2022 XR Access Symposium

June 9 & 10, 2022 | Virtual Event

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Watch the Symposium Recordings

Missed the symposium, or want to catch up? Watch our YouTube playlist below.

Featured Speakers

Shiri Azenkot

Shiri Azenkot

Associate Professor, Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, Cornell Tech

+ About Shiri
Larry Goldberg

Larry Goldberg

Former Head of Accessibility, Yahoo!

+ About Larry
Jacque Madison

Jacque Madison

Director of Product Accessibility, Accenture

+ About Jacque
Marisol Villena Salerno

Marisol Villena Salerno

Digital Accessibility Experience Product Manager, Accenture

+ About Marisol
Mike Shebanek

Mike Shebanek

Head of Accessibility, Meta

+ About Mike
Taryn Mackenzie Williams

Taryn Mackenzie Williams

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, US Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy

+ About Taryn

Presenters, Panelists, & Moderators

Haley Adams

Haley Adams

PhD Candidate, Vanderbilt University

+ About Haley
Joana Alemão

Joana Alemão

VR Curator and Software Engineer, Moonbeam

+ About Joana
Ashley Coffey

Ashley Coffey

Emerging Technologies Lead, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)

+ About Ashley
Lynn Cox

Lynn Cox

Panel Lead for Visual Impairments, Open Inclusion

+ About Lynn
Maddalena Crosti

Maddalena (Maddy) Crosti

XR Independent Consultant, Crosti Co.

+ About Maddy
Bill Curtis-Davidson

Bill Curtis-Davidson

Co-Director, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)

+ About Bill
Myles de Bastion

Myles de Bastion

Artistic Director, CymaSpace

+ About Myles
Athena Demos

Athena Demos

Co-Founder & CEO, Big Rock Creative

+ About Athena
Roland Dubois

Roland Dubois

Immersive Design Instructor, UX Lead, School of Visual Arts

+ About Roland
Aviv Elor

Aviv Elor

Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Immergo Labs Inc.

+ About Aviv
Meryl Evans

Meryl Evans

Director of Marketing and Accessibility Consultant, Equal Entry

+ About Meryl
Steven K. Feiner

Steven K. Feiner

Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University

+ About Steven
Dylan Fox

Dylan Fox

Coordination & Engagement Team Lead, XR Access

+ About Dylan
Brenden Gilbert

Brenden Gilbert

Product Hardware Engineer & Accessibility Evangelist, Meta

+ About Brenden
Ben Glover

Ben Glover

Freelance Video Designer

+ About Ben
Ricardo Gonzalez

Ricardo Enrique Gonzalez

Information Science PhD Student, Cornell Tech

+ About Ricardo
Anhong Guo

Anhong Guo

Assistant Professor, University of Michigan

+ About Anhong
Chris Hainsworth

Chris Hainsworth

Co-Founder, BlindBurners

+ About Chris
Christine Hemphill

Christine Hemphill

Founder, OpenInclusion

+ About Christine
Alexa Huth

Alexa Huth

Director of Communications, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)

+ About Alexa
Randall Huzinec

Randall Huzinec

Senior Physical Therapist, UPMC Rehabilitation Institute Mercy/Centers for Rehab Services

+ About Randall
Liz Hyman

Liz Hyman

President & CEO, XR Association

+ About Liz
Jamie + Lion

Jamie + Lion

Director, Jamie + Lion Ltd

+ About Jamie + Lion
Albert Kim

Albert Kim

Leader/Founder, Accessibility NextGen

+ About Albert
Erik Lohr

Erik Lohr

Audio Lead, Yahoo RYOT Studios

+ About Erik Lohr
Ross Hugh Kilpatrick

Ross Hugh Kilpatrick

3D Animator, The VR Hive

+ About Ross
Raja Kushalnagar

Raja Kushalnagar

Professor & Director, Gallaudet University

+ About Raja
Christopher Lafayette

Christopher Lafayette

Founder, GatherVerse.org

+ About Christopher
Thomas Logan

Thomas Logan

Founder and CEO, Equal Entry

+ About Thomas
Stewart Tucker Lundy

Stewart Tucker Lundy

Actor & Advocate

+ About Stewart
Adrianna Mallozzi

Adriana Mallozzi

Founder & CEO, Puffin Innovations

+ About Adriana
Mathana

Mathana

Co-Chair, IEEE Global Initiative for the Ethics of Extended Reality

+ About Mathana
Kate Mesh

Kate Mesh

Senior Inclusive Researcher, Open Inclusion

+ About Kate
Monique Morrow

Monique Morrow

IEEE XR ICAID Co-Chair; Syniverse Technologies

+ About Monique
Jeremy Nelson

Jeremy Nelson

Director, XR Initiative, University of Michigan

+ About Jeremy
Joan OHara

Joan O’Hara

VP Public Policy, XRA

+ About Joan
Rebecca Quintana

Rebecca Quintana

Associate Director, Learning Experience Design, Center for Academic Innovation, University of Michigan

+ About Rebecca
Pamela Saca

Pamela Saca

University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation Learning Experience Designer for Accessibility

+ About Pamela
John Soroushian

John Soroushian

Assistant Director, Business and Technology, Bipartisan Policy Center

+ About John
Mark Steelman

Mark Steelman

Senior Unity Engineer, Transfr

+ About Mark
Tim Stutts

Tim Stutts

Design Director, Interactive Experiences, Cognixion

+ About Tim
Jessie Taft

Jessie Taft

Membership and Research Coordinator, XR Access; Cornell Tech

+ About Jessie
Valerie Jones Taylor

Valerie Jones Taylor

Associate Professor of Psychology and Africana Studies, Lehigh University

+ About Valerie
Damian Turkieh

Damián Turkieh

Director, Realidad 360° Argentina

+ About Damián
Corinne Weible

Corinne Weible

Co-Director, Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)

+ About Corinne
Delbert Whetter

Delbert Whetter

Producer/COO/Head of Business Affairs, Exodus Film Group; Vice Chair, RespectAbility

+ About Delbert
Danny Woodburn

Danny Woodburn

Executive Director, Mulberry Tree Group

+ About Danny

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

1:45 PM: BREAK

2:00 PM: Reports Back

3:00 PM: End of Symposium

Sponsors

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VR headset
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Supporters

Verizon
Google