As part of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Chad Leaman, Director of Innovation at Neil Squire, joined top national experts at a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Canadian School of Public Service (new window). The discussion focused on better understanding what accessibility means in the digital age and how to create an accessibility first mindset and environment.

“I enjoyed participating in the event with Maayan from AccessNow (new window) and Abigail from ESDC and ODI (new window), for the panel ‘Let’s Talk Accessibility First in the Digital Age’,” said Chad, following the panel discussion. “To hear that it was attended by over 1,500 public servants really is heart warming! It was an honor to share some of the guiding frameworks including the POUR Accessibility Principles (new window), and learning about Canada’s new Digital Accessibility Toolkit (new window). I hope the attendees felt a bit of “de-mystification” around accessibility as Canada strives to have the most accessible public sector as the Accessible Canadian Act (new window) comes into practice.”

This wouldn’t be the first time Chad has had the privilege of working with the Government of Canada.

Back in early March, Neil Squire’s Makers Making Change (new window) team provided a 3-day training session on 3D printing. The training inspired staff to hone their skills during off hours and support COVID-19 healthcare efforts by printing headbands for face shields for a number of local universities and hospitals.