My Portfolio

Lead Accessibility Engineer (CPACC, Acquia)

Perry, Kansas, USA

LinkedIn | GitHub | Drupal | YouTube | Bluesky | A11yTalks | Credly

About me

Quickly about me

For me, learning and sharing knowledge is the key to being a successful professional, mentor, team member, colleague, and friend. Teamwork and community are what has always driven me in web development and digital accessibility, and it’s also what makes it fun to do.

My background

I’m a spirited Lead Engineer (Acquia-certified) and Digital Accessibility Specialist (CPACC), working remotely out of Northeastern Kansas. I started web development so that I could raise my son Nick at home. After getting copies Front Page and Photoshop from my programmer mom, I was curious and delved into its code to see how it worked. I was off and running.

After graduating High School in summer 1993, I started working at Hoge Barracks at Fort Leavenworth Kansas. A year later, in Spring 1996, I spent three semesters studying at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. However, I left just after finals in May of 1997 to give birth to my marvelous son and pursue a career on my own.

I started my web development long career in lovely Kansas City, and have traveled throughout U.S. to broaden my skills and abilities with several fine companies. In 2002, I started working as the full-time Webmaster for Douglas County Kansas, where I honed my accessibility skills. I joined the Promet Source team in 2015 and stayed for five years initially as a Frontend Developer, and then as a Web Accessibility Specialist focusing on accessibility audits and remediation. I was fortunate enough to join the Lullabot team in 2019 as  Senior Frontend Developer specializing in digital accessibility, and was thankfully promoted to Lead Engineer in 2023. Thanks to my teams, I've been able to continue my passion for digital accessibility.

My current happenings

I've worked on several accessibility projects including performing internal client accessibility audits, assisting with accessibility testing for the Olivero (the theme used for this site) and Claro themes, coordinating testing for Olivero with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), accessibility testing for the Drupal Toolbar Redesign, and contributing to the Drupal.org Frontend initiative (Olivero and Claro).

I'm also a member of A11yTalks, a virtual meet-up group featuring speakers and conversations around digital accessibility. She currently fulfills the role of Diversity and Inclusion Co-organizer with A11yTalks.

In the news

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Events

See a full list of my events including presentations, talks, podcasts, training, webinars, and other activity on my LinkedIn > All Activity page.

Upcoming

  • Upcoming talks to be announced

Your event can be here too!
Would you like me to speak at your event? I'd love to! Please contact me via Email or LinkedIn and I'll get back to you quickly.

Past

YouTube Playlists on @katannshaw

Kat Shaw's Talks
Kat Shaw's Podcasts & Webinars

In-person and virtual events

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My resume

Education

Thomas Edison State University (TESU), New Jersey
Currently attending towards earning a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Organizational Leadership degree. (In progress)

Highland Community College, Kansas
Attended towards earning an Associate’s in Arts degree (2023 - 2025)

University of Kansas, Kansas
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, working towards a Computer Science degree. (1996 – 1997)

Kansas City Kansas Community College, Kansas
Took English Composition course, then transferred to University of Kansas (1995)

Leavenworth High School, Kansas
Diploma, General Studies, graduated with a diploma (1990 – 1993)

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Certifications

CPACC certification & IAAP member
I've been CPACC-certified with IAAP since 2017

Acquia certified for Drupal
I've been Acquia-certified since 2016, and I'm currently working on my Drupal 10 Frontend certification.

Skillset

Development

  • Drupal
  • HTML5
  • CSS
  • Responsive Web Design
  • JavaScript
  • Digital Accessibility (WCAG 2.2/ATAG/WAI-ARIA/Section 508/ADA)
  • Accessibility and usability testing
  • UI/UX/Design
  • PHP
  • React
  • Next.js
  • NodeJS
  • jQuery
  • ASP.NET / VB.NET
  • SQL
  • XML/XSLT/XPath
  • RSS
  • Social Media integration
  • Google
  • MS Office
  • Yahoo Pipes
  • Bootstrap
  • Font Awesome
  • WordPress

Software

  • Visual Studio
  • Figma
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Acrobat Pro
  • MS SQL Server
  • Adobe Fireworks
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
  • MS IIS
  • MS Visual Web Developer
  • MS SQL Server Management Studio
  • MS Business Intelligence Development Studio
  • MS SSRS
  • MS Office
  • NetBeans IDE

