Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft

Twitter: @jennylayfluffy. Microsoft Bio Story

Jenny is chief accessibility officer at Microsoft, leading the company’s efforts to drive great products, services and websites that empower people and organizations to achieve more. Her team is at the forefront of creating positive experiences that apply technology to make a difference in the world and the lives of individuals, from how we hire and support people with disabilities in employment to innovative technology that aims to revolutionize what’s possible for people with disabilities.

With the help of her team and broad community within Microsoft, Lay-Flurrie leads many initiatives to empower people with disabilities both inside and outside of Microsoft. She founded the Disability Employee Resource Group at Microsoft and chaired it for 10 years. She created the Disability Answer Desk, which provides specialist customer support to people with disabilities (over 1M calls handled to date), hosts the annual Microsoft Ability Summit, which focuses on empowering 12,000+ registered attendees with the inclusive and innovative thinking necessary to enable people around the world. Instrumental in projects such as Autism Hiring Program, Soundscape and the Microsoft Ability Hackathon, which has supported over 500 hackathon teams building technology for people with disabilities. Lay-Flurrie was recognized and nominated as a technology groundbreaker by CEO Satya Nadella in Wired Magazine, and is a contributor to the book, “The Ability Hacks,” which shares behind-the-scenes stories of the hackers who pioneered two innovative hack-turned-solutions used by people with disabilities worldwide.

Outside of Microsoft, Jenny is on the board of Gallaudet University and Team Gleason. Was recognized as a ‘Disability Employment Champion of Change’ by the White House in October 2014 and as one of Fast Companies Most Creative people in business in 2017.

Aaron Golub

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Aaron Golub is an entrepreneur and speaker. Aaron became the first legally blind athlete to play football in a division 1 game when he was at Tulane University. He was a captain in his senior year and went on to become an NFL free agent. Aaron never let his limited vision get in the way of his success. His goal is to show others that it doesn’t matter what they are fighting or what their perceived limitations are; anything is achievable with hard work and tuning out the judgment of others. Aaron has paved the way for others with disabilities and shown that the impossible is possible.

Frances West, Founder, Corporate Board Director, C-Suite Advisor, Public Speaker, Author, Former IBM Chief Accessibility Officer

(she/her)
Frances is a board member/advisor of both for profit and non profit companies based on her diverse global business management, technology sales, emerging market development and organization growth strategy experiences.

She was IBM’s first Chief Accessibility Officer and worked to establish IT accessibility standards, shape government policies, and develop human-centric enterprise technology and solution so that all people can reach their highest potential, regardless their age or ability.

She is also the author of a book “Authentic Inclusion™ Drives Disruptive Innovation”, a book that has been selected by CES and SXSW as the Technology Books of 2019.

Regine Gilbert, Author & Professor at NYU

(she/her)
Regine Gilbert is a user experience designer, educator, and author with over ten years working in technology. She is an Industry Assistant Professor at New York University and has been a consultant for large and small brands. She is a Keynote speaker and best-selling author of Inclusive Design for a Digital World, Designing with Accessibility in Mind, published by Apress.

Thomas Wlodkowski, Vice President, Accessibility and Multicultural - Technology and Product at Comcast

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In the field of accessibility, Tom Wlodkowski has been uniquely positioned at the intersection of the Internet, broadcast and cable television. He has managed a wide scope of projects including development of the cable industry’s first accessible set-top box interface, designing accessible user interfaces for web, mobile and desktop applications, opened a dedicated service center to support customers with disabilities and consulting on accessible technology to corporations. He is an active participant in public policy initiatives designed to further access to mainstream information and communications technologies (ICT).

Matt Ogens, Director

Matt Ogens is an award-winning filmmaker known for capturing authentic human stories through an evocative visual and narrative aesthetic.

His breakthrough documentary “Confessions of a Superhero” premiered at SXSW to critical acclaim and attracted a devoted following, and he subsequently went on to earn a Primetime Emmy Award for his “From Harlem with Love” installment of ESPN 30 for 30. Recent projects include the two-time Emmy-nominated documentary series “Why We Fight,” which Ogens created and executive produces, as well as the Emmy-nominated “LA Louvre,” an augmented reality film he directed for RYOT and Huffington Post. He has earned three more Emmy nominations for his series work. In addition, he just helmed two films for the UFC’s 25 Years in Short series, which was nominated for an Emmy Award and won a Clio. Matt’s recent feature doc “Home + Away”, which follows high school athletes living on the US/Mexico border, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

AUDIBLE is currently shortlisted for an Academy Award.

