The Faces of Criterion 508

Last summer, the employees of this radically decentralized company gathered for the first time. They met one another, and their boss, and talked about what their work means.

Tweet

Ken Collins

BRIAN WALKER

Ken Collins

GABRIEL RUGGIERI

Brian Walker is an expert in the use of the JAWS screen reader for the blind.

"Our work improves usability for all users, not just disabled ones. It involves a lot of soul searching and verification of design. Any time you apply user-centric design principles, you find out what your customers really need."

Gabriel Ruggieri has known Anna Bradley most of his life; he moonlights for Criterion 508.

"Anna pushes me in new directions; she says, 'Whatever you know today is no good next year.' She's giving me back some of what I lost the last 15 years working for a big company."

La Tosca Goodwin is raising four children (this is Savannah) and does website audits after her kids' bedtimes.

"When I use JAWS, the listening is so exhausting. I would hate to have to experience the website through that medium."

Damien O'Brien

"I'm proud to say that my work finally paid off. I know people who have cerebral palsy like me, but they don't want to work. They took the easy way out. I didn't have to go to college, but I wanted to."

Steve Dozier

"When I was in direct marketing, if I'd told my bosses 20 percent of the market was untapped, they'd be climbing all over me to get to the market. You can just see that folks haven't been trained in accessibility. They're talking code and doing neat things, but they can't do simple things. If usability is a hot word, then access needs to be too."

Read more:

Sign-up for our Leadership and Managing Newsletter

Email Address: