Agenda

The event begins at 6 pm; join early, starting at 5:45 pm for networking.

• 5:45–6:00pm Networking
• 6:00–6:15pm Introductions & announcements
• 6:15–7:00pm Presentation
• 7:00–7:30pm Q&A and discussion
• 7:30–7:45pm Wrap up

About the presenter

Nic Steenhout has been an accessibility trainer and troubleshooter for over 25 years. He’s worked on three continents, collaborating with various organizations, from local governments to large corporations, focusing on web accessibility and digital inclusion. Known for his pragmatic, down-to-Earth approach, Nic helps his clients navigate complex accessibility challenges. When he is not off on a birdwatching adventure, you can find him speaking at events or leading workshops.

Accommodation requests

If you have any accommodation requests, don't hesitate to get in touch with us before the event to discuss.

When loading a web page, a sighted page visitor can take in almost all information at a glance and home in on what they want to explore — a whole-to-part approach. A blind screen reader user, on the other hand, must reverse the process and gather bits of information through page exploration to create the full picture — a part-to-whole approach. If sighted design stakeholders are not mindful of the differences in these strategies, they may disregard helpful bits of information that allow the most efficient exploration and understanding for blind visitors. Using parallels from pedestrian navigation such as the importance of “landmarks” and “boundaries,” our presenter Dr. Michele A. Williams will help create common ground between sighted and blind communities to ensure blind screen reader users are best accommodated in Web and other digital design.

Event begins at 6:00pm; join early starting at 5:45pm for networking.

Agenda:

• 5:45–6:00pm Networking
• 6:00–6:15pm Introductions & announcements
• 6:15–7:00pm Presentation
• 7:00–7:30pm Q&A and discussion
• 7:30–7:45pm Wrap up

About the presenter:

Dr. Michele A. Williams has 15 years of academic and industrial experience in UX, accessibility, and technology. She is passionate about ensuring people with disabilities are not excluded from technology. Her well-rounded experience includes training, design consultation, field research with people with disabilities, and code remediation for building WCAG-compliant technology.

Dr. Williams holds a B.S. in Computer Science, Masters of Software Engineering with a concentration in Human-Computer Interaction, and PhD in Human-Centered Computing with a focus on accessibility. Along with industry project contributions, her research and designs have resulted in several cited publications, international presentations, and a patent application (see LinkedIn for more details).

Coupling her passion with her expertise, she now offers consulting services including accessibility training for UX professionals and key stakeholders, and project advising including research facilitation and design consultation. Contact her for a consultation experience tailored to your needs. More about Dr. Williams' work on her website or follow her on Twitter.

Join the Portland Accessibility and User Experience Meetup to celebrate the 10th Global Accessibility Awareness Day in partnership with the A11yBay community and many other partner Meetups!

May 20 marks the 10th Global Accessibility Awareness Day and we will be sharing our excitement by partnering with sister Meetup groups around the world. Our goal is to make this the largest Meetup on accessibility and inclusive design!

TALKS & GUEST SPEAKERS:

We'll open with word from A11yBay and a special guest appearance of GAAD Co-Founders Joe Devon and Jennison Asuncion. They will have an exciting announcement to make. We then will turn to our speakers. We have three confirmed now, with more to come.

Terri Rodriguez-Hong recently published "What it's like having a hidden disability in Silicon Valley" in Fast Company. She'll join us to reflect on the article and to have a discussion about her journey.

Deque System's Carie Fisher will present The Future of Accessibility is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" Book. The question Carie will address is: do designers and developers really think they can build an accessible experience for all - even though there are endless combinations of browsers, ATs, settings, and user preferences?

Our other confirmed speaker is Marc B.D. Greenberg. Robots are entering the public space and our lives more and more. In one form or another—from Roomba to Aibo and home, sidewalk, and in-store robots—they are getting designed and released into our lives and spaces. What accessibility considerations should be made and how can we get in front of that?

AGENDA:

(subject to tweaking as May 20 grows near!)

• 4:30 – 4:45 pm PT – Welcome from A11yBay and GAAD Co-Founders
• 4:45 – 5:15 pm PT – Terri Rodriguez-Hong "Reflections and Discussion on What it's like having a hidden disability in Silicon Valley"
• 5:15 – 5:55 pm PT – Carie Fisher's talk: "The Future of Accessibility is a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Book"
• 5:55 – 6:15 pm PT – Marc B.D. Greenberg's talk: "Robots and Accessibility"
• 6:15 – 6:30 pm PT – Talk to be announced
• 6:30 – 6:45 pm PT – Optional zoom break-out room socializing

ZOOM DETAILS:

• This is an online event and will happen through Zoom:

The Zoom URL will be published on this event page a few days before the meetup and shared via email (sent through meetup messages) with people who RSVP via the meetup site.

