Microsoft Reactor

This session is a part of Putting Accessibility into Practice Series

Previous Sessions of this series can be found here:

Dyslexia in Tech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9X-TpHeklA&list=PLmsFUfdnGr3xnow_8ko9o-JJkiaoLGPns
Digital Accessibility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lT2_SoUs1U&list=PLmsFUfdnGr3xnow_8ko9o-JJkiaoLGPns&index=2

Welcome to Putting Accessibility into Practice Series. In this four-part series Microsoft Most Valuable Professional’s (MVPs) & Regional Directors (RD’s) share their lived experiences of how they have dealt with neurodiversity challenges and dyslexia. The willingness to share and address topics that carry stigma is a vital step in strengthening the core of a community where everyone feels that they belong. This series will provide everyone in the community a chance to come together and share experiences and learn more about importance of accessibility and inclusion.

What is this session about?
This session will be delivered by Sophie Tian (Software Engineer at Microsoft) who is Deaf and Miya Natsuhara (Software Engineer at Microsoft) who is fluent in American Sign Language. In this session, Sophie will share her experiences as a Deaf developer and an ally. She will also give an overview of Deaf Culture and sign language and advice on how to work effectively with the Deaf community.

Who is it aimed at?
This event is designed for anyone who would like to understand more about creating inclusive workspaces and discover a range of lived experiences

Why should you attend?
Sophie and Miya have been close friends for years—meeting in college and now both working at Microsoft. They have grown together as friends, as engineers, as humans. In this session they will be covering their journeys into tech as a deaf person, give an overview of sign slanguages and accessibility.

Speaker Bio’s

Sophie:
Software engineer @ Microsoft (I call myself Deaf-e-loper)
University of Washington and Gallaudet University alum
Deafie, Chinese, queer, and hopeless Trekkie
(I have a big white cat who is also Deaf)

Miya:
Software engineer @ Microsoft
Lecturer @ University of Washington
Avid knitter, (cute corgi)-owner