About · Background · Experience
Program leader 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
I keep ending up in the same place: complex programs where the cost of getting it wrong is real.
Current work: Accessibility training at Deque
At Deque, I'm leading enterprise accessibility training programs. Multi-year initiatives with Fortune 100 clients. The work covers the full program: scoping engagements, coordinating stakeholders, designing curricula, and keeping delivery on track.
The work is part instructional design, part program management. I treat accessibility as a quality requirement, not a checkbox at the end. Engagements use the Teach-Try-Show-Revise cycle, which is built so teams can apply what they learned once the class is over.
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 and enterprise claims platform transformation. All of it 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 two practices sharpened how I work across very different organizations and pushed me to build training that teams could actually use, not just understand.
My leadership approach in practice
A few things I keep coming back to:
Strong presence
Show up with conviction. Make decisions visible. Protect the team from churn while keeping stakeholders aligned.
Clear communication
Project communication built the same way I build training: structured so it's easy to follow, and repeated until it lands.
Quality built in
Accessibility, security, and usability are requirements. Not phases. When they slip, it's a signal that ownership or expectations are unclear.
Why this matters: Most program failures don't start as execution problems. They start as unclear ownership and hidden dependencies. The goal is to find those before they cost you.
Professional background & expertise
Experience
Strategic Accessibility Training Consultant at Deque (January 2025 to present and April 2020 to April 2024). Senior Project Manager at Deque (October 2018 to December 2020). Senior IT Program Manager at State Farm (February 2005 to March 2018). Founder of Erlinton Consulting Group (August 2016 to October 2018) and AccessibilityFirst Solutions LLC (April 2024 to present, currently paused).
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
- • People leadership and team development
- • Non-functional requirements (NFRs)
- • Modernization & legacy system migration
- • Working across finance, ops, and tech
- • Risk identification & dependency mapping
- • Communication that works when things are hard
I speak about accessibility, leadership, and practical project management
I'm available for conferences, PMI chapters, and professional events. The talks are practical. Lessons from delivery work, not theory.
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.