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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260915T100000
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UID:10001058-1789466400-1789470000@equalizedigital.com
SUMMARY:Email Accessibility in WordPress: Maria Maldonado
DESCRIPTION:Emails are an important part of the user experience\, but they are often overlooked during accessibility testing. Transactional emails from online shops\, membership sites\, contact forms\, account notifications\, and newsletters must be accessible so every recipient can read\, understand\, and act on the information they contain. \nIn this session\, Maria Maldonado will discuss email accessibility and how it applies to emails sent from WordPress websites\, including both automated transactional and marketing emails. The session will look at practical examples\, including table-based email layouts\, links\, headings\, images\, color contrast\, readable content structure\, and testing workflows. \nYou will learn: \n\nWhy email accessibility matters for WordPress websites.\nCommon accessibility issues in transactional and newsletter emails.\nHow to test emails sent from a website.\n\n\nThese meetups take place via Zoom and are live captioned. You must register to attend via Zoom. \nAbout the Speaker\n\n\nMaria José Maldonado is a seasoned Web Accessibility professional with a strong foundation in education. Since transitioning to the field in 2018\, she has been dedicated to advancing accessibility testing and fostering digital inclusivity. Holding CPACC\, WAS\, and CPWA certifications\, she possesses a comprehensive understanding of WCAG standards and legal requirements. \nHer expertise spans assistive technologies\, automated testing tools\, and responsive design\, ensuring seamless user experiences across diverse platforms. Passionate about creating accessible digital environments\, she collaborates with teams to drive meaningful\, user-centered accessibility solutions. \n\nEvent Information\nSponsors\nThank you to our sponsors: \n\nLive Captioning + Transcription: GoDaddy\nOrganizer and Host: Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker\nYour Business here! Learn about sponsorship\n\n\n\n\nAccessibility & Accommodations\nThis meetup will be held virtually over Zoom and live captioned\, thanks to our sponsors. Slide links will be provided when applicable\, and presenters are encouraged to make slides as accessible as possible with alternative text for images\, etc. \nWe’re working to secure sponsors so that we can offer ASL interpretation. \nAll are welcome to attend. If you need specific accommodations to make this meetup work for you\, please contact us and we will try our best to accommodate you. \nCode of Conduct\nPlease note that this group is a welcoming space for all. As this event is part of the official WordPress Meetup program\, all attendees must follow the WordPress Online Code of Conduct. \nBy RSVPing to this meetup\, you agree to abide by these guidelines. If you have concerns that the Online Code of Conduct is not being followed\, don’t hesitate to get in touch with an organizer.
URL:https://equalizedigital.com/event/email-accessibility-in-wordpress-maria-maldonado/
CATEGORIES:WordPress Accessibility Meetups
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://equalizedigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/091526-Maria-Maldonado-1.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261001T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261001T113000
DTSTAMP:20260731T161001Z
CREATED:20260731T161001Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260731T161001Z
UID:10001059-1790848800-1790854200@equalizedigital.com
SUMMARY:Ethical AI & "Benevolent Friction": Rethinking Alternative Text in WordPress: Deneb Pulsipher
DESCRIPTION:Generative AI tools are flooded with promises of automated accessibility shortcuts\, but fully automated\, “hands-off” alt text often fails blind and low-vision users by missing context or introducing inaccuracies. \nThis presentation uses a real-world case study—the open-source plugin Polly Alt—to explore how we can ethically leverage generative AI as an accessibility aid by intentionally keeping a human in the loop. \nWe will look at how we can design user interfaces that use benevolent friction within Gutenberg\, Elementor\, and the WordPress Media Library to make it completely frictionless for site administrators to write or edit alt text\, while making it gently difficult to publish empty image descriptions. \nAdditionally\, we’ll discuss how AI shouldn’t just do the work for lazy administrators\, but should act as an accessibility training tool—using multi-subject angles and screen-reader context boxes to teach content creators how to draft high-quality visual descriptions on their own over time. \nAttendees will walk away from this presentation with a clear understanding of: \n\nThe Human-in-the-Loop Imperative: Why fully automated AI accessibility overlays and silent background scripts fail\, and how to build software that enforces human review\, human editing\, and final content ownership.\nThe Mechanics of Benevolent Friction: How to identify key intercept points in the WordPress admin interface (such as save hooks\, post-publishing routines\, and page exits) to guide users toward accessible habits naturally.\nRepurposing UI for Accessibility Training: Practical examples of how providing contextual feedback—like multi-subject variations and immediate screen-reader character constraints—can improve the user’s real-world understanding of digital accessibility standards.