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Talk

GAAD Foundation Segment

9:50 am - 10 am · Main stage

Global Accessibility Awareness Day began with a single blog post in 2011 calling for the technology industry to pay attention to digital accessibility. Fifteen years later, GAAD is recognized worldwide and has helped shift how organizations, developers, designers, and policy makers think about accessibility in the digital products and services that shape daily life. This segment marks the 15th GAAD and connects its global momentum to the work this summit represents. Jennison Asuncion, co-founder of GAAD and chair of the GAAD Foundation, will reflect on what the movement has accomplished, what has changed in how the world approaches digital accessibility, and where the conversation needs to go next.

Speakers

Co-Founder, GAAD & Chair, GAAD Foundation

Jennison Asuncion

Co-Founder, Global Accessibility Awareness Day & Chair, GAAD Foundation, GAAD Foundation / LinkedIn

Jennison's interest in digital accessibility can be traced back to his participation in a CNIB summer national program that exposed blind and visually impaired youth to access technology. Fast-forward to 2006 when he took on his first full-time digital accessibility role at RBC. He is currently LinkedIn's Head of Accessibility Engineering Evangelism. Outside his professional pursuits, Jennison co-founded Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) in 2012, after happening upon a blog post by a developer, Joe Devon, who called for such a day of digital accessibility awareness. On the occasion of the 10th GAAD, Joe and Jennison co-founded the GAAD Foundation, whose mission is to disrupt the culture of technology and digital product development to include accessibility as a core requirement. A member of the Consumer Technology Association Foundation Board of Trustees, Jennison has been recognized for his industry contributions. These include: featured by Business Insider in 2020 among 30 power players and rising stars helping new CEO Ryan Roslansky run LinkedIn; recognized in 2023 by his alma mater, Concordia University, as a Benoît Pelland Alumnus of the Year; and named alongside LinkedIn in 2025 to the inaugural Forbes Accessibility 100 List of Top Innovators and Impact Makers in accessibility.