Why I Started Accessible 3?
For over ten years, I labored in the mines of inaccessible digital environments. As my eyesight worsened, my challenges in accessing the tools and spaces I needed to work or communicate grew. Through various support groups I joined during that time, I came to understand that these issues were widespread and largely unresolved in the experiences of many others in the blindness community.
To my friends in blindness, my gratitude runs deep, you make me brave. Your vivid and unfiltered honesty has been a source of courage, inspiring me to share my story, advocate for systemic changes needed for true inclusion, and creating an optimistic future where the next generation can thrive.
Values
We begin with an unwavering commitment to putting blind and visually impaired Americans’ needs at the center of our efforts. Our Yes-And philosophy embraces the potential of technologies, research, and partnerships. We start with what works, recognizing and expanding upon the good while staying grounded in the objective truth about areas that demand improvement.
Mission
To provide the dignity and security of full-time, meaningful employment to the “Blind and Severy Visually Impaired” as defined by the American Community Survey (ACS). Our mission is to double the full-year, full-time employment rate to 74% by 2050.
Vision
In alignment with Statute 4998 of the United States Senate, The “Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act,” we will accomplish our mission in five ways:
a. Through the delivery of research studies and whitepapers that analyze the impact of legacy operating systems, hardware, application software, websites, and assistive technologies on the ability of blind or visually impaired individuals to fully participate in employment, framed from the perspective of user experience best practices.
b. Through foundational research into the current state and evolution of accessibility tools, standards, strategies, and tactics, on the ability of blind or visually impaired individuals to fully participate in employment, framed from the perspective of user experience best practices.
c. Through the delivery of research studies and whitepapers that evaluate the impact of emerging technologies and modalities on the ability of blind or visually impaired individuals to fully participate in employment, framed from the perspective of user experience best practices.
d. Through the development of Telegraph, a product designed to safely, easily, and effectively capture and transmit the experiences—both triumphs and challenges—of blind or visually impaired users across operating systems, hardware, application software, websites, assistive technologies, and emerging technology modalities. Telegraph will identify patterns, provide critical discovery research, report persistent complaints, and make recommendations to drive meaningful change. Outputs to include data metrics and analysis, whitepapers, digital environment system mapping, personas, and journey maps, among other artifacts.
e. The development of training materials and programs to educate blind and visually impaired professionals, as well as any non-profit entities that serve them, and within our scope of research.