Resume
Experience
Centene Corporation: Senior Product Manager (Software Accessibility) February 2023 – November 2024
- Collaborating with Key Roles on individual scrum teams or ensuring key accessibility needs are represented from the perspective of Product.
- Validating key tasks across the agile lifecycle.
- Refining collaboration protocols between all key project / program stakeholders.
- Roadmapping future program activities.
Centene Corporation (Contract): Technical Product Manager / Product Owner September 2022 – February 2023
- Guiding Agile (and other project) ceremonies towards more robust inclusion of accessibility principles through participation in story refinement, grooming, sprint planning and retrospectives.
- Coaching remediation development team members’ use of tooling and techniques to improve their effectiveness and throughput.
- Refining collaboration protocols between all key project / program stakeholders.
- Roadmapping future program activities.
OfManyHats Digital LLC: Principal May 2022 – September 2022
- Guiding Agile (and other project management) ceremonies towards more robust inclusion of accessibility principles through participation in story writing, grooming, sprint planning and retrospectives.
- Conducting client UX Design reviews and consultation to ensure sound accessible designs prior to later development.
- Creating UX Design concepts for better inclusion of accessibility principles.
- Vetting UI frameworks for appropriate accessibility considerations and consistency with accepted W3C patterns.
Diamond: Accessibility Manager September 2019 - May 2022
- Engaging with senior cross functional stakeholders to develop company guidelines for use in day-to-day project execution.
- Representing accessibility considerations in project planning and management activities.
- Collaborating internally and with client team stakeholders in developing scalable means for enabling cross-device / remote accessibility testing on a myriad of devices (including smart TVs & set-top boxes) during initial stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Conducting device-specific audits of Closed Caption implementation for Web, Mobile and Smart TV / Entertainment Platforms according to CVAA and WCAG guidelines.
- Conducting device-specific application accessibility audits for Web, Mobile and Smart TV / Entertainment Platforms according to CVAA and WCAG guidelines.
- Developing and Delivering accessibility training materials for internal and external client delivery.
- Supporting internal digital accessibility platform activities supporting accessibility needs of current and future employees.
Optum Accessibility Center of Excellence: Digital Accessibility Engineer / A11Y Evangelist December 2016 - September 2019
- Engaging with senior legal and business stakeholders to help shape Meaningful Access & Accessibility Program to implement regulations for Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.
- Conducting targeted accessibility assessments for public facing digital properties across the Optum and UnitedHealthcare portfolios.
- Advising teams on how to conduct remediation activities based on previous assessments.
- Validating that teams have taken appropriate corrective action to remedy prior accessibility barriers.
- Leading Accessibility CoE Awareness / Communication activities to aid making the UHG / Optum / UHC Enterprise more informed and better equipped partners in creating digital properties that better serve ALL of our customers (regardless of their abilities).
United Health Group Interactive Design Services
Digital Accessibility Manager November 2015 - December 2016
Building the Accessibility Capability within the merged User Experience Design Studio to appropriately serve UXDS’ project portfolio.
Manager, UX Research & Accessibility January 2014 - November 2015
Lead a dedicated group of UX Researchers and Digital Accessibility Professionals committed to understanding our users and assisting our colleagues in crafting experiences that not only map to out clients' business goals, but meet our users' expectations in a way that is accessible to all abilities.
Southfield Office Expansion Business Stakeholder April 2014 - February 2015
- Directed the design and outfitting of a new Usability Lab.
- Guided office configuration Subject Matter Expertise.
- Represented Interactive Design & Strategy in facility related decision making.
- Coordinated a staged move of Interactive Design & Strategy into their newly completed office suite.
Digital Inclusion, Interaction & Research Specialist July 2012 - January 2014
- Leading research efforts for subject matter including accessibility / digital inclusion, web development, mobile development and user experience design.
- Participation in the development of UHG IT mobile development best practices and guidelines.
- Technical expert for Accessibility.
- Technical evangelist for Web Standards and Responsive Design.
- Technical advisor for Mac Web Development Environment.
(Acting) Scrum Master August 2012 - October 2012
- Temporarily splitting my time between my existing role and this interim Scrum Master role which will allow me to explore Agile Development more fully.
UI Development Manager / Accessibility, Mobile & Tech Platforms Lead August 2011 - July 2012
- Managing Web UI / Mobile development resources for UHG IT Interactive Development Services.
- Participation in the development of UHG IT mobile development best practices and guidelines.
- Technical expert for Accessibility.
- Technical evangelist for Web Standards and Responsive Design.
- Technical adviser for Mac Web Development Environment.
Senior Web Portal Design Specialist May 2011 - August 2011
- Designed application interface mockups.
- Technical and design support for IT Strategy presentations intended for UHG Executive Leadership.
- Technical expert for Accessibility.
- Technical evangelist for Web Standards and Responsive Design.
- Technical advisor for Mac Web Development Environment.
Ford Motor Company
Interface Developer / Designer June 2006 - May 2011
- Participation in screen design and creation for key intranet/extranet applications.
- Led efforts establishing WCAG 2.0 and WAI-ARIA as developing guidelines for Ford Developed Web Applications and Sites.
- Acted as UI-layer Subject Matter Technical Lead supporting IE8 upgrade effort.
- Technical Leadership in the execution of DOM Scripting standards that support accessibility initiatives.
- Technical Leadership in adoption of code validation tools for Web Developer and QC communities.
- Perform Quality Assurance tasks for HTML / CSS / JavaScript work products.
Graphic Designer (System Designer/Analyst) August 2001 - June 2006
- Technical Leadership in adoption/execution of current/emerging W3C Standards and Handicap Accessibility Standards.
- Participation as part of System Designer/Analyst Community of Practice.
- Participation in design/redesign of key intranet/internet applications.
- Evaluation of New Web Authoring Tools for Incorporation into Ford’s standard tool set.
- Participation as part of European Website Accessibility Working Group.
Web Developer / Technical Communication Specialist April 2000 - August 2001
- Design and Development of custom IT Corporate Communications Solutions.
- Design, Creation and Support of Organization-wide communication materials.
- Support and Custom Content Creation for Ford iTek Center Plasma Screen Network.
EDS Corporation: Training Specialist July 1998 - April 2000
- Web site design
- Graphic design
- Web-based training Development
- Web-based help system Development
- Online Help Development
- Process Documentation Development
- Technical Writing
- Proposal Writing
Lawrence Technological University: Courseware Developer December 1996 - March 1998
- Development of Web-Based Training supporting LTU Distance Learning.
Other Professional Accomplishments
Co-Presenter: World Usability Day at Michigan State University 2006
Presentation: "Ford! Where's My Car?" - The Story of Usability and Vehicle Order Managementn
Transition Team - Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano 2002 - 2003
eGovernment Transition Committee Member
Education
Lawrence Technological University September 1994 - August 1998
Bachelors Degree: Technical Communication
- Completed coursework in Technical Writing and Editing.
- Completed coursework in document, instruction, and presentation media design.
- Completed coursework concentrating on the written, graphic, and oral aspects of technical communication.
Technical Skills
- Languages: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- Applications: Adobe Creative Suite (Current)
- Operating Systems: Windows, MacOS, iOS
- Assistive Technology: JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver