Part 1
AI Leads to Productivity: How AI is Turbocharging Screen Reading Software and Computer Access
Vispero’s product lead for the popular screen-reading program JAWS breaks down how AI impacts the screen-reading landscape and changes how we access and interact with computers.
Presented by Ryan Jones
Part 2
The Promise (and Realities) of Generative AI for Blind and Low-Vision Software Professionals
Explore the dual dimensions of workplace accessibility—social and technical—for blind and low-vision software professionals. This presentation covers four pivotal studies, including career mobility, meeting accessibility, and innovative solutions leveraging generative AI.
Presented by Yoonha Cha
Presenters
Ryan Jones
VP for Software Product Management, Vispero
Ryan Jones is Vice President of Software and Product Management at Vispero. He leads a world-class team focused on development, education, training, and support for flagship software products, JAWS, ZoomText, and Fusion.
Ryan has worked in the assistive technology field since the early 2000s and is a JAWS user. He began his career as a product trainer at Freedom Scientific in 2005 and has taught thousands of people to use assistive technology software. Most recently, Ryan served as a Solutions Architect at TPGi, where he led teams engaged with a variety of Fortune 50 and enterprise companies to support their journey to become more accessible. Ryan has presented at numerous industry conferences on both assistive technology products and digital accessibility and brings years of industry knowledge, experience, and customer insight to the table.
Ryan lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife, Kayla. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in information systems management from Auburn University and a master’s degree in Visual Disabilities from Florida State University.
Yoonha Cha
Department of Informatics PhD Student, University of California, Irvine (UCI)
Yoonha Cha is a PhD student in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where she is advised by Dr. Stacy M. Branham. Her research focuses on accessible software engineering, aiming to foster inclusive and equitable software engineering workspaces for blind and low-vision software professionals. Yoonha’s research has been recognized with a Distinguished Paper Award at the CHASE 2024 conference and the Rosalva Gallardo Valencia Graduate Award from UCI’s School of Information and Computer Science in 2024. Prior to becoming a Ph.D. student in Informatics, Yoonha received her bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from Korea University and her Master’s degree in Computer Science from UCI.