Check to make sure your email settings are enabled to receive "event updates from organizers" in your account settings or you may not receive the message.

• How socializing in zoom break out rooms will work:

We’ll use the zoom breakout rooms feature to give folks an opportunity to network and chat with others in small group conversations with randomized participants.

If you do not feel comfortable making conversation with other people during this meetup, we'll pause briefly after the main talk content so you can log off. Those who want to chat can just stay on the zoom!

• Zoom tips for controlling closed captions and screen reader alerts:

More details on our Meetup event page.

How can employees at any level help companies embrace inclusive design? How can existing employees drive an organization towards more inclusive hiring?

At a young age, Janna realized that not everyone can access the world in the same way. Both through her own experience on and off crutches and her experience with a mixed hearing/deaf theater troupe, she gained a passion for making life accessible for all. This talk will focus on how to grow, and nurture, the practice of inclusion in your organization.

Agenda:

• 5:45–6:00pm Networking
• 6:00–6:15pm Introductions & announcements
• 6:15–7:00pm Presentation
• 7:00–7:30pm Q&A and discussion
• 7:30–7:45pm Wrap up

About the presenter:

Currently a Manager of User Experience Research at Hinge Health, Janna C. Kimel has practiced design research for over 15 years. Her current role ensures that the organization's experiences are seamless and help participants build healthy habits for a pain free life. In her past 2 roles, she has also led employee ERGs focused on accessibility. Janna has focused on health technology and wearables over the course of her career. She has run her own small consultancy and has worked at Intel, Microsoft to Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield and Dexcom.

She has published and presented on accessibility, behavior change, user research and wearable technology. She is a ramblin' wreck with a master's degree in industrial design from Georgia Tech.

Hello fellow PDXers! We have been dormant for a while, and want to gather for some networking and socializing this summer.

Join us on July 26th for a gathering at Laurelhurst Park, Picnic Area D near the intersection of SE Ankeny St & SE Cesar Chavez Blvd.

We'll provide some light snacks & beverages, but BYO is also encouraged.

A few rules from Portland Parks and Rec:

• No smoking
• Beer/wine only, no other alcohol
• Clean up after ourselves

Accessibility Notes

Parking

• Street parking
• Paved pathway to play area
• 250 feet to play area

Play Area

• Engineered mulch surface
• Ramp into play area

Play Equipment

• Transfer station
• Sensory play elements
• Adapted high-back swing
• Ramp onto play structure

Other Amenities

• Accessible restroom
• Accessible picnic table

Join us for a casual summer-end accessibility social. Chat about your favorite accessibility topics, meet new people, and discuss what you'd like to learn at future events.

Food and drinks are available to purchase from a variety of food carts. This event is no-host (each participant pays for their own food/drinks), but there's no obligation to buy something to attend.

Seating area and restrooms are wheelchair accessible, via side/rear entrance. Location is accessible by public transit from multiple nearby bus lines, there is bike parking out front, and street parking is available nearby.

See hinterlandpdx.com or call (503) 231-4333 for more details about Hinterland.

As an accessibility professional, do you ever feel like you’re swimming against the tide as you try to make your company’s offerings more accessible? If so, you’re probably aware that the organization could be “better” with respect to accessibility, but you may have trouble identifying just what it would take to make real progress. Accessibility maturity models can help by providing objective assessment criteria and concrete steps for leveling up. In this talk, we’ll cover what is a maturity model, how they’ve been applied to accessibility, and strategies for getting started with your first assessment.

Event begins at 6:00pm; join early starting at 5:45pm for networking.

Agenda

• 5:45–6:00pm Networking
• 6:00–6:15pm Introductions & announcements
• 6:15–7:00pm Presentation
• 7:00–7:30pm Q&A and discussion
• 7:30–7:45pm Wrap up

About the presenter

Andrew Hedges is a co-founder of Assistiv Labs, providers of a platform that simplifies manual testing of websites with assistive technologies. He is a longtime web developer having started building websites professionally in 1998. Soon thereafter he discovered this thing called accessibility and has been advocating for it ever since. Most recently, he led the design system team at Zapier where he was a major contributor to the company’s accessibility guild, including helping initiate Zapier’s first self-assessment of their digital accessibility maturity.

