Recognition, Power, and Equity in IT Work

This presentation examines how credit and recognition function as power in IT environments, and how consistently attributing team work to a single individual can unintentionally marginalize others. Drawing on research and real-world examples, we’ll explore how under-recognition disproportionately impacts younger professionals, women, people of color, and disabled colleagues. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies for sharing credit equitably and strengthening inclusive team cultures.

Supporting Neurodiversity in Digital Products

Neurodiversity brings unique perspectives and needs to digital experiences. This session explores how we can support these users through inclusive design strategies grounded in research. Learn how to apply cognitive-friendly design patterns and create interfaces that reduce friction and foster engagement. Whether you’re new to accessibility or deep in inclusive design, you’ll leave with actionable insights to make your work more empathetic and effective.

The Biggest Digital Accessibility Problem You’re Not Measuring

What if the biggest barrier on your website isn’t accessibility compliance, broken code, or missing content? What if it’s that users simply can’t find what they’re looking for?

In this session, we’ll borrow lessons from accessibility, UX, library science, and physical wayfinding to uncover why people get lost online and what universities can do about it. You’ll learn how users navigate digital spaces, where wayfinding failures occur, and how small changes can dramatically improve findability, usability, and accessibility.

How Accessibility Shapes the UX Design Process

Learn to identify the fundamental steps of a user experience project, from initial research and concept ideation to user testing, wireframes, and prototypes. We’ll break down each step, highlighting best practices that lead to intuitive, user-friendly designs. A special focus will be given to accessibility, examining how inclusive design principles can be integrated at every step of the UX process to ensure that digital products are usable by everyone.

Building Effective User Interfaces: A Figma Walkthrough & Design System Setup

A step-by-step walkthrough on how to leverage Figma to bring your UI concepts to life. Designed for both beginners and those experienced with Figma, you will learn more about:

• Figma’s community and user interface.
• Figma’s core features like variables, variants, and auto layout.
• The difference between designer and developer modes.
• How to create responsive prototypes within Figma.
• How to set up your own sharable components.

Creating Accessible Emails

Accessible email planning and design improves usability for everyone on your mailing list. Marketers, designers, and IT pros all have an important role in crafting an accessible email. Learn how to navigate this process from start to finish. We’ll share best practices, resources, and tips for working in Webtools Email+ and Outlook.