WAI Transitions

After 25 years serving as WAI Director with W3C, I have decided to turn 
my attention in coming months to what has become a growing area of 
interest for me. I will be joining the Partnership for Public Service to 
work with senior US government officials, focusing on opportunities to 
better address the accessibility needs of the disability community 
including with regard to use of technology across public services.

I will be continuing part-time in my role as WAI Director at W3C into 
mid-January to help ensure a smooth transition for WAI.

It is a great pleasure at this time to have Kevin White rejoin the W3C 
WAI Team in the role of WAI Dev Ops Lead, with a focus on continuing the 
strong program of work that WAI has carried on in Europe for many years, 
while helping with project management across WAI's international 
activities. It is also a great pleasure to work with Michael Cooper as 
he steps into an interim role helping lead WAI through this transition 
period to help ensure the continuity of the WAI program overall.

I am so impressed at the strength of the digital accessibility field 
that has evolved in recent years, and the web accessibility community 
active at W3C WAI in ensuring that the needs of people with disabilities 
are addressed in the expanding range of technologies that are emerging 
onto the Web. I encourage developers, implementers, and users of 
technology to engage with W3C in continuing to build the accessible 
technologies of the future.

I have full confidence in the WAI Team, including Michael Cooper, Shawn 
Henry, Roy Ran, Daniel Montalvo, and now also Kevin White, to help 
anchor the W3C WAI work going forward. I also look forward to the role 
that the incoming W3C Board of Directors, and W3C Management, will play 
in ensuring that W3C maintains a strong accessibility program in W3C in 
the future.

Please see Shawn Henry's message below which provides an updated 
reminder of the WAI Team members, and of the extensive resources you can 
find on the WAI website, and ways to stay engaged in this important 
work. This message, Shawn's and Michael's messsages are also available 
here: https://www.w3.org/blog/2022/10/w3c-wai-updates-october-2022/

Best regards,
- Judy Brewer
WAI Director

-
Judy Brewer
CSAIL PI, PRS:
https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/judy-brewer
and Director, Web Accessibility Initiative
at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
105 Broadway, Room 7-128, MIT/CSAIL
Cambridge MA 02142 USA
www.w3.org/WAI/


-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject:  W3C WAI Updates, October 2022
Resent-Date:  Wed, 19 Oct 2022 12:16:12 +0000
Resent-From:  public-wai-announce@w3.org
Date:  Wed, 19 Oct 2022 07:16:09 -0500
From:  Shawn Henry <shawn@w3.org>
To:  public-wai-announce@w3.org



Dear WAI community,

Several changes are in progress at the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative 
(WAI), each exciting in different ways.

W3C and WAI staff are supporting our accessibility work on the current 
path during this transition.

*WAI Staff and Roles*:

Judy Brewer will be leaving WAI for a new opportunity. She will share 
more in a follow-up e-mail message. From 24 October 2022 to 13 January 
2023, Judy will be available part-time to help the transition for 
stability and continuity of WAI at W3C.

Kevin White rejoined the WAI Team in October as Accessibility 
Development and Operations Lead. Kevin will contribute his 
accessibility, technical, and program management experience to WAI's 
work in Europe and internationally.

Michael Cooper has taken up some interim leadership responsibilities to 
ensure smooth transition of the WAI program. He will also remain the 
primary team contact for the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group, to 
help guide that challenging work. Michael will share more in a follow-up 
blog post.

Shawn Lawton Henry, Roy Ran, and Daniel Montalvo are also taking up 
additional responsibilities in the interim.

Over the next few months, WAI will refine roles and responsibilities for 
W3C accessibility work, and explore coverage by current and future staff.

*W3C Supports WAI Going Forward*:

"W3C is proud of WAI's successes under Judy's leadership," said Ralph 
Swick, W3C COO. "W3C is committed to continuing the important 
accessibility work of WAI to advance the Web for All."

WAI staff will work on WAI vision and strategic plan in early 2023, with 
input from the WAI community and the broader W3C community. Core 
accessibility work will continue, and we look forward to defining the 
focus and priorities for 2023 and beyond.

*Current WAI Work and Updates*:

To get up-to-date information on active projects, upcoming publications, 
and more, see:
What We're Working On - Accessibility Activities and Publications
https://www.w3.org/WAI/update/
To get future news and updates, see:
https://www.w3.org/WAI/news/subscribe/
To learn about existing WAI Resources, see:
https://www.w3.org/WAI/resources/

We look forward to working together with the community to advance 
digital accessibility through WAI at W3C. Please feel free to reach out 
to any of us directly with questions and suggestions. (and please be 
patient if we are slow to respond:) To send e-mail to all WAI Team, you 
can use: wai@w3.org

For an update of this information with links to the follow-up messages 
from Judy and Michael, see:
https://www.w3.org/blog/2022/10/w3c-wai-updates-october-2022/

Best regards,
~Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Education and Outreach Lead
<http://www.w3.org/People/Shawn/>