Sharron Rush
Sharron is the co-founder and Executive Director of Knowbility, a nonprofit organization that grew from the first Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR) in Austin in 1998. Sharron leads the effort to replicate the AIR program in cities throughout the country. Because of AIR, professional Web developers from hundreds of state agencies and technology companies have learned about the benefits, tools, and techniques of accessible Web design. In addition to improving the accessibility of their own work, AIR volunteers use their accessible Web design skills to create sites for more than 500 nonprofit groups, affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals.
Sharron believes strongly in the power of technology to support the independence of people with disabilities – and in the value of dynamic, ongoing collaboration to strengthen communities. She has led Knowbility to national recognition, including appearances on the Oprah Winfrey show, “Best Practice” feature at the National Labor Skills Summit, and recognition for excellence and innovation by the Peter F. Drucker Foundation. In April of 2001, she was named one of the Top 25 Women of the Web and in March 2002, she received the Dewey Winburne Award for Community Service through Interactive Media. She is a ComputerWorld Laureate, an advisor to the SXSW Interactive Media Conference, was named Community Tech Champion by the Congressional Black Caucus and co-wrote the book, Maximum Accessibility, which is recognized as one of the definitive accessibility resources. Sharron annually assembles the best minds in web accessibility to deliver training conferences that teach and define interactive accessibility from the basics to the bleeding edge.