OZeWAI - Ask the Professionals - 2 May 2025

Introduction

OZeWAI has moved from running an annual conference to partnering with many in-person and online conferences and offering membership benefits as part of individual and organisation membership tiers. 

The 'Ask the Professional' events are free for OZeWAI members and have a small cost of $10 for non-members to cover administration and tools to ensure OZeWAI events are accessible. OZeWAI members, please login to your profile to receive the details to register for free. 

By joining OZeWAI (from as little as $50 for the Advocacy level) you will have access to a year's worth of 'Ask the Professionals' for free (including the recordings), and many other benefits. If you wish to discuss assistance with OZeWAI membership, please contact info@ozewai.org.

Topic: Accessibility and Content Management Systems (CMS)

This panel event will bring together accessibility specialists for you to:

• Ask questions from the experts 
• Share knowledge of similar issues
• Find where to get help with accessibility advice and expertise

Session access requirements

The session agenda and access details will be shared 2 days before the event. This is a remote online event using Zoom.

Please email info@ozewai.org if you wish to share any tools, communication methods or anything else we should consider to ensure you can fully participate in the session.

Thank you from the OZeWAI Committee

Panelists:

Amber Hinds (she/her)

Amber Hinds is the CEO of Equalize Digital, Inc., a company specializing in WordPress accessibility and maker of the Accessibility Checker plugin. She is the lead organizer of the WordPress Accessibility Meetup, board president/co-lead organizer of the WP Accessibility Day nonprofit, and participates in the WordPress core accessibility team. 

Through her work at Equalize Digital, Amber is striving to create a world where all people have equal access to information and tools on the internet, regardless of ability. Since 2010, she has led teams building websites and web applications for nonprofits, K-12 and higher education institutions, government agencies, and businesses of all sizes, and has become a passionate accessibility advocate.

LinkedIn: https://LinkedIn.com/in/amberhinds

Mike Gifford (he/him)

Mike Gifford is a CivicActions Accessibility team member and a Drupal Core Accessibility Maintainer. He has been actively involved in the accessibility unconference community and founder of Ottawa's A11yYOW meetup. He's also a certified IAAP WAS (Web Accessibility Specialist) and has completed the DHS Section 508 Standards for Web certification.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgifford/

Ricky Blacker (he/him)

Ricky Blacker is a self-taught web professional who discovered his passion for WordPress and its vibrant community while seeking a robust CMS platform to elevate his client’s web experiences.

His journey into web design began in 2013 when he transitioned from a factory job to launching his own web design business. Today, Ricky serves as the Head of Technical Services for the APAC region at WP Engine, where he leverages his expertise to drive innovation and excellence in WordPress solutions.

When not working with WordPress he enjoys playing keyboards in rock bands, and 3D printing, among a host of other hobbies.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickyblacker/

Moderated by:

Ricky Onsman (he/him)

Ricky is a veteran Australian web designer, front-end developer, writer, and editor. He has been an OZeWAI member since 2014, and a Committee Member since 2017. He currently focuses on the OZeWAI website, newsletter, and social media.

As a writer and/or editor of articles, magazines and books, Ricky has worked with the likes of UX Australia, SitePoint, Web Directions and Smashing Magazine. As a freelance designer and front-end dev, he has spent two decades building accessible websites for clients. 

Ricky has also worked with a series of companies focused on digital accessibility including AccessIQ, Simply Accessible, AccessibilityOz, Intopia, Tenon, and now US-based TPGi where his role as Principal Technical Writer sees him providing technical digital accessibility advice to a very large global team of engineers and auditors. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickyonsman/