2022 Conference Agenda

Building a company culture focused on accessibility and disability inclusion is a journey that typically begins organically, often with a team of one. To build momentum, consider creating a business case and growing a global network of accessibility champions. This session will explore the experiences of accessibility professionals and identify strategies for getting started on implementing accessible digital practices.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn how to build and leverage executive leadership support for digital accessibility.
2. Gain insight into how other accessibility leaders maintain traction, eliminate silos, foster cross-functional collaboration, and scale globally.
3. Consider the various business stakeholders and the role they play in advancing global accessibility, including diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI); human resources; technology; and more.

Moderator: 

Chris Desiano - Sr. Director of Emerging Channels at Pfizer 

Panelists: 

• Shauna Gae-Davis - Chief DEI Leader for Deloitte Technology-US 
• Sam Estoesta - Project Manager, Social Innovation Specialization at TD Bank 
• Fred Moltz - Chief Accessibility Officer at Verizon Wireless 
• Matt Ater - Vice President of Business Development at Vispero

Moving beyond the initial excitement of launching your company’s digital accessibility program involves enterprise awareness, education, training, and global engagement. Infusing accessibility into the DNA of your enterprise poses one of the most common challenges companies face. This session features leaders discussing strategies that helped move accessibility programs to the next level of maturity.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explore how to thread accessibility into your company’s corporate values for maximum enterprise exposure.
2. Uncover methods for achieving continual improvement through advancement of accessibility beyond the initial excitement of a grassroots launch.
3. Chart your course through innovative approaches to achieving accessibility milestones, leveraging the support of critical leaders to embed accessibility across your global organization.

Moderator:

• Jennifer Earnest – Senior Director, Digital & Accessibility at Cox Communications 

Panelists:

• Ronda Hendricks – Director, Digital Accessibility at Fidelity
• Kerry Stith – Senior Vice President, Accessibility Director at PNC Financial Services 
• Steve Framil – Corporate Global Head of Accessibility at Merck

Maximizing momentum requires a clear demonstration that your company’s accessibility efforts are producing measurable and sustainable value. Whether it's the digital accessibility of content and systems; inclusive design in your corporate offices; or employee and customer experiences, quantifying results is part of the process toward building global accessibility maturity. This session will explain how to know what to measure and how to leverage the data to increase enterprise support for your accessibility program.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn best practices for quantifying long-term accessibility outcomes – using maturity models and improvements in employee and customer experiences.
2. Identify strategies for how organizations can examine their business model to understand how to effectively reach, connect with, and serve people with disabilities across the globe.
3. Gain insights on driving value through brand recognition, earnings, and profits by integrating and quantifying accessibility practices.

Moderator: 

Elodie Fichet - Head of Brand Accessibility at Amazon 

Panelists: 

• Melissa Sape - Digital Accessibility & Accommodations Service Manager at Dow Chemical Company
• Kate Kalcevich - Head of Accessibility Innovation at Fable 
• Gurpreet Kaur - Vice President of Accessibility & Inclusive Design at MasterCard 
• Adrian Ledda - Head of Inclusive Game Design at Activision Blizzard 

Many of us might recognize the terms Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and the Metaverse, but how comfortable are you with your knowledge of them? While each of these platforms has their unique characteristics, they all have a common opportunity for focus. It’s vital that accessibility is built into the design of these emerging technologies to ensure that everyone can participate. This session will define AR, VR, and the Metaverse, and discuss how this new frontier can become a landscape for inclusive design and accessibility.

Learning Objectives:

1. What does accessibility mean for these modern technologies?
2. Explore Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and the Metaverse as we demystify what it all means for accessibility and disability inclusion.
3. Learn how to advise your business partners on leveraging this new technology, with emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI) through Google Bard, Microsoft Bing, ChatGPT and other platforms.

Moderator:

Kimmy Dowdee,  UX Director - Inclusive Design, Storefront, & Creative Services at Ally Financial

Panelists:

• Rick Boardman, Senior Director, Engineering at Zendesk
• Sunday Parker, Access Technology Program Manager at Microsoft
• Sterling Summerville, Diversity Lead at Snap Inc.
• Kevin Berg, Vice President of Solution Engineering at Evinced