Jamie Dean is a Senior Corporate Counsel on Microsoft’s Accessibility Regulations Team, supporting attorneys, engineers, policy experts, and leaders striving to make some of the world’s most popular products accessible to all. His perspectives are guided by U.S. and international accessibility regulations and standards and rooted in his experience as a blind person who relies on accessible technology in daily life. Prior to working for Microsoft, he spent time as a partner handling a broad range of complex business cases, an adjunct law professor teaching students the ins and outs of pre-trial litigation, and, in the more distant past, a member of the U.S. national rowing team, where his crew captured a silver medal in the 2008 Paralympic Games. As a student at Wake Forest, Jamie co-founded the Disabilities Awareness Coalition, which worked to educate students and staff on disability-related issues.
Jamie loves learning about emerging technology and accessibility and meeting like-minded folks from across the globe.
He says “I have tremendous respect for DRNC’s advocacy work, even though I have sometimes been an attorney representing clients on the “other side” of DRNC litigation. As a blind person, I appreciate the many barriers faced by people with disabilities, including pervasive discrimination, and I recognize the important role that advocacy and litigation play in ensuring that the rights of disabled people are protected and expanded.”