Personal site to archive accessibility-related learnings, mostly focused on technical implementations.

Gerard K Cohen, speaking at a conference, presenting in front of large screen that says 'Don't forget the humans!'

Hire Me

Are you looking for a seasoned, well-rounded professional with years of real-world, enterprise accessibility experience? Are you looking to prepare for the impending impacts of the European Accessibility Act (EAA)? I am looking for opportunities to help! If you are even remotely interested in accessibility, just reach out. You'll get way more out of a quick conversation with me vs reading everything on this page.

What I bring

My main focus is on improving the lives of disabled people through digital products and services. I have a knack for cutting through the extraneous and focusing on efficient, high-impacting changes that people will feel.

I have hard-earned experience making something out of nothing. Over the years I have gained an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of digital accessibility and can effectively bridge the gaps between HR, Legal, Marketing, Product, Design, Engineering and Quality Assurance teams.

Experience

Over the past decade, I've had the privilege of building and advising top-notch digital accessibility teams that have impacted millions of individuals worldwide. My professional experience ranges from supporting commercial financial applications responsible for transferring trillions of dollars globally, to enhancing accessibility on pre-Elon Twitter. Currently, I help drive the Atlassian Design System Accessibility Team where I get to collaborate with a group of exceptional designers and engineers to help enhance the accessibility of components used to build team productivity tools like Jira, Confluence, and Trello.

Speaking

Increasing awareness is embedded in everything that I do. I've been a regular speaker at various national and international conferences and organizations. Here is a sample of recent events:

Training

I currently publish accessibility courses on the Pluralsight learning platform, which are used to train people and organizations all over the world. Sharing is caring, and I never pass up an opportunity to scale out my learnings.

What I'm looking for

I operate best when I can be a catalyst for change, igniting cultural transformation at both grassroots and executive levels. I can help with establishing new accessibility programs/teams or help lead existing teams centralize on a mission to achieve important milestones.

Speaking
Including keynote presentations, conferences, podcasts, team motivation, and GAAD (Global Accessibility Awareness Day) events.
Consulting
Including hiring, testing, remediation, prioritization, strategy, and purchasing.
Training
For Designers, Writers, Developers, Testers, Product Managers, and Disability Etiquette training.

Testimonials

Gerard's accessibility skills at every level are second to no one. He understands users, he designs and develops emphatically and he ensures that his teams adopt his engineering discipline throughout the software development lifecyle (SDLC). Gerard is a 'people first' colleague in every sense of the word. He communicates well, collaborates with humility and modesty and prides himself in meeting established goals and deadlines. He's a 'no excuses' type leader who appreciates the value of architecting an interface or application that exceeds product requirements.

Having worked with Gerard both as a client and colleague, I hold him in high esteem and recommend him to any organization committed to excellence.

Michael Paciello - Chief Accessibility Officer, Founder, VP, Director, Author, Mentor

For me, it's a pleasure working with Gerard because he provides thoughtful perspectives and well-informed recommendations to the company-wide strategy; he is a deep SME in Accessibility but is always willing to help people who are newer to the field; he is calm and measured in his responses to stressful situations; and he always remains focused on delivering solutions that support the needs of the customer - in this case the diverse community of people with disabilities.

He is both passionate and pragmatic - making him a great advocate for people with disabilities and a great Engineering leader/manager who has proven track record of delivering engineering work that improves the lives of people with disabilities.

Rob Sinclair - Global Head of Accessibility, Co-Founder of IAAP, Ex-Microsoft Chief Accessibility Officer

Gerard combines substantial expertise in accessibility, user experience design, and development -- and on top of these rare skills, he is also an excellent manager and team mate. I know first hand that his direct reports, his partners, and his stakeholders admired and respected him, and relied on his support, insight, and coaching to help them navigate a sometimes contentious path to delivering fully accessible digital experiences.

Gerard is a high caliber contributor and manager, and would be an outstanding hire for any organization committed to improving the usability of their products.

Kris Ross - Director of UX Design

If you are interested, please send me an email: