Accessibility insight from someone who’s lived it for almost twenty years.
I don’t consult on accessibility from the outside looking in. I’ve navigated the web, apps, and software using screen readers as my primary way of computing for nearly two decades — JAWS and VoiceOver, every single day. When I talk about where digital accessibility breaks down, I’m not describing a checklist item. I’m describing my Tuesday.
Why Me
I grew up in a family traveling carnival business in the Houston area and worked it through the mid-2000s. When that business closed, I taught myself HTML and built a new path from the ground up — eventually founding The Accessibility Advantage, writing the Barrier Free Bytes column for PHP Architect, and building a reputation as a trailblazer in both the disability community and the accessibility field. My writing has appeared in Consumer Reports and USA Today, and I host two podcasts, What’s Your Excuse? and The Accessibility Advantage.
I’ve built my career on a simple belief: if you don’t ask, they can’t say yes. I bring that same directness to every talk and workshop — no polish for polish’s sake, just the real experience of navigating a world that wasn’t built with people like me in mind, and what that experience can teach the people building it.
What I Offer
🎤 Screen Reader Roulette — Hands-On Workshop
Most accessibility training happens with slides and checklists. This one happens with headphones on and the screen turned off.
Screen Reader Roulette is a hands-on session built for engineering and DevOps teams — though it works for anyone who builds or maintains a website or app. Attendees put on a screen reader — NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on Mac — and try to get through real interfaces the way I do every day. No looking at the screen. No shortcuts. Just listening, navigating, and discovering in real time where things fall apart.
It’s one thing to read that a missing label or a broken tab order causes problems. It’s a different thing to sit there yourself, unable to find the button you need, and feel how fast that frustration turns into someone just leaving. That moment is what this workshop is built around, and it’s the one that tends to stay with people long after the session ends.
Currently seeking beta audiences. I’m running this workshop with a small beta group before opening it up more broadly, and I’m keeping it easy to say yes to. I’m a good fit if:
- You’re a business in the northwest Houston area (Conroe, The Woodlands, Spring, and nearby), and an in-person session fits your team’s schedule
- You’d rather run it virtually or hybrid, wherever you’re located
- You’re willing to cover reasonable travel expenses for an in-person session further out, based on my track record as a trailblazer in accessibility and disability advocacy
Full-length format: 6 hours, hands-on. Virtual/hybrid options available.
🎶 What’s Your Excuse? — An Evening of Stories and Songs
A different kind of talk — one built around original acapella songs and the stories behind them, not a motivational speech with music sprinkled in. Each piece pairs a song, the story that inspired it, the lesson it carries, and a takeaway the audience leaves with.
Available as a 45-minute conference preview or a 90-minute full show. Can also be paired with the Screen Reader Roulette workshop as a two-day package for organizations wanting both the practical and the personal side of accessibility and resilience.
Book a Consult
Interested in either offering, or want to talk through what would work for your event or team?