Accessibility at Microsoft
Jenny Lay-Flurrie (Chief Accessibility Officer, Microsoft)
Distinguished Lecture Series
Thursday, November 10, 2022, 3:30 pm
Abstract
Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft, discusses Microsoft's journey to bridge the disability divide, the gap in societal inclusion for people with disabilities. Jenny will cover a brief history of accessibility at Microsoft, the evolution of the accessibility industry, inclusive design, and AI and innovation.
Bio
Jenny Lay-Flurrie is chief accessibility officer at Microsoft, leading the company's efforts to drive great products, services and websites that empower people and organizations to achieve more. Her team is at the forefront of creating positive experiences that apply technology to make a difference in the world and the lives of individuals, from how we hire and support people with disabilities in employment to innovative technology that aims to revolutionize what’s possible for people with disabilities.
With the help of her team and broad community within Microsoft, Lay-Flurrie leads many initiatives to empower people with disabilities both inside and outside of Microsoft. She founded the Disability Employee Resource Group at Microsoft and chaired it for 10 years. She created the Disability Answer Desk, which provides specialist customer support to people with disabilities (over 1M calls handled to date), hosts the annual Microsoft Ability Summit, which focuses on empowering 2000+ attendees with the inclusive and innovative thinking necessary to enable people around the world. Instrumental in projects such as Autism Hiring Program, Soundscape and the Microsoft Ability Hackathon, which has supported over 500 hackathon teams building technology for people with disabilities. Lay-Flurrie was recognized as nominated as a technology groundbreaker by CEO Satya Nadella in Wired Magazine, and is a contributor to the book, "The Ability Hacks," which shares behind-the-scenes stories of the hackers who pioneered two innovative hack-turned-solutions used by people with disabilities worldwide.
Outside of Microsoft, Jenny is on the board of Gallaudet University and Team Gleason. She was recognized as a 'Disability Employment Champion of Change' by the White House in October 2014 and as one of Fast Companies' Most Creative people in business in 2017.
Twitter: @jennylayfluffy. Microsoft Bio Story
This Distinguished Lecture is co-hosted by the Allen School and CREATE.
This talk is available on our YouTube channel.