Meet Sina Bahram, an inclusive design and blind accessibility expert. Sina is the president of Prime Access Consulting, Inc. He is a researcher and entrepreneur pushing for sustainability, equity, and change.
Education
Energetic and articulate, a conversation with Sina is stimulating. An hour with him will refresh a listener’s interest and passion for inclusive design. A highly motivated and informed personal drive to achieve a high level of thoroughness, what Sina calls rigor, is clearly expressed in all he strives for and has achieved.
Sina’s education, training, and experience have established him as one of the premier experts in his field. He is an expert in human-computer interaction (HCI) and user experience (UX), focusing on designing interfaces specifically for people with disabilities.
During his college years, Sina applied high rigor and accumulated a diverse knowledge base of subjects studied in computer science, his chosen discipline.
Not wanting blindness to limit his experiential or applied knowledge to that of only website and information technology accessibility, Sina tackled subjects like data visualization, security, and law and legal matters, among others.
Experience
When asked to explain what he does in the inclusive design arena, Sina provides a clear and thorough example.
“If it’s for people, if it is for other humans to use, whether it’s content or a video game or an entire museum …how do you design that in such a way that is accessible to the widest possible audience? That means a lot of stuff. It means everything from making sure website content is accessible. It means looking at how a building is designed from the ground up to ensure that the architecture is welcoming to people of all disabilities.”
Sina shares what led to the launch of Prime Access Consulting, PAC. The combination of meeting his partner Corey Timpson, his lived experience, and his professional and academic background in computer science all came together to make it possible.
Sina and Corey met and collaborated on Corey’s project, the building and design of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
During the project, Sina and Corey developed the inclusive design methodology.
Support for His Work
It’s no surprise that Sina credits his mom as his greatest supporter. Additionally, he credits his brother and the rest of his family. He also emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the privilege of working with an amazing team at PAC. “Support networks are, I think, oftentimes maybe not talked about as much, and we concentrate on the accolades and the awards and the impressive resume. But it’s like, you’re here because of other people, and I think that’s worth mentioning.”
Accolades
Sina’s resume is impressive. Below are a few of his accomplishments:
- In 2012, Sina was recognized as a White House Champion of Change by President Barack Obama for his doctoral research work enabling disabled users to succeed in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields.
- In 2021, Sina was selected to be a Mission: Astro Access ambassador, which aims to make space and space travel accessible to all. Consequently, Sina and his fellow ambassadors tested various accessibility and inclusive design strategies in microgravity aboard a 0G flight.
For a complete document of Sina’s accomplishments, visit his bio.
Current Pursuits
Believing that accessibility and inclusion are more sustainable when adopted as a culture, not just a tactic, PAC works with executive management, policymakers, engineering teams, and other stakeholders within institutions to promulgate accessibility and inclusive design throughout the fabric of an organization.
Sina also serves as an expert witness and consultant on court cases advancing accessibility and the rights of disabled people. Learn more about Sina Bahram and his Prime Access Consulting, Inc. company.
Career Conversation Interview
Join APH CareerConnect for what promises to be a lively and educational conversation with Sina Bahram on September 19, 2024 at 6:00 pm Eastern. Register here.