Accessibility Today, Inclusion Tomorrow

With the rise of accessibility, disability inclusion can become reality for more and more people.
To help us understand what that might mean, we asked our partners on the AT&T Advisory Panel on Access and Aging (AAPAA) to weigh in. These national leaders in assistive technology, aging and cross-disability issues provide AT&T with regular, ongoing input on how we are doing on issues related to accessibility. They offer a rich and diverse perspective on the many facets of disability that informs our approach.

When posed a simple question, “What does inclusion mean to you?” their heartfelt and sincere responses illuminate what’s possible.

“Inclusion at work, school, home and in the community means we can contribute equally alongside our colleagues, friends, and family members. Inclusion means we are not an afterthought, but an equal member of the community. An equal part of life itself.”

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Lise Hamlin
Director of Public Policy
Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA)

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Lise Hamlin has advocated for those with hearing loss for 25+ years. In her public policy role at HLAA, she helps those who experience barriers to employment, technology, public places and telecommunications – an experience made more meaningful by her own experience with hearing loss. Lise represents HLAA on multiple, high profile federal advisory committees, consumer coalitions and industry advisory groups, including AAPAA. A true leader in the field, she has taken part in developing and presenting on hearing assistive technology and emergency preparedness, and she has been nationally recognized for advocacy and community service, including as a recipient of TDI’s prestigious Karen Peltz Strass Advocacy Award.

“Inclusion means genuine respect: respect for similarities, respect for differences, respect for unique perspective that only varied life experiences can bring. Inclusion means the sum, the total of all voices, of all people, who have a stake in an outcome. Inclusion means remembering that we have, whether intentionally or unintentionally, forgotten others in the past. Inclusion means recognition and validation of everyone’s’ worthiness. Inclusion means creating a better, brighter reality.”

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Lee Huffman
Accessible Community Development Strategist
American Printing House for the Blind

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An expert in low vision access technology and a user of assistive technology himself, Lee Huffman analyzes products on the basis of accessibility to persons who have low vision. He is a leader in the field of vision impairment and blindness with a combined 16 years of experience at both American Printing House of the Blind and American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). He has published extensively as editor-in chief of AFB’s online technology magazine, AccessWorld, has achieved national recognition for his work on video magnification technology and also has developed close working relationships with national technology and device manufacturers, some of whom have changed their products on the basis of his product evaluation findings.

“For the last 15 years, I have been involved in determining how consumer technology is used, and can be improved, for use by people with disabilities. I have seen firsthand how the tech industry has evolved. Meeting accessibility standards used to be viewed as a burden within the industry, but now they view it as a competitive advantage. To me that’s an important step toward inclusion.”

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Ben Lippincott
Research Coordinator
Crawford Research Institute at Shepherd Center

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Ben is a research coordinator at the Crawford Research Institute at Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital for people with spinal cord injuries, acquired and traumatic brain injuries and other neuromuscular diseases. For the last 15 years he has worked on a variety of federally funded grants exploring the intersection of disability and assistive/accessible consumer wireless technologies. He is currently working on a 4-year project for the LiveWell App Factory testing mHealth apps by people with disabilities for accessibility and usability. He is a co-founder and leads user testing efforts for the Accessibility User Research Collective. He served as a Project Director for the Wireless RERC’s project on Industry and Consumer Outreach, Education & Support. For the past several years, he has served on AAPAA.

“Inclusion isn’t one size fits all, and sometimes I feel it when I least expect it. Inclusion is the waitress who offers to cut my straw in half. Inclusion is when someone asks me what my access needs are, and what would help them to be met, rather than guessing or assuming. I think, at its heart, inclusion is about knowing that I’m thought about, that I’m heard, that I’m remembered. It’s a feeling of being welcomed and like I belong, and it’s powerful beyond words.”

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Heather Tomko
Outreach Coordinator
National Rehabilitation Research and Training (RRT) Center on Family Support
University of Pittsburgh

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Living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a neuromuscular disease, Heather Tomko brings firsthand experience and passion for disability advocacy and access to bear in her career and community. Her leadership spans the University of Pittsburgh, CLASS, a Pennsylvania-based disability resources organization, The Andy Warhol Museum, AAPAA and Accessible YOUniverse, a disability advocacy organization she founded. She has been recognized with the ACHIEVA Award of Excellence for Community Awareness, the Dick Thornburgh Disability Service Award, and was Ms. Wheelchair USA in 2018. Heather is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health.

“To me, inclusion means that all people are respected, appreciated and capable of contributing to society regardless of ability, community type, disability, ethnicity, gender, healthcare needs, sexual orientation or skin color.”

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Amy Van DeVelde
Technology Education Director
The Oasis Institute

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Since 2012, Amy VanDeVelde has led the Oasis Connections program, which has offered thousands of classes under her leadership. Expert at helping digital newcomers and older adults access the internet safely, she guides them in the use of technology to support and enhance interpersonal relationships by decreasing social isolation. Amy obtained a certificate from Harvard University in Cybersecurity Risk Management in 2020.

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