Our Approach: Planning an Accessible Summit

This past February 25th and 26th, disabled professionals and allies virtually convened at the Disability Leadership Summit hosted by Disability Lead. In its second year, the Summit drew 125+ registrants from across the country and featured 12 impactful sessions over two days.  

Most notably, however, the Summit embodied one of the very ideas it was designed to address: When accessibility is prioritized, inclusive cultures are built - and when inclusive cultures are built, disabled leaders thrive.

Through learning and community-building, the Disability Leadership Summit was created to empower disabled leaders through the development of inclusive workplaces. At Disability Lead, we believe everyone deserves an inclusive experience. We also understand that inclusion is an active, intentional practice. It's not just about making space for everyone, it's about creating opportunities for everyone to show up as their authentic selves and to contribute their perspectives and ideas. Without accessibility, we may all be in a shared space - but we may not all be able to participate. How do leaders grow when they can't contribute?

We take accessibility seriously and work hard to model inclusive spaces, both virtually and in-person, in all of our programs and events. Not just because it's the right thing to do, but because we want our Members and our community to feel a sense of belonging so that they can grow from the experiences we provide. The Summit was no different. In fact, among the foundational pillars of our many-month-long planning process, one remained front and center: Accessibility first.

What is an 'accessibility first' approach?

So, what does an 'accessibility first' approach look like? It requires first identifying all aspects of a fully accessible event and then applying backwards planning from there. But, before that, it starts with reframing and broadening the idea of access. In this case, virtual access.

When many people think about accessibility, they consider the most salient features. In a virtual world, communication access (like American Sign Language interpretation) is the most likely to be considered, if at all. While this is one critical aspect of accessibility, it just scratches the surface.  

According to WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), there are four main guiding principles to consider. While these principles are specific to designing accessible technology, they can also be referenced to broaden one's approach to planning accessible virtual events:

• Perceivable -Is the content presented in a way that is perceivable? (Think: Alternative text for images, color contrast on slides, and identification of speakers.)

• Operable - Is the experience and process easy to navigate? (Think: Accessible registration page, options for verbal or written participation, and clear options to access technical support.)

• Understandable -Is the information presented in a way that is concise and cohesive? (Think: Clear instructions and resources, session and speaker descriptions, and consistent design elements.)

• Robust - Is the event considering a variety of assistive technologies? (Think: Screen reader compatibility, participation from different devices, and caption viewing access.)

In addition, the sustainability of an audience can’t be overlooked. How do you keep participants energized and engaged? We approached this by planning for sessions of a reasonable length, building in breaks between sessions, offering webinar options to minimize onscreen time, and providing access to select session recordings post-event.

Did we plan a perfectly accessible event? No. Can we continue to improve? Yes. Always! When we stop believing that, we've failed our audience and we’ve failed one another.

How We Hold Ourselves Accountable

We utilize this process to keep ourselves accountable:

1. Build-in the basics - All of our public programs include ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation and CART (real-time caption) access, regardless of audience requests.

2. Communicate what is available -We’re clear about what will be offered in our programs by including accessibility information in our event descriptions.

3. Ask what is needed - Our registration pages always invite additional accommodation requests so we can prepare in advance and support diverse needs.

4. Stay flexible - We know that we may need to adjust in real-time, even during a live event. We don’t shy away from pausing a program to adjust if access isn’t up to par.

5. Seek feedback - We provide post-event surveys that specifically ask our audience to provide input on accessibility so we can continue to refine our approach.

In the spirit of building inclusive workplaces AND communities, we hope you’ll join us by applying the same flexible and thoughtful approach in your work. Let’s all keep getting better.

And next year, when we host our third annual Disability Leadership Summit on February 24-25, 2026 - we hope you’ll be there to how we’ve upped our game to keep moving disabled leaders forward.