summary In this episode we speak withJenny Lay Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft. Jenny experienced increasing deafness as a child but never let it prevent her from pursuing her dreams. Join to hear Jenny's attitudes, techniques, and practices that enabled her to achieve incredible success. Click here for a transcript of this episode. […]

Will there be Braille in the Matrix? Jonathan Avila, Chief Accessibility Officer of Level Access joins the Banter Boys this week to discuss accessibility within Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality platforms. We discuss the efforts to encourage developers of these platforms to ensure these new spaces are accessible as well as some of the potential these platforms hold for people with disabilities. Show Notes Gene therapy first to 'halt' most common cause of blindnesshttps://www.bbc.com/news/health-47226987Galleries From A to Z Sued Over Websites the Blind Can’t Usehttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/18/arts/design/blind-lawsuits-art-galleries.htmlLevel Accesshttps://www.levelaccess.com/ AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324. Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

In this episode Byrne & Wade catch up with cancer researcher and geneticist Dr Mahadeo Sukhai who has worked at some of the best research facilities around the world, and who also suffers from vision impairment. He is also Head of Research and Chief Accessibility Officer at the Canadian Institute for the Blind. He joins the guys for a good laugh and to discuss the importance (and need) for inclusivity in scientific research. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week’s episode Steven is joined by Shaun and Tim once again to briefly discuss the news in tech this week, including their thoughts on Google's event, where they launched new smartphones, a tablet and a home hub to control your smart devices. They also briefly discuss the new Facebook Portal device, but the main event is where Jenny Lay-Flurrie‏ joins Steven for a one-to-one on her role as the Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft. Jenny also talks about the corporation’s relationship with RNIB in its 150th year and we find out what she thinks will be the future of computing. #RNIBConnect #TechTalk

In this week's episode, I talk with Daman Wandke, the founder and CEO of AbiliTrek, and Kyanne Flint, the CAO of AbiliTrek.  More than 19 million people with disabilities travel each year in the US. They are working to make that experience better. Here is some background on them from the AbiliTrek page. Daman Wandke – Founder, CEO Daman@AbiliTrek.com Daman Wandke, MBA, is the Chief Executive Officer, as well as a technology consultant and national disability advocate. Daman is an avid traveler; traveling for both business and pleasure. “Seeing that travelers with disabilities need to be able to travel without having to worry about not having an appropriate hotel room when they arrive at their destination”, Daman set out to find a solution; hence, the birth of AbiliTrek. AbiliTrek’s goal is to empower the disability community with the Ability to Trek without boundaries. Before working on AbiliTrek full time, he was an Accessibility Analyst at SSB BART Group, an IT accessibility consulting firm, where he performed audits of clients’ websites, mobile applications, and other IT products. He currently serves on two nonprofit Boards of Directors, the Northwest Access Fund and PolicyWorks. Daman brings to AbiliTrek his technology and business knowledge with his first-hand experience of traveling with a disability. Kyann Flint – Chief Accessibility Officer Kyann@AbiliTrek.com Kyann Flint, the Chief Accessibility Officer, is an alum of Western Washington University where she studied Political Science and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Humanities and Social Sciences. A passionate disability advocate, Kyann’s motto is to Defy the Defined Disability – she blogs her insights at Life from a Lame Perspective where she shares her experiences as a person who is wheelchair mobile and the frustrations that come from society’s social barriers. Flint, loves writing, spending time with her fabulous friends and family, exploring the outdoors, drinking really good tea and coffee and of course, traveling! Special thanks to my awesome OT Olivia for connecting us. AbiliTrek is developing a crowdsourced and crowdfunded platform to develop a detailed review site for travel and restaurant services that focuses on the details of accessibility issues. Since accessibility is not a one-size-fits-all thing, simply saying something is accessible doesn't really give us enough information.  AbiliTrek aims to solve that problem. You can learn more in this episode, and you can check out their Indiegogo for more information or to help fund it.  Here is a video about the project.   During the talk Daman and Kyanne shared a number of tips for travel and for business. Here are a few of them Call ahead to your prospective hotel and ask detailed questions about accessible rooms. Just because it's accessible, doesn't mean it has a roll in shower. Ask them to email you pictures of the room if you're not sure. If you reserve an accessible room and they give it away before you check in, they need to find you one at another hotel. Most complimentary hotel airport shuttles are not wheel chair compatible. In that case the hotel must pay for alternative transportation between the airport and hotel. If your wheel chair has removable parts, take them off before checking your chair at the airport. If you don't they will get broken or lost. Get multiple gate check tickets for the different parts of a wheel chair incase the get separated or lost. Don't just reserve an accessible room. when you make the reservation contact the hotel and ask them to block that specific room for you. When you fly with a wheelchair, you will likely be the first one on the plane and the last one off. This makes your flight longer. Always plan on a long layover. Don't try to cut it close. Have business cards for yourself and organization when you meet people. Build, maintain, and rely on your network. When you have an idea for a business, take some time to map it out in detail to think through challenges and opportunities. If your interested in a project, find folks who've done it or something similar before and learn from them. Volunteer leadership positions are a great way to gain experience and grow your network. If you have a tech startup, know that you are likely to pivot, and be ready to do so before it's too late. For me, the most important take-away is if you have a disability and an idea for a business or desire to travel -- go do it. For more information about AbiliTrek, you can engage with them here: Main web site: abilitrek.com Indigogo: give.abilitrek.com Instagram: Instagram.com/abilitrek Facebook: facebook.com/abilitrek Twitter: twitter.com/abilitrek LinkedIn: linkedin/com/company/AbiliTrek   Hack of the Week Get a second cane (or other mobility aid). Climbing stairs can be hard. It can be even harder when you're carrying a cane, too, right? After all, you are going to need that cane at the other end of the steps. Unless, of course, you have another cane. I have my main cane (s) for use downstairs and when I go out. I also have another cane that I keep upstairs. No need to bring one on the stairs with me. Where do we go from here? Check out AbiliTrek's Indiegogo Campaign Follow AbiliTrek on their assorted social media channels Do you travel with a disability? What are your thoughts and experiences? Tell us in the comments below. Subscribe to Strokecast in your favorite podcast app. Don't get best...get better.  

