We have compiled a partial and growing list of resources for students, faculty, researchers with disabilities and their prospective employers.
Have a resource to add? Contact Liz Diether-Martin, CREATE Web Specialist, at lizdm@uw.edu.
AccessADVANCE:
Support for women with disabilities in STEM faculty careers
The AccessADVANCE initiative serves to increase the successful participation and advancement of under-represented populations with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faculty careers. It includes resources, webinars, and an online community of practice for engagement with others who are interested in working toward this goal.
- For faculty and academic departments
- Resources: Community of practice, mini-grants, consultation
- More info: Equal Access: Making STEM Departments More Accessible to and Inclusive of Faculty with Disabilities
AccessComputing:
Increasing the participation of people with disabilities in computing fields
UW AccessComputing connects students with disabilities to mentors and professionals for internships, research experiences, scholarships and other resources and opportunities in computing fields.
- For: undergraduate students, graduate students
- Resources: mentoring, IT support, scholarships, internships
Office of the ADA Coordinator (UW):
Accessibility guidance and information across UW campuses
The Office of the ADA Coordinator offers accessibility guidance and information across the UW. Highlights include information on service animals, barrier reporting, and accessibility practices as well as high-level strategic work initiated by the ADA & Accessibility Steering Committee and ADA Coordinator Advisory Groups.
- For: students, faculty, staff on all UW campuses
- Resources: How to Report a Barrier Accessibility Practices Service Animals Campus Access
Aspirations in Computing:
National network of peers supporting success in technology
Aspirations in Computing strives to make sure technology is being developed by a population as diverse as its users. A program within the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT).
- For: students, higher ed educators, K-12 educators
- Resources: awards, scholarships, internships, communities, free and easy-to-use resources
C-STAR Collaborative:
Collaborative Mentorship Funding
The Center for Smart Use of Technologies to Assess Real World Outcomes (C-STAR) was born out of a need to equip investigators with the skills and knowledge to accurately employ technologies to measure and interpret data relevant to sensorimotor and cognitive function in the lab, clinic and real world. It is part of the Medical Rehabilitation Research Resource Network (MR3) of the National Institutes of Health.
- For: early-career rehabilitation researchers
- Resources: mentoring from senior scientists and clinicians, financial and educational support
Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT:
Academic Careers Workshop
The national Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology, or CMD-IT, promotes innovation that enriches, enhances, and enables the African Americans/Blacks, Native Americans/Indigenous People, Hispanics/Latinx, and People with Disabilities communities, such that more equitable and sustainable contributions are possible by all communities.
- For: minorities and people with disabilities in information technology
- Resources: Academic Careers Workshop, Tapia Conference
The D Center:
Meeting space in the HUB and an inclusive community
The D Center (Disability and d/Deaf Cultural Center) is a space and community where students can celebrate disability and D/deaf pride and foster community at the UW and beyond. Located in the HUB, the center fosters community, shares resources, and hosts events.
- For: UW students, faculty and staff
- Resources: inclusive meeting space, networking, and social, cultural, and educational programming
The DO-IT Center:
Scholarships for students with disabilities
The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) Center is dedicated to empowering people with disabilities through technology and education. It promotes awareness and accessibility—in both the classroom and the workplace—to maximize the potential of individuals with disabilities and make our communities more vibrant, diverse, and inclusive.
- For: high school students, college students, educators, employers
- Resources: scholarships, assistance with adaptive technology and resources, college and career readiness, networking, accessible instruction tools, communities of practice, …
CRA-WP IDEALS Workshop:
Grad cohort workshop for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Leadership Skills (IDEALS)
Sponsored by CRA-WP, the workshop is two days of interacting with senior computing researchers and professionals who share pertinent information on graduate school survival skills, as well as more personal information and insights about their experiences.
- For: graduate students with disabilities
- Resources: workshop, networking, connecting
Last Mile Education Fund:
Grants to support low-income grad students in need
The Last Mile Education Fund offers a disruptive approach to increasing diversity in tech and engineering fields by addressing critical gaps in financial support for students within four semesters of graduation.
- For: low-income and underrepresented undergraduate students enrolled in computing-related degree program who face challenges beyond their control
- Resources: funding to complete undergraduate program
Lime Connect:
Fellowship and scholarship programs
Lime Connect is a non-profit organization concerned with rebranding disability through achievement by connecting professionals and students with disabilities to careers, internships, fellowships and mentoring with top fortune 500 companies across the United States and Canada.
- Lime Connect Fellowship Program For Students with Disabilities
- For: highly accomplished rising juniors with disabilities in the U.S.
- Resources: fellowship, guidance through the summer internship recruitment process, networking with corporate partners
- Google Lime Scholarship program:
- For: students with disabilities who are studying computing, networking opportunities with Google
- Resources: scholarships of up to $10k
Switzer Research Fellowship Program:
Support for researchers with disabilities to perform research that supports people with disabilities
The purpose of the Switzer Research Fellow Program is to build research capacity by providing support to researchers, including those with disabilities, to perform research on rehabilitation, independent living, and other experiences and outcomes of individuals with disabilities.
- For: Individuals with the training and experience that indicates potential for engaging in scientific research related to rehabilitation and independent living for individuals with disabilities is eligible for assistance under this program
- Resources: merit fellowships and distinguished fellowships
- More info: https://acl.gov/programs/research-and-development/switzer-research-fellowship-program
Tapia Celebration for Diversity in Computing
Annual conference presented by The Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology to bring together people from all backgrounds and ethnicities.
- For: students, faculty, researchers and professionals in computing with disabilities
- Resources: conference for celebration, connection inspiration
- More info: tapiaconference.cmd-it.org
Teach Access
Collaboration of educational institutions, technology industry, and advocates for people with disabilities with the mission to make the fundamentals of digital accessibility, design principles, and best practices a larger part of undergrad education.
- For: faculty, students, researchers, professionals
- Resources: online workshops for teaching accessibility, Teach Access by Design facilitated online course, student resources and academy
- More info: https://teachaccess.org/
Advocacy news from CREATE
Your Review & Comments Wanted: Proposed Federal Accessibility Standards
August 11, 2023 A proposal for new digital accessibility guidelines for entities receiving federal funds was released for review by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on August 4, 2023. Anyone affected by these guidelines has 60 days — through Tuesday, October 3, 2023 — to comment. The DOJ is still trying to decide exactly…
Honoring Judy Heumann's outsized impact
Judy Heumann — disability activist and leader, presidential advisor to two administrations, polio survivor and quadriplegic — passed away on Saturday, March 4. Heumann's family invited the community to honor her life at a memorial service and burial that is now available on video with ASL, captioning, and English interpretation of Yiddish included. Who was Judy Heumann?…
CREATE Contributes to RFP on Healthcare Accessibility
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) requested public comment about comprehensive, longitudinal, person-centered care planning for people with Multiple Chronic Conditions (MCC). CREATE contributed to a disability justice-focused response that highlights nine recommendations: Account for medical trauma. Meet basic standards for accessibility. Value individual and community knowledge about MCC. Treat accessibility as a…
Increasing Data Equity Through Accessibility
Data equity can level the playing field for people with disabilities both in opening new employment opportunities and through access to information, while data inequity may amplify disability by disenfranchising people with disabilities. In response to the U.S. Science and Technology Policy Office's request for information (RFI) better supporting intra- and extra-governmental collaboration around the…
Richard Ladner named AAAS Fellow
Congratulations to CREATE Director for Education Richard Ladner on being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)! He is among 564 new fellows from around the world elected in 2021 for distinguished achievements in science and engineering. Ladner was recognized for his advocacy and inclusion efforts for people with…