At Anthology, accessibility isn’t an afterthought—it’s built into everything we do. In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), our Director of Product Marketing, Mindy Mekhail, sat down with Dr. Amy Lomellini, Anthology’s director of accessibility, for a candid conversation about inclusive design, community collaboration, and why accessibility benefits everyone.

Mindy: Hi Amy! Let’s start big picture. What does accessibility mean at Anthology?

Amy: Great question—and one I love answering! At Anthology, accessibility is part of our DNA. It’s not just about checking a box or meeting a standard. It’s about creating learning experiences that truly work for everyone, no matter their ability. We believe that when education is designed to be inclusive from the start, everyone benefits.

Mindy: I benefit from this myself as an Anthologist, but for those who don’t have the pleasure of working here, can you talk more about shared responsibility and what that looks like on a day-to-day basis?

Amy: It means accessibility isn’t just my job or my team’s job—it’s everyone’s job. We’ve built a culture where product managers, designers, developers, and marketers understand how they contribute to accessible experiences. We also have an internal network of “accessibility champions” across the company who help advocate for inclusive practices in their teams. It’s collaborative and ongoing, which makes the work exciting—we’re driving behavioral change internally and externally as well.

Mindy: Can you talk a little about how Anthology accounts for accessibility and inclusion in the product development lifecycle?

Amy: Absolutely. We follow the “Nothing Without Us” principle, which means we include people with disabilities throughout the design and development process. Their insights help us uncover barriers we might not be aware of otherwise. Whether we’re testing a new product or refining an existing one, their feedback helps us build better, more usable tools for everyone. We have dedicated focus groups comprised of disabled users and allies and they’re part of so many decisions we make. The user is always in focus as we’re developing products, and that’s true for disabled users as well.

Mindy: Training seems like a big part of keeping accessibility top of mind. How do you support your teams and the extended organization with this?

Amy: It’s huge. We offer ongoing training for teams across the organization—because accessibility isn’t static. Standards evolve, technologies change, and so do users’ needs. Making sure our staff stays up to speed ensures we’re building not just with expertise but also with empathy.

Mindy: How do you know if it’s working? How do you measure success?

Amy: It’s a mix of things. We do internal accessibility audits, work with third-party partners, and of course, gather user feedback regularly. It’s all about listening, learning, and improving. Success for us means fewer barriers, more independence, and a better experience for learners. Of course, there are metrics and standards that we use as benchmarks, but again it’s more about creating better experiences for learners, and for all users of Anthology products. And a big thing for me is those moments when we have people across the organization talking about accessibility in the context of their day-to-day jobs. To me, that’s a huge win.

Mindy: I agree. I’m not technically one of the accessibility champions but more like an enthusiast, and I love it when we have a designer, for instance, raising the flag and saying, “Hey, this asset needs to be checked for accessibility before we consider it final.”

Amy: Exactly. It’s that kind of culture that we’re so proud of and want to promote for every organization.

Mindy: So what would you say to institutions or organizations who want to have the same kind of cultural emphasis on accessibility, as opposed to doing it merely from a compliance standpoint?

Amy: Don’t wait for perfection—just start. Having a formalized program is a good first step, but you need those champions to ensure everyone feels responsible for accessibility. Get feedback from people with disabilities early and often. And remember, accessibility isn’t a one-and-done task, and there’s no deadline or finish line. It’s a journey—and it’s worth it. Worth it for learners, educators, institutions, and honestly, worth it for society.

Mindy: How is Anthology celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) internally with employees?

Amy: Accessibility isn’t something we only think about once a year—it’s part of our everyday work, from how we design products to how we support customers and collaborate internally. It’s funny because when we talk about what we can do for GAAD, or more accurately Global Accessibility Awareness Month (GAAM), because we’ve made it a month-long thing, we realize how much we’re already doing. So it’s more like we have a good excuse to take over our social media channels and the internal employee intranet for a few weeks.

We’re always hosting trainings, sharing best practices, and driving real behavior change—both within Anthology and in partnership with the institutions we serve. Anthology Ally is obviously a huge part of that in terms of a product we have that drives behavioral change and long-term accessibility best practices, but it’s also things like making sure our creative team is trained on and constantly thinking about accessibility for sales and marketing assets, making sure our events are accessible for attendees, making sure we have those accessibility champions across the organization, and lending our expertise to our customers, too.

GAAM is a fun excuse for us to crank up the volume. We lean into it with internal events, lunch-and-learns, and storytelling that highlights the work our teams are doing. And partner with the communications team to amplify voices, share tips, and spotlight the people and practices that make accessibility real. It’s almost like celebrating a wedding anniversary—it’s something we acknowledge and celebrate, but it's also a reflection of what we’re already doing all year long.

Mindy: For folks who want to dig deeper, are there any resources or tools you’d recommend checking out?

Amy: Definitely! We’ve put together a variety of resources to help institutions, instructors, and technologists better understand and implement accessibility best practices. On our Accessibility Commitment page you’ll see a number of resources from us such as webinars, blog posts, and interviews we’ve done with various publications focused on accessibility. Whether you're just starting out or looking to advance your accessibility strategy, there’s something useful for you there.

We also have a dedicated focus group for disabled users and disability allies where folks can sign up to help us shape our products and be part of our process, and the Anthology Community site shows upcoming webinars and events you can attend, including Anthology Together 25 (AT25) and the Digital Teaching Symposium, as well as ongoing peer-led discussions around accessibility and inclusion.

Accessibility at Anthology is about more than compliance—it’s about people. And as Dr. Lomellini makes clear, designing and working with inclusion in mind leads to stronger, smarter, more human-centered solutions.

Want to see how Anthology puts this into practice? Check out our accessibility page for more information.