Don’t just get by, get buy-in: how to facilitate cross-campus collaboration for a successful accessibility strategy

#32268

Speaker(s)

  • Taylor Snook, Digital Accessibility Consultant, Perkins School for the Blind
  • Catherine Getchell, Director, Office of Disability Resources, Carnegie Mellon University

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: Beginner
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Carnegie Mellon University & Perkins School for the Blind are teaming up to share valuable insights on developing organization-wide strategies for implementing accessibility best practices. Whether you are new to digital accessibility or want to scale your effort, you’ll walk away with the know-how to get the stakeholder buy-in you need to succeed.

Abstract

Learn from the Director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Office of Disability Resources and a Senior Accessibility Consultant from Perkins Access how to facilitate the cross-campus collaboration needed for a successful accessibility strategy. This 360° perspective will give you insight into the intricacies of promoting initiatives across a complex campus in order to broaden your circle of influence and weave accessibility into your organization’s strategic plan. You will learn 1) How to get the organization-wide buy-in to implement an accessibility strategy from the beginning 2) How to prioritize digital platforms and content across all departments 3) How to incorporate digital accessibility across all job functions (including Content Authors, Faculty, IT, Developers, Purchasing and Marketing). Walk away a digital accessibility champion and lead your organization toward creating the most inclusive experience for everyone, every time.

Keypoints

  1. Cross-campus collaboration is essential for a successful accessibility strategy.
  2. Learn how to prioritize digital platforms and content across all departments.
  3. Learn how to incorporate digital accessibility across all job functions.

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Administrative/Campus Policy, Faculty Development & Support, Uncategorized, Web/Media Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Taylor Snook

Snook possesses deep expertise in content management systems, user-centered design and various programming languages. She began her work at Perkins developing systems that would support hundreds of local partners worldwide. Snook is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies and holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Colby College and a Master of Social Work with a concentration in Global Practice from Boston College.

Catherine Getchell

Catherine Getchell began in her position as director of Disability Resources at Carnegie Mellon in November 2016. Prior to that, she was a counselor and then district administrator for 12 years at Pennsylvania’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, a state agency that assists people with disabilities in obtaining employment and independence. In her current role, Catherine develops accommodation plans for students with a wide variety of disabilities, oversees all office operations, conducts trainings on physical, digital, and programmatic accessibility across campus, and works on campus-wide initiatives to increase accessibility and inclusivity for students with disabilities. She received her bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Yale University in 2002 and her master’s in rehabilitation counseling in 2004.

In her spare time, Catherine enjoys playing the trumpet, riding her bike, hiking, kayaking and cooking. She lives in Squirrel Hill with her husband, two cats and Seeing Eye dog.