Kaitlin talks with Microsoft's Chief Accessibility Officer, Jenny Lay-Flurrie. They discuss her journey from Birmingham, England working at Energis to relocating to the United States and helping create a culture of change at one of Seattle's most mammoth tech companies. On top of being the CAO, Jenny created and leads the DisAbility Employee Resource Group at Microsoft and also helped start the company's Ability Summit.Read more about Jenny here.Note from Kaitlin: Over ten years ago, I heard Jenny Lay-Flurrie talk at Microsoft's YouthSpark program, DigiGirlz. As a teenager at the time, I was inspired to pursue a career in the technology industry. Despite usually being behind the camera, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with Jenny and interview her--full circle. :)

Kaitlin talks with Microsoft's Chief Accessibility Officer, Jenny Lay-Flurrie. They discuss her journey from Birmingham, England working at Energis to relocating to the United States and helping create a culture of change at one of Seattle's most mammoth tech companies. On top of being the CAO, Jenny created and leads the DisAbility Employee Resource Group at Microsoft and also helped start the company's Ability Summit.Read more about Jenny here.Note from Kaitlin: Over ten years ago, I heard Jenny Lay-Flurrie talk at Microsoft's YouthSpark program, DigiGirlz. As a teenager at the time, I was inspired to pursue a career in the technology industry. Despite usually being behind the camera, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with Jenny and interview her--full circle. :)

In honor of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd, the Windows Insider Podcast team explores advancements in inclusive technology. For decades, Microsoft has been creating products and services to serve people of all abilities, and in recent years the company has made a stronger commitment to this goal with the appointment of Chief Accessibility Officer, Jenny Lay-Flurrie. In this episode, we chat with Jenny about the future of inclusive tech, and we learn how feedback from users (and Windows Insiders!) is shaping Microsoft’s efforts. To find out more about Microsoft’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion, visit Microsoft.com/Accessibility.   Episode transcript: NARRATOR:  Welcome to the Windows Insider where we explore all things Windows, the Insider community and beyond I'm your host, Jason Howard (ph).  You are listening to Episode 9, and this month's theme is accessibility JASON HOWARD:  Wait a minute, that's not me.  That was the Windows 10 Narrator.  And it's more than just a podcast gimmick, the Narrator feature helps people who are blind or have low vision navigate their computers by reading what's on screen When you think about how much of what we do in the world relies on what can be read, you really start to understand how this technology could impact the lives of millions of people More and more accessibility features are built into the DNA of Microsoft services and products.  These features deliver on Microsoft's mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.  That includes ensuring people of all abilities can participate in life, work, and society Today, we're going to talk to someone who's taking the ideals of accessibility and inclusion and putting them into action.  Please meet Microsoft's Chief Accessibility Officer, Jenny Lay-Flurrie So here you are the Chief Accessibility Officer. JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  I am JASON HOWARD:  What does that mean JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  Basically, it means that my job is to drive for a great experience for customers with disabilities and employees with disabilities, and also really pursue the concept of inclusive design. So it just means I'm really thinking about a section of our customer base that's pretty big, and how we can ensure that we're delivering great products, great services, great hiring process, to ensure that we're really inclusive JASON HOWARD:  A few years ago, accessibility could have been considered a side project at many companies, but things have changed, at least at Microsoft.  Now it's becoming an integral part of our company culture and product development.  Can you tell us how that happened JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  Yeah, it's kind of cool what's going on, and I'm loving being part of it.  But actually accessibility has been part of Microsoft's strategy for well over actually 20 years.  But we've definitely in the last couple of years decided to really kick it up a notch And by kicking it up a notch, it's just really leaning into the opportunity that we have.  You know, there's a billion people in the world with disabilities, a billion plus.  These are our customers, our friends, our peers, our everything.  And there's a whole suite of innovation that can come from really designing products and building products that include disability So we invested in some resources across the company, across our product divisions, including my lovely team, and really decided to go after that opportunity to build better products, and to really think about how we were hiring talent across the spectrum of disability as well JASON HOWARD:  So Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella has a son who's in a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy, and is paralyzed.  Satya has said in his new book Hit Refresh that having a son with disabilities has made him more empathetic, and that's one of the reasons he's committed to driving accessibility and inclusion at Microsoft.  That explains why the company is working towards some of these accessibility initiatives On a personal level what experience has led you to working in accessibility JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  It's a great question, and Satya, the book is just it's incredible.  And if you haven't read it, please do.  I mean, Satya is sharing his own personal experiences there.  It's just incredibly powerful I think we've all had a personal journey.  My personal journey, let's just say I would never have predicted that I would be doing this job today.  I mean, I come from a small town on the outskirts of Birmingham in the UK.  