Tuesday – Agenda

Parallel Sessions

Inclusive Digital Health

Digital Health services are multiplying, driven by telehealth and telemedicine, remote monitoring, wearable technology, and mobile health. Other aspects of the digital health sector include electronic health records and electronic medical records. This session will review the evolution and implementation of latest accessibility solutions and standards in the digital health sector.

Session Chair: Catherine Pugh, Director, Digital Health, Consumer Technology Association, producer of CES®
Speakers:

• Stephen Framil, Corporate Global Head of Accessibility, Merck & Co. Inc.
• Kai Wong, Principal, Solutions Delivery - Accessibility, Teladoc Health, Inc.
• Monica Goel, Executive Director, Digital Accessibility, CVS Health Digital 
• Mick Keane, Principal Digital Accessibility Engineer, Accessibility Center of Excellence, Consumer Office – Digital Office, Optum (remote speaker)

Parallel Sessions

Fireside Chat

With Sarah Herrlinger, Senior Director, Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives, Apple Inc.
Moderated by Gregg Vanderheiden, Ph.D., Professor and Founder/Director Emeritus- Trace R&D Center, College of Information Studies (UMD iSchool), University of Maryland

Parallel Sessions

AI for Wearables

This session will examine how smart wearable devices available over the counter, such as watches, hearing aids, glasses, belts or headbands, fitness trackers, and even smart clothing, can customize users’ experiences, provide personalized support to persons with disabilities, and tailor assistance for greater independence.  A discussion of the convergence of AI enabled apps for mobile and wearable devices will ensue. 

Session Chair: Susan Mazrui, Director, Global Public Policy, AT&T
Speakers:

• Agustya Mehta, Director of Concept Engineering, Meta
• Brian Scarpelli, Senior Global Policy Counsel, ACT-The App Association
• Chuck Eger, Senior Director, North America, Mobile & Wireless Forum (MWF)
• Julie Eshleman, Ph.D., Assistive Technology Researcher, Leonard Cheshire, Assistive Technology 

Parallel Sessions

Optimal Methods for Enterprises to Ensure Inclusive Communications (Thought-Leadership Session)

Presented by Crawford Technologies

In a rapidly evolving world where diversity is celebrated, enterprises face a critical imperative: ensuring that their communications are accessible to all. Whether you represent a Fortune 100 company, a government agency, or a small business, the ability to reach every audience member, regardless of ability, is non-negotiable. During this session, we'll embark on a journey through various communication modalities, unveiling the most effective practices to ensure universal accessibility. From digital platforms to traditional print media, we'll discuss pragmatic solutions for every budget and organizational scale.

Join us for a fast-moving experience that will:

• Demystify document accessibility.
• Explore diverse inclusive and accessible formats.
• Help you bridge the language gap.
• Explore tools sets for various environments

Presenter: Ligia Mora, Senior Product Manager, Crawford Technologies

Parallel Sessions

Annual Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment Reports to Congress – Expanding Agency Digital Accessibility Monitoring and Reporting (U.S. Government Session)

In 2023 Congress created a new governmentwide Section 508 Assessment and reporting process as part of the 2023 Appropriations Act (see 29 USC 794d-1 Pub. L. No: 117-328 (2023). This new Report to Congress, further reiterated in the OMB M-24-08 Strengthening Digital Accessibility and the Management of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (whitehouse.gov), created a significantly new and expanded Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment process for agencies beginning in FY23. GSA has completed one round of reporting, and is working on the next- How is this going?

Session Chair: Alison Sutton Levy, Director, Office of Technical and Information Services, U.S. Access Board
Speakers:

• Chet J. Frith, Director, Section 508 Compliance, Compliance, Risk, and Remediation (CRR), Office of Information and Technology (OIT), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Pierce Crowell, Section 508 Program Manager, U.S. Social Security Administration
• Cassie Winters, Digital Accessibility Policy Lead, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer
• Kristen Smith-O’Connor, Senior ICT Accessibility Specialist, Government-wide IT Accessibility Program, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)

Parallel Sessions

A11y Chats

Livestreamed short interviews from the "M-Enabling Global Studio" (limited seating).

Hiring Accessibility Professionals - The Organizational Perspective

• 1:30 – 1:45 | Who to Hire – Internal/External/ Both?
  • Interviewer: Sharron Rush, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Knowbility 
  • Guest speaker: Derek Featherstone. VP, Accessibility and Inclusive Design, Salesforce
• 1:50 – 2:05 | Building a Diverse Team
  • Interviewer: Sharron Rush, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Knowbility 
  • Guest speaker: Nandita Gupta, CPACC, Senior Product Manager, Accessibility, Cisco
• 2:10 – 2:25 | Distributing Responsibilities
  • Interviewer: Sharron Rush, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Knowbility
  • Guest speaker: Thomas Wlodkowski, Vice President, Accessibility, Comcast

Onsite & Virtual Participation Guidelines and Overall Programming Schedule

Parallel Sessions

Inclusive Design for Consumer Products

The recent flurry of accessibility initiatives among leading consumer product companies is a milestone of global significance. This session will explore the objectives and inclusive design approaches these vendors adopt.

Session Chair: Rachel Sanford Nemeth, Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs, Consumer Technology Association, producer of CES®
Speakers:

• Rob Moser, Chief Design Officer, Whirlpool
• Alwar Pillai, CEO, Fable
• Kyle Buzzard, Co-Founder, Head of Product, Glidance
• Shadi Abou-Zahra, Principal Accessibility Standards and Policy Manager, Amazon's Devices and Services

Parallel Sessions

AI-based Audio-Description, Image, and Video Accessibility

A review of state-of-the-art AI-enabled technologies that allow scaling up video accessibility, including users’ perspectives.

Session Chair: Joel Snyder, Ph.D., President, Audio Description Associates, LLC
Speakers:

• Josh Miller, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, 3Play Media
• Maria-Victoria Díaz, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Dicapta
• Heather York, VP Marketing and Government Affairs, VITAC

Parallel Sessions

New Frontiers for Inclusive Transportation Technologies

Several areas of technology innovation are converging that can vastly improve the accessibility of transportation for persons with disabilities such as accessible digital mapping, spectrum optimization, AI applications and new features of autonomous vehicles. This session will review how those innovations enable new solutions, which stakeholders can support them and discuss ways to promote their adoption.

Session Chair: Zachary Bastian, Senior Manager, Strategic Alliances, Verizon
Speakers:

• Tom Pey, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Waymap
• Brandon Biggs, CEO and Co-Founder, XR Navigation
• Alan Hejl, CPACC, Founder and Lead Consultant, Spark Access
• Briana Gilmore, Head of Public Policy, Accessibility and Marginalized Communities, Uber

Parallel Sessions

What’s New in Accessibility at Google (Thought-Leadership Session)

Presented by Google

This session will provide a high-level overview of the latest accessibility features and initiatives from Google. This will include updates on products and services such as Android, Chrome, and Chromebook.

Presenter: Eric Hind, Accessibility @ Google Workspace

Parallel Sessions

Standardizing the Federal Accessibility Conformance Reporting Process (U.S. Government Session)

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the White House released "M-24-08 Strengthening Digital Accessibility and the Management of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act" (whitehouse.gov). It directs: Within one year, GSA, in consultation with the U.S. Access Board, will explore options for establishing a standardized accessibility conformance reporting process for government procurement of ICT, which should include a central repository of vendor accessibility conformance reports. In this session GSA, U.S. Access Board, and HHS Accessibility Program Officials will detail the process to date on this challenge.

Session Chair: Andrew Nielson, Director, Government-wide IT Accessibility Program, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
Speakers:

• Kathy Eng, Senior ICT Accessibility Specialist, U.S. Access Board
• Kate Sweeney, Digital Accessibility Program Director, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Parallel Sessions

A11y Chats

Livestreamed short interviews from the "M-Enabling Global Studio" (limited seating).

Global Accessibility Impact

• 2:30 – 2:45 | AccessibleEU (European Accessibility Centre)
  • Interviewer: Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., President, G3ict/IAAP
  • Guest speaker: Klaus Hoeckner, Managing Director, Austrian Association for the Blind and Low Vision
• 2:50 – 3:05 | Zero Project
  • Interviewer: Klaus Hoeckner, Managing Director, Austrian Association for the Blind and Low Vision (Zero Project Ambassador)
  • Guest speaker: David Banes, Director, DB Access and Inclusion Services (Zero Project Ambassador)
• 3:10 – 3:25 | Priorities of the U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights Team
  • Interviewer: Isabel Hodge, Executive Director, U.S. International Council on Disabilities (USICD)
  • Guest speaker: Suzy Rosen Singleton, Senior Advisor to Special Advisor on International Disability Rights (Detailee), U.S. Department of State

Onsite & Virtual Participation Guidelines and Overall Programming Schedule

Parallel Sessions

AI Accessibility Tools for Developers

This session will offer perspectives from accessibility professionals on AI tools for developers, how they may be best implemented, and what to expect from proprietary and open-source solutions.

