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.
AccessComputing
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
- More info: https://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/
Office of the ADA Coordinator (UW)
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
- More info: https://www.washington.edu/ada/
Aspirations in Computing
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
- More info: https://www.aspirations.org/award-programs/apply-for-an-award
C-STAR 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
- More info: https://www.sralab.org/research/labs/cstar/projects/mentorship-funding
CMD-IT Academic Careers Workshop
The national Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology 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
- More info: https://bit.ly/3UdPZj5
DO-IT
The UW 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, …
- More info: https://www.washington.edu/doit/
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
- More info: https://bit.ly/3BcGGqY
Last Mile Education Fund
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
- More info: https://www.lastmile-ed.org/
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
- More info: https://www.limeconnect.com/programs/page/the-lime-connect-fellowship-program
- Google Lime Scholarship program:
- For: students with disabilities who are studying computing, networking opportunities with Google
- Resources: scholarships of up to $10k
- More info: https://www.limeconnect.com/programs/page/google-lime-scholarship
Switzer Research Fellowship Program
The purpose of the Switzer Research Fellow Program is to build research capacity by providing support to highly qualified individuals, 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
Advocacy news from CREATE
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…
CREATE Submits RFI on Disability Bias in Biometrics
CREATE's response to the Science and Technology Policy Office's request for "Information on Public and Private Sector Uses of Biometric Technologies"