TheAccessPond.com

The Access Pond was founded by Michael Adams and Jeff Singleton. In addition Ken Nakata and Thomas Logan are essential contributors to the site and provide valuable insight into the world of accessibility law and development practices. More details on the background of these individuals are found below. 

|| Jeff Singleton ||
Jeff Singleton has worked in evaluating and supporting software for the last two decades. He currently works as Senior Test Manager for HiSoftware. Jeff Singleton is skilled in the use of AT software such as screen readers, assistive input devices and screen magnification for validating and testing projects. Jeff 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 Jeff 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. As a speaker Jeff Singleton has presented lectures on testing with accessibility in mind at various venues such as the Federal Government’s TechTalk series and the California State University Northridge’s (CSUN) Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference. Jeff 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.TheAccessPond.com which he co-founded and manages.

Jeff 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.

|| Mike Adams ||
Mike Adams has spent over 10 years in all phases of the Software Development Life Cycle and has over 14 years experience in the IT industry.  Mike’s background includes expertise in Section 508, WCAG 1.0 and 2.0, project management, release management, security analysis, enterprise customer relations and quality assurance management.

As a veteran Mike discovered a passion of his in working with the accessibility groups within the VA that has prompted a continued interest and need to be involved in making sure that a computer is still a tool for everyone despite any disabilities.

With Jeff, Mike has co-founded (http://www.theaccesspond.com) to act as a living resource for those who have questions and need help with IT accessibility issues.

|| 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.

Ken 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.  Ken also worked as Director of Accessibility and Government Compliance at BayFirst Solutions, a Washington, DC consulting firm, where he quickly developed a key consulting practice worth over $2 million annually.

In 2000, Attorney General Janet Reno presented Ken with the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Information Technology. In addition to practicing law, Ken is active in software and web-based technologies, including Java, JavaScript, SQL, and ColdFusion. In July 2001, he was certified by Sun Microsystems as a programmer for the Java 2 Platform. Ken 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. Ken holds a Bachelors of Art degree in mathematics from John Hopkins University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  He is admitted to the bars of New York, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Washington (pending).

|| Thomas Logan ||
Thomas Logan has seven years of experience focused on creating accessible solutions. He was the principal Program Manager for the accessibility framework Microsoft UI Automation in Windows Vista. He has experience designing accessibility solutions for a broad suite of technologies including Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Forms, Flash, JavaScript, and Delphi. Thomas recently focused on ARIA and WCAG2 building a fully functioning accessible web application. Thomas is currently working as VP of Product Development for HiSoftware.

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