\n\n\nThese meetups take place via Zoom and are live captioned. You must register to attend via Zoom. \nAbout the Speaker\n\n\nDeneb\, “Captain Accessible” at SeaMonster Studios\, works to make sure that the sites SeaMonster designs and builds work for everyone. When he’s not doing that\, he’s working on tools to make the process easier for accessibility testers and content creators. The more tools are available for accessibility testers and especially for content creators\, and the easier they are to use\, the more likely it is that more people will know to do the right thing. \n\nEvent Information\nSponsors\nThank you to our sponsors: \n\nLive Captioning + Transcription: Kinsta\nOrganizer and Host: Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker\nYour Business here! Learn about sponsorship\n\n\n\n\nAccessibility & Accommodations\nThis meetup will be held virtually over Zoom and live captioned\, thanks to our sponsors. Slide links will be provided when applicable\, and presenters are encouraged to make slides as accessible as possible with alternative text for images\, etc. \nWe’re working to secure sponsors so that we can offer ASL interpretation. \nAll are welcome to attend. If you need specific accommodations to make this meetup work for you\, please contact us and we will try our best to accommodate you. \nCode of Conduct\nPlease note that this group is a welcoming space for all. As this event is part of the official WordPress Meetup program\, all attendees must follow the WordPress Online Code of Conduct. \nBy RSVPing to this meetup\, you agree to abide by these guidelines. If you have concerns that the Online Code of Conduct is not being followed\, don’t hesitate to get in touch with an organizer.
URL:https://equalizedigital.com/event/ethical-ai-benevolent-friction-rethinking-alternative-text-in-wordpress-deneb-pulsipher/
CATEGORIES:WordPress Accessibility Meetups
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://equalizedigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/100126-Deneb-Pulsipher.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261020T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261020T110000
DTSTAMP:20260824T160431Z
CREATED:20260824T160431Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260824T160431Z
UID:10001063-1792490400-1792494000@equalizedigital.com
SUMMARY:Using Accessibility Checker Pro + Claude AI to Remediate a Large WordPress Site: Courtney Robertson
DESCRIPTION:Courtney Robertson will share a practical case study of running Equalize Digital’s Accessibility Checker Pro across her long-running WordPress site (including a large archive of older posts)\, then feeding those scan results into Claude Code to automate fixes. Examples include converting YouTube embeds to AblePlayer with VTT transcripts\, resolving aria-hidden issues on emojis and UI elements\, and other content-level remediation. \nWe’ll examine concrete before-and-after results: what the AI handled accurately and efficiently\, where it made incorrect assumptions or introduced new problems that required human review\, and practical takeaways for combining automated accessibility tools with AI in day-to-day WordPress workflows. \nYou will learn how to effectively combine Equalize Digital’s Accessibility Checker Pro scan results with Claude AI (Claude Code) for large-scale accessibility remediation on a real WordPress site. \nYou will leave with practical insights into: \n\nWhich types of issues (content\, embeds\, ARIA\, etc.) AI can reliably fix versus those that still require human judgment and testing\nA repeatable workflow for feeding automated accessibility reports into AI tools and reviewing the output\nCommon pitfalls and success patterns when using AI for accessibility work on older content archives\nClear takeaways they can apply immediately to their own sites or client projects to speed up remediation while maintaining quality\n\n\nThese meetups take place via Zoom and are live captioned. You must register to attend via Zoom. \nAbout the Speaker\n\n\nCourtney Robertson is a WordPress contributor and co-founding board member of The WP Open Community Collective. A computer science educator and full-stack developer\, she shares practical insights on contributing to open source and supporting sustainable funding for developers. Offstage\, she plays a 7-string electric violin\, experiments with 3D printing\, hikes with her camera\, and tends her vegetable garden. \n\nEvent Information\nSponsors\nThank you to our sponsors: \n\nLive Captioning + Transcription: GoDaddy\nOrganizer and Host: Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker\nYour Business here! Learn about sponsorship\n\n\n\n\nAccessibility & Accommodations\nThis meetup will be held virtually over Zoom and live captioned\, thanks to our sponsors. Slide links will be provided when applicable\, and presenters are encouraged to make slides as accessible as possible with alternative text for images\, etc. \nWe’re working to secure sponsors so that we can offer ASL interpretation. \nAll are welcome to attend. If you need specific accommodations to make this meetup work for you\, please contact us and we will try our best to accommodate you. \nCode of Conduct\nPlease note that this group is a welcoming space for all. As this event is part of the official WordPress Meetup program\, all attendees must follow the WordPress Online Code of Conduct. \nBy RSVPing to this meetup\, you agree to abide by these guidelines. If you have concerns that the Online Code of Conduct is not being followed\, don’t hesitate to get in touch with an organizer.
