AXSChat Podcast

 Meryl Evans, CPACC (she / her / deaf) is an author, professional speaker, and accessibility marketing consultant with over 20 years of experience who happens to be born hearing-free aka profoundly deaf. She’s an accessibility marketing consultant who helps her clients in different industries with their projects to achieve their marketing and accessibility goals. Meryl is a highly sought and regar...

  Andy Garrett is GSK global programme director - Workplace Adjustments Service – enabling employees to request and receive the adjustments/accommodations/accessibility solutions they need to be their best selves at work, including for working remotely.  Andy is member of GSK Global Disability Council (GDC) in his capacity as co-lead for GSK’s global Disability Confidence Network employee resource...

  Jose Rubinger is a mission-driven serial entrepreneur that creates sustainable businesses that have benefited the Social, Education, and Health sectors for the past 15 years. His love for technology led him to conceptualize Key2enable Assistive Technology in the past years, together with his business partners in Brazil , filling a gap in the EdTech industry for Special Education. With K2E, he wa...

Joschi Kuphal has been active as a web designer, developer and creative entrepreneur for over 25 years. Starting in the mid-90s, while studying interior design, he developed his first websites in HTML, and later Flash. With his diploma in his pocket, he founded the web and advertising agency tollwerk (https://tollwerk.de) in 2000, which he continues to shape to this day. He has shared leadership o...

  Stéphanie is a User Researcher and Designer who focuses on building user-centered, inclusive and accessible products and services. She spent the last 12+ years helping her clients deliver successful projects in different industries (banking, financial, automotive, healthcare, press, travel, etc.)  She likes to share her passion for her UX work all around the world. She has taken this beyond her...

Jodie Greer is the Founder of Be #PeopleSmart, a disability inclusion and accessibility consultancy based in the UK, supporting businesses around the world. Jodie has been passionate about disability inclusion ever since she can remember, and has made it her mission to put more human-centricity back into the workplace. Jodie describes herself as currently non-disabled and believes disability inclu...

Jutta Treviranus is the Director of the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) and a professor in the faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto ( http://idrc.ocadu.ca ).  Jutta established the IDRC in 1993 as the nexus of a growing global community that proactively works to ensure that our digitally transformed and globally connected society is designed inclusively.  Dr Treviranus also foun...

Bruno Osório is the CEO of Adamastor Studio, a game development studio based in Portugal. He was born with cerebral palsy, which forces him to use a wheelchair to move. Is life objective is to be an inspirational icon for new companies and entrepreneurs, showing that, despite all the difficulties, it's always possible to make things happen. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, and his goa...

Jennifer Nikoro is the director of LBD FOUNDATION. Jennifer Nikoro was recently appointed as a disability task force member in International Arbitration by the International Court of Arbitration in Paris.  She is also a member of the Board of Appeal of Classification at the International Paralympics Committee, Germany, aimed at classifying athletes with disability for the Olympics. She is an Advis...

Ali Ingersoll is a day trader, disability strategy consultant, Ms. Wheelchair North Carolina 2022,  writer, blogger, editor, and public speaker. She started her advocacy mission after being repeatedly denied medically necessary equipment by insurance companies over the last 10 years since becoming a C6 quadriplegic and full-time wheelchair user after a shallow water diving accident.  Ali’s passion...

Diane Lightfoot is CEO of Business Disability Forum, a not-for-profit membership organisation that supports businesses to recruit and retain disabled employees and to serve disabled customers. Business Disability Forum’s 450+ members employ c.20% of the UK workforce and 8 million people worldwide. They range from FTSE 100 companies and central Government departments to technology and construction...

Yuval Wagner – President & Founder at Access Israel Org Accessibility, Inclusion, Accessible Technology, Assistive Technologies, Smart cities Accessibility. Michal Rimon – since 2007 CEO of Access Israel. Send us Fan Mail 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...

Ricardo García Bahamonde is the Head of Accessibility & Digital Inclusion for the Iberia Region at Atos. He has worked in the field of Digital Accessibility and Disability Inclusion since 2004 and has broad experience in consulting, project management, business development and training assignments in the United States, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe helping companies, governments,...

