Meet Us at #TechInclusion16 on 6/30 in NYC

We are proud to be a media partner of the Tech Inclusion NY conference presented by Google for Entrepreneurs happening next week. Tech Inclusion NY is a two-day, solution-focused event beginning with a Career Fair on June 29, then a full Conference + Startup Showcase on June 30 – which includes fireside chats, solo talks, panel discussions, startup pitches, networking and happy hour. 

We wanted to give you a chance to meet a few members of the Diversability community who will be in attendance. We asked them what tech inclusion meant to them and which panel/speaker they are most excited about.

Xian Horn (Founder, Give Beauty Wings)

"Tech inclusion for me means universal access, while serving the vast diversity of needs possible. Considering, accommodating, and celebrating all differences and making things possible in every life. In a perfect world, there would be no elitism in technology. Because everyone regardless of background, should have access to the fruits and of technology: Food, Medical, Transport, Social interaction and communication, Maps, Film, Writing, Career Options, etc.

"Serving as one of four Exemplars for the Connect Ability Challenge for AT&T and NYU, developers around the world, designed with us and and our very different needs in mind. Jason, an Emmy-winning filmmaker has MS, Gus, an Instructor at Baruch and NYU is blind, Paul, a non-verbal blogger with Autism, and I (an Advocate with Cerebral Palsy) all worked together to evaluate the varied submissions.  As a person with a disability, it pushed me to look beyond my own, and account for not just the three other people I was working with, but as many of the 1 billion whose lives might be changed by the technology we awarded. I learned so much about other disabilities, and specific needs that I would have never imagined before,  and truly believe this is why everyone (whether they can speak, hear, walk, see, have money, etc) must to be apart of the global conversation on current and future technologies  - because ideally, it is a conversation about a better life, more fully connected, communicated, and fully lived  - for all.

"Was just looking at the list of speakers...looks like a stellar group in Entrepreneurship, Tech, and Diversity, so it's hard to pick out just one to meet!"

Emily Ladau (Writer, Disability Rights Activist)

"Tech inclusion means that developments in accessible technology keep pace with the rapid rate of technological advancements. If one person can tech, everyone should be able to use it. And truly inclusive tech is not just about usability - it's about ensuring that all people, including those with disabilities, are welcome and valued when it comes to working in the tech field. 

"I'm most looking forward to the workplace diversity and inclusion panel as one of the projects I work on through my job is the federal Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT) which focuses on making workplace tech accessible to all."

Kieran O’Brien Kern (Writer, Editor, Researcher)

"Tech inclusion is critical to my success. It enables me to be judged on the quality of my work and not the adaptive tech that helps me achieve it. Regardless of what kind of day I’m having due to symptoms of my disabilities I can still show up to work whether it’s in person, in my home office or worst case scenario in bed without my clients needing to be alerted to my situation.

"Without access to the mobility and job related technologies that I utilize, I at best would be stuck in a disheartening job that refused to recognize my talents or at worst be shut in my home and cut off from the world at large.

"From scooter to computer they have enabled me to start my own business and reach out to people I would have never known and find a community of disabled people that I have never known.

"I would love to meet Terri McCullough. One of my long term goals that I’m working on is to create a lifestyle site for my fellow disabled women to promote us living the lives we want in from the boardroom to the bedroom and not accept less because historically we’re expected to."

Pritha RaySircar (Social Entrepreneur, 2015 AIR New Voices Scholar)

"I'd like to reconnect with Teresa and Jalak, to share the suite of primary family caregiver apps I'm currently developing (with an eye towards start-up incubation at Dreamit, Philadelphia this September). Meeting them, and other female tech makers/investors would be so empowering for me. My goal at Tech Inclusion is to listen, learn, and network."

For more information on #TechInclusion16, visit ny16.techinclusion.co. 

Diversability readers get an exclusive 25% off discount on tickets: https://ny16techinclusion.eventbrite.com/?discount=d.community. 

(Note the career fair is free on 6/29 with some great companies looking to hire diverse talent including our friends at Ava.)