Hanna Melo Fugulin, Aaron Preece
As a reader of AccessWorld, you may be considering a career in the field of accessibility. For this edition of our Employment Journeys column, we sat down with Cala Campfield, Technical Writer of Accessibility Content at Salesforce. In this interview, Cala takes us through her journey in the field of accessibility, as well as providing excellent advice for anyone looking to enter this rapidly evolving field.
Interview with Cala
Q: Are you blind or have low vision yourself? What has your journey with vision loss been like?
A: I am totally blind. I've been totally blind for just over 20 years, but I was actually born with low vision in one eye and no sight in the other. I lost the rest of my sight suddenly when I was 11. My mom and my grandma also share my genetic eye condition, so I grew up around a lot of role models. My mom would use a CCTV to magnify stuff, and I would play with my grandma's talking clocks. I used low vision stuff in school, things like that. So assistive technology wasn't strange. And I actually had a brilliant TVI in kindergarten who started teaching me braille. I asked, “why do I need to do this? I can see, why do I need to learn braille?” and the answer always was, “well, you may lose the rest of your vision one day and you may need braille”, and it turns out I did! So it was a really great decision, since when I lost the rest of my vision really suddenly, I was able to transition quickly and not miss a lot of school in the sixth grade, already knowing braille.
Q: Can you give us a rundown of your employment path? What led you to enter the field of accessibility?
A: I got into accessibility by accident. I did not set out to enter the accessibility field, that wasn't really on my radar. When I started my employment journey, I just wanted a job, you know, doing something I thought I'd be good at. So I started out as a tutor for the community college, I tutored English Lit and nutrition classes, of all things! For my first real salary job, I did data entry for the federal government in Human Resources, and then I transitioned into a directorship role at a nonprofit for the blind. And then, through that, I found my way into this role at Salesforce as a technical accessibility writer. I never thought about accessibility itself, other than “I just need to do my job, I just need to make JAWS or NVDA cooperate and get the job done.” But when I worked with a nonprofit, I ended up doing many things. At a non-profit, your work doesn't end with your job description, your job is to help advance the mission however you can, so you wear many hats. We did accessibility audits, we did user experience demos for clients, large and small. We did training and digital accessibility, and WCAG, things like that. I sort of fell into the role because I was the resident “young blind tech-savvy person” on the team, but if I'm going to be presenting all this stuff, I should really know some background on what I'm talking about! So I started with the DEQUE University courses, and studying for the CPACCC certification, which we'll talk about. And yeah, that work continued. I started teaching an online course to prepare folks for the Salesforce Administrator certification, and that's when I started learning about things like document accessibility, content accessibility standards, and accessibility in education. So it really just became more and more a part of my work as my career continued.
Q: Speaking more broadly about the field of accessibility, do you think there's any sort of training that's required for someone who wants to enter the field, like a specific degree or specific experience/qualifications?
A: There's no specific degree for entering the profession. I have a degree in English literature. My husband, who's in this field, has a Computer Science degree. So, as far as education goes, just by standard, many employers do require some amount of college education, but you don't need to have a tech degree or a technology background to get into accessibility. Now, there are some master's programs put out by California State University at Northridge for accessibility, which is very cool. But those kinds of things can come later in your career if you feel like they're going to be helpful. The field of accessibility spans everything, all kinds of backgrounds and experiences. You could be a software developer, you could work in procurement, you could work in content management, you could be an instructional designer for university, you could be an accessible events manager. So really, you could be eyeballs deep in code or never see an H2 tag in your life. There's no single training program that's going to cover how broad accessibility is. But there are definitely some good things that can get you started, like empathy. Empathy for the impact that accessibility has on different populations. You need excellent problem-solving skills, to be self-motivated, and want to continue growing and learning every single day.
Q: You mentioned some of these earlier, but it seems like certifications such as the one offered by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) are becoming much more prominent in the industry over the last ten years or so. Could you give us more information on those?
A: Sure! I have both my CPACCC, or the Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies, and my Accessible Document Specialist Certification through the IAAP. I got both of those in 2022. My current employer is a member of IAAP, and they sponsor certifications, so when I started working for them, I wanted to get those as soon as possible. I had been working in the accessibility field, tangentially, for a long time without any credentials and I wanted to prove to myself and to others that I knew what I was talking about. So, in the case of the CPACCC, that credential is open to anyone and everyone. This certification covers a broad foundation, everything from various disability populations, what assistive technologies they use, universal design, web content accessibility guidelines, laws, a little bit of universal learning design, everything. It's your Foundations and Fundamentals certification. And I think, personally, for anyone who is working in the accessibility field, that the CPACCC is a great certification to have, not only to prove your stuff, but as a learning tool as well, whether you have a disability or not. Then the Accessible Document Certification. That's all about making content accessible, from documents, to spreadsheets, to slideshows, and audio-video media. Then for those interested in diving into the more technical aspects like HTML and ARIA, there is a Web Accessibility Specialist Certification offered. There is even a Certified Professional in Accessible Built Environments, and that certification is more for physical spaces. CPACCC is open to anyone. The ADS and the WAS definitely do have pre-requirements. Those credentials are not open for just anyone to take. They do require you to have work experience with content or with web accessibility. I took my certifications remotely, proctored by an IAAP team member. I did it on Zoom. I can't speak to the accessibility of other disability groups, but from a blindness perspective, it was pretty straightforward and accessible, everything was just really easy.
Q: What about specific assistive technologies such as JAWS, NVDA, ZoomText, and that side of a skill set, do you think it’s also important to become certified in those?
