Archer Archer

Archer Archer is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Political Science. He is a long-time member of The Texas Governor’s Committee for People with Disabilities, Chairman of the Accessibility Advisory Committee for Texas Parks and Wildlife. He worked for former Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus during the 85th Legislature. During his final semester at UT he worked for Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady in Washington, D. C. He is a public speaker and voice for National legislation affecting those with disabilities. He founded Archer’s Challenge, a nonprofit which challenges people to navigate the world from a wheelchair. Through the Challenge he has raised over a million dollars to support accessibility for people with disabilities. 

He is an Eagle Scout and Hornaday Award winner, recipient of the Texas Environmental Excellence Award, the Empowerment Award for Excellence in Promotion of Advocacy, the Spirit 105.9 Radio “Difference Maker,” the Morgan’s Wonderland “Wall of Fame” Award winner, the Kelly Davidson Memorial Outstanding Philanthropic Youth Award and the International CARTER Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy by the National Association of Fundraising Professionals.  

Currently, Archer is working as a disability policy consultant on both the State and Federal levels through his consulting firm Archer's Public Policy. He travels across the country to present before disability advocacy groups. He visits Washington D.C. often to meet with Congressional members about relevant disability policy.  
 

Chris Downey, AIA

President, Architecture for the Blind

Chris Downey, AIA has over 35 years of experience as an architect - continuing without sight since 2008. Leveraging this altered perspective as a differentiating strength, he now specializes in projects for the blind and low vision along with the broader disability community as well as cultural, transit and technology projects.

Appointed as the inaugural UC Berkeley, Department of Architecture Lifchez Visiting Professor of Practice in Social Justice in Design, Chris was honored to teach a graduate architecture studio in 2022 through which he was the first blind architect known to have taught an architecture studio in the United States. he also serves as chair of the California commission on disability Access and served for eleven years on the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind, Board of Directors including four years as its chair. Chris has been featured in numerous media stories including “60 Minutes”, has exhibited internationally including the Victoria & Albert Museum and speaks internationally including a TED talk with over a million views. In all that he does, Chris weaves his personal and professional experience through sight loss to creatively and respectfully curate a sense of resilience, hope and delight through the power of design whether it is seen or not.

Chris Hinds

Chris Hinds serves on Denver City Council as the city's first elected official who uses a wheelchair and identifies as a member of the disability community. His journey to public service began in rural Texas, where he was raised by a single mother before earning both a computer science degree and MBA in Finance and Strategy from Southern Methodist University. A pivotal moment occurred on August 26, 2008, when Chris was paralyzed from the chest down in an accident after photographing the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Since then, his expertise spanning technology, finance, and public policy has informed his role as a respected voice in accessibility and universal design. 

As an advocate for universal access to housing, transportation, and representation, Chris has testified before legislative committees in Denver and Washington D.C. and served as a subject matter expert on access issues. His dedicated research and advocacy led to the passage of the Chris Hinds Act in 2018, strengthening protections for disability parking access. His recent re-election to Denver City Council demonstrates his ability to effectively represent both the disability community and the broader constituency of District 10, while his unique perspective combines lived experience, professional expertise, and public service to advance inclusive design across physical environments, products, and public policies. 

Gordon V. Hartman 

Native San Antonian Gordon V. Hartman sold several successful businesses in 2005 to pursue his and his wife Maggie’s dream of helping children and adults with special needs. He then proceeded to build nonprofit Morgan’s Wonderland, still the world’s first and only Ultra-Accessible™, fully inclusive theme park. 

The phenomenal success of Morgan’s Wonderland – almost 3 million guests from all 50 states and over 120 other countries through park visitation and special events – encouraged Gordon to add award-winning Morgan’s Inspiration Island splash park, Morgan’s Sports complex, year-round Morgan’s Camp and Morgan’s MAC (Multi-Assistance Center). This latest venture involves more than 30 community-based organizations that provide both medical and non-medical services to children and adults with special needs. Morgan’s MAC sets a new standard for delivering coordinated care in an inclusive atmosphere through the guidance and follow-through of specially educated team members known as Navigators. 

Hansel Bauman  

Hansel Bauman's presentation chronicles the origins, current developments, and future trajectory of DeafSpace—the socio-spatial dynamics of how deaf people inhabit and modify the built environment to fit their unique ways of being—as an exemplar of inclusive design for all. The making of the DeafSpace Guidelines—the centerpiece of a community-driven initiative beginning in 2005 at Gallaudet University—will be presented to demonstrate how Deaf cultural practices for communication and spatial orientation shape spaces that foster personal agency and wellbeing. Case Studies of DeafSpace building projects will highlight the benefits of robust end-user involvement throughout the project delivery process to ensure the intended results: welcoming spaces that enable clear visual communication, multi-sensory wayfinding and belonging.  

The presentation reflects on insights gleaned from the initial making of the DeafSpace Guidelines and how they intersect with design strategies for blind, low-vision, those with physical disabilities and/ or who identify as neurodivergent. Future directions for the practice of DeafSpace as a UniversALL approach will be presented for discussion.  

Dr. Kristi Gaines

Dr. Kristi Gaines is an Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Professor and Professor and  Chair in the Department of Design at Texas Tech University. Through research that investigates ways the built environment can accommodate diverse populations through design, Dr. Gaines has achieved international recognition as a leader in designing learning environments and other spaces for individuals with sensory sensitivities and developmental disorders. Gaines' book, Designing for Autism Spectrum Disorders, is recognized with awards from the four leading organizations for interior and environmental design. Her work is published and presented through numerous academic journals, conferences, and keynote addresses. She is co-founder of the Texas Tech University Coalition for Natural Learning and is a member of a state-wide leadership team, created by the Texas Department of State Health Services, to implement an outdoor learning environment health intervention in Texas. With more than two decades of professional design and teaching experience, Gaines has served in leadership roles in industry organizations, and currently leads the OLE! Texas Designer Network and designer training. She was awarded the Chancellor's Council Distinguished Research Award, the President's Emerging Engaged Scholarship Award, and the Interior Design Educators Council Excellence in Scholarship Award. 

Steven Pedigo

Steven Pedigo is the assistant dean for faculty of practice and policy engagement at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT-Austin. He also leads the LBJ Urban Lab, a do-tank informing urban policy and strategy and training the next generation of policy leaders and city leaders. He has advised and collaborated with more than 100 cities, universities, developers, nonprofits and Fortune 500 companies to build more innovative, resilient and inclusive communities.

Yulissa Chávez

Yulissa Chávez is a fellow at the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities (CTD) in Austin, Texas. Yulissa's policy interests are in democracy, healthcare, and education. She specializes in education policy, specifically how Texas public schools are funded and how education affects the quality of life of a person, from health to wealth.  

Yulissa served as a World History Teacher for Austin Independent School District and an active Volunteer Deputy Registrar in Travis County. Prior to joining CTD, she earned her Masters in Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Her extensive public sector experience includes serving as an industry expert in multiple coalitions relating to education, healthcare and criminal justice.