Work experience

Lead Engineer, Digital Accessibility Specialist (CPACC)

September 2023 – Present

  • Leads cross-collaborative teams to analyze and improve Figma designs, resulting in enhanced, accessible, and usable sites and applications.
  • Creates project plans consisting of long-form documentation or ticket backlogs, along with estimates of work and highlights of technical risks.
  • Analyzes code and associated documentation produced by team members to identify improvements through collaborative code review.
  • Evaluates the technical skills of current and prospective team members.
    Plans, analyzes, and writes automated tests with tools such as Playwright, Storybook, PHPUnit, Jest, and Nightwatch.
  • Self-manages project tasks, and manages the tasks of a team when required.
  • Creates documentation for engineers and client stakeholders in project management tools, including Jira.
  • Acts as a backup for a project manager on team projects.
  • Evaluates client RFPs, and provides detailed feedback to the sales team.
  • Manages development teams in order to keep the project plan on-target.

Senior Frontend Web Developer

September 2019 – 2023 (4 yrs 3 months)

  • Led frontend development initiatives and collaborated with cross-functional teams to implement Agile project management methodologies for efficient project delivery.
  • Developed dynamic websites and applications using Drupal, Storybook, React, TypeScript, and Figma to enhance interactivity.
  • Manually audited and remediated sites against current accessibility standards including WCAG, WAI-ARIA/ARIA, ATAG, and Section 508.
  • Utilized Git for version control and collaborated with designers to implement designs using HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and Sass.
  • Provided research, discovery, and development for leadership team regarding best practices and standards in digital accessibility and user experience (UX).

Web Accessibility Specialist at Promet Source

December 2018 – September 2019 (10 months)

  • Managed the development of the Promet Source accessibility audits and remediation product, enhancing its capabilities and maintaining it.
  • Conducted virtual and in-person training sessions and provided consultation for clients and team members on current web accessibility standards.
  • Audited websites against current web accessibility standards, providing custom code fixes, and remediation in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Drupal, and WordPress.
  • Managed the development of the Promet Source accessibility audits and remediation product, enhancing its capabilities and maintaining it.
  • Conducted virtual and in-person training sessions and provided consultation for clients and team members on current web accessibility standards.
  • Audited websites against current web accessibility standards, providing custom code fixes, and remediation in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Drupal, and WordPress.

Frontend Developer at Promet Source

September 2015 – December 2018 (3 years 4 months)

  • Developed frontend for Drupal and WordPress sites and applications
  • Conducted accessibility audits, and provided in-person training to clients.
  • Presented at conferences and camps, consulting with non-profit, federal, state, and local government clients.
  • Achieved successful site launches and improved user experience through accessibility enhancements.
  • Developed frontend for Drupal and WordPress sites and applications.
  • Conducted accessibility audits, and provided in-person training to clients.
  • Presented at conferences and camps, consulting with non-profit, federal, state, and local government clients.
  • Achieved successful site launches and improved user experience through accessibility enhancements.

Webmaster at Douglas County Kansas

February 2002 – September 2015 (13 years 4 months)

  • Developed and maintained multiple county websites in Drupal 7, utilizing ASP.NET/VB.NET, SQL Server 2008, HTML5, CSS3, PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, XML, XSLT, Bootstrap, and Google Analytics.
  • Acted as an accessibility advocate, attending workshops and learning about accessibility to ensure inclusivity in web design.
  • Implemented user-friendly applications and features to enhance user experience on the websites.
  • Gave presentations at multiple conferences and camps for the Drupal and National Association of Government Web Developers (NAGW) communities.

Web Developer at Infinity Web Solutions, USA

February 2001 – June 2002 (1 year 5 months)

  • Developed and maintained multiple websites for local businesses, utilizing skills in web development and design.
  • Managed contract work for various clients, ensuring timely delivery and high-quality results.
  • Transitioned to a Webmaster role at Douglas County, Kansas to focus on career growth and family priorities.

Graphic Designer at Autodesk

December 2000 – February 2001 (3 months)

  • Designed engaging graphics for Autodesk's web development projects.
  • Collaborated with the team to ensure visual consistency and brand alignment.
  • Implemented user feedback to improve design and user experience.