URL:https://equalizedigital.com/event/using-accessibility-checker-pro-claude-ai-to-remediate-a-large-wordpress-site-courtney-robertson/
CATEGORIES:WordPress Accessibility Meetups
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://equalizedigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/102026-Courtney-Robertson.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20261105T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20261105T113000
DTSTAMP:20260803T143846Z
CREATED:20260803T143846Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260803T143846Z
UID:10001060-1793872800-1793878200@equalizedigital.com
SUMMARY:I Didn't Realize WCAG Meant That! with Cam Coulter
DESCRIPTION:Cam has noticed that sometimes organizational leaders can be quick to adopt WCAG 2.2 AA as an internal standard or policy; however\, they may do so without really understanding the standard. In particular\, they might not realize some important things that WCAG requires and places limitations around. \nIn this session\, Cam will draw attention to some requirements that are too frequently overlooked\, both to help aspiring accessibility specialists better understand WCAG as well as to help leaders better plan for what will be required. We’ll look at the need for podcast transcripts\, accurate captions\, and audio descriptions (including traditional\, extended\, and integrated descriptions)\, and since it’s the WordPress accessibility meetup group\, we’ll look at how the Able Player plugin can help site owners manage these concerns. \nWe’ll look at 1.4.5 Images of Text and its implications\, and we’ll explore other success criteria that have important implications for common design choices (such as carousels). WCAG 2.2 AA is absolutely achievable\, but it does require unlearning some of the ableism that permeates the web. \nAfter the presentation\, participants will be able to: \n\nDescribe requirements under WCAG Guideline 1.2 Time-based Media and plan accordingly.\nExplain WCAG 1.4.5 Images of Text and its higher-level implications for organizations.\nIdentify other WCAG 2.2 AA requirements with implications for common design choices (such as carousels).\n\n\nThese meetups take place via Zoom and are live captioned. You must register to attend via Zoom. \nAbout the Speaker\n\n\nCam Coulter is a writer and accessibility nerd\, among other things\, who thinks incessantly about ethical technology\, speculative fiction\, and intentional community. They work at Santa Clara University as Deputy ADA/504 Coordinator for Digital Accessibility\, where they support people who use assistive technology and work to improve campus-wide digital accessibility. Cam is a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA)\, and they have previously worked as an Accessibility Consultant at Level Access as well as in disability services\, directly supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. \n\nEvent Information\nSponsors\nThank you to our sponsors: \n\nLive Captioning + Transcription: Kinsta\nOrganizer and Host: Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker\nYour Business here! Learn about sponsorship\n\n\n\n\nAccessibility & Accommodations\nThis meetup will be held virtually over Zoom and live captioned\, thanks to our sponsors. Slide links will be provided when applicable\, and presenters are encouraged to make slides as accessible as possible with alternative text for images\, etc. \nWe’re working to secure sponsors so that we can offer ASL interpretation. \nAll are welcome to attend. If you need specific accommodations to make this meetup work for you\, please contact us and we will try our best to accommodate you. \nCode of Conduct\nPlease note that this group is a welcoming space for all. As this event is part of the official WordPress Meetup program\, all attendees must follow the WordPress Online Code of Conduct. \nBy RSVPing to this meetup\, you agree to abide by these guidelines. If you have concerns that the Online Code of Conduct is not being followed\, don’t hesitate to get in touch with an organizer.
URL:https://equalizedigital.com/event/i-didnt-realize-wcag-meant-that-with-cam-coulter/
CATEGORIES:WordPress Accessibility Meetups
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://equalizedigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/110526-Cam-Coulter.png
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