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On June 28th, Knowbility, Inc. was named Employer of the Year by the Texas Rehabilitation Association. Knowbility was recognized for its AccessWorks program and other employment initiatives that employ people with disabilities in information technology jobs. Knowbility is a 12-year old, Austin-based national nonprofit that supports the independence of children and adults with disabilities by helping make the internet and other technologies accessible to people who are blind, visually impaired, have mobility and other kinds of disabilities. Knowbility’s goal is to create a barrier-free world of information technology so that people with disabilities can fully participate in the business, educational and cultural marketplace.
The Texas Rehabilitation Association (TRA) (txrehabassoc.org) is a state chapter of the National Rehabilitation Association (NRA). TRA Members are public and private rehabilitation counselors, administrators, educators, social workers, job placement specialists, consultants and others involved in advocating and providing services for people with disabilities.
About Knowbility, Inc.
Founded in 1999, Knowbility (knowbility.org) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that grew from the community collaboration that produced the first Accessibility Internet Rally in Austin, Texas (AIR-Austin). Knowbility's Executive Director and co-founder, Sharron Rush, is an award-winning author of the premier book on accessible web design, Maximum Accessibility, which was published by Addison Wesley and co-written with Dr. John Slatin. The founding Chair of Knowbility's Board of Directors, Steve Guengerich, has been an information technology entrepreneur for over 20 years and continues to inspire Knowbility's efforts with his entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to the needs of people with disabilities. Knowbility's current Board of Directors includes prominent industry professionals and community leaders who are all committed to the cause of universal access. A number of them have disabilities or have family members that do.
Knowbility's mission is to support the independence of children and adults with disabilities by promoting the use and improving the availability of accessible information technology. We envision a world of barrier-free information technology in which children, youth, and adults with disabilities have greater options to learn, work, and fully participate as producers and consumers in the information marketplace. There are currently over 55 million Americans with disabilities –and over 750 million people worldwide– who are excluded from participating in activities many of us take for granted because readily-available assistive technologies and accessible design techniques are not utilized effectively. This group represents over $1 trillion in aggregate income, and as our population ages, this new “digital divide” will swell to include tens of millions more people than today.
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jill[.]knowbility.org 
