Steve Eles

May 2025 Digital Accessibility Buff Award Winner

Steve was nominated for his collaborative efforts with the DAO Accessibility and Usability Testing team and for his work in supporting the Qualtrics accessibility exception process. Steve keeps accessibility in mind regardless of the project or process he is working on. He works closely with software vendors, and if a product, platform, or service exhibits issues, he works diligently to create the necessary changes. Due to Steve's commitment to accessibility, our testing team has established strong relationships with these vendors, creating more opportunities to ensure access for individuals. For the Qualtrics exception process, Steve works with individual survey creators to consider accessibility, then collaborates with our DAO services team on the pieces that fall within their purview. We look for champions of accessibility who incorporate it into their work and also collaborate with our office; Steve is a prime example.