“Accessibility is the Oil Change” with Sheri Byrne-Haber

Sheri is the author of the upcoming book Giving a Damn about Accessibility, and a speaker at Design at Scale 2021 this June 9-11. In this latest Rosenfeld Review podcast, she discusses the critical importance of starting projects and products with a mindset of accessibility. Spoiler alert: it’s far more difficult to go back later. VMWare, where Sheri is currently an Accessibility Architect, recently launched an Accessibility Champions program, increasing their hires with disabilities and those with interest in specialized training. She and Lou talk through the program and other ways you can scale accessibility—even while acquiring new companies, as Sheri has experienced (more than ten in two years!) Interested in learning more? Check out Sheri’s presentation at DAS2021: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/design-at-scale-2021/sessions/accessibility-at-scale/ Sheri recommends: Haben Girma, the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School https://habengirma.com/ Lily Zheng, DEI Consultant https://lilyzheng.co/ Sheri Byrne-Haber is a prominent global subject matter expert in the fields of disability and accessibility. She is best known for launching digital accessibility programs at multiple Fortune 200 companies, including McDonald’s, Albertsons, and VMware, as well as consulting on government and education accessibility. Sheri’s award-winning Medium blog summarizes legal cases and issues facing people implementing accessibility programs, with over 300,000 readers since its launch. Sheri is a frequent panelist and speaker at accessibility related conferences and an active member of several accessibility committees and non-profits, helping drive and communicate the evolution of accessibility standards.