The Digital Accessibility Office has added three new consultants who have a wealth of experience advancing accessibility.
Lane Fields, Sherose Badruddin and Craig Hayward joined the team last month. They will aid the DAO’s efforts to serve as a resource for all of campus by offering services, tools and training to help improve the accessibility of digital content.
The three new digital accessibility consultants bring the four-person unit up to full staff again. Three original members of the DAO, which launched in 2019 and is housed within ITS, departed last year and early this year. There’s tremendous industry demand for professionals with digital accessibility expertise.
The trio will work with Chelsea Porter, a DAO staffer since early 2020 and its permanent leader since February.
“I can’t express how excited I am to have three amazing new teammates with me in the DAO,” Porter said. “After a very competitive hiring process, we gained three incredibly talented and motivated people. I look forward to working with them to help DAO achieve its mission in new and exciting ways.”
Likewise, Fields, Badruddin and Hayward are enthusiastic about working together at the DAO, applying their knowledge of and passion for digital accessibility, and serving the needs of the University.
A native of North Carolina, Fields has returned home from Massachusetts, where he was working at Harvard Business School as a content developer for HBS Online. Badruddin and Hayward, meanwhile, come from roles at libraries. Badruddin moved over to the DAO from UNC Libraries, where she implemented changes to promote digital accessibility in public services. She’s also active in inclusion initiatives in her community. For the past 15 years, Hayward was the technology librarian at the State Library of North Carolina Accessible Books and Library Services. In more recent years, that role encompassed serving as a digital accessibility consultant for public libraries across North Carolina.
Lane Fields
Why did you want to join this team?
I relocated from Cambridge, Massachusetts for this role. I was that excited about it! I’ve been longing to work in a role related to digital accessibility for several years at this point, and when I saw this position, I applied. The passion shared by Chelsea and other members of the broader accessibility initiative at UNC was immediately tangible. I knew that I had found my people right from the jump. As a native North Carolinian, I felt this role was the perfect opportunity to come home.
What excites you most about this position?
In addition to the shared passion and wonderful colleagues I already mentioned, I really value the opportunity to do something good. Using technology to help people seems daunting and even contradictory to some, but I’m so grateful that I get to sign in every day and put not only my brain to work, but my heart.
What do you bring to the role?
Besides my technical experience, I have a deep personal investment in digital accessibility, universal design for learning, and accessible design. I am neurodivergent and have a non-verbal learning disability as well as an auditory processing disorder. Access for all isn’t just personal for me, though; it’s political. Accessibility is an issue of justice and equity, and we should all care about it and strive towards it.
What is your professional background?
I have professional experience in instructional design, system administration, technical documentation, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. I most recently worked at Harvard Business School as a content developer for HBS Online.
What about your personal life?
When I’m not working, I spend time creating. I’m a published poet, games designer and musician. I also write critical reviews of literature and music, and I’m working on an academic text about how players change the meaning of games through experimental interactions. As you might guess, I’m an avid gamer (of all sorts, but mostly PlayStation and board/tabletop). Finally, I live in Chapel Hill with my cat Juno.
Sherose Badruddin
Why did you want to join this team?
I have a strong familiarity with the work of the DAO office and learned about its strategic preparations for expanding services and personnel. Given my deep passion for promoting inclusivity and advocating for accessibility justice, I was genuinely drawn to the opportunity to contribute in a creative capacity.
What excites you most about this position?
I am most excited about developing comprehensive resources and new pathways that ensure digital accessibility knowledge is accessible to individuals across all levels of understanding.
What do you bring to the role?
I possess valuable institutional knowledge and have experience implementing changes to promote digital accessibility in public services as a staff member in my previous role at UNC and elsewhere. Additionally, I have developed expertise in various methods of digital accessibility identification and remediation. One of my greatest strengths lies in my ability to meet individuals at their current level of understanding and effectively guide them towards their desired goals. My passion drives me to continuously stay updated with the latest advancements and best practices in the field, enabling me to bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to the table.
What is your professional background?
I have a comprehensive background in education, diversity and inclusion policies and projects, as well as active involvement in inclusion initiatives within both my professional environments and local community. Currently, I am privileged to serve on the IDEA Action committee alongside my former University Libraries’ colleagues. This committee plays a crucial role by granting funding for projects aligned with the Reckoning Initiative, empowering Library employees to address systemic issues related to inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility within library operations.
What about your personal life?
I transplanted here from Chicago about 10 years ago and am thrilled to be living so close to the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains. I hope to visit the Outer Banks and Boone this summer.
Craig Hayward
Why did you want to join this team?
It’s a chance to be part of a team performing in a role I have grown into over time. I have worked in libraries for the last 25 years. In my most recent position, as the technology librarian at the NC Library for the Blind these last 15 years, I have realized how much I enjoy supporting library staff and patrons who are visually impaired or have other reading disabilities. I like making sure the State Library’s website and online resources are accessible. I appreciate the direct feedback I get first-hand from patrons of the program if there are issues that I can help resolve.
Over time my position has evolved into a digital accessibility consultant for public libraries across North Carolina, in everything from how to make websites more accessible to how to make your physical space more accessible. It all prepared me for this new adventure. I’m looking forward to the challenges and possibilities.
What excites you most about this position?
Being part of a team of four dedicated to helping others by making their online and digital experience more accessible. Accessibility is for everyone, not just those who have disabilities. It’s a public good that lets everyone use the same resources regardless of how you use them. I’m excited to be able to focus my efforts helping others with accessibility beyond just libraries and to teach others about it.
What do you bring to the role?
I bring a love of learning, teaching and problem solving. My goal is to understand how people use technology as a tool to access information and resources and to communicate. I’m a librarian by training, so I tend to ask questions and try to guide others to their own answers, however they get there. I really enjoy helping someone learn something new or do something they couldn’t do before. I enjoy being a creative problem solver who isn’t afraid to try new ideas.
What is your professional background?
I started out of college in video and audio production and ended up in libraries. I enjoyed the challenges which made me want to be a librarian. During my library career, I helped develop an engineering firm’s information center and worked as a reference librarian and IT librarian at a large suburban public library, serving on various library technology committees and task forces.
For the past 15 years, I have been primarily a technology librarian at an accessible books library, managing all specialized software and hardware for the library, including various assistive technology. I have been technical support and a trainer to library patrons who are visually and reading impaired on downloading books and magazines and using specialized reading equipment and smartphone reading apps. I have been the technology accessibility consultant and trainer for public library staff across the state of North Carolina, helping them offer accessible library services and technology. I have been the primary digital and online document accessibility consultant for the State Library of North Carolina.
I have served as president of the NLS Southern Conference of Libraries for the Blind and Print Disabled and on various committees and task forces for the Library of Congress’ National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. I am on the board of directors for the North Carolina Radio Reading Service. I hold a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Pittsburgh.
What about your personal life?
I live in Durham with my wife and two cats, and sometimes my two kids when they are home. My son is a senior majoring in mathematics and music at Carolina, and my daughter is a dancer who will be a freshman at a college out of state this fall. When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time outdoors, running 5Ks, going to music concerts and dance performances and spending time with family and friends.