About the Author
Kel Smith is a longtime speaker, author, trainer and practitioner on digital accessibility. His articles and papers have been published or cited by the Pentagon Library, the American Law Institute, the American Bar Association, the International Journal of E-Politics, Kent State’s Knowledge Management Program, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, the E-Access Bulletin and UX Magazine (UPA).
Kel has presented worldwide on the inclusive use of virtual worlds and mobile technologies, including three appearances at the CSUN Conference for Persons with Disabilities (San Diego) and two stints at the World Future Society (Boston and Vancouver). Other presentation credits include the Royal National Institute of the Blind (London), the Interaction Design Association (Savannah), the Unitech ICT Network (Oslo), the Society for Technical Communications (Sacramento), the Center for Health Literacy (Washington DC) and the Universitat Autònoma (Barcelona).
Kel’s professional experience includes leading the Havas Worldwide Health digital practice on innovation. He also serves as accessibility advisor for Tendrils, a multimedia intervention program for women suffering from long-term cancer-related sexual dysfunction. In 2010 Kel developed ISO-9660 guidelines across a global Intranet launch, recommending workplace software standards compliant with 85 countries’ legal and technical requirements. A noted thought leader on healthcare communications for the disabled, he is currently developing a suite of mobile offerings that embrace the consumer habits of disenfranchised populations.
A current member of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA) and the Information Architecture Institute (IAI), Kel served two years as Vice Chair of the Philadelphia chapter of ACM/SIG-CHI for computer-human interaction. He earned his BFA in photography from the Maryland Institute College of Art and studied cognitive science as part of the MS program at Philadelphia University. He lives and works in Philadelphia and New York City.