Shaun Mosley is a Designer / Researcher at Nava Public Benefit Corporation. With seven years of experience in Product Design, he applies technology in order to create a more equitable society. As an active member of the civic tech community, Shaun fills his time pushing for prison abolition, mentoring new technologists through Code for Atlanta, and making Georgia the best state for Black people to...

John Samuel is the Cofounder & CEO of Ablr, where he focuses on helping organizations be more inclusive by removing the barriers that have hindered people with disabilities from accessing education, retail, entertainment, and employment. John’s passion for his work is very personal as he is blind and wants to make sure the obstacles he has faced are removed for others. Over the past 15 years,...

Rama Gheerawo is an international and inspirational figure within design. He won a ‘Hall of Fame’ award for his work at the Design Week Awards in 2019 and was named a 2018 Creative Leaders by Creative Review alongside Paul Smith and Björk, As Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, he uses design to address issues around age, ability, gender and race. He is a serial innovator in the fields...

Susi Miller – eLearning accessibility expert and author  Susi Miller is an industry-leading expert on accessible learning design and the founder and director of eLaHub ( www.elahub.net ). The author of Designing Accessible Learning Content (Kogan Page, 2021), Susi has more than 30 years of L&D experience in public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She is a skilled instructional designer, eL...

Influencer, business leader, campaigner, Co-Author of “Net Positive: how courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take”, recently published October 2021. Paul Polman works to accelerate action by business to tackle climate change and inequality. A leading proponent that business should be a force for good, Paul has been described by the Financial Times as “a standout CEO of the past de...

Christopher Patnoe is the Head of Accessibility and Disability Inclusion for EMEA at Google. He leads Google’s efforts around the accessibility of product, people, policy and partnerships – with a new focus on Emerging Markets. He has more than 25 years experience in Tech working at companies like Apple, Sony Ericsson and Disney where he’s built hardware, software, and services. His current passio...

Joan O’Donnell is a longstanding advocate for inclusive employment practices. She is the author of the Future of Work a Remote Opportunity for Open Doors in Ireland and also evaluated the effectiveness of Irish employment policy as part of an EU study for Eurofound. She is the Project Manager of FreedomTech, which aims to ensure that we develop a comprehensive ecosystem of supports around AT, conc...

LaMondre is a motivational speaker, mentor, and professional figure in the area of people with disabilities. As CEO of Billion Strong, he leverages skills that enable him to inspire audiences to embrace diversity and create communities where people feel more welcome. By his second birthday, LaMondre was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, which compelled him to take steps to improve himself re...

Helen Wilson has worked in the digital community for over 20 years as a Digital development and Web designer, Learning Technologist, Digital Design FE Teacher and more recently in local authority digital content at Worcestershire County Council.  Helen has Masters degree qualifications in Education, as well as Online and Distance Education. Her passion is focused on the experiences of the end-user...

As IBM Z’s Chief Penguin, Dr. Melissa Sassi created her own IBM job title, job description, and leads Student & Entrepreneur Experience worldwide within the IBM Z division of IBM. This role includes being the Founder & Global Head of IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator, an IBM program focused on empowering early-stage startups to build and scale via business and technical enablement. Dr. Sassi h...

Sumita Kunashakaran Zero Project Manager, Civil Society Sumita Kunashakaran is the Manager of Civil Society outreach at the Zero Project. In effect, she manages the civil society engagement portfolio at the Zero Project, which boasts partners in over 180 countries. In addition, she actively manages the Impact Transfer program, a joint program between the Essl Foundation, Fundación Descúbreme and A...

Jenny McLaughlin has worked within the airport industry for over 19 years. This began at East Midlands Airport as an Environment and Safeguarding Officer achieving ISO14001. The last 14 years have been at Heathrow Airport in a number of departments including Environment, Airside and now Infrastructure as a project manager.  Jenny has delivered a number of business changes, from new aircraft de-ici...