Resume

A passionate accessibility professional with twenty-four years of experience in universal design, assistive technology, digital accessibility, and employee and student accommodations. Thirteen years of extensive knowledge and experience in higher education, applying accessibility principles in a rigorous digital environment to exceed compliance and create a culture of accessibility.

EXPERIENCE

IT ACCESSIBILITY COORDINATOR, NC STATE UNIVERSITY
SEPT 2021- PRESENT

  • Evaluate the state of digital accessibility and coordinate efforts across campus units to increase the accessibility of NC State’s digital environments.
  • Work with developers and content creators to find ways to create applications, services, and content that is accessible and provide guidance on remediation as needed.
  • Manage and administer university-wide accessibility testing tools and resources used by campus developers and content creators. Including but not limited to automatic web scanning tools, document remediation tools, and captioning contracts.
  • Determine and maintain appropriate contracts and software maintenance agreements for enterprise-level assistive technology such as screen reading, magnification, and literacy support software.
  • Provide online resources and training (via classroom, online, and one-on-one) for content creators and software developers to make digital tools and content accessible.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR, NC STATE UNIVERSITY
FEB 2010- SEPT 2021

  • Identify technology solutions for 2000 students registered with the Disability Resource Office and train and support students using appropriate assistive technologies.
  • Assist faculty and content creators in determining the accessibility of course materials and provide instruction on selecting and creating accessible course materials.
  • Produce and provide texts in accessible formats, including Braille, Daisy, mp3, MathML, accessible PDF, Microsoft Word, and RTF.
  • Purchase, inventory, and maintain all accessible technologies on loan to students registered with the Disability Resource Office.
  • Coordinate network-hosted services and maintain site licenses for campus access software such as JAWS, ZoomText, and Literacy Support software.
  • Collaborate closely with the IT Accessibility Coordinator and members of the IT Accessibility Work Group (ITAWG) to provide reviews and updates for the IT Accessibility Policies and Procedures, including procurement, accessibility scanners, and campus captioning grant.

TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT, SALOME HEYWARD AND ASSOCIATES
APRIL 2011 – PRESENT

  • Provide consultation services to higher education institutions to assess and evaluate compliance with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA in the areas of digital accessibility and assistive technology.
  • Assessment includes access to emerging technologies, websites, learning management systems, enterprise-level institutional systems, online education programming, course materials, library, and other student services.
  • Develop strategic technology plans incorporating the determinations regarding compliance needs assessment and strategies to reach compliance, including a detailed report of current website compliance against WCAG and 508 accessibility standards.
  • Assist Institutions in developing, revising, and implementing policies and procedures that are in keeping with any OCR rulings and directives and establish best practices.

PROGRAM SPECIALIST FOR REHABILITATION TECHNOLOGY,   DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
AUGUST 2008 – FEBRUARY 2010

  • Provide technical assistance and consultative services to agency employees across the state and serve as the Technical Lead for 16 regional rehabilitation engineers.
  • Develop and assist in implementing statewide policies and procedures regarding the provision of technology.
  • Conduct and facilitate training and awareness activities to promote the use and funding of assistive technology.
  • Design and maintain employment services section web pages.

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT, NC ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
NOVEMBER 2002 – AUGUST 2008

  • Provide technical assistance, training evaluation, and consultative services regarding assistive technology to people with disabilities, their families, professionals, employers, public schools, university staff/students, and government agencies and programs in 17 central counties of North Carolina.
  • Conduct and facilitate training and awareness activities to promote the use and funding of assistive technology.
  • Maintained an Assistive Technology equipment inventory, evaluated new technology, and facilitated a loan and demonstration program.

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS

  • BS Materials Science & Engineering, NC State University, 1995
  • M.Ed. Learning Design & Technology, NC State University, Graduation applied for Spring 2023

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/ WORKGROUPS/INITIATIVES

  • ATHEN – Accessing Higher Ground
  • AHEAD – Association on Higher Education and Disability
  • EDUCAUSE
  • CSUN
  • NC AHEAD, Board Member 2011- Present
  • NC Higher Education Digital Accessibility Collaborative (Statewide) 2019-Present
  • IT Accessibility Advisory Working Group 2010-2023
  • Student Owned Technology Working Group 2014-2020

CERTIFICATIONS

  • DHS Trusted Tester V5 Web Certification – in progress
  • WebAIM Accessibility Training – April 2019
  • NCSU CTU Webmaster Certificate Program XHTML, JavaScript 1, CSS, Dreamweaver, Web Design, E-commerce, Web Graphics, Design/Usability/Accessibility (DUA), Web Technologies, Flash
  • Assistive Technology Practitioner (ATP), RESNA
  • Rehabilitation Engineering Technologist (RET), RESNA

SOFTWARE SKILLS

  • Learning Management Systems: Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard, SAKAI, Desire2Learn,
  • Content Management Systems: WordPress, Drupal
  • AT Software Solutions: JAWS, NVDA, ZoomText, WindowEyes, Kurzweil, Read & Write, Wynn,
  • Native Operating System Assistive Technology Solutions: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, and G-Suite
  • Compliance Standards: W3C WCAG 2.0 AA & 508, ADA Title II & Title III
  • Accessibility Scanners: PopeTech, Blackboard Ally, Brickfield, Yuja Panorama, Sortsite, Wave Toolbar, Grackle Docs & Slides, aXe Accessibility Testing, Microsoft Accessibility Tools.
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro, OmniPage, AbbyyFine Reader, Microsoft Office, Google Apps for Education
  • Emerging Technologies for Learning: VoiceThread, Padlet, Persuall, Flipgrid, Zoom, Panopto

COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION