Neil Barnett Named Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft

Excited to announce Neil Barnett as Chief Accessibility Officer. Neil has been at Microsoft for 24 years and for the last 12 has been advancing #accessibility. His leadership has strengthened our products, our support systems, and our culture. He built and scaled efforts including Microsoft’s Neurodiversity program and the Disability Answer Desk, which has supported more than two million customers since 2013. Neil brings a rare combination of unwavering advocacy, strong operational and people leadership combined with clarity, conviction, and purpose. As part of this transition, the Microsoft accessibility leadership will report into Neil. This is a tenured, experienced, grounded leadership team committed to advancing accessibility. Including Mary Bellard, Technical Advisor; Alli Hirt, Director Engineering, Jamie Dean, Lead Counsel; Jessica Rafuse, Director of Global Partnerships; and Rylin Rodgers, Director of Global Disability Policy. Together, they will lead the core accessibility team, and partner both in, and outside the company to advance accessibility at Microsoft. On a personal note, I could not be more excited for accessibility at Microsoft. Accessibility is foundational to earning trust and delivering on the promise of AI for everyone. This is the right leadership team to navigate this era, and the opportunities and risks ahead. Can’t wait to see the impact this team creates, together, working in partnership with the disability community at Microsoft and around the world. More to come at Microsoft Ability Summit (www.aka.ms/AbilitySummit) on May 19. See you there. Onwards 🤟