I went through mainstream education.  I went to a music college.  I got a classical music degree.  And I thought I was going to be a really cool classical rock star or a music therapist or something in that vein And then I started working in IT, actually in a newspaper in London on the IT help desk, and realized that I dig, I just love problem-solving.  And I thought that was going to be my career was, you know, solving problems with IT and doing a bit of music on the side But all the way through the one stream that I've had all the way through this is that I'm deaf, I'm profoundly deaf.  And my deafness has decreased since I was a child So I went to music college with moderate deafness.  It's slid since then.  And I never, ever -- I mean, I hid  my deafness for many years, wasn't really open about it.  But I think maybe people way wiser and smarter than me could have predicted the path is me realizing that I could really use these skills, and use them to make a difference, not just for me and my friends, but to make a difference seriously in a company like Microsoft So I came to Microsoft 13 years ago.  I came to run technical support, still solving problems, and then about five, six years ago took a risk and changed career, and went to be an individual contributor to change the world for customers with disabilities, and I've never looked back JASON HOWARD:  Wow.  So how does working in this field change the way you see the world JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  I've worked in different jobs over the years, you know, whether it was support or online advertising for a while.  I've worked in different things.  And I firmly believe that technology has the power to empower.  And I've seen that in different spheres, but I think never more in the work that I do today, which is every day working with peers and friends, seeing how they're leveraging technology and just realizing and appreciating what we can do to make that experience better, whether it's somebody using a wheelchair with limited dexterity manipulating some part of Office, or it's somebody who's blind working through a web page, whether that's our own or someone else's, or me with captioning and how that changes my life and others, and how we can get that more integrated into the fabric of our company So you know, I really do think that it's a really empowering field to work in.  I walk out every day with the same frustrations and same joys as everyone else, but I do have a deep-seated sense that we are making a difference.  And that's the opportunity we have JASON HOWARD:  Well, as you just mentioned Office, Microsoft has developed a wide variety of accessibility features such as Windows 10 Narrator, Office 365's built-in tools for authoring accessible content, things of that nature.  There's even eye tracking technology that enables people who have limited mobility to navigate their PCs using only their eyes Can you tell us about the development of those features?  Did anything come up unnecessary during the R&D research and development cycle JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  I don't know what you mean.  I don't think anything ever comes up that surprises during an R&D cycle.  (Laughter.)  I can't ever imagine that scenario playing out Always.  And I think at the core if we follow those principles of inclusive design, inclusive design is all about making sure that you design a product that is embedding the feedback of people and experts.  And in our area that's people with disabilities So whenever we're looking, and Office has done incredible job across every single component of Office 365, across every platform, of putting a brand new bar of accessibility out there, and that's anything from PowerPoint to Excel to Sway, right?  If you don't Sway, you should Sway.  And every single componentry has been designed in collaboration with people So that means you do some prototypes, you get them out there, you get a bunch of people in a room, and you say, hey, but have a play, and scenario-led and all that good stuff But yet it's very hard to replicate the experience of someone who's blind or someone with a visual impairment.  The speed at which they are reading the screen, as somebody who's deaf it's very hard for me to comprehend, and it's way faster than we can sign You have to lean into the experiences that you get from people, and you learn the hints and tricks and the keyboard shortcuts are very important.  And if you have tried to go off the standardized path, you need to pull it back in a little bit And just the extra words that we tend to put in, or if we put in alt-text, you know, the words that describe images, and we don't put those in accurately, just how destructive that can be to the overall usability of the experience So I think we've learned a lot along the way, and we've definitely learned a lot with eye control, the new feature in Windows, because that came from a hack actually three years ago, the first hack that I ever got involved in, and it was a guy called Steve Gleason from Louisiana who came to us with a list of beautiful ideas that basically were, hey, Microsoft, can you make my experience better?  He's an NFL player, a Spokane native, Washington State native, but living in Louisiana with his wife and beautiful kid Rivers.  And he was the genesis of a three-year journey through our research division, through Windows division, and many, many more, and many people with ALS here in Seattle that helped us to get eye control into Windows And we're still learning.  It's a beater feature, and we're still learning.  You can't replicate ALS.  It's about hours and hours and hours of sitting with people and understanding how to make sure it's the best experience But yeah, you can now control your mouse with your eyes.  You can type with your eyes using a Windows device with a full Creator's Update.  So it's pretty kickass JASON HOWARD:  That's quite a journey, it seems JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  Yeah, I do think it's a journey, and I think we'll continue to reiterate.  And that's also why Insiders are so important, right?  We need -- we need people to give us that feedback, what is working, what is not, what can we tweak, what can we improve, what's driving you nuts.  