You don't mess with Lainey Feingold. That's probably why, after a 25 year career in accessibility and 75 successful, precedent-setting agreements with behemoth companies, Lainey has only had to sue someone once. (Can you guess who??). Based out of a small spare bedroom law practice in Berkeley, CA, Lainey has brought the corporate world to the table, over and over, to commit to accessibility in a process she calls the "structured negotiation." Rather than the shark stereotype that most lawyers have to deal with and sometimes even ascribe to, Lainey prefers to think of herself using another metaphor: a dolphin. Have your doubts? It worked for Bank of America, every team in Major League Baseball, and many, many more. In this episode Lainey talks about her career as a non-litigious attorney, her successes in public speaking, and what's really up with the CSUN AT conference.
Sheri Byrne-Haber self-identifies as a "no excuses type of gal." The head of accessibility at VMware, public speaker and accessibility expert with degrees in law, business and computer science, Sheri is most well known for her outspoken accessibility writing on her personal blog. Publishing at a steady clip and always raising the bar to outdo her own personal best, Sheri churns out accessibility content covering principles, best practices and simple, actionable tips for those working the field. In this episode, Sheri talks about her blog, her current role at the biggest tech company most people have never heard of, and previous work overseeing accessibility for McDonald's and others. Also discussed: miniature horses, peacocks, duck eggs, and self-driving wheelchairs.
When Whitney Quesenbery talks about elections, she uses phrases like "design tragedy" and "unintended consequences." Though the number of disabled voters has gone up over the last few decades, the numbers are still scary – and the gap between disabled and non-disabled voters still means millions of uncast votes. A usability and UX leader known for her book "A Web For Everyone," Quesenbery co-founded the Center for Civic Design to apply UX best practices to promote civic participation. Designing good products by focusing on real human personas and rigorous usability testing in the field, Quesenbery is determined to ensure that not only will voters get a chance to vote but to reduce the chances that a tiny design flaw will cause voters to accidentally vote for the wrong presidential candidate.
PART TWO: Mike Shebanek made Apple products work for everyone. He wasn't always an accessibility maven, though. Mike worked his way up to become the product manager for some of Apple's most famous and influential products – from the original iMac to the first-ever iPad. And when he found himself pushing for the failing consumer electronics company to develop and deploy a free, built-in screen reader for what was then considered a niche community of blind students, many might have called him crazy. What followed was not only Apple's rise as both a mainstream company and an accessibility leader, but a ripple effect which changed the whole industry and motivated our world's largest companies to show that they, too, could develop technology that works for everyone. Part 1 includes discussion of Mike's early days at Apple, and the events leading up to the creation of VoiceOver. Part 2 includes discussion of Apple from 2004-2013 and Mike's ensuing work at Yahoo/Verizon, where he created a model for accessibility departments that has been recreated all over Silicon Valley.
PART ONE: Mike Shebanek made Apple products work for everyone. He wasn't always an accessibility maven, though. Mike worked his way up to become the product manager for some of Apple's most famous and influential products – from the original iMac to the first-ever iPad. And when he found himself pushing for the failing consumer electronics company to develop and deploy a free, built-in screen reader for what was then considered a niche community of blind students, many might have called him crazy. What followed was not only Apple's rise as both a mainstream company and an accessibility leader, but a ripple effect which changed the whole industry and motivated our world's largest companies to show that they, too, could develop technology that works for everyone. Part 1 includes discussion of Mike's early days at Apple, and the events leading up to the creation of VoiceOver. Part 2 includes discussion of Apple from 2004-2013 and Mike's ensuing work at Yahoo/Verizon, where he created a model for accessibility departments that has been recreated all over Silicon Valley.
Accessibility is, ironically, not the most "accessible" concept. An intricate mix of best practices, regulations and creative approaches, accessibility really just means making things work for everybody. On this new podcast from Be My Eyes, Will Butler and Cordelia McGee-Tubb interview some of the world's leading experts on accessibility to talk about how the field has evolved, and how esoteric things like WCAG, universal design and usability tests affect the lives of billions of people in big ways.
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