Accessibility in Practice
"Everyone will experience disability if they live long enough."
My abuela immigrated to the United States after giving birth to five children. As a child she was my caretaker, and I her aide. As soon as I could speak, I used my voice to help her communicate in a language foreign to her own. Once strong enough, I would send her empty-handed up five stories as I single-handedly carried hundreds of pounds of groceries and supplies up to our apartment.
I was in my first decade of life, and she in her eighth.
She taught me the importance of devoting yourself in service to others, even when the world doesn’t devote itself back to you. Through her work, I witnessed her navigate challenging systems that others took for granted. I could see the pain in her ageing limbs as we climbed steep hills and stairs on our missions around an inaccessible city. Just a simple visit to the bank, or a phone call with a doctor, would be fraught with confusion as technology continued to outpace the needs of its users.
As a child I committed myself to making life more accessible for my grandmother. I would try to predict her struggles and do whatever was within my power to assist her. From landlines to smartphones and antennas to cable television, we were together every step of the way. Accessibility has been my practice for as long as I can recall. I grew up learning to recognize and remedy the needs of others.
True digital accessibility is more than studying and implementing regulations and standards. It’s also about extending your influence to get others to care and to naturally think about accessibility on their own. Once you wire your brain to look out for others’ pains, it can be as impossible to miss as a building on fire right in front of you.
I strive to continue my abuela’s legacy of service and making the world more comfortable for others however I can.
Accessibility Projects
Portfolio Design System
I coded this whole portfolio website completely from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It was really tough and I have devoted a lot of effort to making it as accessible as possible. This overview provides context for most of my design decisions.
COVID Vaccine Locator
My team conducted usability testing with blind and low-vision screen reader users to identify accessibility barriers and offered recommendations for the improvement of Chicago's COVID-19 vaccine locator.
Twitch Accessibility Audit
I conducted an accessibility audit of Twitch's home and channel pages using WCAG 2.1 POUR standards to identify barriers for users with disabilities, especially for those who use screen readers when computing.