From Compliance to Culture
Meeting accessibility requirements is the floor, not the ceiling.
As part of AAF Seattle’s annual DEIB event series, this year’s June programming focuses on accessibility and the difference between meeting requirements and creating environments where people can fully participate, contribute, and belong.
Too often, accessibility conversations begin and end with compliance checklists. But true inclusion asks more of us.
From Compliance to Culture brings together leaders working across accessibility, communications, inclusive workplaces, digital experiences, and community advocacy to explore what happens when accessibility becomes part of organizational culture rather than a reactive obligation.
Together, we’ll discuss:
ADA & WCAG fundamentals
Where compliance falls short of actual inclusion
Accessibility across digital, physical, and workplace experiences
How teams build accessibility into culture, process, and creative practice
The role accessibility plays in independence, participation, and belonging
Guest speakers will include experts in public communications, accessibility strategy, inclusive employment systems, and digital accessibility who will share practical insights, lived experiences, and real-world examples of building more accessible organizations and experiences.
This won’t be a conversation about doing the bare minimum.
It’s about rethinking what inclusion can look like when accessibility becomes embedded into the way we communicate, create, lead, and design experiences.
Accessibility & Accommodations
AAF Seattle is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible event experience for all attendees.
If you require accommodations or have accessibility-related questions in advance of the event, please contact events@aafseattle.com.
We encourage accommodation requests as early as possible to help us support your participation fully and thoughtfully.
Meet the Speakers
Nora Elena Genster(she/her) - Senior Director, Employment Transformation Collective
Nora Genster is the Senior Director of the Employment Transformation Collective (ETC), a division of Northwest Center. Since 2022, Nora has led and developed the ETC to provide international, end-to-end accessibility and disability services to employers and their disabled employees. Nora is dedicated to improving employment outcomes for disabled workers through research, partnership, direct service and advocacy. Previously, she worked in Washington, DC, at the nexus of disability and employment in the public and private sectors. At Georgetown University, she studied the intersection of disability, economic participation, and citizenship. She has spoken at multiple international conferences. Her writing has appeared in USA Today, Inc.com. She has been interviewed as an expert for local news, NPR and the New York Times.
Warren Kagarise(he/him) - Digital Engagement Manager, King County, WA
Warren Kagarise is the digital engagement manager for King County, WA. Based in Seattle, he leads efforts to connect the 12th-largest county in the United States with 2.2 million residents via social media and other digital tools.
A former journalist, Warren’s career in public service started in 2013 when he served as communications coordinator for the City of Issaquah, WA.
Warren was named the 2023 Social Media Professional of the Year by the Government Social Media Association. He contributes to the social gov field through training, writing, and speaking engagements, sharing insights on digital communication strategies in the public sector.
Warren is a past member of Nextdoor’s Public Agency Advisory Council, past chair of the Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) Board of Directors, and past president of the Government Social Media Association (GSMA) Council.
Allexa Laycock (she/they) - Director, Rooted in Rights
Allexa Laycock (she/they) is the Director of Rooted in Rights, the media advocacy program of Disability Rights Washington. Allexa is a filmmaker and advocate with an expertise in accessible media. Whether producing short form content, storytelling workshops, or long form documentaries, Allexa focuses on stories that challenge dominant narratives. As a disabled queer filmmaker, Allexa connects with their community in Washington state, nationally, and internationally to platform stories advocating for justice and self determination.
Hailey Paquette (she/her) - Account Director at Quinn Thomas
Hailey Paquette is an account director at Quinn Thomas, where she leads strategic communications, and media relations for Oregon Commission for the Blind, Oregon’s vocational rehabilitation agency serving blind and low-vision Oregonians. Through that work, she supports accessible owned content, social media and communications strategies, while helping navigate the real-world details of inclusive engagement, from digital content and screen reader considerations to in-person meetings, media interviews and public communications.
Devon Persing (she/her) - Digital Accessibility Specialist and author
Devon Persing (she/her) has been working as a digital accessibility specialist in Seattle since 2012. Her current focus as an independent consultant and speaker is on helping people to do accessibility work that is more holistic, inclusive, cooperative, and sustainable, which is also the goal of her 2024 book called The Accessibility Operations Guidebook. She has an MS in Information from the University of Michigan and identifies as disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent. You can learn more about her work, her book, and access recordings of past talks at dpersing.com.
Event Details
Tuesday, June 9th
5:30–7:30 PM
📍 Copacino Fujikado
1425 4th Ave, Ste 700, Seattle
Snacks & drinks included.
Tickets
AAF Seattle Members & Guests: FREE
This event is offered free to attendees thanks to the generous support of DNA&STONE, our host agency for the evening. By welcoming the community into their space and helping make this event possible, DNA&STONE is demonstrating a commitment to accessibility, inclusion, and advancing our industry through shared learning, dialogue, and connection.
Space is intentionally limited to preserve the impact of the experience, so reserve your seat today.
Sponsored by
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*AAF Seattle is a volunteer-run non-profit organization, and ticket sales help cover the costs of all events we put together. Thank you for supporting the community.
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About Us:
🎉 AAF Seattle is Western Washington's chapter of the American Advertising Federation, serving the area's creative, marketing, communications, and advertising industry since 1909.
About AAF National:
The American Advertising Federation protects and promotes the well-being of the advertising industry. We accomplish this through a unique, nationally coordinated grassroots network of advertisers, agencies, media companies, local advertising clubs and college chapters. We have more than 60 corporate members from the nation's leading advertisers, agencies, and media companies, including Google, LinkedIn, TikTok, Meta, and many others, who partner with the AAF.
Questions? Contact us! - 💌 events@aafseattle.com
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