e-access 13 conference | Speakers

 

Speakers

 

Dan Jellinek, Conference chair

Editor, E-Access Bulletin and
Founder, Headstar

Dan Jellinek

Dan Jellinek is Director and co-founder of Headstar, a digital publishing company specialising in technology and social issues. Headstar's publications include E-Access Bulletin, the world's leading email newsletter on access to technology by people with disabilities.

Dan is former chair of the Sussex Community Internet Project, a non-profit body helping community groups use the internet; and a member of the Society of IT Management's 'Better Connected' team which reviews every UK council web site annually. He previously worked as a freelance journalist for The Guardian and BBC Online. Dan holds an MA in English Literature from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.

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Hannah Cockroft MBE

Paralympic Gold Medallist and BT Ambassador

Hannah Cockroft MBE

Hannah first started wheelchair racing in October 2007, and immediately fell in love with the speed of the sport. Specialising in sprint distances, Hannah showed her potential when she broke four world records at the 2010 British Wheelchair Athletics Association International.

She continued to make history as the first athlete to set a world record in the Olympic Stadium in London in May 2012, recording a time of 19.56 in the T34 100m. She later reduced that time to 17.60 at the Swiss National Championships.

Hannah shone on her Paralympic debut, becoming ParalympicsGB's first Athletics gold medallist of the London 2012 Games as she won the T34 100m in a Paralympic record time of 18.06. Her second event, the T34 200m, took place on what would later become known as 'Thriller Thursday'. After setting a Paralympic record of 33.30 in the morning heats, she set a new time of 31.90 in the final to take her second gold medal of the Games.

In addition to her performances on the track, Hannah has also competed at national level in seated Discus and Wheelchair Basketball. In the 2013 New Year's Honours, she was awarded a MBE.

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Shadi Abou-Zahra

Activity Lead, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) International Program Office

Shadi Abou-Zahra

Shadi Abou-Zahra works with the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) as Activity Lead of the WAI International Program Office, which includes groups responsible for education and outreach, coordination with research, general discussion on web accessibility, and WAI liaisons with other organisations. Shadi coordinates WAI outreach in Europe, accessibility evaluation techniques, and international standards promotion and harmonisation.

Prior to joining W3C in 2003, Shadi was a lead web developer and managed the design and implementation of web productions, online community platforms, and online games. Shadi also worked as a Web Consultant for the International Data Centre (IDC) of the United Nations Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). During his computer science studies, Shadi participated in the Austrian student council at the Technical University of Vienna as a representative for students with disabilities, where he advocated for equal opportunities in education and employment. For more information on his work, see:

http://www.w3.org/People/shadi/

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Fareed Ahmad

Head of Telecoms Consumer Policy, Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Fareed Ahmad is Head of Telecoms Consumer Policy at the Department for Culture Media and Sport. Having worked in several departments since 1993 including Home Office and the Cabinet Office, Fareed joined DCMS in 2009 where he led the department 's Arm's length Body review before moving his current role in 2012.

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Helene Nørgaard Bech, Senior eAccessibility Consultant, Siteimprove

Helene Nørgaard Bech

Helene Nørgaard Bech is a Senior eAccessibility Consultant at Siteimprove, a world leading software-as-a-service company specialising in web governance.

Helene has more than seven years' professional experience in web accessibility, holds a Masters in IT (specialising in software development) and teaches web accessibility for Siteimprove customers and working partners.

She also helps in strengthening the accessibility of Siteimprove customers' websites and managing the development of the Siteimprove Accessibility  product.

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Grant Broome

Director, Hanona International

Grant Boome

Grant Broome is a web accessibility specialist with more than 10 years’ experience of making online content accessible to people with disabilities. He is an associate consultant with The Paciello Group (TPG) based in the US, and runs his own digital inclusion company, Hanona, in the UK and Europe.

He has recently joined forces with three other accessibility experts to form the DIG Inclusion partnership.

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Joe Chidzik

Senior Accessibility & Usability Consultant, AbilityNet

Joe Chidzik

Joe started working in accessibility in 1995, for Widgit Software. The focus of this job was supporting teachers using communication aid software for both children and adults with communication difficulties.

Since 2002 Joe has worked at AbilityNet as a Senior Consultant, where his main role is evaluating websites and applications for accessibility through involvement in the development process and strategically by writing accessibility standards and policies. 

He also helps in delivering webinars and workshops looking at accessibility as it relates to the different roles in organisations, from managers, to developers to content writers.

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E.A. Draffan

Research Fellow, Web and Internet Science, University of Southampton

EA Daffan.png

E.A Draffan's career began as a speech and language therapist before working in schools and colleges, specialising in the support of those with Special Needs. She subsequently worked for 10 years at the University of Sussex, building and running a regional assistive technology centre. E.A. went on to work with TechDis before joining the University of Southampton.

