I’m over the moon that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has invested $48 million to renew our AccessComputing alliance and 8 other alliances dedicated to broadening participation in computing for the next 5 years! (NSF Award #2417014)
Little trip down memory lane and a testament to the impact of these programs... about 15 years ago, when AccessComputing was just being founded by Richard Ladner, I had no idea that my mental illness counted as a “disability.” But, I did identify as a woman in computing, and my mentors Manuel A. Pérez-Quiñones and Scott McCrickard got me involved in STARS Computing Corps and NCWIT programming. The leadership opportunities, professional experience, and community these alliances provided inspired me to believe that, despite being the *only* woman in most of my computer science classes, I could someday earn my PhD and become a *professor* in computing. Well, I did it (!), and now I get to pay it forward, this time for computing students with disabilities and other minoritized identities.
While I'm a firm believer that access to computing is a human right, it's also true that, economically, it just makes sense. If you've ever used an audiobook or OCR technology, thank the blind and low vision community. If you've ever used videoconferencing or closed captions, thank the d/Deaf and hard of hearing community. It's just a fact that technology innovation happens when people with diverse life experiences are at the table, making decisions. So, this investment is not only a renewal of the USA's world leadership in human rights, but also in revolutionizing computing.
I can't wait to continue this work with Maya Cakmak, Brianna Blaser, Elaine Short, and Raja Kushalnagar in solidarity with our sister alliances: Computing Research Association-WP, Institute for African-American Mentoring in Computing Sciences (IAAMCS), STARS Computing Corps, CS4All, NCWIT, CMD-IT/Tapia Conference LEAP, ECEP Alliance, and Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
