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Tom Wlodkowski, Director of Accessibility, AOL

In Tom Wlodkowski’s office, there is a poster that says “If a man who is blind can get to the top of Mount Everest, then he should be able to get anywhere he wants on AOL.” As AOL’s Director of Accessibility, it’s Tom’s job to make sure this is the case.

In fact, it’s Tom’s job to ensure AOL’s products and services are accessible to not only customers who are blind, but also those with other disabilities, including auditory, cognitive and mobility impairments. As part of his responsibilities, he works closely with AOL’s engineers and product developers and helps educate company employees about the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in the Internet age. He also collaborates with disability and business organizations to increase understanding and awareness of accessibility issues.

By its very nature, Tom’s job necessitates using different types of assistive technology. But Tom, who himself is blind, also uses assistive technology to carry out the more typical day-to-day tasks of being a manager in an office environment. AOL’s commitment to accessibility starts within, Tom says, and everything from expense reports to performance tools is online and accessible to him through screen reader software. Tom also uses a smart phone with screen reader capability. Less high-tech accommodations he uses are a Braille slate and stylus, and the services of an assistant who can read printed or scanned documents and help with various other tasks.

Tom, who holds a degree in communications from Boston College, has been helping people with disabilities navigate the digital terrain for many years. Prior to joining AOL in 2002, he worked at the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), part of Boston public broadcaster WGBH’s Media Access Group, which pioneered television captioning and video description. While at NCAM, he helped develop audio menus for DVDs and guidelines to improve the accessibility of science and mathematical software. He also consulted for a range of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies.

• For information about job accommodations for people with vision impairments, see JAN’s A to Z of Disabilities. To see and read about other people with disabilities in their workplaces, return to JAN’s Homepage.