For more information:
Program Advisory Committee Coordination:
- Francesca Cesa Bianchi
VP, Institutional Relations & Advocacy, G3ict
fcesabianchi@g3ict.org
Monday – Agenda
October 24, 2022
7:30am – 9:00am
Registration, Coffee
9:00am – 10:30am
Plenary Session
- GRAND BALLROOM
Welcome and Introductory Remarks - Opening Keynote: John D. Kemp, Esq., President & CEO, Lakeshore Foundation; Author of Disability Friendly: How to Move from Clueless to Inclusive; and AstroAccess Ambassador in Zero-Gravity Flight (December 2022)
- Round Table: Harvesting Digital Transformations for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The opening plenary round table of the M-Enabling Summit will examine the increasingly complex interactions between digital transformation and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategies and review how some of the largest organizations in the world manage those interactions and leverage technology and digital accessibility to meet their DEI objectives.
Moderator: Frances West, Founder, FrancesWestCo, G3ict Strategy and Development Committee Chair; Author of Authentic Inclusion™: Drives Disruptive Innovation
Speakers:- Anil Lewis, Executive Director, Jernigan Institute, National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
- Bianca Prins, Global Head of Accessibility, ING Global Business Accessibility
- Gautam Rao, Global Head of Accessibility, Ernst & Young
- Howard A. Rosenblum, CEO, National Association of the Deaf (NAD)
10:30am – 11:00am
Exhibitors Showcase Opening & Networking Break
Presented by 
11:00am – 12:00pm
Parallel Sessions
- GRAND BALLROOM
Panel Discussion: Innovation Drivers: The Next Disrupters
Over the past few years, innovations in user interfaces have benefitted from the considerable scale of the mobile and consumer electronics markets. This session will examine how consumer products have brought affordable accessibility features to everyone and which technology breakthroughs may be anticipated to enable new accessibility solutions and benefit from upcoming high-growth areas such as gaming or metaverse.
Session Chair: Steven Hummel, Manager, Market Research, CTA
Panelists:- Andreas Forsland, Founder, CEO, Chief Product Officer, Cognixion
- Christine Hempill, Managing Director, Open Inclusion
- Thadeu Luz, Founder, Chief AI, Hand Talk
- Juliana Tarpey, Product Lead, Alexa Accessibility, Amazon
- STUDIO B
Innovation Sprint Working Groups with Mad*Pow
Facilitators: Nedret Sahin, Fred Antoine (Mad*Pow): Nicholas Gennaro Sciasci (G3ict)
Focus Areas:- Developing Accessibility Testing for Cognitive Disabilities
- Team Leader: David Fazio, President, Helix Opportunity
- Team Leader: David Fazio, President, Helix Opportunity
- Integrating Scalable User Feedback from People with Disabilities
- Team Leader: Michele Landis, SVP, Digital Sales, Allyant
- Team Leader: Michele Landis, SVP, Digital Sales, Allyant
- Managing AI in the Organization for Equitable and Nondiscriminatory Outcomes
- Team Leader: Susan Mazrui, Director, Global Public Policy, AT&T
- Team Leader: Susan Mazrui, Director, Global Public Policy, AT&T
- Developing Accessibility Testing for Cognitive Disabilities
- STUDIO D
Sponsored Session:
Interweaving Automation Solutions to Support Mixed Media Accessibility on Multiple Platforms
Accessibility for digital platforms goes beyond HTML and PDF document remediation. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) platforms for publishers and education providers require agility in processing text documents, image content, mathematics content, audio, and video. Solution paths must be high capacity, high-throughput, and high quality. This session will focus on opportunities for parallel processing with diverse tools in an interwoven workflow for accessible content delivery. Production and quality assurance software balancing human verification is part of the solution.
Presenter: Greg Suprock, Head of Solutions Architecture, Apex CoVantage - STUDIO E - "GLOBAL STUDIO"
Fireside Chat: Users as Digital Creators: Perspectives on Accessibility and Self-Expression
Digital inclusion is often perceived as ensuring that Persons with Disabilities can access and interact with digital products, content, and services equally with others. This panel will focus on digital inclusion as an enabler for the self-expression of Persons with Disabilities as digital creators.
