In Pursuit of Equity: A Symposium to Re-envision the Center for Universal Design

Calling all professionals, academics, researchers and others working in the fields of universal design, inclusive design and building equity!

Please join us for a virtual event to discuss re-envisioning the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University. The Center for Universal Design (CUD) was established in 1989 to build upon the understanding of accessible design for people with disabilities. One of the most prolific deliverables from the CUD was the Seven Principles of Universal Design, a guiding framework for designing accessible, usable, and inclusive environments for all people regardless of ability, age, or status in life. Despite its lasting impact, the CUD has been inactive for more than a decade.

The College of Design at NC State has been issued a grant to reinvest in the CUD given increasing interest in related efforts such as inclusive design and building equity. This virtual symposium intends to collaborate with like-minded peers and colleagues as we lay the foundational roadmap for the future of the CUD. The symposium will include a mix of informational panels and breakout sessions, during which we will address questions such as:

• How do we incorporate emerging efforts related to inclusive design and building equity with traditional models of universal design?
• Should future iterations of universal design aim to address race, gender, LGBTQ+ identity, as well as disability status and other personal identities? If so, how can this work be achieved?
• What is the role of equity in past and future iterations of universal design?

Watch the Recording

This event took place on March 21, 2024. To view the recording, please use the embedded player below, or click here. To download and read a transcript of the recording, please click here.

Questions

For any questions about this event, please contact Dr. Traci Rose Rider at traci_rider@ncsu.edu.

Agenda and Speakers

The symposium will feature presentations from the following experts:

Opening remarks

Mary Jo Peterson
President, Mary Jo Peterson, Inc.
Kitchen, bath and universal design expert

Mary Jo Peterson is a certified master kitchen and bath designer as well as a certified aging-in-place designer and living-in-place professional whose work has earned national recognition.  Her Connecticut-based design firm, Mary Jo Peterson, Inc., provides residential design support nationwide. Author of numerous books and articles, Mary Jo is a frequent national speaker and educator, and a regular columnist at Kitchen and Bath Design News. Her work with builders, architects, remodelers, manufacturers, and private clients contributes to the evolving integration of access and beautiful design, in the kitchen, the bath, and all throughout the house.

Panel One: A History of the Center for Universal Design

Sharon Joines

Associate Dean for Academic Strategy
College of Design at North Carolina State University

Sharon Joines, Ph.D., is a researcher and ergonomist, teaching courses in human centered design and ergonomics. Sharon’s interests reside in universal design, applied product and process research, and the effect of aging on fatigue development and work. Her research focuses on quantifying the interaction between individuals, products, and their environment. Sharon works with engineers and designers in all phases of the design cycle. The challenges they have addressed traversed consumer markets, warehousing and distribution, medical applications, and manufacturing environments ranging from forging to clean rooms.

Richard Duncan

Executive Director
RL Mace Institute

Richard Duncan, MRP, has spent over 35 years in the field of architectural and product accessibility and universal design in residential, public, and transportation environments. Richard has extensive experience in the design, costs, materials, and products in residential and non-residential settings. His work includes the issues of affordable housing and home and repair financing and transportation accessibility as well as community design for constituencies that include people with disabilities and aging households.

Molly Story

Principal
Human Spectrum Design, LLC

Molly Story, Ph.D., is semi-retired, working as a consultant on human factors for medical devices (including combination products), particularly to satisfy regulatory requirements, minimize use-related risk, and provide a superior user experience. Molly has held senior positions in global medical device companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She has particular expertise in universal design of products and medical devices.

Panel Two: The Future of Universal Design, Inclusion and Equity

Valerie Fletcher

Executive Director
Institute for Human Centered Design

Valerie Fletcher has been executive director since 1998 of the Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD). Valerie writes, lectures, and works internationally. She generates opportunities for IHCD, has broad oversight of all consulting and design services, and created the IHCD User/Expert Lab. Her current research focus is generating data to inform inclusive designing for the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPoC) and low-income communities. She is a councilor for the International Association for Universal Design (IAUD) in Japan and has created an international universal design benchmarking project for the government of Singapore. Valerie has a master’s degree in ethics and public policy from Harvard University.

Jordana Maisel

Associate Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University at Buffalo
Director of Research, Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA)

Jordana Maisel, Ph.D., works at the intersection of research, teaching and practice. Jordana co-directs the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Accessible Public Transportation (RERC-APT) from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). She is also a Project Lead on the current RERC on Universal Design and the Built Environment and a co-PI on a NIDILRR field-initiated research project on Independent Wheelchair Securement and a Social Innovation grant from Toyota to study ride-hailing. Jordana has co-authored multiple books on universal design, accessibility, and inclusive design, as well as numerous peer-reviewed publications.

Rosemarie Rossetti

CEO and Founder, Rossetti Enterprises, LLC
Expert in Disability Inclusion, Accessibility & Universal Design

Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized accomplished speaker, author, consultant, and leading expert in disability inclusion, universal design, and accessibility. Rosemarie acquired a spinal cord injury on June 13, 1998, crushed by a 7,000-pound tree while riding her bicycle, resulting in paralysis from the waist down. Her journey as a wheelchair user fuels her passion for accessibility and universal design and her advocacy work reaches across industries, including architecture, interior design, real estate, city and event planning.

Francisco Lasta

Occupational Therapist & Inclusive Design Lead
Muller & Muller, Ltd. (M2)

Francisco Lasta, OTR/L, crafted his current role from a non-traditional professional background (he is also a licensed Occupational Therapist). From over a decade of working with people with a variety of disabilities from all ages and socio-economic status, Francisco’s expertise in human-centered design, task analysis and accessibility gives him a uniquely empathetic and functional perspective when it comes to architecture and design. Passionate about helping designers create spaces that are accessible and usable by all people, he is leading the establishment of M2’s Inclusive Design Guidelines.

Hosts

Traci Rose Rider

Associate Professor, School of Architecture / Doctor of Design at North Carolina State University

Traci Rose Rider, Ph.D., is a University Faculty Scholar at NC State University’s College of Design. Traci is an Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Fellow (Cohort 4) with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation working to advance health and equity toward RWJF’s Culture of Health. Her funded research focuses on how school environments in marginalized communities can increase positive health outcomes and community resiliency for the community at large, in addition to mental, physical, and emotional health support for students and families. Her focus is on interdisciplinary work addressing larger issues of health, sustainability, and resilience. She has three books that address green building guidelines, green materials, and building for well-being. Traci’s courses explore existing buildings and operations, the WELL Building Standard, and the Living Building Challenge.

Victoria Lanteigne

Principal, Research, Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

Victoria Lanteigne, Ph.D., has been working to improve the built environment through equity, inclusive design, and health and wellness for the past 20 years. With a background in public policy, Victoria brings an interdisciplinary lens to building research with the aim of developing industry standards and frameworks for practical application. Victoria is passionate about championing the connection between equity, inclusive design, and building performance and was instrumental in the development of the universal/inclusive design credits in LEEDv4 and WELLv2. Through her research, she recently developed and launched the Building Equity Standard (BEST), a new resource aimed at helping practitioners embed equity in the design of the built environment.