AXSChat Podcast

As co-founder of Braided Communications, where we develop communication tools for astronauts on deep space missions and use the same technology to provide better team collaboration on Earth, I am enjoying putting my passion and expertise for astrophysics, telecoms and healthcare to good use.


Rob completed a degree in astrophysics and then worked in commercial leadership positions across the telecoms and technology sector nationally and internationally. Moving into digital health, he gained expertise in physical and mental health care. With the creation of Braided Communications, Rob has been able to blend his experience in technology and communications with his passion for healthcare and astrophysics. Rob has long been a passionate advocate for workplace inclusivity and feels extremely fortunate to be part of a neurodiverse founding team.

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Antonio Santos is a Social Media Business Evangelist and Senior Workplace Expert at Atos, focusing on Digital Inclusion, Social Media Engagement, and Social Business. He is a Sociologist with expertise in Applied Research; he previously worked in the Media, Military, Public Sector and Telecom before joining  Siemens IT in 2006 in Cork and Atos in 2011. According to Onalytica, which measures online presence and influence, Antonio is the 3rd most influential employee in the world in Consulting based on data from Twitter and LinkedIn and number one on Sustainability amongst employees of the 48 most important consulting companies globally.
Antonio collaborates with Meghan M. Biro on Talent Culture, an award-winning website and podcast on the future of work. They have interviewed and hosted Twitter chats with industry leaders from the  Enterprise and Academia.

More recently, Antonio co-founded the Digital Transformation Lab at the University College of Cork. The  Lab focuses on digital innovation, entrepreneurship and technology in various enterprises within the private and public sectors. DT-Lab aims to provide leadership in digital strategy, innovation and execution.

Debra Ruh is a seasoned entrepreneur that focuses on Global Disability Inclusion, ICT Accessibility, EmployAbility, Marketing and Communications Strategies and Digital Media.  She has provided global leadership to governments, corporations, NGOs and DPO’s (Disability Persons Organizations) all over the world supporting research, outreach, marketing strategies, policy and standards initiatives with public- and private-sector.  Policy, Legislative and Technical Experience includes the United Nations Convention of Rights for People with Disabilities (CRPD), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 503, 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, W3C, WCAG 2.0 and ISO.  Debra is also a seasoned Entrepreneur (founder of three firms): Ruh Global Communications, TecAccess, Strategic Performance Solutions.

Debra is passionate about Social Media and a Thought Leader and Blogger on ICT Accessibility and Disability Inclusion on social media channels with over  130,000 followers.  Social media mediums include Twitter, Linked-In, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, G+ and other platforms. Work featured in major mediums including CBS, CNN, PBS, ABC, NBC, NPR, INC, Publishers Weekly, Fortune Magazine, US News & World Report, America’s Best, Washington Technology, and Bloomberg Business Week.  Debra has published many white papers, is a newsletter editor for IAAP and a Published Author of two books:

Neil Milliken is Vice President & Global Head of Accessibility & Digital Inclusion at Atos, a member of the Atos Scientific Community & Atos Distinguished Expert, an invited expert for the W3C Cognitive Accessibility Taskforce.

Neil is a member of the Board of Directors for the World Institute on Disability, a Non-Exec Chair of the Board at Genius Within, a member of the advisory board of the Valuable500 & Board member of Billion Strong and was Chair of the Diversity Board for the Institute of Coding from 2019 – 2021.
Neil was named in the top ten of the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 list in 2018 and D&I practitioner of the year in the 2019 Disability Smart Awards.
Neil is dyslexic and has ADHD; he advocates for people with neurodivergent conditions as well as other disabilities and additional needs.

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Bluesky:
Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com

Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social

Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/

Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/akwyz

https://twitter.com/axschat
https://twitter.com/AkwyZ
https://twitter.com/neilmilliken
https://twitter.com/debraruh

Catherine Nichols is the VP of the Office of Accessibility at Salesforce and an experienced disability rights advocate. At Salesforce, her teams strive to ensure its products, workplaces, and virtual experiences are accessible to all.

Connect with her on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinecnichols/ 

Find out more about the Office of Accessibility at Salesforce.com/Accessibility and join the conversation on Twitter @SalesforceA11y

AXSChat is Supported by Amazon. 

