Meenakshi Das, Bothell, Washington, United States: Meenakshi Das, Accessibilty leader

Written answers to the questions

Total 112 words used.

Meena is a renowned technologist who uses her skills to make our digital society more accessible for people with disabilities. She is a software engineer at Microsoft and the founder of ‘Working with Disabilities’, a support group for students and working professionals with disabilities with over 3000 members worldwide. Meena has shared about the challenges of having a stutter, and now is an advocate for accessibility. She uses her life experiences and education in computer science to emphasize why it’s critical for us to work toward accessibility in education and tech. Through her accessibility expertise, she has advised several individuals and organizations about tangible ways to make their products and services accessible.

Total 174 words used.

As a software engineer, Meena understands the importance of baking accessibility in the design and development process of products. Meena has written several articles on this topic, such as https://dzone.com/articles/writing-accessible-code-as-a-software-engineer and https://innotechtoday.com/how-to-achieve-accessibility-through-inclusive-design/. In addition to this, Meena does a variety of speaking engagements on Digital Accessibility. Some examples of that include presenting a webinar for the organization Partners for Youth with Disabilities titled “Digital Accessibility: What does it mean and why does it matter,” a panelist for the Association of Women in Science national webinar titled, “Hidden Strengths: Disabilities make better scientists,” and a panel hosted by Diversability titled, “Disability in Tech.”. She was named a DO-IT Trailblazer by the University of Washington for changing how the world views people with disabilities and inducted into the National Disability Mentoring Coalition’s Hall of Fame. Most recently, she was named NextGen leader of the Year for her efforts in tech inclusion for people with disabilities. Watch her speech which received a standing ovation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzfWKH1icMk

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1. https://cmd-it.org/news-recent/creating-a-safe-space-for-people-with-disabilities-a-conversation-with-microsoft-software-engineer-meenakshi-das/?utm_source=rss&

2. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/273078/20220316/meenakshi-das-creating-accessibility-for-all.htm

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK2OhoiagI8

4. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/startups/people/meenakshi-hiding-in-shame-to-us-hall-of-fame/articleshow/91937242.cms

Total 225 words used.

Meena is a free spirit, passionate about making the world inclusive one step at a time. She received her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Mississippi State University, founded an organization for students with disabilities, and was one of the university's recipients of the highest student award. She also received her master's degree from Auburn University, where she was a Graduate Research Assistant working on accessible computing education. For this work, she was named an NCWIT Collegiate Award Finalist.

In 2019, she was featured by Diet Coke as a person who is shattering societal labels. Meena also represented Alabama as a disability advocate for a Ruderman Family Foundation Initiative and shared her view on the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA) on its 30th anniversary: https://rudermanfoundation.org/link20/celebrating-30-years-of-ada/.

She is a member of the Accessibility Leadership Committee of a non-profit organization named Disability: IN and previously served on the student council of the same. She has been quoted by ABC News, CNET, Huffpost, Salon, and Forbes for her views on disability inclusion.

Her expertise and efforts to make our society more accessible to people with disabilities constantly impressed me. I am a big fan of her Instagram account where she shares tips for accessibility and disability inclusion. Without hesitation, I recommend her for this award: Meena strives to make technology accessible, diverse, and inclusive, focusing on disability.