2022 XR Access Symposium
June 9 & 10, 2022 | Virtual Event
Read the Symposium Report
Read the Symposium report in the formats below.
Read as HTML | Download the PDF | Download the Word Document
Watch the Symposium Recordings
Missed the symposium, or want to catch up? Watch our YouTube playlist below.
Featured Speakers
Taryn Mackenzie Williams
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, US Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy
Presenters, Panelists, & Moderators
Ashley Coffey
Emerging Technologies Lead, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)
Bill Curtis-Davidson
Co-Director, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)
Alexa Huth
Director of Communications, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)
Randall Huzinec
Senior Physical Therapist, UPMC Rehabilitation Institute Mercy/Centers for Rehab Services
Rebecca Quintana
Associate Director, Learning Experience Design, Center for Academic Innovation, University of Michigan
Pamela Saca
University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation Learning Experience Designer for Accessibility
Valerie Jones Taylor
Associate Professor of Psychology and Africana Studies, Lehigh University
Corinne Weible
Co-Director, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)
Delbert Whetter
Producer/COO/Head of Business Affairs, Exodus Film Group; Vice Chair, RespectAbility
Agenda at a Glance
DAY 1: Thursday, June 9
All times US Eastern
Panels and Plenaries
10:00 AM: Greeting & Kickoff
Shiri Azenkot, Ph.D., Cornell Tech
Larry Goldberg, Formerly with Yahoo
10:05 AM: Opening Remarks
Taryn Mackenzie Williams, U.S. Department of Labor
10:20 AM: Importance of the XR Access Initiative
Mike Shebanek, Meta
10:25 AM: XR Access – Present and Future
Jessie G. Taft, Cornell Tech
Dylan Fox, Yahoo & XR Access
10:35 AM: KEYNOTE: Inclusive XR at Scale – The Nth Floor
Introduction by Bill Curtis-Davidson, PEAT, and Elizabeth Hyman, XR Association
Marisol Villena Salerno, Accenture
Jacque Madison, Accenture
11:15 AM: BREAK
11:30 AM: Inclusive VR Media & Entertainment
Erik Lohr, Ryot Studios
Danny Woodburn, Actor
Athena Demos, Big Rock Creative (BRCvr)
12:05 PM: Testing and Feedback
With Disabled Users
Christine Hemphill, Open Inclusion
Randy Huzinec, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Kate Mesh, Open Inclusion
Jamie Knight, Independent
Lynn Cox, Open Inclusion
12:40 PM: BREAK
12:55 PM: Accessible XR for Training
& Collaboration
Ashley Coffey, PEAT
Mark Steelman, TransfrVR
Tim Stutts, XR Design Leader
Elgin-Skye McLaren, Mozilla Hubs
Thomas Logan, Equal Entry
1:30 PM: Creators With Disabilities
Myles de Bastion, Cymaspace
Chris Hainsworth, BlindBurners
Adriana Mallozzi, Puffin Innovations
Ross Kilpatrick, VR Hive
Ben Glover, Independent
2:05 PM: BREAK
2:20 PM: Research to Practice in XR Accessibility
Ricardo Gonzalez, Cornell Tech
Haley Adams, Vanderbilt University
Raja Kushalnagar, Gallaudet University
Steven Feiner, Columbia University
2:55 PM: Looking Ahead
Jessie G. Taft, Cornell Tech
Dylan Fox, Yahoo & XR Access
DAY 2: Friday, June 10
All times US Eastern
Deep Dive Discussions
Learn more about each Deep Dive at this link.
10:00 AM: Welcome and Day 2 Overview
Shiri Azenkot, Ph.D., Cornell Tech
Jessie Taft, Cornell Tech
10:05 AM: Workstream Spotlight (bcXR): The Value of Inclusively Designed XR Workplace Tools
Introduction by Alexa Huth, PEAT
Ashley Coffey, PEAT
Maddalena Crosti, Independent
Stewart Tucker Lundy, #WheelchairBossLife
Joana Alemão, Moonbeam
Meryl K. Evans, Equal Entry
10:40 AM: Orientation to Deep Dives
Jessie G. Taft, Cornell Tech
Dylan Fox, Yahoo & XR Access
10:45 AM: BREAK
11:00 AM: Deep Dives – Part A
Immersive Captions and Sign Language
Policy Implications for XR Accessibility
Immersive Training, Learning, and Inspection
Non-Visual Access to Immersive Content
Accessible XR Tech Transfer: From Lab to Product
Designing Accessible & Inclusive XR-Enhanced Online Learning Experiences
Demystifying Immersive Innovation
12:15 PM: BREAK
12:30 PM: Deep Dives – Part B
Disability Inclusive XR Hackathons
Inclusive Immersive Meetings& Collaboration
Integrating Ethics into XR Systems
Intersectional Equity in XR
Demystifying Funding Opportunities in Inclusive XR R&D
Research Networking & Collaboration Hour