Accessibility

Accessibility isn’t just a policy issue for me—it’s personal.

As a hard of hearing woman and the mother of two children who are also hard of hearing, I understand that barriers aren’t always obvious. Many people navigate obstacles every day that others never notice. That's why I successfully advocated for live closed captioning at Township Council meetings—because meaningful change often starts with listening to the people experiencing those barriers.

But accessibility is bigger than one project.

To me, accessibility should be considered from the very beginning of every municipal decision, not added as an afterthought. Whether Council is discussing a new park, recreation facility, sidewalk, website, public meeting, or housing development, I’ll ask:

• Can everyone access this?
• Have people with disabilities been consulted?
• Are we designing this to be inclusive from day one, rather than retrofitting it later?

Good accessibility benefits everyone—not just people with disabilities. Parents pushing strollers, seniors, visitors, people recovering from injuries, and residents with temporary or permanent disabilities all benefit when we design communities that are easier to navigate and participate in.

My approach is simple: listen first, remove barriers where we can, and make inclusion part of how we plan—not something we remember afterward.