Projects she has worked on include the ATbar Marketplace, allowing users to build their own browser-based toolbar to enhance web page reading; Project REALISE, an online community combining experience of accessibility and open development in the key education, employment and health sectors; LexDis, providing insights into the strategies and technologies used in e-learning situations; and Web2Access, developing tools to aid usability and accessibility checking of many interactive Web 2.0 applications and services.

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Mel Findlater

Director and Geek For Social Good at The You Can Hub

Mel Findlater

Mel gets ridiculously excited about the potential of mobile technology as a tool for enabling people to live incredible lives - including those who are often considered 'disadvantaged'. Through Get Tech she uses workshops, presentations, videos and storytelling to help the world see what is possible with accessible mobile technology.

Her skill is in bringing all sorts of people together in the same space and facilitating the development of incredible ideas and actions which would never have been achieved as individuals. She's a geek because she loves most things digital but it's bringing the digital to the everyday person that really lights her inner fire. And to do this, accessibility and co-design is key.

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Jon Gibbins

Director, Dotjay

Jon Gibbins

Jon Gibbins is a developer specialising in accessibility. He is an active member of the web accessibility community and is widely recognised as one of the leading experts in accessible mobile and tablet development and testing. He is an associate consultant with The Paciello Group (TPG) based in the US, and runs his own company, dotjay ltd, in the UK. He has recently joined forces with three other accessibility experts to form DIG Inclusion offering a range of consultancy, training, testing and auditing services.

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Adrian Goodall

Senior eAccessibility policy advisor, Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Adrian Goodall

Adrian Goodall has been working in the field of Digital technology for the past 20 years. He started work in the civil service looking after the electronic manufacturing sector helping British Companies export their electronic components abroad on trade missions to Asia in the late 1990s. He then worked as a policy advisor on a small project called UK Online for Business before moving onto Broadband policy from 2004 to 2007. In 2008 he became a special advisor to the then Digital Inclusion Minister Paul Murphy and was part of the team that appointed Martha Lane Fox as the UK Digital Inclusion champion. He helped draft the Governments Digital Inclusion Strategy and in 2010 took over responsibility for the governments eAccessibility Policy agenda and has been championing the accessibility agenda within Government and with stakeholders (Business & Charitable sector) ever since.

Before Adrian became a civil servant he worked as a professional dancer trained in the classics, street and modern. Adrian has performed for Acts such as Janet Jackson (Rhythm Nation Tour - Wembley Arena), Salt & Pepper, Soul to Soul, Cookie Crew and Paul Weller. He has danced for artists assigned to EMI records, supported singing artists/groups all over the world and performed on shows such as Top of the pops, Royal Variety performance, Soul Train and Behind the Beat.

Adrian believes in Kaizan (Japanese word for continuous improvement). He is very passionate about Digital Inclusion and good design. He believes we should all have an interest in the area of inclusive design as we all get older.

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Jonathan Hassell

Director, Hassell Inclusion

Jonathan Hassell

Professor Jonathan Hassell is a thought leader in inclusion, with 10 years experience of embedding accessibility within digital production teams, and sharing best practice at international conferences.

He is the lead author of BS8878 – the new British Standards on embedding accessibility within organisations’ business-as-usual – and chairs its drafting committee, IST/45.

He is the Former Head of Usability & Accessibility, BBC Future Media where he combined usability and accessibility disciplines to support user-centred-design across web, mobile and IPTV.

He has won awards for product managing: the accessibility features of BBC iPlayer, the personalisation tool MyDisplay, and the accessibility information site My Web, My Way.

Through ‘Hassell Inclusion’ he sets best-practice international standards, provides inclusion research, training and consultancy to organisations worldwide, and leads innovation projects to make inclusion easier and cheaper to implement.

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Richard Hirst

Head of Web, Queen Mary University of London

Richard Hirst

With more than 13 years’ experience in both the private and public sectors, Richard now leads an in-house web design and development team and is primarily responsible for developing and implementing the web strategy at Queen Mary University of London. Richard has spent the past three years developing and implementing a responsive web design strategy to support the strategic aims of this Russell Group university.

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Miles Maier

ICT Champion, Lasa

Miles Maier

Miles is an IT Champion and Technology Consultant who specialises in technology consulting and business planning for non-profit organisations. He is an experienced ICT trainer, delivers webinars on managing ICT and contributes regularly to Lasa publications.

He currently manages the Department of Health-funded Connecting Care project.

