2018 Northwest Access Awards
Award Winners
Harborstone Recreational Engagement Award
The 5th Avenue Theatre
5th Avenue included and engaged Deaf audiences in and around their production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, featuring Deaf actor Joshua Castille in the role of Quasimodo. 5th Avenue launched a targeted outreach campaign and opened its youth programming to Deaf students. Performances featured a range of accessible technologies, including open captioning, audio description, and multiple ASL-interpreted performances, ensuring their productions and programs are welcoming to people with a variety of disabilities.
Frances Pennell Economic Opportunity Award
Hearing Loss Association of America – Washington State Association
The Hearing Loss Association was instrumental in getting coverage restored for hearing aids for adults under Apple Health, Washington State’s Medicaid. Hearing Loss Association members worked closely with numerous stakeholders and state legislators to restore this vital coverage. From January 1, 2019, thousands of Washingtonians will have newfound access to hearing aids, making a huge difference to their quality of life and their capacity to fully participate in our communities.
Innovation Award
Bryce Johnson
By dismantling and soldering parts in standard Xbox controllers, Bryce Johnson began in his spare time the project that would lead to this year’s worldwide release of Microsoft’s Xbox adaptive controller. Bryce and his collaborators at and beyond Microsoft leveraged inclusive design principles to create a first-of-its-kind flexible controller that can span the range of players’ needs, ensuring that gaming can be for everyone.
Best Practices Award
Northwest Multiple Listing Service
Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NMLS) just made it significantly easier for people with disabilities to find a home that meets their needs. There used to be no central place to record or look up accessibility features of listed homes; NMLS recently updated their input and search options to include specific accessibility features, thereby setting the standard nationally for other listing services to follow.
