| Bio |
Rob Sinclair, Director of Accessibility for Microsoft and Chief
Accessibility Strategist, is responsible for the company's worldwide
strategy to develop software and services that make it easier for
people to see, hear, and use their computers. Accessibility is a part
of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing efforts which focuses on
integrity and responsibility in our business practices.
Sinclair joined Microsoft in 1997 as a developer support engineer in
the Premier Support Group, where he provided technical and business
support for some of the company's largest customers. In 1998, he
accepted a job as an accessibility program manager. Over the next five
years, he rose to become group manager of accessibility in charge of
development, testing, and program management. Sinclair, who is also an
international award-winning nature and wildlife photographer, then
spent a year working on Microsoft's digital photography program and
contributed to the strategy and technology roadmap for improving
Windows' capabilities for professional photographers. He then returned
to assume the role of Microsoft’s director of accessibility.
While Sinclair and his team focus on helping Microsoft and partner
companies create technology that empowers people with disabilities or
age-related difficulties, their underlying goal is to make it easier
for everyone to use computers.
"Today, people are required to adapt themselves to the technology they
encounter. So using a computer means knowing how the machine expects
us to give it information and learning how we can get information from
the machine," Sinclair says. "These are artificial barriers that
prevent us from making the best use of technology.”
"Our goal at Microsoft is to create computers that adapt to the user,
so they become much easier and more natural for people to use," he
says. "By addressing the needs of people with a wide range of
abilities, we also will create a system that is more functional for
everyone. He coined the phrase Inclusive Innovation to highlight the
need for a conversation that goes beyond UI (user interface) design
considerations."
A native Texan and a U.S. Air Force veteran, Sinclair earned bachelor
and master degrees in computer science from New Mexico State
University, where he focused on software usability and user-centered
design. While still in graduate school, he founded a successful
software company that built custom medical software and provided
consulting services and technology solutions to help businesses
streamline their workflow. Before joining Microsoft, he worked in a
variety of roles in the software industry, including graphic design,
development, testing, documentation, training, and public relations.
Sinclair holds multiple patents in both accessibility and digital-
photography.
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