Dana Marlowe - Accessibility Advocate to Present at National Advocacy Conference

Dana Marlowe’s voracious passion for equal access for all has made her an advocate for people with disabilities for as long as she can remember. It was that passion that put her on the path to start her academic career studying sign language interpreting at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. As her focus on communication and interest in technology to help people with disabilities grew, she continued on with degrees in Technical Communications from the Rochester Institute of Technology and lastly a Masters in Communication from the University of Texas at Austin.

She is currently the Principal Partner and co-founder of the company, Accessibility Partners LLC, an accessibility and information technology consulting firm headquartered in Maryland. She has gained national and international recognition for her support of disability rights in society and the workplace, where she works to break down attitudinal barriers. She strives to make technology more usable and accessible to all and in doing so partners with Federal Agencies and Fortune 500 businesses. She has won the Rising Star award from “Government Computer News” and “Federal Computer Week”, appeared on the cover of, “Washington Technology”, and has been featured in a Tech Biz Now column. She recently received an award in December 2009 as one of the top 35 professionals in Maryland by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Prior to Accessibility Partners, Ms. Marlowe was the Senior Vice President at TecAccess, LLC, where she created corporate partnerships with corporations and through those efforts generated over five million dollars of revenue annually. Dana has an impressive record in business management, marketing, and communications as it relates to accessible technology and disability in both government and private industry. She has served on numerous committees and performed national speaking engagements with such agencies as the Federal Communications Commission (Consumer Advisory Committee 2004-2005), Interagency Disability Educational Awareness Showcase (IDEAS) Advisory Board (2005), National Organization of Disability, and DC Metro Business Leadership Network board (2008-2009).

Most recently, Dana has been invited to present to countries throughout South America, Europe, and Africa on topics ranging from disability employment and assistive technology, to the business case for accessible technology. In the past few years, she was the keynote speaker at the International Information and Communication Technology and Accessibility Conference in Africa, as well as the keynote at the Conference on Assistive Technologies for the Vision and Hearing-Impaired in Spain.

Dana has also written several articles that have appeared in such diverse publications as Professional Woman´s Magazine, “The Chicago Tribune”, Teen Ink, Sign News, and Deaf Women United.

With over fifteen years dedicated in the accessibility industry, Dana is known for her stewardship in advocating for all aspects of disability rights. She lives in Maryland, with her husband, toddler, and one very sweet Labrador Retriever who is actually the real boss of the house.

For more information about the conference and to register please click here.