We're only as good as the feedback that we get JASON HOWARD:  I wanted to ask you about how you include people with disabilities in the product development process, but it seems like the Insider programs are a great way to start with that JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  You know, there's multiple, multiple also ways to give feedback.  There always are in a company this size with as many products as we have The Insiders I cannot promote enough.  I mean, I think it's just a brilliant way to get involved in early stage technology that may be buggy, that may have some funkiness to it, but you have the opportunity to give us feedback knowing that we're listening, and know we're really listening for our customers with disabilities who are using accessible technology.  We want that feedback.  It's gold dust. And you have the chance to shape the next rev, right, of Windows.  There's nothing more powerful than that The same with Office.  You know, there's an Office Insiders program. But there's also other ways.  If you're not too game to install a potential version of Windows that may disrupt the flow a little bit, then there's User Voice.  We have forums there where we're always listening for features.  We're voting them up, voting them down And also you can give feedback within Narrator built-in screen reader So there's plenty, plenty ways to make sure your voice is heard JASON HOWARD:  And now just kind of as a personal note, being on the Windows Insider team, one of the things that when we originally got started, accessibility wasn't necessarily a blocking gate as part of promoting builds from our internal canary and self-host rings into the fast and slow rings. And part of the feedback that we got was we were making it entirely too difficult to get some of the feedback that was extremely important to get during that development cycle.  So especially for the slow ring and more so now into the fast ring accessibility is becoming a blocking gate to help ensure that we don't break that experience for the users who are giving us that type of feedback JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  I love that.  I'm so excited that the priority of accessibility within Insiders and within our products broadly generally is at that level where, yeah, if we're not cutting it, we're going to stop ship, right?  I mean, it's that important to us.  So yeah, I mean, the advice I get, know your power.  You have huge power to influence the flow of our product set JASON HOWARD:  So along the way obviously there have been many changes of course.  Was there anything that you thought would be an easier problem to solve but proved to be a bit more complex than expected originally JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  Harder to solve.  You know, I think when you're looking at accessibility across as many products as we have, and we have really five product divisions, and each of our product sets is launching multiple, you know, literally hundreds of products every year and every month and every week, you know, my biggest challenge today is just really making sure that we keep the consistency, we keep prioritizing at this level, and we keep innovating Yeah, there are some brilliant features that have come out of now our emphasis on AI in one of our five divisions that's making an impact in Windows.  In fact, if you're blind and using a screen reader or Narrator, and it comes up in images, it's leveraging AI describing that image and embedding alt-text in and speaking that as part of your experience So no longer are we reliant on everyone to be able to write really good alt-text, right, the descriptions behind these pictures.  We can leverage some of our AI infrastructure. And I'm looking forward to doing that a lot more, that kind of collaboration across the groups, bringing different parts of joy and wisdom from one into the other.  And both Office and Windows are doing amazing work there But yes, it's a broad gig, and the bar is very high, because we do believe that this isn't just about meeting a conformance or compliance, this is about leveraging the power of what is possible with the lens of disability JASON HOWARD:  So the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Update was available through the Insider program months ago.  And the public beta has already launched.  The actual retail release is occurring right now.  And obviously Insiders were able to preview this.  Were there any specific features that showed up in this past development cycle that you've seen in action with real users out in the world? JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  Eye control we've already mentioned.  That's built into Fall Creator's Update.  It's an early feature.  We're already getting some feedback.  We really want more.  And, you know, that's one that's just going to grow.  You do need a 4C Tobii device in order to leverage the feature.  So yeah, there are a couple of things to think through with eye control if you're looking at that I think the other thing with Fall Creators that I really love are the color filters.  This is a brand new feature set.  But if you think about it, color blindness is huge.  Color blindness affects -- it's around 1 in 9 individuals, and mostly men.  And there's lots of different types of color blindness.  Well, now you can go into your ease of use settings within Windows and you can select one of those filters, and hopefully see Windows in a different way as a result So that's just brilliant innovation, and I've seen some of that out in the wild, and got some really good feedback from folks who are loving it.  But I also think that's a brand new one that I want to make sure people know about and are leveraging.  I was showing a bunch of people yesterday.  And it's amazing how many people, you'll be sitting in a meeting and mention this feature, and I dare you, right, I bet you at least one hand goes up, because it is that prevalent So I really do love the color filters.  I think those are really cool The other one just within Windows I have to mention just Narrator. The Windows team has been really incrementally every release tweaking and performance improvements on Narrator.  