June Lowery is Head of Unit and Deputy to the Director at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content & Technology (DG CNECT). She has worked for the EU institutions in Luxembourg for the past 25 years in a wide variety of fields including publications, finance, logistics, and digital inclusion. Her current responsibilities include web accessibility, language technology and online safety for children. She is also the CNECT equality coordinator. She is passionate about her job, and about making the digital world safer for children, and more accessible, inclusive and multilingual for all. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

  Antonio Santos is a Social Media Business Evangelist and Senior Data Intelligence Expert, at Atos, focusing on Digital Inclusion, Social Media Engagement, and Social Business. He is a Sociologist with expertise on Applied Research; he previously worked in the Media, Military, Public Sector and Telecom before joining Siemens IT in 2006 in Cork and Atos in 2011. According to Onalytica who measures online presence and influence, Antonio is the 3rd most influential employee in the world, in Consulting based on data from Twitter and LinkedIn and number one on Sustainability amongst employees of the 48 most important consulting companies globally.In 2014 with Debra Ruh and Neil Milliken he creates axschat. A weekly Twitter chat on diversity and inclusion, who become the most popular twitter conversation on that topic over the last six years. AXSChat was chosen by Valuable 500 CEO Caroline Casey to become one of their primary media partners and to support their efforts to create a community to revolutionise disability inclusion through business leadership and opportunity.  Debra Ruh is a seasoned entrepreneur that focuses on Global Disability Inclusion, ICT Accessibility, EmployAbility, Marketing and Communications Strategies and Digital Media.  She has provided global leadership to governments, corporations, NGOs and DPO’s (Disability Persons Organizations) all over the world supporting research, outreach, marketing strategies, policy and standards initiatives with public- and private-sector.  Policy, Legislative and Technical Experience includes the United Nations Convention of Rights for People with Disabilities (CRPD), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 503, 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, W3C, WCAG 2.0 and ISO.  Debra is also a seasoned Entrepreneur (founder of three firms): Ruh Global Communications, TecAccess, Strategic Performance Solutions.  Neil currently works for Atos as Head of Accessibility & Inclusion where his role is to help make the world a better place by delivering better technology for our customers and staff, embedding inclusive practice into the Business As Usual Processes of organisations with thousands of employees and turnovers numbering in billions.He created the Atos Centre of Competence encompassing Accessibility, Inclusive Design and Assistive Technology Services. This team now services multiple accounts and delivers best practice, support and consultancy for the organisation. www.atos.net/iux Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Gregg Vanderheiden is Professor and Director of Trace R&D Center at the University of Maryland. He has been in the field of technology and disability for 50 years, authored the first computer and the first web accessibility guidelines, was an author and chair of the WCAG guidelines working group, and his accessibility techniques and technologies are built into every copy of Windows, macOS, and iOS. His accessibility work is also found in kiosks, voting machines, airline terminals, ticket machines, and automated postal machines across the country. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Christine is the Founder and Managing Director of Open Inclusion. She’s an economist by trade, a disability inclusive researcher, designer and innovator by practice, and practical problem solver by nature. She helps organizations better understand and improve experiences across all brand touchpoints (digital, physical, customer service and communications) through a deeper understanding of the needs of consumers or employees who sense, move, think or feel differently. This is provided by conducting high quality inclusive user research engaging Open’s diverse insight community. Christine has been leveraging digital capabilities, specifically including emerging technologies for over two decades to solve unmet consumer needs, solve them better, or more efficiently. She leads the global Inclusive Design for XR community for XRAccess, is an advisor for a number of innovative digital startups in fintech, health tech and robotic mobility, and is an advisor to the British Standards Institute committee for wayfinding. Open Inclusion is a proud partner to the Valuable 500 and for pan-disability research for the RNIB. Christine has a BEc/BA (Asian Studies), from the Australian National University and MBA from the Australian Gradate School of Management. She is an active member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and is involved in building the inclusive research skills development capability at Unlimited, the new disability inclusive community there. She holds a CPACC from the International Association fo Accessibility Professionals. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Matt Gibson & Ramon Lapenta –  17th of July 2021, 8 pm GMT Matt Gibson is a Director at Cyber-Duck, a user-centric digital transformation agency based out of the UK.He helps oversee all aspects of the production lifecycle, including research, design, and delivery of products and services, for organisations like Sport England, Compare the Market, and the Bank of England. As a BIMA Hot 100 top creative in the UK, he is a champion for inclusive design, and accessibility best practices, levelling up Cyber-Duck’s team and clients’ awareness and knowledge. He truly believes in the universality of the web, and the power that inclusive design has in creating better experiences for everyone.Ramon Lapenta, also  works at Cyber-Duck, and he is a technical lead and senior front-end engineer. He spent the best part of the last 20 years building things for the web, and most of his life involved in the design industry. Working at Cyber-Duck allows him to interact with people from very different backgrounds, and  to learn to adapt is work to cater for many different needs, which eventually turned me to working with Accessibility.As a champion for Accessibility in his company, with Matt, they get to help their team to understand those needs and to work with an open mind for inclusive design, and building a web that’s helpful for everyone. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Meghan McLean is the Senior Vice President of Sports for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games. She is responsible for planning and executing a sport competition in 19 Olympic type sports for 4300 Special Olympics participants across North America. Meghan is leading the charge to increase participation by 50% regard to both the number of participants and the number of sports offered at USA Games. With a specific focus on increasing the athlete experience Meghan has identified and negotiated 10 sport venue contracts at state-of-the- art sport facilities across central Florida. Meghan and her team are responsible for planning and executing every aspect of the athletes’ competition experience to ensure athletes have the platform to compete and succeed. Prior to joining the 2022 USA Games Organizing Committee, she served as Senior Director of Sports and Programs for Special Olympics Florida. Her accomplishments while at SOFL include increasing Special Olympics athlete participation 120% by growing the program from 26,533 to 58,466 athletes served Meghan’s ability to not only handle, but enhance and expand, important programs for Special Olympics made her made her a vital team member of the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games bid team that won the bid to host the 2022 USA Games. She is an experienced non-profit executive with a demonstrated history of working in the sport management industry with a particular focus on event management and operations. Meghan also has experience as a consultant for Special Olympics North America where she advised Special Olympics programs across North America on best practices in coach education and event execution. Meghan is driven by the belief that sport can change lives and looks forward to using the 2022 USA Games as a platform to transform the lives of people with disabilities across North America. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Richard is Head of Accessibility at CDDO (Central Digital and Data Office). He focuses on building accessibility capability and culture in central government and the wider public sector through Accessibility Empathy Lab sessions, clinics, training, talks and webinars, and manages the cross government accessibility communities.Until April 2021 the accessibility monitoring and capability functions were within GDS (Government Digital Service), and this work now continues through CDDO. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Debra Ruh is a seasoned entrepreneur that focuses on Global Disability Inclusion, ICT Accessibility, EmployAbility, Marketing and Communications Strategies and Digital Media.  She has provided global leadership to governments, corporations, NGOs and DPO’s (Disability Persons Organizations) all over the world supporting research, outreach, marketing strategies, policy and standards initiatives with public- and private-sector.  Policy, Legislative and Technical Experience includes the United Nations Convention of Rights for People with Disabilities (CRPD), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 503, 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, W3C, WCAG 2.0 and ISO.  Debra is also a seasoned Entrepreneur (founder of three firms): Ruh Global Communications, TecAccess, Strategic Performance Solutions.  Debra is passionate about Social Media and a Thought Leader and Blogger on ICT Accessibility and Disability Inclusion on social media channels with over  130,000 followers.  Social media mediums include Twitter, Linked-In, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, G+ and other platforms. Work featured in major mediums including CBS, CNN, PBS, ABC, NBC, NPR, INC, Publishers Weekly, Fortune Magazine, US News & World Report, America’s Best, Washington Technology, and Bloomberg Business Week.  Debra has published many white papers, is a newsletter editor for IAAP and a Published Author of two books: Neil currently works for Atos as Head of Accessibility & Inclusion where his role is to help make the world a better place by delivering better technology for our customers and staff, embedding inclusive practice into the Business As Usual Processes of organisations with thousands of employees and turnovers numbering in billions.  He created the Atos Centre of Competence encompassing Accessibility, Inclusive Design and Assistive Technology Services. This team now services multiple accounts and delivers best practice, support and consultancy for the organisation. www.atos.net/iux  He delivers strategy and services working with a wide range of clients internally and externally helping them to develop policies, processes and technology solutions to meet the needs of their staff and customers. These clients include: BBC, Department of Health, Ministry of Justice, Insolvency Service, and NHS.  He is the Atos representative on the Business Disability Forum Technology Task Force and has successfully instigated the adoption of and implemented the Accessible Technology charter.  Neil is also an invited expert and contributor to theW3C Cognitive Accessibility Taskforce. Antonio Santos is a Social Media Business Evangelist and Senior Data Intelligence Expert, at Atos, focusing on Digital Inclusion, Social Media Engagement, and Social Business. He is a Sociologist with expertise on Applied Research; he previously worked in the Media, Military, Public Sector and Telecom before joining Siemens IT in 2006 in Cork and Atos in 2011. According to Onalytica who measures online presence and influSupport the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Jourdan Saunders, MS, CCC-SLP, has been a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) for over 10 years using her expertise  as the CEO & Founder of The Resource Key which focuses on Inclusive Branding to ensure People with Disabilities are included, and making meaningful connections with brands. Jourdan was awarded LinkedIn Top Voices 2020: Equity in the Workplace, established one of the first resource websites for students interested in the field of Speech Language Pathology (www.futureslps.com) which has received recognition worldwide, owner of one of the largest SLP resources groups on LinkedIn with over 18,000 members. Her work has been featured in USA Gymnastics, American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), MarketWatch, Fast Company, PopSugar, Association of University Centers on Disability, and Kennedy Center.Jourdan has developed inclusive gymnastics programs, reading literacy programs, and is the author of Our Reading Literacy Kitchen: Fresh Approaches to Target Reading Literacy Skills. Her creativity, leadership, and diverse skillset is evident from her work as an advisor to companies and organizations ranging from digital speech therapy, gymnastics, international reading literacy initiatives, culinary industry technology platform, and many more.  Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Mark Wilcock is an Accessibility Specialist at Atos, CPWA Certified, an ex-contributing member of the W3C WCAG Working Group for WCAG 2.1 in the W3C Cognitive Accessibility Taskforce and an Atos Expert for Immersive Experiences.He is the co-chair for the development of the Digital Accessibility Specialist Apprenticeship standard, the first apprenticeship standard globally solely for Accessibility.Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Action researcher, social entrepreneur, equality advocate.Anthony’s work focuses on technology policy and practice. He is an internationally recognized expert in universal design of information and communication technology (ICT). He leads several large-scale research and innovation projects based in over 27 countries.Anthony is an Associate Professor of Universal Design of ICT at the Department of Computer Science at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet). He maintains several international appointments including at the Harvard Law School Project on Disability at Harvard Law School, the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, the Department of Science and Informatics at the University of Eduardo Mondlane, and the Department of Education at Roma Tre University.He works with the United Nations (UN) International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as the Vice Rapporteur for the subcommittee on ICT Accessibility and Research Coalition lead for the EQUALS Global Network. He is founder and Chair of the Board for the Global Universal Design Commission Europe AS, and Ser Innovation AS. He is a member of the board for Mfano Design Lab, the Global Universal Design Commission, Inclusive-IT, and Humans for Humans. He has been a member of the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion and was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship as part of the DREAM research network.Since 2014, Anthony has acted as a principal investigator for research and innovation projects with budgets totaling over 11 million EUR. He has authored over 47 peer-reviewed academic publications in leading international journals. Anthony has taught over 3,000 students. He has mentored over 23 startups, half of which have been led by women. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 As CTO, Ryan is responsible for leading and directing Texthelp’s team of engineers to deliver assistive technology and accessibility products that are used by tens of millions of people every day around the world. With a customer base that spans educational institutions and corporates alike, he ensures that Texthelp’s products are safe, secure and easy to use.Texthelp believes in a world where difference, disability or language are no longer barriers. It is focused on helping all people learn, understand and communicate through the use of digital inclusion and accessibility tools.Having started his career as a software developer, Ryan is passionate about all aspects of technology and the innovations that can be created with it. He carries this enthusiasm across Texthelp’s suite of products and hopes to help even more people around the globe to understand and be understood.Believing it’s important to have purpose and give back, Ryan regards himself as incredibly fortunate to work in a sector that has such a positive impact on society, while using technologies that are so compelling to work with. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Neil has been recognised as one of Britain’s most accomplished entrepreneurs. Alongside his business successes he is well known on the international disability stage, himself being blind.​​GoodMaps revolutionary indoor navigation solution transforms the built environment into an inclusive space for everyone. Making a wide variety of locations; office, transport hub, educational setting, hospital, shopping mall; along with countless other examples, entirely accessible. Delivering upon the Access For All ethos celebrated in Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 With more than a decade of experience developing and demonstrating accessible technology in mobile, web and artificial intelligence, Heather Dowdy is passionate about connecting the dots across disability, race, and tech. She currently manages Accessibility Skilling at Microsoft, with a focus on making the future of work more inclusive. Heather is responsible for the global partnership strategy to scale skilling opportunities that lead to employment for people with disabilities.Before relocating to Redmond, she was the Senior Product Manager of Accessibility Engineering at Motorola Mobility in Chicago. Heather has served as Chair of the Accessibility Working Group (AWG) of the Mobile Manufacturers’ Forum (MMF) and Chair of the Board of Directors of the World Institute on Disability (WID).As the oldest daughter of Deaf parents, Heather is fluent in American Sign Language (ASL). She loves using the design thinking process to create solutions that empower marginalized communities and improve usability for everyone. A strong believer in empowering communities through education and benevolence, Heather is the co-founder of Microsoft Ninja Camp and a Board member of deaf Kids Code providing STEM leadership training to high school students with disabilities. Heather obtained her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A native Chicagoan, she can now be found exploring the beauty of the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three young children. Heather also enjoys reading, journaling, and interacting with different cultures while traveling abroad Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Dr. LaMondre Pough LaMondre is a passionate speaker, mentor, and a recognized leader for the community of People with Disabilities. As CEO of Billion Strong, he brings to the position his natural ability to empower audiences to embrace diversity and create environments where people genuinely belong. Diagnosed before his second birthday with spinal muscular atrophy, Pough challenges people to find purpose and ways to improve themselves in every circumstance. In addition to his role as CEO of Billion Strong, he serves as the Chief Sustainability Officer for Ruh Global IMPACT, Chairman of Arts Access South Carolina. LaMondre was recently inducted into the Susan Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame, Class of 2020, for his unwavering work supporting disability justice, racial justice, and COVID-19 related issues that impact the disabled community. Her believes that developing a positive disability identity is a key component to uniting and elevating the community. He says, “it is vital to create environments where people with disabilities are invested and supported and can learn about the experiences of others with disabilities. A community by people with disabilities for people with disabilities. Focusing on identity is critical when we can talk about our lived experiences with disabilities. We all benefit by sharing our stories and letting others know what is happening worldwide. Much work has been done, but there is still a lot more that needs to be accomplished.” Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Orla has been involved with live captioning delivery for nearly 30 years.  15 years with the BBC as part of the team managing 5%-100% subtitled content across the BBC.  Orla was responsible for managing captioners and researchers, delivery and project management looking at the varied broadcast content on the channel: drama, game shows, political chat shows, 24-hour news, music festivals, sports coverage, children’s programmes and writing protocols, that are still in use today, for successful live captioning of each genre. Moving on from the BBC into events and direct to client delivery, Orla set up MyClearText with Elaine McCarthy to support clients and captioners to deliver high standards of live captioning and technical expertise in the delivery to ensure the best end product to end users. Working with Dan Dexter for many years to remove and overcome barriers to adding captioning  accessibility to livestreams for MyClearText, AccessLOOP was created to simplify the delivery of captioning, sign language and language caption translation. Dan is a highly experienced webcast engineer and producer who has worked for over a decade providing high quality streamed events, including product launches for OnePlus (1m+ viewers), Facebook, Asos, Atos, Body Shop, Care Quality Commission, Adobe and Harvey Nicholls plus many more. He has a particular interest in Diversity and Inclusion and has been working for a number of years to make live streaming more accessible. Dan has been working very closely with Orla and Elaine at MyClearText to work on solutions to make streaming much more accessible. This has resulted in the creation of AccessLOOP. AccessLOOP is the only tool on the market which allows the easy addition of live captioning, multi-language captions and sign language onto any streamed event. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 When Cigdem Knebel struggled to find decodable “big-kid” chapter books a young dyslexic could painlessly read, she began to write one herself for her son. Cigdem is the founder of Simple Words Books. Her mission is to help young dyslexics and early readers with fluency, comprehension, but most importantly, reading-confidence.She accomplishes this by using many carefully chosen words in her books with the skills of young dyslexics in mind. The attention is put into using many:-short and one syllable wordsshort vowels, digraphs and blends• closed syllables wordshigh frequency sight words • short sentences.   Cigdem believes that all children love to read. This is no different for children with dyslexia; they just need to find that right book for them. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 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 andSupport the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Elaine Katz oversees Kessler Foundation’s comprehensive grant making program and its communications department. During her tenure, the Foundation has awarded $49 million for national and community-based employment programs. Katz works with non-profit organizations in board development, fundraising, marketing, and business development. She serves on the boards of JESPY House, New Jersey Association of People Supporting Employment First, Essex/Newark Disabilities Issues Committee, and program committee of the Council of NJ Grantmakers. She is an appointed member of Empower NYC Advisory Board, Workforce Matters National Steering Committee, ReelAbilities NY Advisory & Council, ReelAbilities 2020 Selection Committee and the NJ Veterans and Community Collaborative Network (VCCN). Elaine served as a member of the Human and Children Services Transition Advisory Committee for Governor-elect Phil Murphy. Elaine received the Community Access Unlimited 2019 Humanitarian Award, 2016 GI Go Fund Jackson Drysdale Civilian of the Year Award and the 2015 Betty Pendler Award from Community Options, Inc. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Dr. Rachele Hendricks-Sturrup is a health scientist and Health Policy Counsel at the Future of Privacy Forum. Dr. Hendricks-Sturrup’s work involves exploring and addressing ethical, legal, and social issues and implementation barriers at the forefront of health policy and innovation. Her research centers on generating best practices for the use and processing of health and genetics data across the patient-consumer spectrum.Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

After graduating from the Vienna University of Economics, Michael Fembek (born 1961) joined GEWINN, an Austrian business magazine, serving between 2000 and 2007 as editor-in-chief.In 2009 he initiated “Sinnstifter”, a project by Austrian philanthropists, and launched the annual Austrian CSR-Guide on corporate responsibility. In 2010 he joined the Essl Foundation as Programme Manager and – until 2014 – the bauMax group as its Head of Social Affairs.Since 2011 he is the Director of the Zero Project, a project of the Essl Foundation, and organizes the annual Zero Project Conference in the UN Headquarters in Vienna.In 2014, he co-initiated the Verband für Gemeinnütziges Stiften, the Austrian philanthropic association, where he serves as Vice President. In 2015, he became the Chair of the Thematic Group on Disabilities within the European Foundation Centre (EFC), in 2016 he co-initiated the Haus der Philanthropie in Vienna, and in 2019 he co-initiated the Sinnbildungsstiftung, a foundation focusing on innovations in education, and now serves as a Board Member.Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Kate Nicholson, JD, is a health policy and civil rights attorney and a nationally-recognized expert on the Americans with Disabilities Act . She served in the U.S. Department of Justice’s civil rights division for 18 years, where she litigated and managed cases, coordinated federal disability policy, and drafted the current ADA regulations. Kate developed intractable pain after a surgical mishap left her unable to sit or stand and severely limited in walking for many years. During those years, she used opioid pain medication integrated with adjunctive therapies in order to continue to work and function. She gave the TEDx talk, What We Lose When We Undertreat Pain, and speaks widely at universities and conferences and to physicians groups. Kate has published pieces on this topic in The Washington Post, the LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald, the Hill, and STATnews, among others, and is writing a book. She has appeared on public radio, Stand Up with Pete Dominick, and The Roy Green Show, and has given interviews to Fox News, Vice, BBC, and others. She is Co-Chair of the Chronic Pain/Opioid Task Force for the National Council on Independent Living and was recently appointed to the Opioid Workgroup of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She regularly collaborates with drug policy, civil rights, disability rights and pain awareness organizations. She is also a 2019-20 Mayday Pain & Society Fellow. Kate was a Senior Fellow at Dartmouth College and is a graduate of Harvard Law School.  Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Antony has been part of the AT industry since 1999, working with manufacturers, publishers, standards organisations and service providers to deliver first class products and customer experience.In addition to being the co-founder and CEO of Aventido Limited, he has also provided volunteer support for the British Standards Institute, co-created ATEC (the Assistive Technology Exhibition and Conference), been Chair of BATA, and is the first co-Chair of the newly formed DATEurope.In 2015 Antony was elected Chair of BATA (the British Assistive Technology Association), a UK membership organisation for AT publishers and manufacturers, service providers, the Assessment community, Trainers, AT users, and Blue-Chip organisations. BATA campaigns for the rights and interests of those needing Assistive Technology, working in collaboration with Government departments such as the Cabinet Office, the Home Office, DfE and DWP.During his tenure at BATA, and recognising the changing commercial and political landscape in Europe, Antony has worked with colleagues from the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy to found DATEurope – a new European association to represent the digital assistive technology industry.Antony has presented on the advancement of assistive technology and the AT industry at events such as ATIA, BETT, ATEC, OneCPD, ATF Switzerland, and The Workplace Health and Wellbeing Show. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Nataliya is passionate about an idea of creating a partnership between AI and human intelligence, fusion of a machine and a human brain. She obtained her Ph.D in 2015 in the domain of non-invasive Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) as a part of EHCI team of Université Grenoble-Alpes, France. Most of her projects are focused around EEG-based BCIs in the context of consumer grade applications. Before joining MIT Media Lab – Fluid Interfaces group in 2017, she was a post-doc at Hybrid team (VR/AR), Inria Rennes, France. Nataliya has published and served as a program committee member in conferences and journals such as Nature Scientific Reports, CHI, ACM IDC, Ubicomp, INTERACT, TOCHI, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Plos ONE, IEEE EMBC and ACM AutomotiveUI. She gave 2 TEDx talks. Nataliya worked for the past 12 years on designing solutions to control drones, rolling robots, home appliances using brain activity. These projects were presented to general public and were tested by more than 4000 people in 2015-2019. Nataliya won multiple awards for her work, among which is L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science award she received in 2016. Nataliya was also named as one of 10 Top French Talent 2017 from MIT Innovators Under 35. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Kate is the world’s leading authority in ‘Networkology’.  The science behind the growth of workplace networks and resource groups. In April 2014 her book ‘Secrets & Big News’ was published tackling the issue of ‘disclosure’ of disability and what employers can do to help people be themselves at work.  Kate launched PurpleSpace in October 2015 as the world’s first and only professional development hub for disabled employee networks and resource groups. In 2017, Kate created #PurpleLightUp, the global movement that celebrates and draws attention to the economic contribution of the 386 million disabled employees around the world. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Matt is the founder of Kakana, a ground-breaking streaming fitness platform for people of all abilities.  Matt previously founded Fitbound and Nvision.  He is also the founder of Fitbound for All, a non-profit that’s mission is to impact the health and well-being of individuals with and without disabilities and make sure all individuals have the opportunity to be included in the health and wellness conversations. Matt is an experienced entrepreneur with a history of creating cutting-edge fitness content, having founded four companies over the past decade.Resides in Washington, DCSupport the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Married to Jennifer and father of two children Georgia & Noah, and as a family, Michael enjoys travelling, going to the theatre and cinema, as well as live music and scouting events. He first became interested passionately in health service provision when his son was diagnosed with Autism in 2009. The following year, Michael was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease the following year and quickly became involved in the sphere of rare disease as well. Living as a family with disabilities also fuelled his passion for social enterprise and he formed the first disability reviewing website in the UK – tripability.net. This allows disabled people to add access reviews of places they have been to or hotels they have stayed in and more importantly offered employment to disabled people in Northern Ireland. Being interested in policy, he became a patient member of the Royal College of GP’s and was quickly asked to join policy groups at the Department of Health and currently chair a group working with patients in the co-production of Multi-Disciplinary Teams for primary healthcare. In 2017, he was awarded an MBE for services to the disabled community in Northern Ireland and appointed chairman of the Centre for Independent Living Northern Ireland. Most recently he launched AccessoLoo, which is a mobile high dependency restroom (changing places) facility for outdoor events, which will offer inclusion, with dignity for those people with disabilities that require a toilet at outdoor festivals.Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Originally from the Los Angeles area, Joan started her career with KPMG before relocating to Paris, France where she embarked on a 25+ year international career with Disney. A seasoned commercial finance executive, with a CPA, she has held leadership roles across a wide range of businesses – from Film Distribution & Acquisitions to Consumer Products & Retail – at both the Regional and local office Market level, working in Paris, London, Amsterdam & Brussels.In 2016, inspired by her son, Joan launched “Dysnie” a Social Intrapreneur venture geared toward empowering Dyslexic children to unlock their potential through innovative & inclusive product, inspiring content and community engagement. An eye opener and total game changer, Joan is now taking the professional leap into Social Innovation. In 2020, she was awarded a Fellowship from the Aspen Institute focusing on increasing business value and making the world a better place.Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

   Simon Minty has delivered consultancy, training and public speaking in the field of diversity, specialising in disability, since early 2000s. Based in London, his work is international. He works with many clients from a small NGO to a multinational corporation. This international work has helped Simon develop a broader under-standing of different cultural approaches to disability. He also has a creative side, helping im-prove the portrayal of disabled people in media and has worked with BBC, Channel 4, Endemol Shine, All Three Media, Warner and Sky. He’s produced numerous videos and co-produced and performed in the sell out Edinburgh Fringe comedy show Ab-normally Funny People in 2005 and 2015. Abnormally Funny People performed virtually for London’s Southbank Centre in 2021 via Zoom. He co-hosts two podcasts, BBC Ouch! and The Way We Roll. His client list is substanAal and includes BBC, Barclays, BriAsh Council, Buckingham Palace, Google, Lloyds Banking and Open Society FoundaAon. In addiAon, Simon is a Non-execuAve director of Motability Opera>ons. He is on the board of The National Theatre and is a trustee of Improbable Theatre and of StopGap Dance. He is an Ambassador to the Business Disability Forum and Busi-ness Disability Interna>onal. He also helped establish the Disability Media Alli-ance Project in California. Simon has a Post Graduate diploma in Dis-ability Management at Work and a BSc (Joint Hons) in Philosophy and Sociology, both from City University in London. A keen traveller, he won the Travel X Travel Writer of the Year 1999 – Best Television Feature for his Channel 4 travel pro-gramme in China. In 2016 GQ named him as one of the 100 best connected men in the UK. He has fea-tured on the Power 100 List of disabled people for many years. He has personal experience of disability being of short stature and limited mobility. He uses a mobility scooter for distance. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Sarah Stites is the Development Officer for Caritas Aregak Foundation, an organization devoted to supporting young people with disabilities in Gyumri, Armenia. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Sarah is passionate about communication, human dignity, cultural exchange and empathy.   Their primary fundraising needs right now are for three projects, in order of highest - lowest need (in other words, we have more potential fundraising possibilities for projects 2 and 3 than we do for 1): 1. Renovation of our bakery's cellar2. Special activities and therapies for children with autism3. Rehabilitative care for wounded soldiers  They have written proposals for all three projects, but currently no special "fundraiser" sites.They have a general donation button on our website. We also have ongoing fundraisers on my DonorSee page here. