Save the Date for our 4th annual:
February 24, 2027
This engaging event will explore timely and emerging topics in disability, accessibility, advocacy, and inclusion, presented by disability leaders, self-advocates, and subject matter experts from across the country.
9:30 am – 3:45 pm
(Arizona Time)
Price TBD
Up to 5 Continuing Education (CE) Credit Hours
We are pleased to announce that Meryl K. Evans, a speaker and accessibility consultant who draws from her lived experience as a person with multiple disabilities and health conditions will be presenting on the topic of what disability professionals can learn from lived experience!
All sessions will be virtual, using the Zoom platform. Upon registration and payment, links will be sent to attendees.
Northern Arizona University CE certificates will automatically be emailed to participants. Participants will receive separate CE certificates for each complete session they attend.
Please check back as our lineup of activists and self-advocates and program details develop
Current Presenters
- Meryl K. Evans, a speaker and accessibility consultant who draws from her lived experience as a person with multiple disabilities and health conditions
Current Program Details
Presenter: Meryl K. Evans
Session Description:Disability professionals dedicate their careers to supporting, teaching, serving, and advocating for people with disabilities. Yet lived experience often reveals barriers, assumptions, and challenges that cannot be fully understood through training, policies, or professional expertise alone.
Born profoundly deaf, Meryl K. Evans often describes herself as living between worlds. She is not fully part of the Deaf community and not fully part of the hearing world. Add other disabilities and health conditions, and the lines become even more complex. Through personal stories from healthcare, education, work, travel, and everyday life, Evans shares what navigating these in-between spaces has taught her about communication, access, usability, and assumptions.
Attendees will gain practical insights into the gap between accessibility and usability, why solutions that work for one person may not work for another, and how lived experience can reveal barriers that otherwise remain hidden.
Key Learning Outcomes
1. Learn how lived experience can reveal barriers that others may not notice.
2.Explore the difference between accessibility and usability.
3. Take away practical ideas for improving access, communication, and participation.
Presenter Bios
Meryl K. Evans, CPACC, is a professional speaker, trainer, author, and consultant in accessibility, disability inclusion, and inclusive marketing and communications. Born profoundly deaf, she is a highly regarded speaker on disabilities and accessibility. She has spoken at TEDx, SXSW, and many other events.
She has authored and appeared in multiple books with the latest being “Design for All Learners: Create Accessible and Inclusive Learning Experiences,” The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News. Meryl is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies and LinkedIn Top Voice. The proud native Texan lives in Plano, Texas, with her family.