With Megan Lawrence, Ph.D., Global Head of Accessibility, Nike, and Daniella Decker, Director, Disability & Access Consulting, C Talent, Whalar
12:00pm – 1:30pm
Networking Lunch
1:30pm – 2:30pm
Parallel Sessions
- GRAND BALLROOM
Panel Discussion: Accessibility Policies & Practices for Inclusive Enterprise Metaverses
As immersive or extended reality (XR) technologies become more mature, enterprises have begun to implement enterprise metaverses to address key challenges like adapting to hybrid work, training and upskilling distributed employees, and continuing operations safely in a post-pandemic world. In this session, we will share concrete examples of how enterprises can consider disability inclusion and consider accessibility of XR technologies they implement. This includes leveraging disability employee resource groups, DEI and accessibility programs, and workplace accommodations programs.
Session Chair: Bill Curtis-Davidson, Co-Director, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)
Panelists:- Monica Desai, Vice President and Global Head, Connectivity & Access Policy, Meta
- Jacque Madison, Director of Product Accessibility, Accenture
- Jourdan Saunders, CEO, The Resource Key™ and LinkedIn Top Voice
- STUDIO B
Panel Discussion: Broadband Connectivity for All: Future Evolutions
Broadband availability is an essential enabler of digital inclusion for Persons with Disabilities. It is expanding quickly in the United States and abroad, supported by massive investments by Internet Service Providers. How are Persons with Disabilities benefitting from this evolution? What are the specific applications and services that best drive broadband adoption by Persons with Disabilities?
Session Chair: Sarah Leggin, Director, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA
Panelists:- Zachary Bastian, Manager, Strategic Alliances, Verizon
- Darryl Cooper, Senior Attorney, CGB/FCC
- Vonda Long Dillard, Manager-Federal Relations, AT&T
- Tom Pey, Ph.D., CEO and Founder, Waymap
- Juliana Tarpey, Product Lead, Alexa Accessibility, Amazon
- STUDIO D
Meet the Leaders | Fireside Chat
With Peter Korn, Director, Accessibility, Amazon Devices & Services
Moderated by Gregg Vanderheiden, Ph.D., Professor and Director Emeritus of the Trace R&D Center, University of Maryland, College Park
2:45pm – 3:45pm
Parallel Sessions
- GRAND BALLROOM
Panel Discussion: Advocates’ Perspectives on Future Directions for Digital Accessibility Innovation
Living with a disability often brings invaluable insights regarding potential innovations and risks of technology design. This session will bring together a diversity of perspectives and backgrounds to discuss the innovation opportunities and accessibility risks of emerging technology systems and practices. What can we learn from decades of experience in advocating for digital accessibility? How can we empower the insights of “extreme users.”
Session Chair: Jutta Treviranus, Ph.D., Professor, Director Founder, IDCR, IDI, OCAD University
Panelists:- Matt Ater, Vice President, Vispero
- Cathy Bodine, PhD, CCC-SLP, Professor, Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Design and Computing, and Coleman-Turner Endowed Chair in Cognitive Disability, Executive Director, Coleman Institute for Cognitive Technologies, University of Colorado
- Alana Beal, Sr. Manager, Segment Marketing, T-Mobile
- John Lee, Tech Access Initiative Group Member, United Spinal Association
- STUDIO B
Panel Discussion: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Listening to End User’s Experience
A direct hands-on review of real-world end-user experiences that best exemplifies the accessibility challenges and opportunities of well-known digital products, content, or services with a discussion of how organizations can better leverage users’ feedback to improve accessibility.
Session Chair: Sharron Rush, Co-Founder, Executive Director, Knowbility
Panelists:- Ali Ingersoll, Global Community Development Lead, Open Inclusion
- Marcie Roth, Executive Director and CEO, World Institute on Disability
- Arpitha Shetty, Accessibility and Inclusive Design Director, Products and Technology, PwC
- STUDIO D
Spotlight Presentation on FCC Latest Accessibility Developments
Moderator: Rachel Nemeth, Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs, CTA
Speakers:- Suzy Rosen Singleton, Chief, Disability Rights Office (DRO), Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB), Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Eliot Greenwald, Deputy Chief, Disability Rights Office (DRO), Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB), Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Josh Mendelsohn, Designated Federal Officer, Disability Advisory Committee, and Attorney, Disability Rights Office, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- STUDIO E - "GLOBAL STUDIO"
Next Steps for the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
Fireside Chat, moderated by Shadi Abou-Zhara, Principal Standards and Policy Manager, Amazon Device Accessibility
With:- Judy Brewer, Director, Web Accessibility Initiative, W3C
- Michael Cooper, Senior Web Accessibility Specialist, Web Accessibility Initiative, W3C
3:45pm – 4:15pm
Networking Break
4:15pm – 5:15pm
Parallel Sessions
- GRAND BALLROOM
Panel Discussion: Smart Connected Mobility Solutions for Persons with Disabilities and Older Persons
The convergence and integration of digital applications with mobility devices open a new world of solutions for Persons with Disabilities and older persons, both as end-users at home and in smart city environments, stimulating innovative infrastructure innovations. This session will review the latest innovations and industry initiatives leveraging those trends.