Captions are kindly provided by MyClearText.

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Follow axschat on social media.
Bluesky:
Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com

Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social

Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/

Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/akwyz

https://twitter.com/axschat
https://twitter.com/AkwyZ
https://twitter.com/neilmilliken
https://twitter.com/debraruh

Rachel lives in Nelson with her husband Scott, and before entering Parliament, worked as a Health and Safety Coordinator for the Anglican Diocese of Nelson. In her previous role as an Organiser with FIRST Union, she negotiated collective employment agreements with large companies like Nelson Pine, lifting wages for hundreds of workers in the Nelson region.

Rachel previously volunteered on the Boards of Nelson Women’s and Children’s Refuge and the Nelson Environment Centre. She was the Chair of Labour’s Policy Council leading up to the election. A trained singer, she has a Music Degree from the University of Auckland and was a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir. She also enjoys spending time at Tahunanui beach with Scott and their Labrador, Phoebe.

Rachel is passionate about ensuring all Kiwis have the opportunity to be the best they can be. She knows it starts with dignity at work; affordable, warm homes; quality education and a responsive, accessible health system. She knows working people need the security of knowing there will be a pension there for them at an age they can still enjoy it.

Rachel loves Nelson’s fantastic natural environment, outstanding creative industries and unrivalled community spirit. Rachel is honoured to have been elected as the MP for Nelson and looks forward to working hard in Parliament in 2020.

Rachel’s priorities for Nelson are:

Affordable housing for first-home buyers and families,
Working to end “Sunshine Wages” in the region,
Improving Mental Health services,
Better public transport,
Preserving our environment; and
Working closely with our two Councils to address Climate Change.

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Bluesky:
Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com

Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social

Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/

Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/akwyz

https://twitter.com/axschat
https://twitter.com/AkwyZ
https://twitter.com/neilmilliken
https://twitter.com/debraruh

Michael joined the W3C in June 2006 as a Web Accessibility Specialist. Michael is the Team Contact for the Accessible Platform Architectures Working Group which supports accessibility of W3C technologies, the Accessible Rich Internet Applications Working Group which develops accessibility semantics to support assistive technologies, and Accessibility Guidelines Working Group which develops authoring guidelines and techniques to create accessible content. He supports task forces in these groups to address accessibility for users with cognitive or learning disabilities, low vision, or users of mobile devices; research accessibility issues of upcoming technologies, and explore new technologies. Key specifications include the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA), and Framework for Accessible Specification of Technologies.

Prior to joining W3C, Michael worked at Watchfire as Accessibility Product Manager, responsible for automated and tool-assisted manual accessibility evaluation software. He focused on supporting harmonized international standards via this software and supported customers to achieve those standards. Previously Michael was the product manager at CAST for Bobby, an early accessibility evaluation tool which was purchased by Watchfire in 2002. At CAST he also worked on technical approaches to providing self-adaptive learning materials for students with disabilities. Before entering the field of Web accessibility, Michael worked in the disability services office at the University of Denver, providing academic accommodations and technical training for students with disabilities.

Michael holds a Master of Education degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Denver.

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Bluesky:
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Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social

Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/

Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/akwyz

https://twitter.com/axschat
https://twitter.com/AkwyZ
https://twitter.com/neilmilliken
https://twitter.com/debraruh

Kathy West-Evans is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) who is fluent in American Sign Language. She has her MA in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science. Kathy started in the field of rehabilitation in 1978. She has worked in a community agency, for the Washington State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, at the federal level with the Rehabilitation Services Administration and now leads the National Employment Team (NET) at CSAVR (Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation). The NET is a cross state team of VR business specialists working through a dual customer approach to develop strategies with business to employ and retain the talents of individuals with disabilities across the company or organization. Kathy was also part of the team that developed the Talent Acquisition Portal (TAP) in response to businesses who wanted to easily access the talent pool of candidates with disabilities and individuals who were interested in accessing career opportunities with companies across the country.

Kathy is a past member and Chair of the Veterans Advisory Council on Rehabilitation and a former Commissioner on the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification. In addition to impacting and drafting legislation focused on VR’s work with business, she is a frequent speaker and has co-authored articles focused on working with business to employ the talents of people with disabilities.

