Equity Commitment

Last updated June 2025

I am a heterosexual, neurodivergent white woman from a comfortable middle class background. The privilege of a safe and healthy childhood, and especially of a high-end education entirely paid for by my parents, contributed substantially to my ability to build a consulting career. On many sides of my family, this comfortable lifestyle was built through generations of complicity with racial injustice and deep inequity.

I mention my own history because my perspective—and my equity learning journey—is inevitably shaped by that history. I know that I need to actively listen and learn to understand things that are second nature to those with a different lived experience. And I bring that awareness into every project I take on.

Equity isn’t a box to check; it’s a lens to apply. In every website project, I actively try to help teams create websites that are more inclusive, respectful, and usable. I also help organizations listen deeply to their communities—using research to understand what matters most to the people they serve.

I work collaboratively with website staff and community members to build sites that:

  • Represent communities with care — through images, language, and structure that reflect the full spectrum of race, class, gender, family structure, and ability.

  • Prioritize accessibility — including screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, plain language content, and information in multiple languages.

  • Use inclusive language — gender-neutral phrasing, forms that support all names and identities, and language that invites everyone in.

  • Serve the public — by listening to those with lived experience, making sure information is easy to find, easy to read, and relevant to the people who need it most.

I strongly believe that I, and all white people of privilege, have the responsibility to speak up publicly (although with care and humility) about equity. While it’s more comfortable to wait for people of color or in historical minorities to speak, that puts the burden of education and action on those that are already more likely to be overtaxed.

Websites have the power to either reinforce or challenge injustice. I work to make sure the sites I help build do the latter—with humility, intention, and care.