AccessibilityWatch™ is dedicated to providing the Web community with latest information on accessibility technology, news, solutions, tips and more. The AccessibilityWatch team has over 20 years of combined experience in Web accessibility. They are dedicated to promoting best practices for accessibility, helping ensure equal access to information for all Web users. AccessibilityWatch is brought to you by HiSoftware Inc.

The AccessibilityWatch Team

Thomas Logan

Thomas Logan has spent the past seven years focusing on creating accessible solutions. Logan is currently working as the Vice President of Product Management for HiSoftware helping ensure the company delivers the best automated compliance software on the market. He has experience designing accessibility solutions for a broad suite of technologies including Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Forms, Flash, JavaScript, and Delphi. Logan’s work recently focused on ARIA and WCAG2 building a fully functioning accessible Web application. Previously, Thomas was the principal Program Manager for the accessibility framework Microsoft UI Automation in Windows Vista.

Ken Nakata

Ken Nakata is the most well-known attorney in the area of IT accessibility and works as the Director of Accessibility Practices for HiSoftware. His work focuses on web and software accessibility from both a legal and technical perspective. He also helps organizations manage the change towards accessibility in all aspects-including crafting policies, developing stakeholder ownership, and forging awareness and commitment to the legal and business case supporting accessibility.

Nakata worked for twelve years as a Senior Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. He has argued on behalf of the United States government many times before the federal courts and has helped shape the government’s policies for the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Nakata also worked as Director of Accessibility and Government Compliance at BayFirst Solutions, a Washington, DC consulting firm. Nakata is a frequent speaker on both law and technology and is equally adept at conducting one-on-one workshops with programmers and developers as well as explaining law and policy to large audiences.

Jeffrey Singleton

Jeff Singleton has worked in evaluating and supporting software for the last two decades. He currently works as Senior Test Manager for HiSoftware. Singleton is skilled in the use of AT software such as screen readers, assistive input devices and screen magnification for validating and testing projects. Singleton also has an in depth knowledge of accessibility requirements and guidelines such as Section 508 and the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and how they apply to real world applications.

As an educator Singleton has pioneered and taught various training programs focused on accessibility and the QA/Software Testing field. These courses touch on such topics as testing/validating for overall accessibility of a product, PDF and MS Office document accessibility and using Assistive Technologies (AT) such a screen reader as part of the testing process. Singleton also acts as an accessibility evangelist by contributing to blogs and user forms dedicated to accessible technologies, software and web sites such as http://www.AccessibilityWatch.com.

Singleton spent eight years at Microsoft as a full time Software Tester with special focus on accessible user interfaces and eventually with screen reader technologies in the Accessible Technologies Group. His most recent work includes accessibility consulting on large-scale Accessibility Projects for major US Federal Agencies, major US Retailers and Web/Software application providers to proactively assess and test for compliance with Accessibility Guidelines.

About HiSoftware

Founded in 1998, HiSoftware (http://www.hisoftware.com) is a leading provider of software, services and on-demand solutions that test, repair, monitor and enforce Web content, quality and regulatory compliance. The company’s solutions empower content developers, Web site architects and executives to work collaboratively to create and manage corporate Web standards for accessibility, privacy, security, search engine optimization (SEO), site quality and performance, branding and application transaction testing.