Bio
I’m Meryl K. Evans, CPACC, professional speaker and trainer, accessibility marketing consultant, and author of Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook and the co-author of Adapting to Web Standards: CSS and Ajax for Big Sites. I’ve done a TEDx Talk and have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal. I’ve been honored to be included as one of the 12 Top LinkedIn Voices for Accessibility Advocacy.
Since starting this digital marketing and writing business in 2000, I’ve written and edited for “Billiards Digest,” “The Dallas Morning News,” MarketingProfs, “PC Today,” O’Reilly, Pearson, Sams, Wiley, and WROX.
Clients hire me to speak to their employees on accessibility, inclusion, and lived experiences as a person with disabilities. If you’re looking for a motivational speaker, I’m not the right person.
If you’re looking for a speaker to educate and encourage action, then contact me. Employees walk away with actionable items to create more accessible experiences for employees, customers, stakeholders, and prospective employees.
Past jobs include two Fortune 500 telecom companies, the federal government in Washington, D.C., and IT consulting. A native Texan, I live a heartbeat north of Dallas in Plano, Texas with my husband. We have three human kiddos and two fur babies where one thinks she’s human and the other thinks she’s a cat.
People call me the accessibility marketer because I educate people on the importance of accessibility. And besides, accessibility is everyone’s responsibility. I’m a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC).
How you and your company benefit: Companies that create an inclusive and accessible culture achieve more revenues and reach a larger audience than those that don’t. People with disabilities and their supporters have enough disposable income to give everyone in the U.S. 13,000 boxes of cookies! (This is $13 trillion per year — a market larger than China — according to the Global Economics of Disabilities report.
Champions that include and support people with disabilities in their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts experience 28% more revenue according to Accenture’s report [pdf].
Why work with me? Companies know about my reputation for delivering high-quality and engaging presentations and training. Most clients work with me again and some bring me on after changing companies. Here are client testimonials.
Contact me to discuss what you need.
Connect
Let’s connect: X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube
Media
Speaking
I’m a professional speaker on disability inclusion and accessibility. Happy to travel to your location. My presentations and training educate, entertain, and encourage action.
Contact me if you’d like to chat and schedule a possible date. Don’t wait too long as I don’t have many openings because it takes time for me to create an E3 presto: educating, entertaining, and encouraging action. Here’s a list of my speaking and podcasting appearances.
In the News and Around the Web
- November 2024: Exploring Life and Business with Meryl Evans via VoyageDallas
- October 2024: DE Talk: How SMBs Can Use AI Hiring Tech in Inclusive Ways (Lex Huth reference at the 44-minute mark)
- October 2024: How To Create More Accessible Social Media Content: Lessons From The Most Accessible DNC Ever via Forbes by Toby Wong
- September 2024: Southwest Airlines is experiencing one of the biggest shakeups in its 53-year history via The Dallas Morning News
- September 2024: Drive Accessibility Forward: 5 Insights from Meryl Evans on Innovation and Inclusivity via Nagish
- July 2024: How to Ensure Accessibility When Incorporating Media Into Your Content via Lightkey
- July 2024: Bold Journey
- June 2024: How to Create More Inclusive Marketing Campaigns via ZeroBounce
- June 2024: New toolkit to help guide DFW businesses on disability inclusion via WFAA
- June 2024: What the unofficial parking police should know via Dallas Morning News
- April 2024: The Jeff Crilley Show
- March 2024: CanvasRebel
- October 2023: Make Your Company More Inclusive of People with Disabilities via Indeed
- August 2023: The Power of Sustainable and Accessible Design in the Digital World via Evenness
- July 2023: Representation In Marketing Is Critical. How To Ensure Your Brand Gets It Right via Forbes
- July 2023: Progress Over Perfection: Advice for Sustainable Digital Accessibility with Karl Groves
- July 2023: XR Access Stories with Meryl Evans
- June 2023: Plano closed captioning resolution for public TVs a victory for deaf and hard of hearing via Dallas Morning News
- May 2023: Plano adopts resolution for closed captioning on public televisions via Community Impact
- May 2023: Reading a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) or Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) via Equal Entry
- May 2023: What is digital accessibility? via UsableNet
- March 2023: A Deaf Person’s Dream of Seeing Captioned Broadway Show via Equal Entry
- February 2023: Automatic Captions: Our Experiments and Best Practices via Equal Entry
- February 2023: How to Create an Effective Tactile Graphic via Equal Entry
- January 2023: How to Bridge Different Access Needs via PEATWorks
- January 2023: A Journey of Progress Over Perfection via QRCA Views by Zoë Billington with thanks to Susan Fader
- January 2023: XR Accessibility research by Lavin Amarnani
- December 2023: iOS 16 Accessibility: How to Use Live Captions and Accessibility Shortcuts via Equal Entry
- December 2022: ASTC Accessibility Toolkit for Museum Digital Engagement, co-creator with Sara Kobilka
- November 2022: 23 Experts Share Top Marketing and PR Advice for 2023 by Michelle Garrett
- November 2022: Losing billions: Why are brands still not prioritising digital accessibility? via Campaign by Matthew Keegan
- October 2022: Plano Chamber of Commerce 50 Leading Women
- October 2022: Social Media Accessibility: Is Social Media Accessible? via Scribely
- October 2022: How to make web accessibility a part of digital marketing efforts via MarTech by Alan K’necht
- September 2022: Looking for Work As a Person Who is Deaf via Get Hired by LinkedIn News by Lora Korpar
- September 2022: Disability is not a dirty word via Fighting Talk
- September 2022: Subtitle the World via Morning Brew
- August 2022: State of the Sound: How the Media Industry Grapples with Audio Accessibility via AdWeek (requires login)
- July 2022: LinkedIn Top Voices in Disability Advocacy
- June 30, 2022: Web Accessibility Recommendations for Banks: Documents, Cards and Communications
- April 24, 2022: InklusivComm Interview with Meryl K. Evans
- April 6, 2022: The Curb-Cut Effect and Accessibility at Events via PCMA
- March 23, 2022: How Web3 can help brands create an inclusive metaverse via AdAge
- February 2022: Virtual Reality Accessibility: The Importance of Comfort Ratings and Reducing Motion via Equal Entry
- February 2022: Assistive technology, accessible technology and the accessibility tree via UX Collective
- February 2022: Learning Firsthand How to Make Events Accessible via PCMA
- December 2021: Dallas Morning News Holiday Cookie Contest 2nd Place Bars
- December 2021: 100+ Content Marketing Trends and Predictions for Success in 2022 via Content Marketing Institute
- November 2021: #Inclusive – Building resilience post-COVID-19 in the lives of people with disabilities via NewzHook
- November 2021: 22 Marketing Experts Share Their Best Advice to Help You Plan for 2022
- November 2021: Using Microsoft Azure and its AI capabilities, Peloton develops live subtitles for members who are deaf or hard of hearing via Microsoft
- November 2021: How Hollywood Can Make Change to Attract More People with Disabilities via Diamond
- November 2021: Why You Need to Do User Testing with Deaf and Hard of Hearing People via Fable
- October 2021: Let’s Talk About Social Media Accessibility via Link in Bio
- October 2021: B2B Lead Generation And Demand Generation Strategies For 2022 via InfuseMedia
- September 2021: Deaf Awareness Month: an opportunity to learn via Plano Magazine
- September 2021: Accessible Virtual Reality: Advice from a Deaf Person on How to Make It Better via Equal Entry
- September 2021: Accessibility Matters via Accessibility.com
- September 2021: 28 Ideas for Better Virtual, In-Person, and Hybrid Event Content and Experiences via Content Marketing Institute
- September 2021: 22 Content Marketers Share Their Take on TikTok, Clubhouse, and Trendy Social Spaces via Content Marketing Institute
- August 2021: How to Keep Calm and Carry on When Captions Disappear During a Live Video via Diamond
- August 2021: Are They Feeling It? 22 Expert Ideas for Connecting With Your Audience via Content Marketing Institute
- August 2021: 26 Eye-Opening Ideas for Putting an End to Digital Content Fatigue via Content Marketing Institute
- July 2021: Twitter Adds Captions for Voice Tweets After Criticism via Wall Street Journal
- June 2021: Meryl Evans Is Leading the Charge to Caption the Internet via InclusionHub
- May 2021: Making technology accessible for people with disabilities will end up making life easier for everyone via Dallas Morning News OpEd
- April 2021: TikTok Adds Automated Captions, Making Platform More Open to Deaf People via Wall Street Journal
- April 2021: What We’ve Learned from Hosting VR Meetups in Mozilla Hubs for One Year via Equal Entry
- April 2021: Should I Add Closed Captions to All of My Videos? via KeystoneClick
- April 2021: What It’s Like for a Deaf Person at a Captioned VR Presentation via Equal Entry
- March 2021: How to Mitigate Accessibility & Digital Inclusion Obstacles for the d/Deaf Community via InclusionHub
- March 2021: Are bad captions better than no captions via Sheri Byrne-Haber on Medium
- March 2021: Exercising with Hearing Loss: 4 Smart Strategies via HearingTracker
- February 2021: Concentration Fatigue via DeafBlind UK
Want more? Here are older article appearances.
In Books (as an editor, contributor, or researcher)
- Design for All Learners: Create Accessible and Inclusive Learning Experiences edited by Sarah Mercier. Contributor.
- The Anti-Ableist Manifesto by Tiffany Yu. Mentions.
- Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions: Contributed personal story
- 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1,500 Words or Less: Story on page 208.
- The Well-Fed Writer: Story
- Adapting to Web Standards: CSS and Ajax for Big Sites: Co-author
- Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook: Author
- Blog Schmog: The Truth About What Blogs Can (and Can’t) Do for Your Business: Resource
- The Secret Power of Blogging: How to Promote and Market Your Business, Organization, or Cause With Free Blogs: Interviewee and contributor
- CSS Cookbook: 2nd Edition: Contributor
- What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting: Real-Life Advice from 101 People Who Successfully Leverage the Power of the Blogosphere: Contributor
- The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get It Right: Researcher
- The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living: Resource
- Weekend Entrepreneur: 101 Great Ways to Earn Extra Cash: Interviewee
- Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer: Acknowledgments
- The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds A Second Helping Of “How-To” For Any Writer Dreaming of Great Bucks and Exceptional Quality of Life: Resource
- Stories of Strength: Contributor
- Sams Teach Yourself Movable Type in 24 Hours: Tech editor
- Words You Thought You Knew: 1001 Commonly Misused and Misunderstood Words and Phrases: Contributor
- Beginning Dreamweaver MX: Tech editor
History
Meryl first joined the Internet pre-revolution in 1992 with Internet in a Box.
Why the name meryl.net?
I racked my brain to come up with a name that would stick. Alas, nothing came. Ironically, I love to read about names and the meanings behind them. I’m even a professional namer! Yet, I couldn’t name this electronic baby.
I never had a nickname, a big hobby, or a way to make up a creative name using my name. For example: If your last name was Boot, then a good Web name would be “Reboot.” Although I had a handle from my BBS (pre-Internet) days, I was embarrassed for ever having used it. Considering “meryl” is so uncommon considering the lifetime of misspellings and mispronunciations, I used it thinking a better name would come later. No brilliant idea ever came. So, meryl.net stuck.
Not So Vital Info
Bio: The cool version
I’ve been hanging out on the pre-Internet aka BBS since 1986. (I appear in BBS: The Documentary, which landed me my own IMDb.com page. Color me shocked.) I met the Internet in 1993. In digital years, that would be the 1800s. I fell in love with it at first text.
I’ve written for anything and everything relating to Web design, technology, content marketing, writing, automotive, and buffaloes (not kidding).
I’m the president, CEO, CIO, CMO, CFO, and founder of meryl.net, writing, editing, digital marketing, content marketing, email marketing, social media, tech fixer-upper, and all that extra stuff services.
I’ve blogged about living life as a deaf person. You can find this southpaw in the Lone Star State … not wearing 10-gallon hats.
Stats
- Sign: Cap-Aquarius (some say Capricorn and some say water bearer).
- Birthday: January 20 – Inauguration Day.
- Myers-Briggs: ISTJ, ISTJ, ISTJ. (Every single time since taking the first one in ’90.)
- Birth order: The youngest of three, but practically an only child.