Beyond Barriers - An Accessibility Podcast

Hector is a software development engineer.

In this episode of Beyond Barriers, Hector talks about the distinction between assistive technology and accessibility, the importance of creating accessible content, the need for organizations to develop coherent accessibility strategies, the challenges of mainstreaming accessibility, and potential disruptions from AI - the ability to ask questions about complex diagrams and content structuring.

Sara is a software development engineer.

In this episode of Beyond Barriers, Sara talks about her journey into accessibility by learning the Brazilian sign language. Sarah emphasizes the importance of inclusive design, while talking about the challenges she faces in manual testing and the desire for more automation in accessibility testing. Sarah encourages empathy and thinking about the experiences of others when designing and developing products.

Alexa is a senior visual and UX/UI designer.

In this episode of Beyond Barriers, Alexa talks about her journey into accessibility, her accessibility challenges and successes over the years, the importance of accessibility and the need for universal standards, the challenges of sharing knowledge and driving change within organizations and with customers, the impact of accessibility on the user experience, and the benefits of integrating accessibility into design practices.

Marco is an accessibility consultant and inspirational speaker.

In this episode of Beyond Barriers, Marco talks about the importance of empathy in creating an inclusive environment, the need for attitudinal change, how universal design benefits everyone, how organizations should leverage the perspectives of people with lived experience, and AI in accessibility.

Kavitha Seetharaman is a UX writer and content accessibility specialist at Virtusa.

In this episode of Beyond Barriers, Kavitha talks about the role of UX writing in creating an accessible user experience, the principles of good UX writing, the challenges of scaling accessibility across organizations, the importance of information architecture in creating an accessible flow, and the limitations of AI in writing alt text.

Nirmala is a senior frontend engineer.

In this episode of Beyond Barriers, Nirmala emphasizes the importance of making websites accessible to all users.

Nirmala discusses the use of analytics to identify frequently visited parts of the website and prioritize accessibility improvements.

She also talks about the challenges of creating meaningful and understandable content for screen readers and selecting appropriate colors for visually impaired users.

Jeff Luna is a consultant specializing in AI automation for healthcare, energy and finance companies.

In this episode of Beyond Barriers, Jeff shares his journey from academia to leading accessibility initiatives at Dell, the County of Los Angeles, and Microsoft.

He highlights the importance of passion, creativity, and perseverance in making technology accessible and equitable, especially for those with disabilities and health challenges.

Tanya Saxena is a Professional Web Engineer at Fiserv.

In this episode of Beyond Barriers, she talks about her journey into accessibility, accessibility awareness, building accessible web components, quality assurance testing, scalability, and the need for a culture of accessibility within organizations.

Jen Devins is the UX Director of Accessibility Product Inclusion & Equity, and Internationalization at Google.

In this episode of Beyond Barriers, she talks about creating impactful user experiences, connecting UX in product development, deep-impact user journeys, challenges in implementing accessibility, and AI.

Floris Horsman is a Customer Experience Leader at Microsoft. In this episode of Beyond Barriers, he talks about overcoming frustration with different tools, how little things add up, UX-friendly solutions, accessibility implementation in organizations, and AI.