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Hi, this is Mizuki.
It’s been a while since I posted the last article!
Last week I was in the bay area, California, to visit companies and meet people for my research.
When I did research trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin in November, it took very long to post those interview articles…
So I decided to post some “short introductions” of my visit for you in advance.
I will post the detail interview article one by one later!
1. Facebook
I met Shaomei Wu (Data Analyst) and Matt King (Engineer) to and learned about their projects which help Facebook users with visual disabilities and improve working environment for employees with disabilities at Facebook.
Last month I just saw this news and got interested in visiting them.
The office was full of energy and its layout was very interesting.
Matt is blind. I have learned and inspired by how his experiences at workplace and technology have changed and will change people with disabilities’ lives in the future.
2. cisco
Some major companies in the U.S. have “Employee Resource Group” which employees can participate some diversity related groups (such as people with disabilities, LGBT, women, Latino etc.) and do activities to raise awareness.
I met Tomoko Kurosawa, Chris Figone and Andy Smith.
It is a voluntary work, but there are same groups in other countries of cisco and work under the proper management.
In cisco, the view of “diversity” has been moved to the next stage. I will write about this in the article.
3. Apple
Many people know about Siri in iPhone, I believe.
At Apple, I met Sue Booker, who work for Siri accessibility.
Today people know and use the word, accessibility more than before.
And some companies really focus on accessibility on their product or service.
However, among IT field in the U.S., accessibly has been already important since 30 years ago!
I could hear about how the IT industry changed and how the recruiting systems have evolved.
The picture is taken in the hallway of the conference room where Steve Jobs usually gave a presentation of new products…!
4. Yahoo
I visited Gary Moulton, a manager of accessibility team.
He has worked for IT companies for a long time.
He talked about the history why IT companies needed to consider about accessibility.
Also he shared very interesting topics with me such as how company’s business and employment for people with disabilities are linked, how US society utilizes an image of people with disabilities.
5. Pacific ADA Center
There are 10 ADA Centers in the U.S., which are private organizations operating with the budget from US Department of Education and funds.
They provide technical assistance, training, Webinars to improve the environment for people with disabilities.
Lewis Kraus (middle in the picture) coordinated my visit and Jan Garrett and I had a talk.
She talked about the employment issues for people with disabilities in the U.S. which I haven’t noticed.
6. Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco
This organization supports independent living for people with disabilities in San Francisco.
I talked with Fiona Hinge, a community coordinator.
She is also a wheelchair user like me.
She shared how the organization support people with disabilities as well as issues related to them in the U.S.
7. Ed Roberts Campus
Ed Roberts was a leader of disability rights movement in Berkeley stated in 1960s.
When he passed away in 1995, people said “the name of Ed Roberts should be remained in Berkeley”, and this universal designed “Ed Roberts Campus” was built.
Susan Henderson showed me around and explained the concept.
When it was build, the road and sidewalk were constructed to make more accessible for people with disabilities.
The entrance and inside of the building have so many impressive ingenuity. Please check the detail in the article!
These are the short introductions for my visit.
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Now I will start transcribing the recordings and compile the information I collected…bye for now!