Session Chair: Shilpi Kapoor, Founder and CEO, BarrierBreak
Speakers:

• Dylan Barrell, CTO, Deque Systems
• Nandita Gupta, CPACC, Senior Product Manager, Accessibility, Cisco
• Lisette Arocha, CPWA, Accessibility and Inclusive Design Senior Manager, PwC
• Mousumi Kapoor, CEO and Head of Technology, Continual Engine

Parallel Sessions

AI for Assistive Technology

A review and discussion between end users and technology providers of how AI-enabled assistive technologies can better serve persons with disabilities by enabling personalized features and services. 

Session Chair: David Banes, Director, DB Access & Inclusion; DATEurope Board Director
Speakers:

• Ryan Jones, Vice President for Software and Product Management, Vispero
• Sandy Hanebrink, Executive Director, Touch the Future, Inc.
• Craig Radford, CEO and Co-Founder, 360 Empower/360 Direct Video
• Karthik Mahadeven, Co-Founder and CEO, Envision

Parallel Sessions

Tech for Aging

Over the past few years, the adoption of technology by older persons has progressed exponentially, mainly due to the success of mobile devices. The session will explore opportunities and solutions for older adults and their intersectionality with digital accessibility.

Session Chair: Frances West, Founder, FrancesWestCo.
Speakers:

• H.E. Ambassador Luis Gallegos, President, GIA Foundation; President of the Board of UNITAR; Honorary Chair of the Board of G3ict
• Brianna Burrows, Digital Accessibility Manager, T-Mobile
• Charlotte S. Yeh, MD FACEP, Innovative & Passionate Ambassador for Healthy Aging, Yeh Innovation, LLC, former Chief Medical Officer, AARP Services, Inc.
• Kevin H. Yoo, CEO and Co-Founder, Haptic

Parallel Sessions

Bridging the Gap: Explaining Digital Accessibility to Stakeholders (Thought-Leadership Session)

Presented by HCLTech

In this session you will learn how to help people put their mindset into the world inhabited by persons with disabilities, give them answers to the why questions, educate them on the internal and external facing business reasons for digital accessibility, show them how to integrate digital accessibility into products from design through release and beyond, and finally, explain the quantifiable benefits of implementing digital accessibility. You will come out of this session with a road map to guide you in creating a digital accessibility story that makes sense for business stakeholders.

Presenter: Glenn Barfield, Accessibility as a Service (AcaaS) Program Manager, HCLTech

Parallel Sessions

Strategies for Inclusive Digital Workplaces

A review and discussion of inclusive AI tools for HR management and hiring by leading organizations.

Session Chair: Jacque Madison, Director of Product Accessibility - Digital Experience, Accenture
Speakers:

• Stephanie Warlick, SPHR, CPACC, PMP, Founder and CEO, 5FT View
• Manish Agrawal, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft & Co-Founder, iAccessible
• Klaus Hoeckner, Managing Director, Austrian Association for the Blind and Low Vision
• Greg Pollock, VP, Business Development, Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD)

Parallel Sessions

A11y Chats

Livestreamed short interviews from the "M-Enabling Global Studio" (limited seating).

AI Innovation

• 4:20– 4:35 | AI for Sign and Spoken Language
  • Fireside Chat Guest speakers: AnnMarie Killian, CEO, TDIforAccess, Inc. & Larry Goldberg, Accessible Media and Technology Consultant
• 4:40 – 4:55 | Artificial Intelligence: Technology Solutions for People with Disabilities
  • Interviewer: Kate Kalcevich, Head of Accessibility Innovation, Fable
  • Guest speaker: JoAnna Hansen, Head of Accessibility for Worldwide Stores, Amazon

Onsite & Virtual Participation Guidelines and Overall Programming Schedule