About · Background · Experience
Program leader with deep experience in accessibility, modernization, and enterprise delivery.
Currently at Deque as Strategic Accessibility Training Consultant, leading enterprise accessibility training programs. Previously: Senior IT Program Manager at State Farm (2005–2018), where I led large-scale initiatives including a $1.6B divestiture, $2B data center buildout, and enterprise claims transformation.
- Current
- Strategic Accessibility Training Consultant, Deque
- Focus
- Enterprise accessibility training & program leadership
- Previously
- Senior IT Program Manager, State Farm (2005–2018)
- Location
- Normal, Illinois
How I got here
My career path reflects a consistent pattern: leading complex programs where clarity, structure, and quality separate success from expensive failure.
Current work: Accessibility training at Deque
At Deque, I'm leading enterprise accessibility training programs—running multi-year initiatives with Fortune 100 clients. The work involves full program lifecycle management: scoping engagements, coordinating stakeholders across enterprise teams, designing curricula, and ensuring delivery stays on track.
This role blends instructional design, program leadership, and accessibility strategy—treating accessibility as a core non-functional requirement rather than an afterthought. I lead the full lifecycle of training engagements using the "Teach, Try, and Revise" methodology to help teams confidently apply accessibility principles in their day-to-day work.
State Farm: Enterprise program leadership (2005–2018)
At State Farm, I spent 13 years leading programs where risk was real and failure was expensive. This included a $1.6B divestiture of Canadian operations, a $2B data center buildout, and enterprise claims platform transformation—work that required translating between executive strategy, technical architecture, and day-to-day team execution.
The lessons from these programs inform everything on this site: how to surface dependencies early, how to communicate under pressure, and how to treat quality attributes (like accessibility) as delivery requirements, not compliance checkboxes.
Between roles: Building consulting practices
Between State Farm and my current role, I founded two consulting practices: Erlinton Consulting Group (2016–2018) focused on project management consulting, and AccessibilityFirst Solutions LLC (2024–present, currently paused) focused on accessibility strategy and training. I also worked at Deque in various consulting and training roles (2018–2024, with a company-wide layoff in April 2024).
These experiences refined my ability to work across different organizational contexts—from nimble startups to Fortune 100 enterprises—and helped me develop training methodologies that translate complex accessibility concepts into practical team action.
My leadership approach in practice
I lead by reducing noise, making tradeoffs explicit, and building systems that help teams execute under pressure. A few principles guide this work:
Strong presence
Show up with conviction. Make decisions visible. Protect the team from churn while keeping stakeholders aligned.
Clear communication
Project communication designed like instruction: structured, repeatable, built to land across technical and business audiences.
Quality built in
Accessibility, security, and usability are requirements—not phases. When they slip, it's a signal that requirements or ownership are unclear.
Why this matters: Most program failures don't start as "execution problems." They start as unclear ownership, hidden dependencies, and misaligned expectations. This approach surfaces them early.
Professional background & expertise
Experience
- • Strategic Accessibility Training Consultant at Deque (Jan 2025–present)
- • Founder, AccessibilityFirst Solutions LLC (Apr 2024–present, paused)
- • Strategic Accessibility Training Consultant at Deque (Apr 2020–Apr 2024)
- • Senior Project Manager at Deque (Oct 2018–Dec 2020)
- • Senior IT Program Manager at State Farm (Feb 2014–Mar 2018)
- • Senior IT Project Manager at State Farm (Feb 2005–Feb 2014)
- • Founder, Erlinton Consulting Group (Aug 2016–Oct 2018)
Education & Certifications
Master of Science, Project Management
University of Wisconsin–Platteville
- • PMP (Project Management Professional)
- • CSM (Certified ScrumMaster)
- • CSPO (Certified Scrum Product Owner)
- • IT Project+
- • SAFe Agilist
Core expertise
- • Enterprise program & project leadership
- • Accessibility strategy & implementation
- • Instructional design for technical audiences
- • Non-functional requirements (NFRs)
- • Modernization & legacy system migration
- • Stakeholder alignment across finance, ops, tech
- • Risk identification & dependency mapping
- • Communication designed to land under pressure
I speak about accessibility, leadership, and practical project management
I'm available for conferences, PMI chapters, and professional events. My talks focus on lessons from real enterprise delivery: how to lead under pressure, how to treat accessibility as a quality attribute, and how to make communication land when stakes are high.
Topics
- • Accessibility as a quality attribute
- • Leadership under delivery pressure
- • Communication that lands
- • Teaching teams to think in non-functional requirements
- • Humans, AI, and practical project management
Audiences
- • Project & program managers
- • Product leaders and executives
- • Designers, developers, and QA teams
- • Accessibility and compliance teams
Style
- • Strong presence and facilitation
- • Plain language, no jargon for its own sake
- • Story-driven, with clear structures and next steps
Why this site exists
This platform documents lessons from my ongoing work in program leadership and accessibility. I maintain it for three reasons:
- Thought leadership: Share practical insights from enterprise delivery and accessibility training programs.
- Speaking: Make my speaking topics and history accessible for conference organizers and PMI chapters.
- Community: Connect with program leaders, accessibility practitioners, and teams navigating similar challenges.
If you're new here
- • How I Lead documents my operating approach under pressure.
- • Insights shares lessons on accessibility, modernization, and communication.
- • Speaking shows topics available for conferences and events.
- • Experience details my work history and program background.
Outside the work
I measure my life with two questions:
- Did I leave the world better than I found it?
- Was I the person my dog thinks I am?
That same lens shows up in my leadership: clarity without ego, pressure without panic, and decisions that improve outcomes for the people who have to live with them.