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Ed Mylles

Director of Business Development, Disabled Living Foundation

Ed Mylles

Ed Mylles is the Director of Business Development at Disabled Living Foundation (DLF). Ed has 16 years’ experience of working in disability organisations, including the Employers’ Forum on Disability and RADAR. DLF is a national charity providing impartial advice, information and training on independent living since 1969. It is a founder member of the Information Standard, a certification scheme for health and social care information. Its web services – www.livingmadeeasy.org.uk and www.asksara.org.uk – attract more than one million visitors per year.

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Adam Oliver

Head Of Corporate Social Responsibility and Age & Disability Research, BT

Adam Oliver

Adam leads BT's research into new technologies to help disabled and elderly customers, along with research into the three strands of BT's CSR strategy; tackling climate change, sustainable economic growth and creating a more inclusive society.

 

BT has a long-standing commitment to social inclusion and products to help the disabled. For example, BT's BT Retail Age and Disability (A&D) team recently celebrated 21 years of existence and many developments in telephony have their roots in special needs.

CSR has a wide remit and can cover from bridging the digital divide, through to reduction in power consumption.

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Ted Page

Director, PWS

Ted Page

Ted Page is a director of DIG Inclusion. He is a former BBC web producer and member of the Corporation's web accessibility working group. He now regularly trains BBC departments, public sector bodies (UK and overseas), graphic designers/typesetters, corporates, charities and others in accessible PDF production techniques.

Ted runs the UK's only advanced level PDF accessibility course. He also regularly makes accessible a range of documents for corporates and government departments, from annual reports to information sheets to forms.

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Mary-Anne Rankin

specialist in inclusive customer service

Mary-Anne Rankin

Mary-Anne works with businesses advising them on how to attract and keep more customers by delivering more inclusive services

Through her work as a disability consultant for 17 years, her panel of 400 disabled people, and the experiences gained as a result of meeting the needs of her own disabled family members, she has gained a deep understanding of the issues faced by disabled people in the areas of customer service and life in general.

Mary-Anne works with businesses assessing their customer journey both internally and externally, to identify and remove any barriers that might exclude older as well as disabled consumers. Within this she also looks at the concept design and procurement stages too – getting it right at the beginning is cost effective.

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Simon Stevens

Disability consultant and campaigner

Simon Stevens

Simon is a leading independent disability issues consultant trainer, activist and social change agent, with a vast experience and expertise in a wide range of fields including disability equality, independent living, health policy, social care, lifestyle advocacy, employing personal assistants and Secondlife.

In the past 20 years, he has worked with a huge variety of local, national and international organisations, including Scope, Warwick University, Channel 4, Department of Health, Council of Europe, National Housing Federation and eBay. He has also been a trustee of Skills for Care. He is the founder and owner of Wheelies, the world's first disability themed virtual nightclub, and star of I'm Spazticus, Channel 4's disability prank show. He is also a regular blogger for the Huffington Post.

Born in 1974, Simon has cerebral palsy which affects his speech, balance, hand control and continence in a significant manner, as well as providing him with a very good sense of humour. His mission in life is to make an active contribution to supporting disabled people and others to maximise their life opportunities and experiences through everything he does.

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Paul Webster

Connecting Care Community Builder and Technology Consultant, Lasa

Paul Webster

Paul has a long and varied IT background in both commercial and voluntary sectors. He has worked on large corporate retail and banking systems and has helped very small organisations get started with technology and social media. He has helped long term unemployed youngsters refurbish redundant computer equipment for charities and while at NAVCA managed a national partnership of voluntary sector IT Champions.

Paul now works with Lasa on the Department of Health funded Connecting Care project. He is helping small voluntary sector care providers think strategically and practically about their use of technology.

He delivers social media training and surgeries for voluntary organisations advising and coaching them through choosing the best websites and tools to use. Paul is keen to see mobile technology and new forms of learning used too, particularly e-learning for effective skills and knowledge development for charities and care providers, a role which he carries out for Learning Pool.

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Robert Wemyss

Head of Accessibility, Post Office Ltd

Robert Wemyss

Robert is responsibile for the Post Office end-to-end accessible technology strategy. This includes consideration of the needs of people with disabilities and the aging workforce as both customers and employees.

Ensuring the group exceeds ongoing legal requirements and creating business growth across all products and services by shaping accessible technology excellence and makes Post Office an easier organisation to do business with.

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Gill Whitney

Head, Design for All Research Group, Middlesex University

Gill Whitney

Gill is the program leader for the Middlesex University MSc Digital Inclusion and lead the module on Design for All Regulation, Legislation and Standardisation.

The Design for All Research Group of which Gill is head is the UK National Contact Centre (NCC) for The European Design for All e-Accessibility Network (EDeAN) and this year heads the Secretariat of EDeaN. EDeAN has members in 24 European countries and was established to raise the profile of Design for All the importance in achieving greater e-Accessibility.

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