Session Chair: Robin Spinks, Head of Inclusive Design, RNIB
Panelists:- Michael Fembek, Zero Project Director, Essl Foundation
- Jose Gaztambide, CEO and Founder, GoodMaps
- Nehat Krasniqi, CEO, Alana
- Tom Pey, Ph.D., CEO and Founder, Waymap
- STUDIO B
Panel Discussion: Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Why Accessibility through Automation Requires a Clear Vision and Holistic Process
Over the past 20 years, the accessibility ecosystem has seen a boon in automation technologies: Validation, Quality Assurance, Autocaptions, Audio/Video descriptions, ALT-Text, and electronic publishing systems. Advanced concepts and use of automation through algorithmic protocols, machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence and various virtual technologies including extended, mixed and augmentative realities push the boundaries to new heights. The question remains — are these systems effective accessibility solutions? This panel session seeks to identify the challenges automated solutions present today and in the future. Discussions by experts will look at what needs to be done to improve automation technologies holistically in order to ensure that the user experience for people with disabilities is inclusive and the business value proposition of companies who promote and build these technologies embraces a win-win objective.
Session Chair: Mike Paciello, Director, Accessibility Implementation, Pearson; and Founder, WebABLE
Panelists:- Chad Chelius, Director of Training & Solutions, CHAX Training and Consulting
- Anthony Fernando, Director, Accessibility Compliance, Pearson
- Josh Miller, Co-founder and Co-CEO, 3Play Media
- Navin Thadani, CEO, Evinced
- STUDIO D
Sponsored Session:
How COVID-19 Impacted Accessibility - Industry Lessons and Takeaways
During the pandemic, the digital world rose to the needs of worldwide populations secluded in homes, apartments, condos, and other tenements. However, about 80% of new or existing digital products and services had some type of access barrier or severe blocker to people with disabilities. This presentation will explore digital accessibility and its impact from the 2019 COVID beginning through the present day. We’ll discuss some real experiences of people with disabilities, the reaction of companies to the growing accessibility needs, government interest and intervention, and how you can ensure that your company is ready to both sustain accessibility gains and be ready for the next digital event.
Presenter: Greg Williams, Vice President and Principal Strategy Consultant, Deque - STUDIO E - "GLOBAL STUDIO"
Panel Discussion: The Rising Impact of Global Trends in Digital Accessibility
With 185 countries having ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and expanding usage of virtual environments worldwide, digital accessibility policies and programs are on the rise globally. This session will provide an overview of those trends and how international companies factor them in their product development, digital marketing, and web services across geographies and functional areas.
Session Chair: Rylin Rodgers, Disability Policy Advisor, Microsoft Accessibility
Panelists:- Monica Ackermann, Head of Accessibility, Scotiabank
- Teresa Corbin, Chief Customer Advocate, Sustainability, External Affairs & Legal (SEAL), Telstra
- Sabine Lobnig, Director Communications, Mobile & Wireless Forum (MWF)
- Eduardo Meza-Etienne, Director of Compliance, eSSENTIAL Accessibility/Level Access
5:15pm – 7:30pm
M-Enabling 10th Anniversary, Fireside Chat, Opening Night Cocktail Reception
GRAND BALLROOM
Emcee: Debra Ruh, CEO and Founder, Ruh Global IMPACT
5:15 to 5:45 pm
Meet the Leaders | Fireside Chat
With The Honorable Jessica Rosenworcel, Chairwoman, Federal Communications Commission.
Moderated by Karen Peltz Strauss, National Disability Advocate
5:45 to 6:00 pm
10th Anniversary Celebration
6:00 to 7:30 pm
Opening Night Cocktail Reception, Showcase Area
Greetings by: Matt Ater, Vice President, Vispero
Presented by 