They're also now making sure that magnifier speaks with Narrator as well. And if you are using screen readers, just please go and try it out.  I mean, we've really worked on the languages, we've worked on the speed, we've worked on the accuracy and the usability of it. And so it's been incremental.  You know, if you're tracking where we're going, this is probably about third or fourth release with improvements to Narrator.  But I urge you to give it a go.  It's kind of fun JASON HOWARD:  So we mentioned eye tracking technology a couple times, and how it enables people who can't type to both communicate and interact with their PCs.   But at some point, it could be something that we all use.  So how do you see the field of inclusion driving innovation into the future JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  I look at that journey that we started with eye control, you know, going back to Steve and an e-mail, right?  It just came from an e-mail, right?  That was the genesis of all of our efforts here And then you meet Steve and you fall in love, and you're totally lost, right?  You'll do anything for team Gleason But I think where it's at now is tip of the iceberg as to where it could go.  I've spent some time really looking into eye control, using your eyes to control a device, and there really is limitless potential there for that And then you look at other areas, right, what we can do and what we are doing with captioning.  One of my favorite products is Microsoft Translator.  And we've actually now got an add-in in PowerPoint And what it means is that I can be standing on stage or I can be watching somebody else using PowerPoint, and as long as they're mic'd up pretty well, the words of what they're saying will appear on the screen, automatically captioned onto the screen Now, it in no way replaces the need that I had for my beautiful interpreter sitting to your right or for actual captioning which comes from people using stenographers, using those devices you see in court.  But it's automatic captions that instantly is available, giving me independence, giving me the ability to make a phone call, right, if you think about it, as we start to weave that technology in So what it means is we have the chance not just to level the playing field, we have the chance to advance the playing field. People with disabilities in the U.S. but also more broadly, the unemployment rate is double that of people without disabilities.  And a lot of the reason is this empowerment.  We have this opportunity to empower in the workplace, empower at home.  We can change an unemployment rate So I get very excited about it, because I look at how technology is impacting my life, and I know there's a long, long way to go.  I look at how eye control has the power to impact communication for Steve going down the road again, and how things like Narrator can impact someone who's blind.  And we're on a journey, but I do believe that over time technology can make that difference JASON HOWARD:  It sounds like you have quite an impressive vision for the future of technology.  It's going to be fun to join along that ride and see where we go from here JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  Game on, right JASON HOWARD:  Absolutely JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  Okay JASON HOWARD:  So before we break, if you let your imagination run wild, what do you see as the future of technology JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  Oh, this is a fun one.  So I'm a big Trekkie fan.  I mean, I am a big Trekkie.  I mean, it's not something I talk a lot about, but my father educated me really well And, I mean, you think about some of the technologies that were there, I mean, they had people with disabilities empowered through tech, right?  Geordi La Forge and his visor, I mean, how wicked is that I also think about Xbox and the power of holograms, and while I love my interpreter with every part of my soul before she throws things at me across the room, I mean, wouldn't it be wicked on-demand whenever I needed it to be able to just have a hologram appear and be able to understand a room with my interpreter just sitting right there?  And sometimes invisible.  Again I love you, but a little bit invisible.  I mean, that would be just wicked.  No scheduling, no logistics, just poof, up it comes, complete independence and freedom And I would love to see wheelchairs seamlessly going down stairs.  There's been a lot of different crazy stuff around that.  My goodness, I could keep going.  I mean, it's world is our oyster I think with this space JASON HOWARD:  So it seems you have quite the vision for the future of technology.  Before we wrap up, is there anything specific you'd like to share with the users JENNY LAY-FLURRIE:  Yeah.  Get involved, get going.  Please do check out the website.  That's really the single spot where everything is linked.  So it's Microsoft.com/accessibility.  That's got details on our products, it's got details on conformance.  I mean, it's got details on feedback channels.  It's really a one-stop shop.  It's got our hiring programs on there as well And the one I'd call out really is our support team.  We actually have a dedicated support environment for our customers with disabilities.  It's called DAD, Disability Answer Desk.  I have no MOM, but I do have a DAD on my team.  And basically they are experts in accessibility, they're experts in accessible technologies.  And so give them a call.  You can use chat, you can use phone. And for our deaf customers -- and we'll transcribe this podcast, so I know they'll be looking at it, too -- we also have direct videos so you can contact us in American Sign Language, ASL.  And so they can help you with the latest rev of product But I know for our Insiders they're on it, and I just encourage the feedback, and let us know what else you want to see, because this is a journey and we'll only be as good as the feedback we get JASON HOWARD:  Absolutely For you non-Trekkies out there, the visor Jenny mentioned earlier is a device worn by the character Geordi La Forge from the series Star Trek the Next Generation.  