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Paul Carter is a journalist who works as senior producer and technology reporter for the BBC. He was born without lower arms or legs. He has produced BBC Newsnight, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Travel Show and is a regular member of the team at BBCCLick the flagship technology show for the corporation.Click has a worldwide audience of around 80 million and is shown on BBC News and BBC Worldwide.  The show regularly covers accessibility and inclusive technology and has a yearly special on accessibility.Paul cares about technology, diversity and accessibility but is keen to point out that his role is reporting on all technology not just disability specific tech. He was involved in the BBC Leadership Development Programme 2020You can find Paul on BBC iPlayer or on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/paulcarterTVSupport the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Andy Imparato began work in February as the Executive Director of Disability Rights California (DRC) after a high impact career in Washington, DC in disability advocacy and policy. DRC is the federally funded legal services agency that serves Californians with all disabilities across the age spectrum.  While in DC, Imparato served as the Disability Policy Director for Chairman Tom Harkin on the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and as President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, among other roles.  Since joining DRC, Imparato has worked in coalition to protect vital programs and services for people with disabilities and older adults and to prevent discrimination on the basis of disability and age as the State develops crisis care guidelines for rationing ventilators and other limited resources in response to the pandemic.  He grew up in Southern California and is a graduate of Stanford Law School.  His perspective is informed by his lived experience with bipolar disorder. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Tara Moss is a Canadian-Australian author of 13 books of fiction and non-fiction, a documentary maker, and an outspoken advocate for human rights and the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. She is an Edna Ryan Award winner and UNICEF Australia’s National Ambassador for Child Survival, and has visited hospitals, maternity wards, refuges and schools as well as Syrian refugee camps in her UNICEF role. In 2014 she was recognised for Outstanding Advocacy for her blog Manus Island: An insider’s report, which helped to break information to the public about the alleged murder of Reza Barati inside the Manus Island Immigration Detention Centre. As a disabled woman and ambulatory wheelchair user diagnosed with CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) after a hip injury in 2016, Tara has used her public profile to help de-stigmatize disability, chronic illness and chronic pain. In 2020 she accepted the honorary role of Pain Champion with Pain Australia. In the media and through her page ‘Tara and Wolfie’ (named for one of her first mobility aids), she brings advocacy and visibility to issues of disability and chronic illness, and the need to normalize mobility aids. Her latest book is the internationally best-selling novel The War Widow, featuring feminist 1940s PI Billie Walker and her disabled war vet assistant, Sam Baker. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

The James Emmett brand is one of the most recognizable in the field of disability inclusion. James has worked on many of the most visible disability inclusion initiatives with companies like Walgreens, Best Buy, Office Depot/Max, PepsiCo, and Mercy Health. James is the Founder of James Emmett & Company (www.jamesemmettandcompany.com) that provides disability inclusion services to major companies.  He helped plan & execute initiatives that have resulted in over 80,000 jobs for people with disabilities and numerous awards for innovation related to company-owned disability inclusion. James’ career vision is to forever change the business and disability communities by helping hundreds of companies create disability inclusion brands. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

On this episode of axschat, Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh and Neil Milliken do a short review of 2020 and changes occurred in relation to accessibility and future of workSupport the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of nine, Abi has used computers and technology to help her succeed throughout her education and in employment. Driven by her own experiences Abi has spent the past 2 decades working to make technology accessible and inclusive for everyone including leading R&D projects into assistive technology innovation and supporting organisations in the public, private and education sector to meet digital accessibility standards and embed inclusive design. She also collaborates with researchers and policymakers to identify best practices for developing assistive technology, improve accessibility standards and regulations.Abigail JamesAbi recently joined the accessibility the Digital Accessibility team at Barclays, responsible for ensuring that the bank’s digital services work for everyone, including disabled customers or colleagues.Barclays has been actively pursuing an accessibility programme for several years and has a public ambition to become the most accessible FTSE company, sharing what works with other businesses. They’re focused on leveraging inclusive technology that enables and empowers everyone to work, bank and reach their full potential. Barclays has seen that their investment in accessible services and support for disabled and older customers has helped hugely during the COVID crisis as customers increasingly do their banking digitally and staff work from home. Abi will be discussing some of the additional support Barclays has added in response to COVID, include proactively contacting potentially vulnerable customers and prioritising them in telephone banking queues or offering cash delivery services and volunteer shopping devices to help customers who are shielding at home pay carers. She will also be reflecting back on how this exceptional year has affected digital channels which has seen millions more customers using more features on their online banking website and mobile banking app and focussed the need for digital banking to be accessible for all.  Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

