Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
Transitions in Accessibility
October 22, 2020 at 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
With an extensive and dynamic history of making its campus and courses increasingly accessible to students with disabilities, Carleton University is committed to being the most accessible in Canada.
As part of the 2nd Annual Inclusion Week hosted by Equity and Inclusive Communities (EIC) Department at Carleton University, the Paul Menton Centre and the READ Initiative will host a panel discussion to highlight the leadership initiatives being undertaken by its students, faculty, staff and alumni to advance the accessibility agenda on campus and in the greater community.
This discussion will examine how this commitment to accessibility has been further shaped and informed by COVID-19 and how this will impact the transition to a new reality of higher education and the workplace with accessibility as a new norm.
Following the panel presentations, there will be a 15 minute curated Q&A session.
Panel Participants
- Quayce Thomas
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Founder, Timsle.com
Quayce Thomas is the founder of Timsle.com, a social accountability network he built to manage his bi-polar disorder while studying architecture.
Through Carleton’s READ Initiative, Quayce developed a keen interest in the intersection of research and technology. Since then, Quayce has become an active member of Ottawa’s start-up community.
A natural collaborator, Quayce has developed several organizational partnerships over the past few years, including representing Carleton University nationally as an expert in accessibility, and interning at IBM Advanced Studies.
Quayce is a graduate of Carleton’s Born Social Fellowship and has an avid interest in running and biking (even through Ottawa winters!)
- Somei Tam
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Senior Disability Advisor, Paul Menton Centre (PMC) for Students with Disabilities
Somei Tam is a Senior Disability Advisor with over 20 years of experience working at the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities.
Somei holds a Bachelor in Education and a Master in Education from the University of Ottawa. Somei has extensive experience in the field of post-secondary disability accommodation services.
As a Senior Disability Advisor, she provides advice and support to both students with disabilities and faculty in the implementation of the accommodation process.
Outside of Carleton, Somei served as the Vice-Chair, Chair, and Past Chair of the Inter-University Disability Issues Association (IDIA), a professional association of disability service providers representing twenty universities in Ontario.
- Cathy Malcolm Edwards
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Lead, Coordinated Accessibility Strategy (CAS) Implementation
With 20+ years of experience in research and academic environments, I have an enthusiastic appreciation for the power that research and education have to improve lives and the world we live in. I believe in using an empathetic approach that values those with lived experience in order to collaborate and co-create positive societal change.
As a member of READ, I co-develop ideas with colleagues, researchers, and community partners, help bring ideas to life as projects that address real-world accessibility issues, and build community.
I live with visible and non-visible disabilities and am passionate about the role universal design can play in making the world more accessible and equitable for all.
- Rebecca Andre
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Fourth year Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies
My name is Rebecca and I am a passionate disability rights advocate.
I am also a fourth year Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies student with a minor in Disability Studies.
In my non-academic time I have the privilege to work with the READ Initiative on some critically important projects that work towards creating more inclusive spaces for persons with disabilities.
- Beth A. Robertson, Ph.D.
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Adjunct Research Professor Department of History & School of Industrial Design, Carleton University Senior Research Associate, Inclusion / Education & Skills, Future Skills Centre, Conference Board of Canada
Beth A. Robertson is a Senior Research Associate, Inclusion/ Education & Skills, with the Conference Board of Canada (CBoC) who previously taught at Carleton from 2012-2019.
She brings over eight years of experience researching and developing innovative solutions to address global challenges in the domains of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA).
Both her past work as an instructor and her current work with the CBoC has focused significantly on identifying strategies that will ensure experiential education and work-integrated learning programs are inclusive and accessible.
- Tara Connolly (Moderator)
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Assistant Director, Research and Development READ (Research Education Accessibility Design)
Tara Connolly, M.A., RP, is the Assistant Director Research and Development for the Research Education Accessibility Design (READ) Initiative at Carleton University.
She is a Transitions Specialist with over 20 years experience consulting on the use of inclusive practices to support accessibility in a variety of settings. She has worked in school boards, post-secondary institutions, government agencies and healthcare settings as a content expert, to build capacity in accessible practices.
In her counselling practice, Tara supports a neurodiversity of thinkers, in particular adults and youth on the Spectrum, to thrive on their own terms. Together, with her clients, she co-creates meaningful strategies that facilitate the transitions into and throughout adulthood.
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