If you're not familiar with this, you can check it out on Bing. Whatever changes may come in tech, it's exciting to know that these efforts will allow more people to participate in school, work, and their personal lives My conversation with Jenny got me wondering, what kind of impact do innovations in Windows 10 have for real people.  So I sat down with a Windows Insider who is blind and uses accessibility technologies every day JOSEPH LEE:  I'm Joseph Lee, currently a student at Cal State Los Angeles, studying communication studies, formerly studying computer science at UC Riverside, and currently a Windows Insider.  And I joined the Windows Insider program.  I was one of the first ones to get in on the first day when the very first build came out in October, 2014. And right now as part of my Insider program work I also am a developer of a screen reader, a third party screen reader named NVDA, Nonvisual Desktop Access So my work currently focuses on making sure that Redstone 4 builds are usable by people with visual impairments, specifically with Narrator and NVDA and other screen readers JASON HOWARD:  So obviously you're a Windows Insider, and you said you've been participating in the program since the beginning JOSEPH LEE:  Yes, since the beginning JASON HOWARD:  So just kind of overall how has the experience been of being a Windows Insider? JOSEPH LEE:  I'm impressed with progress I've seen, especially with accessibility features and other Windows features that does have accessibility potential such as most recently eye gaze or eye control, and Cortana obviously, progress with Microsoft Edge and seeing how people can how use consoles with Narrator and many other interesting developments in the accessibility space JASON HOWARD:  That's awesome So I do want to ask you about some of your personal experiences, if that's okay JOSEPH LEE:  Sure JASON HOWARD:  You know, you mentioned earlier of studying engineering.  I'm assuming that was at UC Riverside, as you had mentioned.  What was that experience like?  If I understand correctly, you were one of the first blind students to actually be in the engineering program at that college JOSEPH LEE:  I was one of the first blind students to take on engineering.  And for me it was a challenge, at first, because professors didn't know how to describe calculus graphs to me.  I knew the formulas for what the theorems were, but then in terms of graphing and whatnot it was a challenge.  For me it was quite an interesting experience going through computer science as a blind student.  Initially means communication but then in the end through some negotiations and communication it worked out JASON HOWARD:  So it sounds like you made some progress after a little bit of talking here, you know, some -- getting on the same page, it sounds like, to make some accommodations given the change in the environment, at least for that professor, right JOSEPH LEE:  Perfectly right.  In the early on, right JASON HOWARD:  So kind of on a broader scale like just in life as a whole can you describe the experience of having a visual impairment for our listeners JOSEPH LEE:  I was initially able to see, because I was low vision early on, because I was able to use magnifying glasses to see and walk around, or even take transportation around.  But the overall experience of visual impairment is adjustment and negotiation, adjustment because as often said in many research papers that if you lose one sense, it enhances the others.  For many people for visual impairment it's either touch or hearing.  In my case I'm blessed with both senses. And the other one is negotiation, trying to live life with something at a loss, but then it opens up a lot of opportunities such as being able to become more sensitive to hearing things such as hearing conversations much better, and being able to use alternative forms of communication, for example, as we'll get into, the screen readers, assistive tools, or sometimes even reading braille So for those who never experienced visual impairment, it's like stepping into another culture.  There's always going to be initial shock or loss, but then what makes a huge difference in the lives of people with visual impairment is seeing the potential despite loss of something, through adjustment in whatever they do, and negotiating the path forward JASON HOWARD:  You've had plenty of experience using technology.  Can you tell me about some of the early experiences previously?  Because obviously you said there's been a lot of progress and a lot of change.  So some of that older, early experience, can you tell me about using technology previously? JOSEPH LEE:  For me the very first taste of technology was when one of my elementary school teachers brought in a printed circuit board, a PCB.  And then a few months later, I got introduced to computers through DOS and screen reader.  Back then the screen readers would just take whatever is on the console and just print it out. And then this around the time is when I moved to U.S.  And then a few years later, I was introduced to what we now call a primitive note-taker device, a video cassette sized hardware with seven keys, six keys for braille dots and a spacebar.  And the alternative, because the market for assistive technology is small, back then it retailed for more than a thousand dollars JASON HOWARD:  Wow JOSEPH LEE:  About 1,500, to be exact JASON HOWARD:  Oh my goodness JOSEPH LEE:  Being able to use more advanced tools in Microsoft Office or being able to use more complicated websites was just a dream for us.  It was just static pages, static web pages, just using the basic features of Office, basic features of Word, and using Outlook as an e-mail client and whatnot That was early days, and that is very, very different world today when we have touchscreens, we have Surface Book 2, we have mixed reality, we have potentials for Cortana collections and whatnot JASON HOWARD:  So let me touch back on the Windows Insider program for a moment.  So obviously you having been in the program from the beginning, you've seen the change of accessibility features and the focus in Windows on accessibility along the progress as Windows 10 has jumped from build to build and release to release along the way.  And being an Insider obviously you have a chance to help influence the design of Windows and the progress of accessibility along the way.  