WTS-Boston November Luncheon Seminar: Transportation Accessibility
Please join WTS-Boston for a panel discussion on accessibility in transportation with three outstanding speakers.
Laura Brelsford, Assistant General Manager, System-Wide Accessibility, MBTA: Laura joined the MBTA in 2007 as part of the newly formed Department of System-Wide Accessibility. Since that time, she has worked to advance the MBTA’s mission of becoming the global model for accessible public transportation. She and the dedicated SWA team have spearheaded a number of major accessibility initiatives including the development of an internal monitoring program, a first-ever training for front-line staff responding to customers with disabilities during emergencies, and the development of the Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure—a roadmap for making the system fully accessible. Her top priority, however, is to ensure that people with disabilities, employees as well as riders, have a voice in decision-making. As a full-time wheelchair user, Laura leverages the MBTA’s accessibility on a regular basis and, when not social distancing, can frequently be spotted on the Red Line. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College.
Shaya French, Senior Community Organizer, Boston Center for Independent Living: Shaya French is a Senior Community Organizer at the Boston Center for Independent Living, where they have worked for five years. Shaya forms close relationships and builds power with BCIL's disabled, low-income members. Together they have increased the allocation for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program from $4.6 million to $14.2 million, prevented cuts to the MBTA’s paratransit, preserved the Affordable Care Act, and maintained funding to create 25 accessible units in Massachusetts a year. Shaya is committed to imagining a more just world, pushing for liberatory reforms, and writing visionary fiction.
Zachary Veaner, State Accessibility Engineer, Highway Design Section, MassDOT: Zachary Veaner is the MassDOT State Accessibility Engineer in the Highway Design section. In his role he oversees the review process of the construction plans for projects across the state. This involves confirmation of compliance in meeting the ADA guidance from PROWAAG and the Architectural Access Board as well as equitability of the proposed design. He also coordinates the pedestrian curb ramp inventory and keeps the transition plan updated. Updating the transition plan includes presenting the progress to municipalities around the state and administering courses for cities and towns on how to create their own transition plans. Zach has worked for MassDOT for 14 years. First in Pavement Management and Pavement Design, then as a District 6 Review and Design Engineer, and now in his current Accessibility Engineer role. Zach holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from McGill University in Montreal.