In April 2016, a group of volunteers from academia, industry, and nonprofit advocacy organizations came together for a discussion on advancing digital accessibility education. That kickoff meeting sparked what would become Teach Access. Ten years later, we’re celebrating how far that moment has taken us, and the momentum is only building!
This month, we marked the milestone with a free community event featuring Lex Gillette, launched a t-shirt design competition (with our top three finalists to be announced in early May), and kicked off a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. As we continue our $1.5M fundraising campaign to reach the next 1.5 million students, we’re proud to share that we’re almost halfway to our goal.
Summer Institute
The Teach Access Fellowship Summer Institute, funded by Ability Central, is a new program to help educators create instructional materials to teach accessibility topics in their courses. Grounded in Teach Access’s mission to advance accessibility education through mentorship and applied learning, the Summer Institute offers opportunities for collaboration, feedback, and continued support as participants implement their materials in the fall.
The Summer Institute is open to past participants of Teach Access programs (Fellowship Program, Faculty Grants, and Teach Access by Design), as well as educators in the United States and Puerto Rico who have already taught accessibility for at least one academic term.
Visit the program webpage for more details and apply below.
Why Accessibility Matters to Me
We’re excited to launch our new peer-to-peer campaign, Why Accessibility Matters to Me, and we’d love for you to be part of it. As we celebrate 10 years of Teach Access, we’re working toward an ambitious goal: $1.5 million to reach 1.5 million students with accessibility education. We’ve raised $735,000 so far, and still need help.
This campaign is powered by personal stories about why accessibility matters, and why it can’t wait.
Getting involved is easy: create your own fundraising page, share your story, and invite your network to support a more inclusive future. Every post, every donation, and every story helps move us closer to a world where technology is born accessible.
Use our Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Toolkit to find key stats, story starters, and examples. Use what works for you, and leave the rest.
Community Happenings
Accessing Higher Ground
Accessing Higher Ground
November 16 – 20, 2026, Hilton Denver City Center
Proposal Submission Deadline: April 29
Accessing Higher Ground 2026, the official conference of ATHEN, and presented by AHEAD, is now accepting proposals for its 29th Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado. Topic areas of interest include: Accessible media, Universal Design, curriculum & teaching, AI, legal and compliance, research, and campus- or business-wide accessibility initiatives. Additional speaker information can be found on the AHG website. If you have any questions about proposal submission, contact Howard Kramer at e-mail: [email protected]
Microsoft Ability Summit
We are less than four weeks from Microsoft’s 16th annual Ability Summit, a flagship event celebrating accessibility‑first innovation and inclusive design. Please consider joining the Mainstage Opening Session on May 19, 9:00–10:30 AM PT.
The session will highlight how accessibility‑led, AI‑powered innovation is delivering measurable impact: advancing skills and education, unlocking employment opportunities, increasing productivity, and enabling business transformation at scale.
We’re also excited to share that Kate Sonka, Executive Director of Teach Access, will join a panel with Rae Hinton (LinkedIn), Jordan Cowe (Microsoft), and Kathy Dixon (Microsoft) to discuss future workplace skills, accessible career development tools, and scaling skills through partnerships.
Digital Collegium Accessibility Summit
Registration is open for the Digital Collegium Accessibility Summit 2026, a one-day virtual event on Tuesday, July 28. Designed for higher ed professionals, it focuses on practical solutions across web, content, design, and accessibility.