Can you tell us about some of the experience you've had in helping guide the future of accessibility within Windows JOSEPH LEE:  I joined the Insider program mostly to see how accessibility is going, as mentioned, as well as to see, making sure that people with disabilities will not be left out in making sure that Windows 10 ecosystems are working for them and whatnot For me I think the biggest influence that I had on the program, and the most fruitful experience is dialogue and collaboration.  Back then in the early days of Windows Insider program I wrote an open letter to Microsoft addressed to Terry Myerson and other top executives, asking them to invest in accessibility, asking third party universal app developers to invest in listening to feedback on accessibility needs, because they will be potentially speaking and interacting with at least 400 million customers worldwide, and this is just visual impairment.  But there are billions of people who have visible and invisible disabilities around the world So that was my first initial focus of the Windows Insider program back then, and I think that has been the most fruitful thing I've seen Obviously appointment of Jenny Lay-Flurrie, on Twitter Jenny Lay-Fluffy, as Chief Accessibility Officer has been a greatest, one of the most significant achievements in terms of disability advocacy at Microsoft And the other thing that I helped influence is making sure that people think about accessibility in giving feedback JASON HOWARD:  We've talked a lot about Windows, we've talked about accessibility, we talked about some of your background, but let me ask you an important question about yourself.  Like what are some of your goals in life JOSEPH LEE:  Since I was a kid, I want to get into teaching.  My other life goal has been to serve, not just teach, because I feel that it is much better for people to show that they are willing to serve others than to be served.  Because for me serving others meant trying to find out what's going on so they can have a better experience in life or providing technical support.  And that's one of the reasons why I joined Insider program was to serve So those are my life goals, to one day stand on a podium and give lectures about computer science, communication studies, and whatever I learn, and serve JASON HOWARD:  Are you looking to teach others who have the same sight impairment as you or just broadly in general you want to reach out to anybody that you can have an effect on? JOSEPH LEE:  Ah, so mostly general public, because to me it doesn't matter who the audiences are, as long as they get the message.  It doesn't have to be people who use screen readers, it doesn't have to be all the blind people alone, all blind people in a group sitting together and using various phones and laptops.  It could be people, general public who are really interested in the back behind the scenes story of disability, accessibility work, or anything, that I need to tell the public about what I'm passionate about JASON HOWARD:  Well, Joseph, I have to say it's been fantastic chatting with you today.  Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule.  I know being a student is chaotic and crazy.  There's a lot going on.  Your time is a bit limited.  But it means a lot to us for you to have taken the time to come and speak with us today.  So thank you so very much for that JOSEPH LEE:  You're welcome JASON HOWARD:  It's been a pleasure As we innovate for accessibility and inclusion, it can lead to benefits for people of all abilities.  Take this scenario:  sidewalks have a ramp to enable people in wheelchairs to use them, but that ramp is also helpful for people on bikes or with rolling luggage.  It's a great example of inclusive design benefitting everyone In addition to changes in the physical world like sidewalk ramps, accessibility features and inclusive design are already changing the way people of all abilities interact with technology.  Who knows what the future will bring?  It's possible that eye tracking and Narrator will have a broader influence on how we all use Windows If you have questions or feedback about Microsoft's accessibility efforts, I'll include some information to learn more in this episode's description.  And if you want to try out the features we mentioned for yourself, all you need to do is download the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Update.  And of course keep flighting for the chance to get the first look at the newest features in Microsoft releases Thanks for listening to this month's episode of the Windows Insider podcast.  If you like this episode, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast.  We'll be tackling some great topics in the coming months like mixed reality.  You won't want to miss them Thanks, Insiders.  Catch you next time on the Windows Insider podcast NARRATOR:  Our program today was produced by Microsoft Production Studios.  The Insider team includes Tyler Ahn, Michelle Paison, and Amelia Greim Our website is insider.windows.com.  Support for the Windows Insider podcast comes from Microsoft, empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more Moral support and inspiration comes from Ninja Cat, reminding us to have fun and pursue our passions Thanks as always to our program's cofounders, Donna Sarkar and Jeremiah Marble. Make sure you never miss an episode of the Windows Insider podcast by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. And if you like this episode, be sure to review and rate the podcast so others can discover it Join us next month for more stories with Windows InsidersEND

This week, we have the great honour of speaking with Chief Accessibility Officer for Microsoft Jennie Lay Flurrie. Jenny discusses the role that technology can play in people reaching their goals, especially people with disability. Jenny is profoundly deaf and says that it was revealing the full details of her disability that made the most difference to her working life. Also on the program, • Tim Nield from AFL Victoria discussing the development of blind footballs squads and how people can become involved. • We catch up with Holman Prize Winner Penny Melville-Browne (A.K.A the Blind Chef) and her travels in so far in China and Australia.

