Principle Investigator - IT Accessibility Liaison (ITAL) program. Created a liaison program to scale accessibility outreach, promote the EIT Accessibility Policy, and best practices across all three campuses and the University System. Currently over 35 units represented by 54 liaisons.
Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA), International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
Certified Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS), International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC), International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP)
Evaluate and assess campus web sites for code and accessibility compliance. Consult and partner with those units to educate and bring them up to modern standards, including providing tailored workshops
Authored An Evaluation of UIUC Web Sites - an independent report on accessibility and code-standard compliance, use of CSS, and adherence to Illinois Identity Standards of 500+ campus web sites
Performed in-depth evaluations prioritizing accessibility and usability issues for over 100 campus websites and software projects
Lead Information Design Specialist, Quality Assurance and Assessment (2013-2020)
Accessibility assessment and evaluations for University of Illinois and Technology Services web sites and web-based applications.
Conduct accessibility educational workshops for campus and AITS
Mentor and trainer for QAA team
Assess and advise on the accessibility of reporting tools for the U of I Title IX/ADA coordinator
Provide annual accessibility evaluation of Ethics and Sexual Harassment training tools for the Office of Access and Equity
Support and facilitate startup of QAA unit within Technology Services
IADP is the only online professional certification program offered by a higher education institution in the United States. The comprehensive 24-week intensive course is designed to bring the student up to an expert level for conducting in-depth accessibility evaluation.
IADP won the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Leadership in Diversity Award in its inaugural year
Graduate School of Library Information and Science (iSchool)
Web Design & Construction for Organizations(LIS590LW), 4-hour graduate course
Taught all aspects of web development with emphasis on accessibility and code compliance
User Experience Design, (2009-2013)
Mentor and trainer for Technology Services colleagues
Facilitated Content Management Systems Working Group
User Feedback Team, Unified Communications
Created Accessibility Training Plans for TechServices User Experience Design (UXD), TechServices Software Development Group (SDG) and Administrative Information Technology Services (AITS)
Founder, Illinois Webmasters Listserv and Forum (1999-2013)
Started the University of Illinois Webmasters Group (over 600 subscribed members)
Inaugural MC for the annual Webmaster’s Forum, founded in 1999
Hosted brown bags and training sessions
Chaired the steering committee for 6 years
Webmaster
College of Applied Health Sciences (2004-2008)
Institute of Government and Public Affairs (1998-2005)
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (1999-2000)
Office of Continuing Education (1996-1999)
Computer Services Office (CSO) and Communications and Computer Services Office (CCSO) projects (1993-1996)
Student Web Intern Program
Created a program for recruiting and training students to serve as webmasters
Program focus: Accessibility awareness and coding best practices
Program placements: 14 students throughout multiple campus units
CITES Departmental Services Web Service
Author and principle investigator for the Departmental Services Web Services program
Wrote job description and working plan for the Web Specialist position
Recruits serve as unit webmasters
Trainer, FAST3
Taught classes on Pagemaker, Word and the Macintosh through the faculty/staff training program
Created an all-day class on developing web sites using Cascading Style Sheets
Wrote 40-page manual for the CSS class
Conducted a Pagemaker training workshop that was broadcast nationally via live-TV
Larine Y. Cowan "Make a Difference" Award for Excellence in Access and Accommodations
ToP Facilitation Methods
Co-recipient of the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Leadership in Diversity Award for developing and teaching the IADP course.
Consistently obtained List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent By Their Students through the Instructor & Course Evaluation System.(ICES)
ASQ Training - Quality Assurance
IT Leadership Workshop
Midwest Educause Management Training
Committee Work
Technology Accessibility Review Committee (TARC)
Vice-chair
Chancellor’s Diversity Leadership Council
Chancellor's Committee on Access and Accommodation
Chair, Media Subcommittee
Committee webmaster
Collaborative Spaces
Design Working Group
Illinois Web Best Practices Teleconference
Discuss development of accessibility standards for the state of Illinois
UIC Digital Accessibility Expo Executive Planning Committee
Annual accessibility expo held at University of Illinois, Chicago
Web@Illinois
Standards and Best Practices subcommittee
Community Resources subcommittee
Reports
Comprehensive Accessibility for Digital Signage
Authored white paper outlining a proof-of-concept design for conveying digital signage content to blind users.
Received a provisional patent from the U of I Office of Technology Management to pursue a full patent.
Presented the concept to Four Winds Interactive in Denver, CO
Wisconsin KnowledgeBase Tool and KB Admin Tools
In depth accessibility evaluation of the knowledge base tool purchased by the U of I.
ATHEN Report on the Accessibility of Google Documents
Participated in testing of Google Docs using JAWS
Converted final report to accessible PDF
Microsoft Lync - Accessibility Evaluation Report
Evaluation of the telephony accessibility issues of the Lync product
Comparison of e-mail products offered by TechServices - Google Gmail, Microsoft Outlook Web App and Microsoft Outlook Live
E-Readers: A Current Summary Evaluating Accessibility and Viability for the Higher Education Environment
A review of the accessibility of current e-readers
Evaluating the Accessibility of E-readers
Summary report of basic features required for e-reader devices to be accessible for audiences relying upon assistive technologies.
Presentations & Training
Midwest Educause - Chicago, Illinois
Experience IT: Evaluating Accessibility in Four Easy Steps
Accessibility Training Workshop
Training for User Experience Design (TechServices-UXD) on how to evaluate a web site for accessibility issues.
Mobile Development Day - iHotel, Champaign, Illinois
Accessibility in a Mobile Environment
Responsive Web Design: Mobile Optimized Website
Co-presentation with Doug Burgett and Jed Willard
Faculty Summer Institute
Web Accessibility Do's and Don'ts
University of Illinois Chicago Digital Accessibility Expo
Formation of University of Illinois Webmasters
Panel discussion on accessibility promotion
HighEdWeb 2010 Conference, Cincinnati
Forms – Accessibility and Usability (poster presentation)
IT Professionals Forum
Illinois Web Accessibility: Where We Stand and Where We Need To Go (co-presentation with Jon Gunderson and Christy Blew)
IT Professionals Forum
Web Accessibility and Usability Go Hand-In-Hand (co-presentation with Cordelia Geiken and Jonathan Hsieh)
Illinois Webmasters Forum:
WAIT! Don't Do That! Top 10 Things to Avoid When Building an Accessible Website
W3C Validation, What's the big deal?
Doing CSI on a Web Site
Accessibility – A Campus Overview
Education:
B.A., Lincoln Christian University, Lincoln Illinois
M.S., Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Concentration: Information Architecture and Human-Computer Interaction.
