Teach Access Hires Director of Education as Next Step in Continued Expansion

Rolando M\u00e9ndez-Fern\u00e1ndez
Photo of Rolando smiling at the camera

EATON RAPIDS, Mich., February 21, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Teach Access—a non-profit that began as a 100% volunteer grassroots effort between education, industry, and disability advocacy organizations to address the critical need to enhance students' understanding of digital accessibility, has welcomed its fourth full-time employee, director of education, Rolando Méndez-Fernández.

Méndez-Fernández brings 18 years of experience in higher education and is currently completing a doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership. During his time with the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Méndez-Fernández served in various roles related to teaching and learning, faculty development, instructional design, student services, quality assurance, and technology adoption. In addition, for the past six years, he has been engaging educators in Puerto Rico in adopting inclusive, user-centered practices and creating learning experiences that accommodate the needs and preferences of all learners.

"I am beyond thrilled for Rolando to join the Teach Access team," said the executive director, Kate Sonka. "I've long admired his work across the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico system to support faculty development, specifically in online education and inclusive learning. I know that many in the online learning community admire the thought and care he brings to all of his work. I am eager to see how his knowledge and talents will contribute to our mission."

As the director of education, Méndez-Fernández will lead a nationwide faculty professional development program to support faculty in teaching about accessibility, oversee the creation and curation of teaching materials and resources in the Teach Access curriculum repository, in addition to helping ongoing work with national accreditation organizations increase accessibility representation in their guidelines and resources.

Additionally, he will work to scale and develop new and existing programs for students and faculty that include Study Away, a program that brings students, faculty, and industry partners together to explore the field of accessibility, Faculty Grants, monetary awards to higher education faculty to develop curriculum enhancements that introduce the fundamental concepts and skills of accessibility into their existing courses, and new Student Ambassadors and Faculty Fellowship programs.  

To learn more about Teach Access, visit www.teachaccess.org.

###

About Teach Access: Teach Access is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization collaborating with education, industry, and disability advocacy organizations to address the critical need to enhance students' understanding of digital accessibility as they learn to design, develop, and build new technologies with the needs of people with disabilities in mind. Teach Access envisions a fully accessible future in which students enter the workforce with knowledge of the needs of people with disabilities and skills in the principles of accessible design and development, such that technology products and services are born accessible.