For fUX Sake: Finding a Fit in UX

Have you ever wondered what user experience, body image, accessibility, and sexual orientation have in common? …No? Well, you probably are now! For the next amUX, join Sam VanHorn, a user experience researcher, for a different take on the topic of accessibility. She approaches UX through a lens of accessibility, informed by the field of disability studies. In addition to focusing on things like WCAG requirements or 508 accessibility standards, accessibility can be approached from a broader, more holistic perspective—one that has less to do about screens, and more to do about the environments we live in. Sam is a recovering academic nerd who earned her PhD in Women’s Studies from Emory University, focusing on user experience research and accessibility.

About our Speaker
Sam VanHorn is a user experience researcher at Honeywell, where she focuses her design research efforts on accessibility. She has research experience in a variety of areas including medicine, ethics, education, telematics, and industrial IoT.

She received her BA and MA in Research Psychology from The New School for Social Research in New York, and her PhD in Women’s Studies with a focus on user experience and disability studies from Emory University. The interdisciplinary nature of both her education and professional experience give her a uniquely informed perspective on the intricacies of human behavior.

Aside from being a passionate accessibility advocate, Sam is also the co-chair of Atlanta’s World Information Architecture Day (WIAD) conference, a teacher, and a former member of an all-girl punk band.