A: I want to say that these IAAP certifications are only becoming more important as the accessibility career field continues to mature. If the hiring manager for your role knows what these certifications are, they are a huge boost to your credibility. They demonstrate your commitment to the profession. And I wouldn't say having the IAAP credentials makes or breaks your career prospects at all, but it is worth getting them if you can, and if they apply to your career field. That being said, the cost to get these certifications can be an obstacle. Especially to someone just entering the field. So if these IAAP certifications aren't within your reach right now, lower-cost certifications may be somewhat helpful. When I left my nonprofit and I was coming to work for my current employer, I just had my work experience. I didn't have any accessibility credentials or anything, so I decided to get the JAWS and the NVDA certification in 2021, mostly just to have something that proved I knew something about accessibility, and these were lower-cost. Other options include the 508 Trusted Tester Certification through the Department of Homeland Security. Then there's also the Google Trusted Tester program, and some great Workforce Development programs, offered through the AFB Talent Lab and other nonprofits, and some of those programs even help you obtain the CPACCC. So I just think, wherever you are, whatever you can get your hands on, whether it's a lower-cost certification or the IAAP, any opportunity that you can take to put something on your resume is going to help. But being more direct: do the assistive technology certifications really help you out in the accessibility space? I think your work experience and being able to speak accessibility to the interviewer is going to be of the most value
Q: What have you found to be the best resources for maintaining cutting-edge accessibility and assistive technology knowledge and skills?
A: Figure out how to get connected! You never know what resources are going to be helpful. I do some mentoring for accessibility workforce programs and I tell the new people, “just sign up for stuff!”, start by signing up for whatever newsletters, whatever webinar, whatever accessibility communities that you can find, even if it looks like it might not be super useful, just get some kind of information stream flowing to you, into your inbox, so that you can have content information from these different resources. Just listen, just be a sponge and absorb everything you can. And go to conferences! There are free ones, there are paid ones, in person ones, totally virtual ones… I think the accessibility field thrives on the flow of new ideas and new thoughts and new information. So find your peers, look for accessibility a11y meetups in your community. Just figure out how to make these connections!
Q: If you could broadcast something to everyone out there, what do you think is the most crucial piece of advice for a blind or a low-vision person looking to enter the field of accessibility?
A: Maybe this will be a bit of a controversial one, but: just being a screen reader user is not enough anymore. There was a time not so long ago in this field where you could show up to an interview and say “hi, I'm a screen reader user” and get a “great, you're hired, welcome to the team”. But the accessibility profession has matured so fast, and with it, the demand for skills has matured and increased. So, start thinking about what sparks your passion and explore those career options. Being able to test a website with a screen reader is a great place to start, that's the foundation. But think about what unique skills you have. What will make you stand out from the crowd? You don't have to know that right away, nobody does. We're all still learning and exploring as we get into this. But, you know, take some time to play around with project management, or do a mobile audit, just for fun. Branch outside of web accessibility because this is a huge world you're getting into and there's a lot to it. The field of accessibility is ever-changing. It's wild and it's a little bit messy. You have to be thirsty for knowledge and hungry for change and always ready to push on to the next challenge.
Q: Do you think lived experience with a disability is critical when working in the accessibility field?
A: I feel a little bit nervous about this one, but no, I don't think lived experience with a disability is critical to this field at all. What is critical is empathy. I've mentioned before, being able to feel and understand the impact of an accessible space, and you don't need lived experience with a disability for that. It gives us a head start because we deal with accessibility every single day, so that helps develop that fire and that passion inside of us, and empathy kind of comes built-in. But I think you just need the determination to make the world a better place. Passion for change is what really makes a phenomenal accessibility professional. Even for us, we have a lot of experience with our own disability, and it's just about getting that empathy that we have for our own user experience and applying that to other disability groups. So yeah, I think it's the same across the board. Accessibility is not just a disability space, accessibility benefits everyone. We're all humans, and the more we can make accessibility a mainstream career rather than this niche option, the better.
Q: So if you aren’t specifically in the field of accessibility or have an accessibility role, what are some ways that you can still make an effective contribution to digital inclusion?
A: Promote awareness. You can educate yourself and others about accessibility. If you come across a blog post or an article about it, you can share it on your social media personally and professionally. You can advocate for accessibility and encourage your decision makers to prioritize accessibility in their projects and in their initiatives. Just always be considering the needs of other users and trying to incorporate some of those best practices into whatever it is that you're doing, provide feedback if you come across something that is inaccessible. Support initiatives and be a part of that contribution to those organizations who support accessibility, volunteer your time, and be a part of the discussion. It's all again just about bringing it back to the mainstream. People with disabilities don't have to be the only ones reporting accessibility barriers.
Q: Going forward, where do you see your accessibility professional journey taking you?
A: I have been thinking a lot about this lately. I think, after all this time, I'm finally starting to figure out where I fit in the accessibility world. I love connecting with people and helping them to have a great experience. I've been doing a lot of mentoring lately, which is really exciting. But I'm passionate about making knowledge available to everyone. Inaccessible systems shouldn't be a barrier to learning. When you're trying to learn something and upskill yourself, you shouldn't be slowed down just because there's an inaccessible design. My success in my life and in my profession was built on learning and education, and having access to great education. So I see myself possibly moving into the higher education space within the next couple years. Maybe working in the instructional design space or working directly with students. I really liked my time as an instructor in my nonprofit role, I got such a charge out of helping someone unlock a concept and understand it. Education opened up so many opportunities in my own life. So if someone wants to learn, I want to make sure that that's accessible to them. I'm excited to learn more about the space and see how I can make that next move.
