Dr. Sarah J. Swierenga is Director of Michigan State University Usability/Accessibility Research and Consulting (UARC) and Professor by Courtesy in the Department of Media and Information. A researcher and a practitioner with over 25 years of experience in the scientific study of users in commercial, government, healthcare, military, and academic environments, Sarah possesses extensive skills in user-centered design, and usability and accessibility methodologies. She has presented widely on health communication information technology, usability evaluation with people with disabilities, mobile usability evaluation, accessible electronic voting systems, and outdoor recreation knowledge management, which comprise her research programs. Sarah served as a policy advisor to the US Senate Commission on Aging regarding background check legislation, was an alternate member of the U.S. Access Board 508/255 refresh committee (accessibility standards), and was an Invited Expert on the W3C WCAG2.0 Evaluation Methodology Task Force and the W3C WCAG2.0 Working Group. Swierenga currently is a member of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Voting Systems Human Factors Working Group, and the Usability in Civic Life, a project of the User Experience Professionals Association and the Center for Civic Design. She is also a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE).Biography for Dr. Sarah J. Swierenga
Dr. Sarah J. Swierenga is Director of Michigan State University Usability/Accessibility Research and Consulting (UARC) and Professor by Courtesy in the Department of Media and Information. A researcher and a practitioner with over 25 years of experience in the scientific study of users in commercial, government, healthcare, military, and academic environments, Sarah possesses extensive skills in user-centered design, and usability and accessibility methodologies. She has presented widely on health communication information technology, usability evaluation with people with disabilities, mobile usability evaluation, accessible electronic voting systems, and outdoor recreation knowledge management, which comprise her research programs. Sarah served as a policy advisor to the US Senate Commission on Aging regarding background check legislation, was an alternate member of the U.S. Access Board 508/255 refresh committee (accessibility standards), and was an Invited Expert on the W3C WCAG2.0 Evaluation Methodology Task Force and the W3C WCAG2.0 Working Group. Swierenga currently is a member of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Voting Systems Human Factors Working Group, and the Usability in Civic Life, a project of the User Experience Professionals Association and the Center for Civic Design. She is also a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE).