Event Accessibility Strategist
Instructor-Facilitated
We designed this course to provide you and your team with the knowledge, skills, and know-how to transform your in-person and digital events so they are welcoming, accessible, and inclusive for every body.
CE Hours
Earn 8 continuing education units
Modules
5 modules of content
Format
Instructor-Facilitated
What You'll Learn
We designed this course to provide you and your team with the knowledge, skills, and know-how to transform your in-person and digital events so they are welcoming, accessible, and inclusive for every body.
- Create a commonsense approach to event accessibility.
- Determine which accessibility protocols to include in venue & supplier RFPs, and identify criteria for evaluating responses.
- Understand and apply key concepts from the WCAG (Website Content Accessibility Guidelines) to all digital content, including registration sites, presentation slides, etc.
- Develop an Event Accessibility Policy & Checklist for your organization’s in-person and virtual meetings & events.
- Develop a training guide for on-site event staff on best practices for interacting with disabled participants.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed to support events industry professionals like you!
- Event team leaders looking to develop an Event Accessibility Policy for their organization.
- Virtual event planners who want to ensure their webinars and virtual events meet digital accessibility standards.
- Event producers who need to train on-site staff on best practices for interacting with disabled participants.
- Site selection professionals looking to include accessibility protocols in their RFPs.
- Event & meeting designers looking to integrate accessibility protocols into their floor plans and room designs.
Course Outline
Prep Work (ADA Basics & Intersection with DE&I)
- What is a disability
- Some facts about disability
- Pre-ADA experience of having a disability
- What the ADA changed
- The ADA today (digital/lawsuits)
Preparation is Everything
- Three Scenarios for Various Sized Events
- 3 T’s: Top (down) + Team + Time
- Venue Selection (RFP)
- Digital Platform Selection
- Vendor Selection
Prepare to Launch (and Build a Great Toolkit)
- Inclusive and Accessible Event Marketing
- On-site Considerations: The Toolkit!
- Mobility
- Vision (blind, vision impairments)
- Hearing (deaf, reduced hearing)
- Invisible (neurodiverse, food allergies, dyslexia, and others)
- Temporary/Situational Considerations
Digital Access & Opening / Closing Day
- Accessibility for Digital Events & Presentations
- Pre-Show Layout Review & Walk-Through
- Post-Event Surveys & Reporting
Training is Key for On-Site Execution
- Staff Training
- Security: best practices for security screening of persons with disabilities
- Vendor training/expectations/access guide and FAQ
- Catering: best practices for setting up / serving to achieve equal access
How This Course Works
Facilitated cohorts are led by industry experts and delivered online over five to twelve weeks. You’ll move through weekly pre-recorded modules at your own pace and come together for optional office hours and a peer community forum to ask questions, practice concepts, and stay on track.
Pre-recorded Weekly Modules
Move through the course with on-demand video lessons and resources released in weekly modules. Each week builds on the last—so you can learn at your own pace, review key concepts as needed, and come to live sessions ready with questions.
Live Office Hours
Join optional office hour sessions to connect live with your instructor and peers, ask questions, workshop challenges, and get practical guidance on applying what you’re learning.
Peer-based Community Forum
Connect with fellow learners between sessions to ask questions, share real-world examples, and learn from each other’s experiences. The forum is also a great place to stay motivated, get unstuck quickly, and build relationships with other professionals in your cohort.
Course Access Window
You’ll have access to the course for four weeks after the final module is released, so you have time to review the material, ask follow-up questions, and finish strong. Need more time? Extended access is available for an additional fee—just reach out to our team to request an extension.
Counts Toward Your CMP
PCMA Institute is recognized by the Events Industry Council (EIC) as a Preferred Provider of continuing education. Completing this course qualifies for CMP continuing education credit, so every hour you invest moves your certification forward.
Learn From An Industry Expert
Joshua Klipp
Founder & Principal
Josh is the Founder and Principal of Made Welcome, an accessibility consulting firm focused on accessibility at workplaces and events. Prior to founding Made Welcome, Josh practiced law for 16 years, specializing in the Americans with Disabilities Act. He is also a Certified Access Specialist (CASp No. 812) through California’s Division of the State Architect and is certified to provide guidance on accessibility in the built environment.
After practicing law for nearly 2 decades, Josh left litigating to do all things disability for one of the world’s largest tech companies, Salesforce. At Salesforce, Josh set up and implemented the reasonable accommodations process for Salesforce’s 15,000 employees in the United States and Canada. He also created and implemented the first accessibility initiative for Dreamforce, the world’s largest tech conference – an accessibility strategy that Dreamforce continues to implement today. Because of his experience in workplaces and events, Josh understands the challenges and nuances faced by employers, event producers and venues. On nights and weekends, Josh moonlights with his band, the Klipptones, and is a volunteer Planting Leader with Friends of the Urban Forest.
Ready to Level Up?
We want to make sure you're getting the best price available to you. PCMA and CEMA members, as well as Institute subscribers, automatically receive a discount — no codes needed. Simply log in at checkout and your savings will be applied based on your account.
Core
- No membership or subscription required. Open to all learners.
$595
Select
- Exclusive pricing for active monthly PCMA Institute subscribers.
$535.50
Premier
- Exclusive pricing for PCMA/CEMA members and annual subscribers.
$476
Satisfaction Guarantee
The PCMA Institute stands behind all of its content. If you feel you didn’t learn what you expected to in this course, just let us know within 30 days of your last lesson and we’ll give you a full refund. Click here to view our refund policy and full terms & conditions.
