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Universal Design logo featuring an almost golden ratio spiral with vectors of arcs originating in the center, creating a mosaic-like circle. A photo of Rachel smiling is behind it. She is a white woman with dark curly hair and glasses.

Universal Design: Year-Round Engagement for Greater Impact

Author:

Starkloff Staff

Reading time:

1 minutes

Date:

February 11, 2025

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We’re thrilled to announce the expansion of our Universal Design (UD) program from our biennial global conference to a dynamic, year-round initiative! This evolution reflects our commitment to making inclusive design a continuous conversation, fostering accessibility and usability for all where we live, learn, work, and play.

Universal Design is the practice of creating environments, products, and experiences that are usable by everyone, regardless of age, ability, or background. By prioritizing inclusive design from the start, UD benefits not only disabled people but also a broader audience—think curb cuts that remove barriers for wheelchair users and parents with strollers and captioned videos that include Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences as well as language learners or people seeing the content on mute.

To lead this exciting expansion, we welcomed Rachel Goldmeier, MSA, MPPA, as our first-ever Universal Design Program Coordinator in fall 2024. Rachel will spearhead year-round programming, including workshops, webinars, and collaborative initiatives to keep the momentum going between our flagship UD Summits. (Speaking of which, get ready for Universal Design Summit 8 in Spring 2026 in St. Louis, Missouri!)

By growing our UD program into a continuous effort, we aim to engage more stakeholders, share best practices more frequently, and drive meaningful change in accessibility and design worldwide.

Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn or drop her a note at rgoldmeier@starkloff.org.

Take part in our Universal Design community survey (4-5 minutes) to help shape our programming. Whether you are a professional using Universal Design, a person with a disability, and/or a curious lifelong learner, your insights will help build a stronger, more inclusive community.

Stay tuned to our events page for opportunities to get involved!

Your survey answers will be anonymous and will not be linked to any specific name or identifier.

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