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Bluesky:
Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com

Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social

Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/

Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/akwyz

https://twitter.com/axschat
https://twitter.com/AkwyZ
https://twitter.com/neilmilliken
https://twitter.com/debraruh

Rob has played a highly significant role in developing accessibility over decades we are delighted to welcome him to AXSChat in his new role. He describes himself and his role below:

“My mission is to create solutions that profoundly improve how people of all ages and abilities work, play and experience the world around them. From a business perspective, this is the best way to create customer value, brand loyalty and differentiation in today’s market. From a personal perspective, I cannot think of a more valuable way to spend my time.

I have had the opportunity to work with many talented & passionate people over the years. Perhaps the most impactful, so far, has been the years spent building Microsoft’s accessibility effort from a small team into an enterprise-wide program and global strategy tightly integrated with the company mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. That journey required deep investments in the platforms, tools, design philosophy and engineering practices. It meant rethinking how to work closely with the community and partners to create and support inclusive solutions. And, it taught us you cannot achieve these goals without hiring people with disabilities and integrating inclusive thinking into every aspect of your way of doing business (HR, Support, Marketing, Sales, M&A, etc.).

After taking a break from the corporate world and exploring startups related to clean water and wildlife conservation technologies, I’m happy to be back in the tech industry, working to accelerate the industry’s pursuit of fully accessible and inclusive digital workplaces. I chose to join Atlassian because products like Jira, Confluence and Trello are used by teams of all sizes – from one or two people up to enterprise organizations with hundreds of thousands of employees. This is an enormous opportunity to ensure every person can fully participate in today’s digital work environment.

I think we can all agree that the world is facing unprecedented challenges. Our best hope for the future is to ensure we benefit from the ideas, insights, and expertise of every person on the planet.”

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Bluesky:
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Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/

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https://twitter.com/axschat
https://twitter.com/AkwyZ
https://twitter.com/neilmilliken
https://twitter.com/debraruh

Chris has over 20 years of experience working with government agencies worldwide, international brands, neighbourhood businesses, mom-and-pop’s, and everything in between. In his current role at Pega, he is a UX Manager, and the Design Ops Lead. He helps drive their design system, Constellation, toward accessibility out-of-the-box for Fortune 100 companies.

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Bluesky:
Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com

Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social

Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/

Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/akwyz

https://twitter.com/axschat
https://twitter.com/AkwyZ
https://twitter.com/neilmilliken
https://twitter.com/debraruh

Marisol Villena manages inclusion, accessibility and equitable product and program development across Accenture’s enterprise metaverse, the Nth floor — enabling experiences that allow all employees to participate and thrive.

Prior to that, Marisol spent the last two decades working in various roles across the company’s global IT team. Marisol has proven expertise in working in diverse, complex environments, helping teams unleash their potential to achieve desired outcomes.

Marisol is originally from Peru; moving to Spain early in her career, she now has two children and a husband and calls it her home. She loves volunteering at schools, teaching students about technology and coding.

Connect with Marisol on LinkedIn to learn more.

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Bluesky:
Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com

Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social

Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/

Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/akwyz

https://twitter.com/axschat
https://twitter.com/AkwyZ
https://twitter.com/neilmilliken
https://twitter.com/debraruh

Game accessibility specialist with a 16-year background in raising the bar for gamers with disabilities, though advocacy and awareness raising – writing, speaking, organising events, community building – and consulting, working with studios from the smallest indies to the largest AAAs, with publishers, platforms, industry and government bodies. Co-director of GAconf and coordinator of gameaccessibilityguidelines.com.

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Support the show

Follow axschat on social media.
Bluesky:
Antonio https://bsky.app/profile/akwyz.com

Debra https://bsky.app/profile/debraruh.bsky.social

Neil https://bsky.app/profile/neilmilliken.bsky.social

axschat https://bsky.app/profile/axschat.bsky.social

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovieirasantos/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/axschat/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilmilliken/

Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/akwyz

https://twitter.com/axschat
https://twitter.com/AkwyZ
https://twitter.com/neilmilliken
https://twitter.com/debraruh