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Dena Shumila
Highlights
- Expert user of numerous mainstream
computer applications, operating environments, Internet tools,
and office packages.
- Authority on adaptive technology, especially text to speech,
refreshable braille, and optical character recognition.
- Fourteen years media and public relations experience.
- Veteran public speaker.
- Superior facilitation skills.
- Typing speed: 80 words per minute.
- Proficient Grade II Literary Braille user.
- Functionally bilingual.
Employment History
- Hiroshima Institute for the Blind, 1998
- Adaptive Technology Resource Centre: University of Toronto, 1994 to 1999
- Cantor Access Inc., 1996 to present
- Canadian National Institute for the Blind, 1993 & 1996
- Manitoba Department of Education and Training, 1990 & 1994
Design & Evaluation
- Software Design
Identified specifications for accessible HTML authoring tools,
web browsers, text to speech programs, and applications that
incorporate digitized sound with other blindness
products.
- Software Evaluations Conducted reviews of
optical character recognition packages, screen readers,
refreshable braille display software, Internet tools, and
mainstream applications.
- Hardware Evaluations Examined the usability of
accessible portable notetakers and personal organizers, and other
adapted serial, parallel, and SCSI devices.
- Physical Accessibility Audits Recommended
solutions for overcoming barriers encountered by persons with
visual disabilities. Examined the accessibility of structural
components such as stairways, elevators, and floor layouts.
- Informational Accessibility Audits Evaluated
the usability of World Wide Web sites, signage, and auditory and
tactile cues.
- Accommodation Assessments Matched adapted
computer software and hardware to the physical and practical
needs of clients with disabilities.
Instruction & Facilitation
- Film Consultations
Offered insight to filmmakers who wished to convey an accurate
and realistic portrayal of life without vision. Assisted with the
development of plot, content, and characters.
- Workshop Design Coordinated workshops aimed at
disabled clients, their families, caregivers, and service
providers. Topics included: descriptions and demonstrations of
adaptive technology, the identification of contacts and
resources, adjustment and coping, and the use of computers to
access information and for creative expression.
- Group Facilitation Led workshops on accessible
web design, disclosing and accommodating disabilities, the social
experiences of visually impaired teenagers, life skills for
disabled individuals, assertiveness training and self advocacy,
special academic, professional, and social services, and
strategies for parents of blind children.
- Computer Instructor Taught individuals and
small groups in corporate, educational, recreational, and in-home
settings. Trained adults and children of all ages, regardless of
skill level or previous computer exposure.
Written & Verbal Presentations
- Co-authored an online course module
for the Special Needs Opportunity Windows
project.
- Co-authored two papers that were presented at the California
State University Northridge (CSUN) Conference, in 1996 and
1998.
- Wrote article that appeared in an American Library
Association (ALA) publication, 1997.
- Authored and co-authored reference materials and
instructional manuals.
- Designed personal and professional HyperText documents.
- Assisted with the writing and preparation of funding
proposals.
- Contributed to the fund raising initiatives of such
charitable organizations as the Canadian Lung Association,
the United Way of Canada, the Committee on National
Accessibility Awareness, and Guide Dogs for the Blind
Incorporated.
- Marketed products in conference booths on behalf of the
University of Toronto and international adaptive technology
developers.
- Demonstrated adaptive technology software and hardware to
university staff and faculty members, graduate and undergraduate
classes, private and public sector organizations, and educational
institutions.
- Conducted interviews for television and radio stations,
newspapers, and magazines.
- Delivered presentations at international conferences and
banquet receptions, and in classrooms and corporate
boardrooms.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, 1998, University of Winnipeg.
- Recipient of numerous bursaries, scholarships, and awards of
academic excellence.
- Completed a Peer Counseling training program, University of
Toronto Women’s Centre.
Publications
List of publications is available upon request.
References
Alan Cantor, President of Cantor Access Inc.
416-406-5098
acantor@cantoraccess.com
Ann Petrie, Documentary and Film
Writer/Director/Producer
416-818-8858
annpetrie@aol.com
Jutta Treviranus, Manager of the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre
416-978-5240
jutta.treviranus@utoronto.ca
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Updated: 1 January 2008
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