This post is SAR’s quarterly newsletter. To get this and other announcements from SAR, sign up for our newsletter.
Over the past year, we’ve made significant strides toward defining what accessibility means for consumer goods, streaming apps, and other technologies. By the end of this next quarter, we’ll have our first prototypes of proposed standards to share with our professional members for their review.
In our first year, we focused on building a strong membership roster of industry leaders committed to our mission. During our second year, we laid the groundwork for a robust, member-driven nonprofit organization that’s fully equipped to develop and implement these standards. By setting up formal processes and structures this year, we’ve ensured that our path forward is guided by the input and expertise of our members.
This member-driven approach will allow us to develop standards that reflect real-world needs while building a track record of success. These early wins will not only help establish our credibility but also serve as compelling case studies for raising funds and attracting new members.
With additional funding, we’ll be able to accelerate the pace of our work, tackle a wider range of projects, and expand into new areas within our mission.
Until now, we’ve been relatively quiet in our external communications as we focused on staffing and laying the foundation for long-term success. With our restructuring complete, several roles have transitioned from volunteer to contracted positions, providing the dedicated support we need for standards development, content creation, and social media outreach.
This marks the beginning of a new era for our organization—one in which we can amplify our voices, share our progress, and work together to shape a more inclusive future.
Become a Member Today
Join SAR today and enjoy member benefits like early access to standards in progress and member-only news and content.
If you want to be a trailblazer yourself…
You can join and be hands-on in creating new standards. This month, SAR will be hosting elections for the Standards Development Stewardship Panel (SDSP), and you can join a team as a new member.
Meet our new committee leaders
With the restructuring, we’ve now set up committees to develop standards, create content, and promote SAR on social media.
Standards Development
Sam Kanta, The Sustainable Change, LLC
Sam Kanta has over 20 years of experience in accessibility and technology, leading initiatives for Fortune 100 companies and government agencies. She is a passionate advocate for embedding accessibility early in development and contributes to the W3C WAI and the Standards Development Stewardship Panel (SDSP). Sam’s Bio.
Bri Norton, OZeWAI
Bri Norton is a Digital Strategist and User Experience specialist based in Canberra, with extensive experience leading accessibility for both state and federal governments. She co-chairs Australia’s OZeWAI, co-runs the Canberra Accessibility Meetup, and is an active member of various accessibility and research communities. Bri’s Bio.
Claudio Luís Vera, A11yInnovation, LLC
Claudio is a thought leader who comes to accessibility with a background in usability that includes over 20 years of experience in UX design and front-end development. In his career, he’s led accessibility strategy at a major cruise company, at an accessibility startup, and has worked in leadership in four different digital firms. Claudio’s Bio.
Expanding the Board
Welcome to our newly elected board members:
Laura Renfro, Secretary
Laura Renfro is the Senior Accessibility Lead at Renfro Consulting, specializing in standards and technical regulations. With a background in education and extensive experience in accessibility testing, Laura focuses on improving interoperability and training developers on accessible design. She is a DHS Trusted Tester and serves as a member of the Standards Development Stewardship Panel (SDSP). Laura’s Bio.
Jack McElaney
Jack McElaney is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Microassist, specializing in digital accessibility for corporate, financial, and educational sectors. He curates the popular industry newsletter Accessibility in the News and is a founding member and steering committee member of the Digital Accessibility Legal Summit. Jack’s Bio.
Setve Levine
Steve Levine is a Senior Insights Analyst at Tamman Inc. with over 20 years of experience in marketing research, data analytics, and digital accessibility. He combines industry expertise with a master’s degree in Digital Innovation to deliver insights that drive inclusive and strategic business decisions. Steve’s Bio.
Upcoming Events
Open Meeting – Oct 23
We’ll be organizing teams to tackle the development of our first accessibility label and supporting materials.
Tuesday, October 23, 4pm US Eastern Time.