Onsite, online - the same great content
AccessU at a Glance
Accelerate your Accessibility Career at AccessU
John Slatin AccessU 2025 is a hybrid conference that allows you to gain practical digital accessibility skills and connect with the community of experts and emerging leaders in the field. This year AccessU coincides with GAAD and introduces a track of Flipped Learning sessions that are shaped by community input. Knowbility has served the digital access needs of disabled people for more than 25 years and AccessU is a fundamental part of that mission driven service - thanks for your active participation and support creating the agenda for 2025!
Welcome and thanks for joining AccessU!
Whether you are joining in person or online; hold an Instructor, Premier, or General Conference ticket; are joining for just one day or the whole AccessU experience - we're glad you're here.
Please watch for the Zoom Event invitations, Learning Center credentials, updates on ways to actively participate, and other notes from us. Join the AccessU Slack workspace to chat with other attendees and keep up with announcements.
General orientation information is found on the Attendee Guide.
For Hotel contact and shuttle service schedules, please see Hotels, Transportation and Parking.
If you have any questions please post to the #help channel of the AccessU 2025 Slack or email accessu@knowbility.org and we'll get right back to you!
Looking forward to a great week of learning together, celebrating GAAD, and charting a course forward in the changing ploitical environment.
Schedule Overview
Monday, May 12th: Preconference Deep Dives, Opening Keynote Reception
These full-day workshops are a great opportunity to dig deep into accessibility best practices with experienced leaders in the field. Deep Dive attendees will select one of the following topics when they purchase their ticket:
Schedule highlights:
- 7:00 - 8:30 AM: Registration and breakfast in (Trustee Hall).
- 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM: Deep Dive Pre-Conference classes (Trustee Hall)
- 12:00 Noon - 1:00 PM: Lunch in Trustee Atrium (Trustee Hall, 2rd floor)
- 6:00 PM: Reception and Keynote talk at the Austin Hyatt Regency on beautiful Town Lake and online:
Meet and greet old and new friends at a Drinks and hors d'oeuvres reception. - 7:00 pm Karl Groves kicks off the conference with his thoughts on current trends and opportunities for the future of digital accessibility.
Bonus – Early Badge pickup at the reception
May 13 - 15 General Conference
AccessU general conference features three days of in-depth learning from accessibility experts with hands-on practice and peer discussion. Sessions are categorized under the following learning tracks:
- Design & User Experience (Visa Track)
- Development (AARP Track)
- Documents & Templates
- NEW for 2025 - Flipped Classroom Challenges (in partnership with Accessible Community)
- Interactive & Emerging Technologies (Google Track)
- Marketing and Advocacy
- Organizational Strategy (IAAP Track)
- Testing (Salesforce Track)
Tuesday May 13th: Live Sessions and Keynote by Eve Hill
- 7:30 AM: Breakfast in Cafeteria (Ragsdale Hall, 2nd floor)
- 8:30 - 11:45 AM: Instructional Classes in Trustee Hall and online
- 8:30 - 11:45 AM: Flipped Classroom Challenge 1: How do we use and shape AI to benefit disabled people? - review materials in advance, attend for discussion.
- 12:00 noon: Lunch in Mabee Ballroom (Ragsdale Hall, 3rd floor)
- 1:00 - 2:00 PM: Keynote: The 2025 AccessU Legal Update by Eve Hill in Jones Auditorium (Ragsdale Hall, 1st floor) and online
- 2:00 - 5:15 PM: Instructional Classes in Trustee Hall and online
- 2:00 - 5:15 PM: Flipped Classroom Challenge 2: Where does digital accessibility “belong” within organizations and how does that affect career decisions and pathways to leadership? - review materials in advance, attend for discussion.
- Evening: Austin on Your Own and optional self-funded BBQ field trip to the Salt Lick sponsored by Karl Groves and AFixt
- Tickets to the Salt Lick BBQ Trip are $50 and can be selected as an add on with your conference ticket.
- If you did not originally opt in to attend the BBQ and wish to purchase a ticket, please contact us via email: accessu@knowbility.org.
Wednesday May 14th: Live Sessions and Keynote by Zuby Onwuta
- 7:30 AM: Breakfast in Cafeteria (Ragsdale Hall, 2nd floor)
- 8:30 - 11:45 AM: Instructional Classes in Trustee and online/Flipped learning sessions
- 8:30 - 11:45 PM: Flipped Classroom Challenge 3: What defines “Success” in digital accessibility? - review materials in advance, attend for discussion.
- 12:00 noon: Lunch in Mabee Ballroom (Ragsdale Hall, 3rd floor)
- 1:00 - 2:00 PM: Keynote: Disability Sparks Innovation in Jones Auditorium (Ragsdale Hall, 1st floor) and online
- 2:00 - 3:30 PM: Instructional Classes in Trustee Hall and online
- 2:00 - 5:15 PM: Flipped Classroom Challenge 4: What have we left out? - review materials in advance, attend for discussion.
- 3:45 - 5:15 PM: Plenary Session in Jones Auditorium - WAI and You: Working Together to Advance Digital Accessibility by Shawn Henry and Kevin White.
Thursday May 15th - GAAD! Training sessions, Unconference Exploration, Closing Keynote Panel
We have 1-Day Tickets to join us to Celebrate GAAD at AccessU including classes, a keynote panel led by Crystal Preston-Watson of Salesforce, and the Unconference sessions that YOU have suggested and chosen in the previous days.
- 7:30 AM: Breakfast in Cafeteria (Ragsdale Hall, 2nd floor)
- 8:30 - 10:00 AM: Instructional Classes in Trustee Hall and online
- 10:15 - 11:45 AM: Closing Keynote Panel: From Today to Tomorrow: Navigating the Shifting Landscape of Digital Access led by Crystal Preston-Watson with Natalie Patrice Tucker, Howard Kramer - in Jones Auditorium, Ragsdale Hall 1st floor) and online
- 12:00 noon: Lunch and Unconference sessions in Trustee Hall.
- 2:00 - 3:30 PM: Classes in Trustee Hall and online
Shuttle Service back to Hotel and thanks for another great year!
For More Information
Plenary and Keynote sessions are freely open to the public via Zoom. Use the links below for more information about John Slatin AccessU.
- Hotels, Transportation and Parking - Details about conference hotels, shuttle schedule and parking information.
- Conference Activities - information about social events and conference activities.
- Attendee Guide - what to expect and how to get ready for AccessU.
- Accessibility Accommodations- learn about the accommodations we provide to make AccessU an accessible experience for all attendees.
- Full Class Schedule - view all the available classes for AccessU 2025.
- FAQs - if you have any more questions, please refer to this short guide!
Thanks to our AccessU 2025 Sponsors!
