Beth BienVenu - Former Accessibility director of the National Endowment For the Arts

Beth BienVenu - Former Accessibility director of the National Endowment For the Arts

Today, please welcome Dr. Beth Bienvenu, a respected leader in arts accessibility and disability inclusion. With more than 20 years of experience, she has worked at the intersection of the arts, accessibility, and public policy. As the former accessibility director of the Endowment of the Arts, Dr. Bienvenu led efforts to expand access to the arts for people with disabilities and providing guidance to artists and organizations across the country. She also served as a policy advisor of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy and has taught arts policy at George Mason University. We will talk about her career, her progress that's been made in arts accessibility and what still needs to be done. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Beth Bienvenu.

Alfred Meyer - Actor, singer, and artist

Today's guest is Alfred Meyer, a 27-year-old actor, singer, and multidisciplinary artist based in Miami. Totally blind and passionate about storytelling, Alfred has spent more than 14 years studying acting and has performed in over 20 productions, including The Addams Family, Aladdin, and Elf. He has also appeared in campaigns for Amazon, Apple, and Spectrum. In addition to acting, Alfred is a vocalist, saxophone player, and emerging recording artist whose work and advocacy focus on accessibility, representation, and expanding what's possible in performance in media.

Bill McCann, Founder of Dancing Dots Inc.

Today's guest is someone who has been at the forefront of accessible music technology for decades. Bill McCann is the founder of Dancing Dots, a pioneering company dedicated to making music accessible to people who are blind and visually impaired. Through innovations in music notation, assistive software, and education, Bill has opened doors that were once firmly closed, empowering musicians to read, write, and produce music independently. His work doesn't just adapt a system, it reimagines it. In today's conversation, we'll explore how accessibility fuels creativity, the evolution of music technology for blind musicians, and what the future of inclusive design in the arts can and should look like.

Georgina Kleege, a writer, scholar, and leading voice in disability studies and the arts

Today, we're honored to welcome Georgina Klieg, a writer, scholar, and leading voice in disability studies and the arts. Georgina is a professor emerita at UC Berkeley and the author of several influential books, including Sight Unseen and More Than Meets the Eye, where she challenges traditional ideas about blindness and visual culture. Her work has helped reshape how museums, artists, and audiences think about accessibility and inclusion. Through her writing, teaching, and advocacy, Georgina has been a powerful force in making the arts more welcoming to people of all abilities

Sina Bahram, the president and founder of Prime Access Consulting,

Sina Bahram is the president and founder of Prime Access Consulting, or PAC. PAC is an inclusive design firm that helps welcome the widest possible audience to all digital and physical spaces. Sina has served as an expert witness, spoken at the United Nations, and contributed to landmark disability cases at all levels, including the Supreme Court of the United States. He also serves on and chairs multiple corporate, academic, and nonprofit boards. As an Astro Access Ambassador, Sina took part in a groundbreaking program that brought people with lived experience as close as possible to space. Flying aboard GeForce One, a specially modified Boeing 727-200, he helped test how astronauts with disabilities could navigate spacecraft, shaping the future of a more inclusive space program.