Michal Nowicki, Associate Attorney, Marashlian & Donahue, PLLC

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Mr. Nowicki is an Associate Attorney at Marashlian & Donahue, PLLC. His practice focuses largely on helping clients comply with a wide range of telecommunications laws. Mr. Nowicki has advised clients on exemptions from Universal Service Fund contribution requirements, new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules strengthening access to E911 emergency services, and regulation of telecommunications carriers by state public utilities commissions. He has also given software developers and service providers guidance on telemarketing and call recording laws.
Mr. Nowicki has a strong personal interest in the 21st-Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) and other accessibility laws. Even well before joining Marashlian & Donahue, Mr. Nowicki helped the National Federation of the Blind convince the FCC to deny Amazon’s petition for a permanent exemption from CVAA accessibility requirements for e-book readers. He has also worked closely with Comcast and DirecTV to ensure that both companies comply with FCC regulations requiring audio description for blind and low vision customers. Finally, Mr. Nowicki recently responded to the FCC’s request for public comments on how audio description rules have been implemented, hoping that the FCC will expand the requirements to cover video-on-demand programming and television broadcasts delivered over the Internet.
Mr. Nowicki proudly exhibits his love for disability inclusion alongside other accessibility experts through various speaking engagements. In 2020, he co-hosted a unique webinar highlighting the wide range of business opportunities arising from making digital products and services accessible to customers with disabilities, presenting alongside the Chief of the FCC Disability Rights Office and the top product designer at Poly: the maker of various communication devices. More recently, he provided a highly interactive, in-depth overview of audio description requirements under the CVAA, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act at the 2021 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium; shared his experiences with online conferencing platforms at an American Bar Association-sponsored webinar on disability access to virtual courts; and delivered an informative presentation on the current state of U.S. video accessibility laws.

Charlotte Dales, Co-Founder and CEO of Inclusively

Charlotte Dales is the Co-founder and CEO of Inclusively, the technology-centered employment and training platform driving inclusion and opportunities for people with disabilities in the workplace. Charlotte’s cousin Cameron became the first licensed aesthetician in the state of Florida with Down syndrome and after witnessing Cameron’s career fulfillment, she became passionate about replicating her employment success story for disabled talent and started Inclusively.

Before launching Inclusively, Charlotte started her career in finance with Deutsche Bank in London working with trading desks around the world. After five years, she left her bank job and co-founded her first company, CAKE Technologies, a mobile payment and reservation application for restaurants and bars which scaled to over 200 restaurants in London and was acquired by American Express. Charlotte’s experience in technology and startups has allowed Inclusively to provide a new technology solution to drive authentic diversity and inclusion in the workplace–helping companies acquire and retain top talent through a human-centered algorithm designed to optimize for the success of job seekers based on their needed accommodations to build sustainable livelihoods and careers. Under Charlotte’s leadership, Inclusively is proud to be modernizing recruitment by creating structure and transparency around accommodations, which benefits all job seekers. Charlotte graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder and lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and daughter.

Kyle Shachmut, Assistant Director of Digital Accessibility Services at Harvard University

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Kyle Shachmut is the Assistant Director of Digital Accessibility at Harvard University, providing strategic direction to digital accessibility efforts across Harvard’s schools. He frequently works at the intersections of information technology, disability inclusion and academic administration. He led the creation of Harvard’s Digital Accessibility Services team and collaborates with institutional leaders to guide governance of the University’s Digital Accessibility Policy. Beyond Harvard, Kyle is co-chair of the EDUCAUSE IT Accessibility Community Group, the largest affinity group for accessibility professionals in higher education. In 2021, he received the ‘Rising Star Award’ for higher ed technology professionals from Educause. Kyle frequently speaks, consults and writes about matters related to digital accessibility, public policy, technology in education, universal design and more.

Josh Miller, Co-CEO, 3Play Media

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Josh is the co-founder of 3Play Media, which provides closed captioning, transcription, and audio description services to make video accessibility easy. Josh is a graduate of MIT’s Sloan School of Management with a concentration in entrepreneurship. Prior to MIT, Josh worked in management consulting at Mercator Partners, a Boston-based boutique consulting firm focused on the telecom and media industries. Josh is a former Division I baseball player and has previous startup experience. Josh graduated from Brown University in 2004 with a dual concentration in organizational behavior and business economics.

Chris Antunes, Co-CEO, 3Play Media

Ma'ayan Plaut, Growth Marketing Manager, 3Play Media

Erik Ducker, Director of Product Marketing, 3Play Media

Lily Bond, VP of Marketing at 3Play Media

Lily Bond is the VP of Marketing at 3Play Media, which provides closed captioning and transcription services to make video accessible, searchable, and more engaging. Lily oversees marketing programs and content and is responsible for promoting 3Play Media’s brand as well as the importance of closed captioning. Lily has authored numerous papers and over 100 articles on the topic of closed captioning, accessibility laws, and emerging standards, and often speaks on the subject.