Professional Development

For individuals seeking continuing education credit, please provide your AIA number to Event & Administrative Specialist Ashley Kadwell at [email protected].

Event Description

The fifth annual Absolutely Accessible Kent event takes place as part of a larger program aimed at making West Michigan a more accessible community. Our team provides accessibility reviews for organizations and workplaces. Volunteer test pilots examine spaces and provide feedback on user-friendliness. By joining us on June 14, you can be part of making Kent County absolutely accessible.

Keynote Address - Randy Lewis

As a former Senior Vice President of Logistics and Supply Chain at Walgreens, Randy Lewis created an award-winning hiring program featuring people with disabilities. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book No Greatness Without Goodness.

Architecture Track - Noam Platt

Biography

Noam Platt is a certified healthcare architect and the founder of MakeGood Inc, a 501c3 organization that designs and fabricates assistive technology for people globally.

Presentation

Drawing on his expertise as a healthcare architect, Noam Platt will show attendees how evidence-based design (EBD) in healthcare can inform broader design field via EBD's consumer-centered approach. This approach challenges practitioners to innovative beyond base-level regulatory compliance by instead striving toward best practices that promote well-being and human flourishing.

Urban Planning Track - Steve Wright

Biography

Steve Wright is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist with four decades of experience writing about urban planning, design, architecture, and mobility. Wright's work frequently appears in Planning Magazine, and Wright has published more than 6,000 articles on accessibility in a global context and best practices for creating inclusive places.

Presentation

Wright's highly visual session promotes awareness of the principles of equitable and inclusive placemaking while reminding attendees that the ADA is not a building code that can be waived by variance. Rather, it is federal rights law. Attendees will learn from concrete examples of good, bad, and ugly accessible design in neighborhoods, parks, plazas, sidewalks, crosswalks, transit stops, buildings, and other elements of the built environment.

For more information on AAK, please visit: https://www.dakc.us/event/abso...
****If you need any accommodations with a personal care attendant, please contact Ashley Kadwell at [email protected].