Jenny Lay-Flurrie, the Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft, discusses how Microsoft creates a culture of accessibility. Jenny shares her own journey of accessibility as someone who has hearing loss and how she uses technology in her personal and professional life.  To learn more about Debra Ruh, visit www.ruhglobal.com 

Jenny Lay-Flurrie, (Microsoft’s Chief Accessibility Officer), discusses Cities Unlocked, (Microsoft’s 3D sound scaping project), that helps the blind navigate the world around them.

Jenny Lay-Flurrie, (Microsoft’s Chief Accessibility Officer), discusses Cities Unlocked, (Microsoft’s 3D sound scaping project), that helps the blind navigate the world around them.

In this powerful Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Jenny Lay-Flurrie, (Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft), to discuss the inner workings of accessibility at Microsoft. Jenny explains the challenges facing Microsoft, the progress that has been made in Windows 10, Office 365, and cloud services. She goes on to outline Microsoft’s commitment to accessibility in all its products across all platforms. She explains the importance of inclusive hiring for Microsoft to achieve its accessibility goals. She talks about Microsoft’s past reliance on third party applications and the company’s continued commitment to work with third party providers of assistive technology. Jenny then makes a major announcement that Microsoft has not made public until this time. Cool Blind Tech is excited to bring you this exclusive story. To find out what else was discussed, listen to the entire interview. Below is a list of helpful resources that are related to the topics in the interview. Microsoft’s Accessibility Home Page. Windows 10 free upgrade for customers who use assistive technologies Office 365 accessibility webpage Inclusive Hiring for People with Disabilities Narrator User Guide. Accessibility Roadmaps. Accessibility Feedback. Disability Answer Desk. Cities Unlocked. Use Narrator on Xbox One Console. To read the transcription, click here.click here.

In this powerful Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Jenny Lay-Flurrie, (Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft), to discuss the inner workings of accessibility at Microsoft. Jenny explains the challenges facing Microsoft, the progress that has been made in Windows 10, Office 365, and cloud services. She goes on to outline Microsoft’s commitment to accessibility in all its products across all platforms. She explains the importance of inclusive hiring for Microsoft to achieve its accessibility goals. She talks about Microsoft’s past reliance on third party applications and the company’s continued commitment to work with third party providers of assistive technology. Jenny then makes a major announcement that Microsoft has not made public until this time. Cool Blind Tech is excited to bring you this exclusive story. To find out what else was discussed, listen to the entire interview. Below is a list of helpful resources that are related to the topics in the interview. Microsoft’s Accessibility Home Page. Windows 10 free upgrade for customers who use assistive technologies Office 365 accessibility webpage Inclusive Hiring for People with Disabilities Narrator User Guide. Accessibility Roadmaps. Accessibility Feedback. Disability Answer Desk. Cities Unlocked. Use Narrator on Xbox One Console. To read the transcription, click here.click here.

In this powerful Spotlight Interview, James Oates sits down with Jenny Lay-Flurrie, (Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft), to discuss the inner workings of accessibility at Microsoft. Jenny explains the challenges facing Microsoft, the progress that has been made in Windows 10, Office 365, and cloud services. She goes on to outline Microsoft’s commitment to accessibility in all its products across all platforms. She explains the importance of inclusive hiring for Microsoft to achieve its accessibility goals. She talks about Microsoft’s past reliance on third party applications and the company’s continued commitment to work with third party providers of assistive technology. Jenny then makes a major announcement that Microsoft has not made public until this time. Cool Blind Tech is excited to bring you this exclusive story. To find out what else was discussed, listen to the entire interview. Below is a list of helpful resources that are related to the topics in the interview. Microsoft’s Accessibility Home Page. Windows 10 free upgrade for customers who use assistive technologies Office 365 accessibility webpage Inclusive Hiring for People with Disabilities Narrator User Guide. Accessibility Roadmaps. Accessibility Feedback. Disability Answer Desk. Cities Unlocked. Use Narrator on Xbox One Console. To read the transcription, click here.click here.

This episode features an interview with Rosemary Musachio, Chief Accessibility Officer at Ruh Global Communications, as she discusses her many accomplishments as a technologist and disability advocate, despite having a disability. Rosemary shares her thoughts about how technology will benefit and change the lives of persons with disabilities and what drives her to succeed.