About Sarah

Sarah was born three months prematurely, resulting in retinopathy of prematurity, which left her visually impaired with vision in only one eye. In 2010, she lost her remaining sight following a retinal detachment and an unsuccessful corrective surgery. Despite these challenges, Sarah has pursued her passion for accessibility with determination and resilience. In 2018, she began working at Brooks Jeffrey Marketing (BJM) as an accessibility and usability tester, starting with no prior experience but quickly developing her skills. In 2023, she joined the pilot program for Blind Institute of Technology’s Digital Accessibility Analyst course, beginning her apprenticeship in March of the same year.

Sarah resides in the small town of Carthage, Illinois, with her cat, Kayla, and her partner. She is an avid cat lover, devours books and great food, and enjoys crocheting, tabletop role-playing games, and smooth jazz instrumentals. Her work in accessibility has become a profound passion, one she hadn’t realized until a friend encouraged her to take the BJM position she still holds today as a part-time contractor. Through her journey at BIT, this passion has only deepened, fueling her commitment to creating equitable digital experiences for all.

Want to work with Sarah?

Check out her LinkedIn profile to learn more – she’s ready to make a difference!

We sat down with Sarah, here’s what she had to say

I had heard about BIT for a while before learning about the Digital Accessibility Analyst course pilot program they started offering in 2023. I had been following the journey of a friend of mine, Christy Smith, who I’ve known for years, and she mentioned the DAA pilot course to me. I decided to go for it — at that point, I had been working in digital accessibility since 2019 on a very part-time basis, but I knew I could learn more. I was fortunate to make it into the pilot class, and even more fortunate to be invited into the apprenticeship program. When I found out I was invited, I actually called Christy for a long, emotional conversation. It was a huge decision, and since she was the reason I even knew about BIT in the first place, I wanted her to be part of that moment.

Honestly, I’ve learned how to dig into the developer console on websites or apps to help me diagnose or root out an accessibility issue. I’m not a coder by any means, but I have become a better problem solver because of this.

I have become more confident in my abilities as an accessibility tester, but also as a mentor. Early in my journey, I pursued a degree in elementary education but found the program wasn’t the right fit due to a lack of support in key areas. Through BIT, I discovered an environment where I’m fully supported and encouraged to grow. It’s made all the difference, allowing me to thrive in ways I never imagined possible.

Accessibility, hands down. I see it like a puzzle. I get to regularly be given sites or apps to test, and I do everything I can to root out all the little bugs and accessibility issues. I jokingly say I do all I can to break a site or app, because sometimes you just test every which way from Sunday to ensure it is accessible…or not, as the case may be.

I am a problem solver and good at rooting out accessibility issues while being an excellent time manager and well organized. I honestly just want to help people on whatever team I’m on succeed so I do all I can to help out wherever I can – whatever that may look like. I embrace challenges and new opportunities to learn something new, and I value a good work ethic in myself and others. I’ll do my best to give my all even on my bad days.