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Dena Shumila

Bio

Dena Shumila offers a unique combination of educational and professional experience in corporate accessibility program management, workshop development and facilitation, technical and educational writing, rehabilitation psychology, and public relations. She has also conducted product evaluations based on accessibility standards and legislation, developed accessibility-Related documentation and product support services, coordinated product beta tests for customers with disabilities, formed and facilitated support and focus groups, managed and created public relations campaigns and marketing collateral, and promoted and organized publications and events.

After obtaining her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Winnipeg, in Canada, Dena spent the initial years of her career at the University of Toronto--home of Canada's first Adaptive Technology Resource Centre (Visit the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre). While there, she conducted adaptive technology-related research, as well as functional and technical needs assessments for the university's faculty and students with disabilities.

In 1998, Dena moved from Toronto to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she entered the world of corporate accessibility. Since that time, her training and advocacy efforts have helped to bring about the implementation of corporate-wide standards that have improved the overall accessibility and usability of a range of technology-related products and support services for customers with disabilities. Her assistance and ideas have enhanced the accessibility initiatives of some of the world's largest software and hardware manufacturers,--including Sun Microsystems, Inc., the Hewlett-Packard Company, and SAP Labs, LLC. She has also worked as a Senior Associate for Burson-Marsteller (a subsidiary of Young & Rubicam, Inc.), where she handled the corporate public relations needs for the Java Software Division of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Dena’s work has afforded her the opportunity to speak to audiences on three continents about a variety of disability-related issues. Her personal experiences as someone with a visual disability, along with the professional and academic knowledge she has acquired, have molded her into a persuasive and passionate teacher and advocate. Her rich background as a student, an employee, a project manager, and an individual who strives for equality for herself and others, allows her to approach her professional endeavors with a unique and multi-dimensional perspective. For Dena, breaking down barriers to independence is not simply a vocation; it is an ideal that is deeply meaningful to her in every facet of her life.

Career Highlights

• Co-facilitated a series of workshops on accessibility for Hewlett-Packard design teams in North America, Europe, and Asia. These workshops resulted in accessibility-related changes to Hewlett-Packard’s web site, and some of its best-known printers and all-in-one office machines.
  
• Conducted presentations and briefings to educate SAP executives in Europe and North America about the legal, demographic, and financial reasons for accessible design. As a result of these meetings, SAP, (the 3rd largest software company in the world) adopted a corporate-wide policy on accessibility.
  
• Provided and edited content, recruited guest authors, gathered articles from employees of several SAP divisions, and coordinated the approval process with SAP’s Corporate Legal Team for an SAP Design Guild Innovations edition on accessibility. The Design Guild’s web site receives an estimated one million hits per year.
  
• Produced numerous stories for an award-winning database which showcased the work of Sun Microsystems partners and customers.
  
• Contributed content to the 1st Edition of Sun Microsystems’ “Java Look and Feel Design Guidelines” publication.
  
• Managed the Burson-Marsteller public relations team that organized Sun Microsystems participation in the Washington, D.C. celebrations that marked the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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