A11y = Accessibility

I am a passionate UX/UI designer with a strong focus on accessibility, driven by my lived experiences and commitment to inclusive design for marginalized communities. Over the past two years, I have deepened my expertise in accessibility, ensuring digital products and services are barrier-free for people with disabilities. I am proficient in accessibility guidelines such as WCAG 2.2 and am currently preparing for the CPACC certification with Deque's Full Curriculum.

My passion for accessible design led to my volunteer work which includes participating in Knowbility's AccessU conference and their Accessible Internet Rally (A.I.R.), where I created accessible UX/UI designs for a non-profit.

I am a volunteer with dentsu's Disability Business Resource Group (BRG) as the accessibility lead. As the accessibility lead, I research and prepare presentations for general non-designer audiences on how to improve accessibility company-wide.

I also lead accessibility initiatives at dentsu, serving as the co-lead for dentsu’s A11y (Accessibility) Guild which I co-founded. In this role, I develop educational materials to improve company-wide accessibility. This initiative received a special mention in the "dentsu transformation" category at dentsu's Northstar Awards, out of 600+ submissions. This project has gained support from leadership and has led to the creation of sales packages and internal improvements, such as enhancing the disability accommodation process for employees.

The lack of standardization and documentation in accessibility at dentsu prompted me to initiate this project as a UX designer. Initially, I designed an accessibility checklist for internal use. However, I soon realized that it was vital to involve other users and stakeholders to comprehensively standardize our accessibility processes. Hence, I interviewed and recruited volunteers from various roles, including project managers, strategists, SEO specialists, developers, and QA testers.

Our efforts have received support from company leadership, and we have created sales packages and add-ons to integrate accessibility formally into client projects. Additionally, we collaborate with the disability BRG and other internal accessibility advocates globally to align with accessibility regulations worldwide.

The project has surpassed my initial expectations and is being adopted by Dentsu's DEI team where I continue to formally integrate accessibility into the company culture and have made internal changes such as improving the disability accommodation process for employees. I take immense pride in the progress of the project and my role as a co-lead of the team.