Elsevier's Madison Russell:
Advocating for accessibility
We speak with Madison Russell
accessibility, advocacy and air travel
Hi Madison, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi, I’m Madison Russell, a Digital Accessibility Specialist on the Digital Accessibility team at Elsevier. I originally started as an intern in June 2022, and in September 2022 I joined the team as a full-time employee. My internship was a ten-week summer program with mentorships and activities. I really enjoyed my time as an intern and it helped prepare me for being an employee. I was able to speak with this year’s interns about my experience and helped some of them with presentations. I think the program is super great and it was a great way for me to start at Elsevier.
What does your role at RELX involve?
Within the accessibility team, one of my focuses is around user testing and accessibility personas. During my time at Rochester Institute of Technology, many of my classes focused heavily on user testing and prototyping, and I developed a passion for it. Now, I assist product teams in conducting user testing with users of assistive technology such as screenreaders and screen magnification software. The results of these studies are then used to create accessibility personas. I also audit products and create accessibility conformance reports to help product teams improve accessibility and to provide accessibility information to customers.
How does accessibility benefit people and the world?
Historically, disabled people have been excluded from society as a whole, but especially when it comes to digital content. By making our products accessible, we are opening so many doors for the disability community. Additionally, many universities and other institutions now expect accessibility in the products they use, and may require documentation outlining the accessibility of the product and the roadmap towards fixing accessibility issues.
We were very excited to learn that ScienceDirect’s homepage made the number one spot in the Web AIM Million list, making it the most accessible homepage in the world. It shows how dedicated Elsevier is to accessibility. The ScienceDirect team work very hard to make sure the product is accessible to as many users as possible.
What are you passionate about?
I am currently an advocate with United Spinal Association and I attend an event called Roll on Capitol Hill each year. During this event, wheelchair users meet with our Representatives to educate them on a variety of issues related to disability. One of our main focuses has been on the US Air Carrier Access Amendment Act, which provides additional air travel rights to people with disabilities. In the US we have also focused on eliminating sub-minimum wage for disabled employees, receiving additional funding for Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems, and creating additional resources for veterans in need of an accessible vehicle.
How can we all help with accessibility?
There are so many ways we can all make the world a more accessible place, and especially the online world. Something as simple as adding image descriptions can provide an accessible experience to users who are blind or have low vision. Including users of assistive technology in user testing is another way we can ensure that products are accessible to as many users as possible. Becoming familiar with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and using these guidelines when designing or developing online content greatly helps the disabled community as well.
Resources
Here’s some additional information about the fight for air travel rights: https://unitedspinal.org/accessible-air-travel/
More information about the Roll on Capitol Hill 2023: https://unitedspinal.org/advocates-reflect-on-their-week-on-capitol-hill-for-roch23/
I was recently featured by United Spinal for Giving Tuesday. The article talks a bit about my advocacy journey and the work I do with them: How Madison Found Her Path To Advocacy & Accessible Tech - United Spinal Association
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