"I’m Bianca Prins, Global Head of Accessibility at ING Bank. I’m working on disability inclusion and an accessible ING for all. Ever since 2010 I’ve been working as an activist for disability rights in The Netherlands. My role was political advice impacting new disability legislation. In 2015 the UN CRPD was signed by The Netherlands, that year I started my journey at ING. I started with the disability hiring program ‘Unknown Talent’ as Environment and Social Risk Advisor within Global Risk. My European activities in Brussels, in my advocacy role, showed me the opportunities for disability Inclusion. When I got the question to write a plan for accessibility I jumped on, and before I knew I was pitching for our CIO and found my new role within ING. My world of disability inclusion really opened when I visited my first M-Enabling Conference in Washington. The possibilities I had been reading about became reality, meeting other accessibility leads in global businesses. It was also the moment to realize we’ve got a long road ahead. Because the European market differs quite hugely from the US market when we talk about accessibility and disability inclusion. Ever since, I’ve been working on the masterplan to roll out one global accessibility strategy for ING customer and employees. Making sure we include the disability community in our business and employment, both from a market perspective as well as hiring the best avaible talents.Key advice: Just start with projects as you go, as we did with the accessible card in 2017. After a small test with ING customers we got advice improving our card, and this led ING Netherlands to launch the first accessible ING debit Card in April 2020.Key lesson: accessibility is not just HR; accessibility belongs all over the place!My biggest question: the effect Corona brings to accelerate accessibility and disability inclusion, and risks when business do not include disability inclusion?"Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Aya Abdullah Jibreal – Inclusion and Accessibility ConsultantAn Inclusive Design and Accessibility Consultant/Trainer with 7 years of experience in inclusion and accessibility.Worked with many entities around Saudi Arabia, exploring successful accessibility adoption for different business environments.Saudi Arabia representative at G3ict/Smart Cities for All global initiatives.First CPACC certified in Saudi Arabia.Certified in Disability Case Management.IAAP Strategic Leader in Accessibility (SLiA) initiative committee member. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Tony Ellis: I am a semi-retired award winning professional Inventor and have licensed 65 products/inventions Worldwide some selling in multi-millions across the Globe like Cube World that I licensed to Mattel.  Tony Ellis My work is currently in 2 care sectors, Assistive Technology and Assistive Care Robotics (“Tech for Good innovation”) devices for the elderly/disabled – I want to make a big difference in these areas and further use technology to enrich and improve the lives of people (that would benefit from the tech) around the World. I have always wanted to give something back to Society so decided to dedicate my skills to develop radically new (low cost) Assistive Technology. I have now developed 9 unique innovational  AT devices. As an example of my AT work, my (low cost) MBT – Turning breath alone into speech/control devices/typing text (emails etc) and enabling gaming also Non-Verbal control of Alexa, Google Home etc. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Matt May is Adobe’s head of inclusive design. His work includes integrating more equitable design practices across every aspect of the Adobe user experience, training and mentoring the Adobe Design team, and advocating principles of accessibility and inclusive design to the public at large. He lives in Seattle.Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Mei leads the Access and Inclusive Environments team in Arup, specializing in accessibility and inclusion within the built environment. Mei assesses the compatibility of the design in relation to relevant design guidance, regulations and best practice. This includes looking at trends and changing demographics, to consider the impact of current design on future populations, accommodating good design with regard to the lifespan of the building and futureproofing for changes in need.Mei-Yee Man OramMei has been involved in work both nationally and internationally, and has also been involved in the writing of standards and policies, actively shaping the world of accessibility. Mei is passionate about inclusion in design, and the implications that this has on health and wellbeing, sense of belonging, and opportunity. She is currently working with the International WELL Building Institute as an advisor on their Community feature, challenging the way that buildings are designed to optimize use for all regardless of personal circumstances or identity.  Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Megan Lawrence is the Sr. Accessibility Technical Evangelist at Microsoft with 15 years of experience working with the disability community. Dr. Lawrence builds trusted relationships with customers, NGOs, and Assistive Technology partners to further Microsoft’s mission of empowering every person and organization to achieve more through the lens of inclusion. Megan works deeply with customers and the disability community to keep them up-to-date on the latest at Microsoft Accessibility including how we can partner with organizations to help build cultures of digital inclusion and how accessibility is the path to innovation. Megan Lawrence Dr. Lawrence is the co-chair of the People with Mental Health Conditions discussion group within the Disability employee resource group at Microsoft. She leads the Accessibility User Research Collective (AURC), a partnership with the Shepherd Center, as a way to improve the accessibility of Microsoft products through feedback from people with disabilities. This project engaging the disability community to helps shape the future technology at Microsoft.Outside of Microsoft, Megan is a board member of the TechSAge Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center focused on developing technology to support people aging-in-place for people living with long term disabilities, and the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment of People who are Blind or Have Low Vision. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Rene Perkins is a serial entrepreneur dedicated to using technology for the good of society and the environment.She holds an M.Sc. in Finance and investment, and she is a qualified chartered accountant with E&Y and has 8 years’ investment banking experience with HSBC.Since 2013, she established two start-ups around sustainable transportation solutions in smart cities.She is now focusing on CityMaaS, using innovative technology to achieve digital inclusion and inclusive travel for people with disabilities and their friends and families.She has been invited to speak in a number of big conferences across the globe.In her spare time, she has numerous volunteering, mentoring and advisory positions across the charity and the start-up world.She enjoys painting, travelling and is a keen foodie especially when it comes to seafood.Most importantly she is a mum of two young girls who keep her grounded!Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Darryl is an Assistive Technology Innovation Program Manager in the Accessibility Office at Intel.​He works at the intersection of technology and human experience helping discover new ways for people with disabilities to work, interact, and thrive.​Darryl’s mission is to connect his passion for AT innovation with Intel’s product development pipeline to make accessible computing experiences available to everyone, regardless of ability.​  Darryl Adams Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Candi Castleberry Singleton is the Vice President of Diversity Partnership Strategy & Engagement at Twitter. She is also the founder of the award-winning Dignity & Respect Campaign, which has helped organizations create more inclusive work environments. As an experienced diversity and inclusion leader, she created The Bolt-On to Built-In Model™ featured in her chapter of Crossing the Divide: Intergroup Leadership in a World of Difference. She has developed successful strategies and initiatives in technology, telecommunications, and healthcare including Xerox, Sun Microsystems, Motorola, and UPMC. Candi has served as adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University. She received an MBA from Pepperdine, a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley, and completed the Stanford Executive Human Resources program.Candi CastleberryAndrew is a software engineer at Twitter, in London. He made his first website over 20 years ago, and hasn’t looked back since. Over the course of his career, he has worked in desktop software, publishing, e-commerce, social media, and gaming. He has a passion for building an inclusive and accessible web, and leading with empathy.When not talking about accessibility and software, you can find Andrew riding his bike, or climbing trees with his family. He’s a big kid at heartAndrew Hayward Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Hosted by Antonio Santos, Debra Ruh and Neil Milliken. Andy Black has over 30 years’ experience in tech for learning and inclusion. Renowned in the Noughties for his forty gadgets in forty minutes live demonstration and being digitally resident in most things he should be and some he thinks he now possibly should not have been. He floated the idea of the mobile device (phone) as Lord of the ring’s device or as a tech swiss army knife in the 90’s. He worked as a part of a team horizon scanning emerging technologies in the commercial space with potential uses in education.Andy as a dyslexic dyspraxia diagnosed in his 50’s but writ large through his whole life experience. Passionate about tech for inclusion be that SMS for deaf learners in further education or specialist stem sign language on 1st gen apple iPod touches back in the early 2000’s.Andy discovered twitter in early 2008 he believes his live tweeting at events may have got Neil Milliken of #AXSCHAT started on his twitter journey.He now heads a small but incredibly talented team championing business engagement and accessibility for internal staff in a Government department in the UK.Andy in 2019 co-founded a Cross Government Group Office 365 Accessibility Group looking at leverage best Accessibility features in O365.Outside of work he is a non-exec director of a community farm, scout leader passionate is cyclist walker climber lover of the outdoors has two fantastic kids and long suffering talented wife.He used to shy away from describing himself as a polymath but to be honest I am into a lot of stuff. Maybe too many things for my own good.Passionate believer in us all striving to be Accessible by Default and that the network human or electronic is the answer to anything, now what is the question.A colleague once described Andy: “to describe Andy as an out of the box thinker misses the point Andy doesn’t understand what a box is. He will make linkage find opportunities and give that commitment to make a difference to learners.  Frankly at times he is exhausting to work with“He has in the past been tempted to write an “e- book “entitled “what do when the kit doesn’t work apart from tell jokes (my jokes are terrible by the way). Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

 Robert Scoble works with companies that are implementing Spatial Computing technologies, though he is taking time off after finishing “The Infinite Retina” to spend time with his young kids. He is a futurist and technology strategist and the author of three books about technology trends, being the first to report on technologies from autonomous vehicles to Siri. Previous positions include being a strategist at Microsoft, a futurist at Rackspace, Chief Strategy Officer at Infinite Retina, and the producer and host of a video show about technology at Fast Company. Support the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz

Tim Sutton is a 31 year veteran Law Enforcement Officer.  After spending 4 years as a patrolman for the Chesterfield County Police Department VA, he was hired by a Sheriff’s Office in the Richmond Metro area of Virginia.  Tim then worked as a patrol deputy for two years and then spent four years as a Street Crimes Investigator.  He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1999 and has been a patrol Sergeant ever since.  In 2003, he implemented his agencies Project Lifesaver Program to address the issue of individuals wandering or eloping due to cognitive impairment.  He continues to run the program.  He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from James Madison University. While overseeing his department’s Project Lifesaver Program, he has interacted extensively with hundreds of families dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia or Autism/Intellectual Disabilities.In 2007, Tim was asked to travel throughout Virginia for the Department of Criminal Justice Services as an instructor for the “Alzheimer’s for First Responders” training.  He assisted with the training the training until 2011.  In 2011 he was approached by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to assist in teaching the “Alzheimer’s Initiative” throughout the country.   As the “Alzheimer’s Initiative ended in 2017, he has continued to travel the United States training public safety officers and conducting Train the Trainer courses on Alzheimer’s Disease.  He has partnered with Next Generation Training in co-teaching many of these coursesIn 2009, Tim was asked to join the Public Safety Workgroup of Virginia to help develop an Autism Training curriculum for Public Safety in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  In the fall of 2010, the pilot class was presented at the Project Lifesaver International Conference in Virginia Beach.  He became  a member of a team traveling across Virginia conducting the Critical Autism Training (CAT 1).  The team was featured in the Washington Post during the spring of 2011 when they trained members of the Fairfax Police Department.  As the CAT 1 training ended in 2016, Tim has continued to travel throughout Virginia and different areas of the country conducting Autism/Intellectual Disability Training.In 2011, Tim’s Law Enforcement agency was involved in one of the largest search and rescue missions in Virginia history.  A nine year non-speaking boy with Autism had eloped in a very rural area of the county.  For six days a 24 hour search was conducted with the child subsequently being found alive on that sixth day.  As the search progressed, there was a pouring out of citizens wanting to help.  Tim was assigned to conduct 20 minute classes on Autism for all the citizens who showed up to help with the search.  Over the course of 4 days, Tim trained over 6,000 citizens on the unique characteristics of Autism. Tim continues to work in law enforcement as a patrol supervisor and formed A Better Understanding LLC (www.a-betterunderstanding.com) in 2011 to raise awareness in the area of SpecialSupport the showFollow axschat on social mediaTwitter:https://twitter.com/axschathttps://twitter.com/AkwyZhttps://twitter.com/neilmillikenhttps://twitter.com/debraruhLinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/Vimeohttps://vimeo.com/akwyz