Web Designer at World Wide Web Institute (no longer a company)

October 1999 – August 2000 (11 months)

  • Designed 2+ website layouts daily for clients at World Wide Web Institute, enhancing my web design skills and efficiency.
  • Collaborated with a team of developers to create visually appealing websites for various industries.
  • Developed strong relationships with colleagues, fostering a supportive work environment and lasting friendships.

Webmaster at Spencer Reed Group

August 1997 – September 1999 (2 years 2 months)

  • Developed websites using FrontPage and Photoshop, honing skills in web and graphic design.
  • Managed web projects remotely while balancing childcare responsibilities.
  • Enhanced user experience and site functionality for Spencer Reed Group in Kansas City, MO.

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Volunteering

A11yTalks (Co-organizer)

May 2021 - Present
  • Recruit new speakers for A11yTalks through multiple channels including social media and email communication.
  • Act as the main contact for speakers.
  • Co-organize virtual presentation on YouTube Live.
  • Keep the A11yTalks team updated on speaker updates.
  • Update processes to make tasks easier for the whole team.

Mike Amyx Kansas Representative campaign

May 2018 - Present
  • Created the website and social media profiles for Mike Amyx
  • Continue to administer website and social media accounts as needed
  • Current member of his steering committee

Kansas City Metro Area Government Webmasters (Secretary for KCMAGWeb)

August 2002 - September 2015
  • Contributed to the group by sharing cool tips, tricks, and sites
  • Gave small presentations on coding and accessibility
  • Took and published meeting minutes

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Projects

Client projects at current and previous positions

I performed frontend development, accessibility testing, and remediation for each of these projects:

Lullabot

  • State of Maryland (new platform)
  • State of Georgia (GovHub platform and Orchard design system)
  • State of Iowa (Iowa.gov's DX platform and Wildrose design system)
  • Commonweath of Massachusetts (Mass.gov's MyMassGov and Boards & Commissions projects)
  • University of Massachusetts - Amherst (UMass platform)
  • Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health Giving (new websiten)
  • Ellucian (new website)
  • Carnegie-Mellon University (work with internal development team)
  • Georgia Public Broadcasting (new platform based on Georgia.gov's GovHub)

Promet Source

  • Accessibility Audit & Remediation product
    • Co-creation of product and processes
    • Co-management of accessibility team as CPACC-certified Web Accessibility Specialist
  • Government Accountability Office (GAO.gov - federal website)
  • Martin County, Florida
  • St. Lucie County, Florida
  • South Florida Water Management District

Douglas County, Kansas

  • County Intranet site
  • County Internet site
  • Property Search
  • Voter Registration Search w/Sample Ballot
  • Election Results
  • Internal training and workshops
  • Creation of Accessibility Committee

Autodesk

  • Graphic designs for marketing on main website

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Personal Work

Marci for Senate

This is a campaign website for longtime Kansas Senator Marci Francisco. After meeting Marci at the 2024 Lawrence Kansas St. Patrick’s Day Parade while we marched for the Kansas League of Women Voters, I agreed to take on her campaign project. After some discussion with her team on what they hoped to achieve with her new site, I got started. The timeline was tight on this project, however her team and I were able to create a great site that conveys who she is, what she’d done for her constituents up to that point, and what she hoped to do in her next term if elected. Her site also received a lot of traffic throughout the campaign, and was connected with her Facebook account. Gratefully, she was re-elected to another term, and is able to represent all Kansans in a thoughtful, caring, and productive way. I really did enjoy this project.

Mike Amyx for Kansas House of Representatives

Kansas Representative Mike Amyx asked if I could create a campaign website for him several years ago, and I was happy to do so. I also helped him integrate it with his Facebook and Twitter social media accounts using the same usernames. In addition, I joined his steering committee. I plan on updating the site in the next year.

This project involved adding current happenings, his goals, and any legislative news. It was a very fun project.

MMQ Group

Algen Williams, Jr. asked if I could create a quick website for his new architectural firm and I was happy to do so. This site was meant to be a one-page site with a simple layout to keep things simple. Algen has done wonderfully with his business over the years.

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