Accommodation requests

If you have any accommodation requests, please contact us in advance of the event to discuss.

Special thanks

Thank you to Assistiv Labs for providing tonight's Zoom hosting!

Join us for a casual year-end accessibility social. Chat about your favorite accessibility topics, meet new people, and discuss what you'd like to learn at events in the new year.

Food and drinks are available to purchase. This event is no-host (each participant pays for their own food/drinks), but there's no obligation to buy something to attend.

Location is wheelchair accessible, near public transit, and there is street parking for bikes and cars available nearby.

See victoriapdx.com or email [email protected] for more details about Victoria Bar.

Hello fellow a11y PDXers!

Join us for a social gathering on Thursday, June 20th, at Laurelhurst Park, Picnic Area D, near SE Ankeny St and SE Cesar Chavez Blvd.

This is an opportunity to network, reconnect with old friends, or make new ones! Previous experience or accessibility knowledge is not required, but curiosity is welcomed. We'll provide some light snacks & beverages, but BYO is also encouraged.

A few rules from Portland Parks and Rec:

• No smoking
• Beer/wine only, no other alcohol
• Clean up after ourselves

Accessibility Notes

Parking

• Street parking
• Paved pathway to play area
• 250 feet to play area

Play Area

• Engineered mulch surface
• Ramp into play area

Play Equipment

• Transfer station
• Sensory play elements
• Adapted high-back swing
• Ramp onto play structure

Other Amenities

• Accessible restroom
• Accessible picnic table

Many neurodivergent professionals work in the fields of accessibility and user experience. Yan Vishnepolsky joins us today to discuss his career as a neurodiverse user researcher. He will talk about aspects like living abroad as a UX professional, launching a podcast, and the benefits and challenges of being neurodiverse in design tech.

Event begins at 6:00pm; join early starting at 5:45pm for networking.

Agenda

• 5:45–6:00pm Networking
• 6:00–6:15pm Introductions & announcements
• 6:15–7:00pm Presentation
• 7:00–7:30pm Q&A and discussion
• 7:30–7:45pm Wrap up

About the presenter

Yan's family knew from an early age that he was neurodiverse. As such, he attended BOCES Gifted Special Education, a program in upstate New York for neurodivergent children, throughout most of his school years. A couple of years after college, he launched a UX agency in India and lived there for nine years. While in India, Yan learned Hindi and Indian culture, teaching him firsthand the impact of different perspectives. Also in India, he met his wife, an Iranian expat studying as a pharmacist. After marriage, Yan moved back to the US, where he pursued a career specific to user research. In the last few years, Yan has been particularly interested in the impact of AI on the future of user research work (and vice versa). Last year, he started speaking publicly about the impact of neurodiversity on his career.

Accommodation requests

If you have any accommodation requests, please contact us in advance of the event to discuss.

Join us for a casual end-of-summer/beginning-of-fall accessibility social. Chat about your favorite accessibility topics, meet new people, and discuss what you'd like to learn at future events.

Food and drinks are available to purchase from a variety of food carts. This event is no-host (each participant pays for their own food/drinks), but there's no obligation to buy something to attend.

Seating area and restrooms are wheelchair accessible, via side/rear entrance. Location is accessible by public transit from multiple nearby bus lines, there is bike parking out front, and street parking is available nearby.

See hinterlandpdx.com or call (503) 231-4333 for more details about Hinterland.

Cancelled Sorry, due to unforeseen events this event is cancelled. We hope you can join us for our events in November and December!

—

Adam McBride-Smith will present on state-level initiatives around the country to meet the DOJ’s new ADA Title II rule, including ongoing efforts in Oregon.

About the presenter

Adam McBride-Smith is a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA), a Accessible Document Special-ist (ADS), and a JAWS Certified tester. He has worked as a digital accessibility and UX consultant for several organizations, including Community Vision, Clackamas: Health Housing and Human Services, and the City of Portland.

He is currently the Digital Accessibility Strategist at Oregon Health Authority and a member of the state’s Electronic Portal Advisory Board and the Multistate Digital Accessibility Collaborative. He also teaches a class on Digital Accessibility at Portland State University.