Professional Experience

Work Experience

Managing and producing additional updates for the Accessible Digital Content Training on Pressbooks, creating sections and curating content from multiple authors.
Organization and facilitation of the 2022 National Accessibility Week at McMaster for over 400 attendees. Included creating visual and written promotional communication materials, contributing as a panelist, lecturer, and moderator.
Ongoing consultations and support for MacPherson Institute’s Teaching and Learning months.
Creation of accessible newsletter, poster, and social media templates using Microsoft PowerPoint to facilitate the creation of inclusive communication materials by all members of the Faculty of Science.
Support of Faculty of Science communication campaigns, including Science Matters, Science Long Reads, Elements of Success, and Science Champions.
Project management of the migration of 20 Faculty of Science websites from Joomla to MacSites.
Ongoing delivery of over 60 synchronous workshops in co-operation with the Equity and Inclusion office at McMaster, totaling over 1500 virtual attendees since 2020. Includes accessible digital documents and H.E.A.A.R.T workshop series. Please see the Knowledge Translation section of this webpage for a detailed summary.
Ongoing audit and remediation of the Faculty of Science websites, documents, and social media for digital accessibility.
Modification of our accessibility training and work plan for remediation projects within the Faculty of Science. Supervision and training of students from the Faculty of Science in accessibility, website, and digital media topics.
Co-convener of the Disability Inclusion, Madness, Accessibility, and NeuroDiversity working group (DIMAND) under the President’s Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community (PACBIC) at McMaster. Facilitates group meetings, discussions, event planning, summaries of community concerns, and contributions to the PACBIC annual report.
Member of the Faculty of Health Science 2022 Spring/Summer and Fall/ Winter EDI & Indigenous Health Equity Speaker Series planning committees and a Praxis Pathways / HTH SCI 1X01 Peer Mentor.
Member of the Ethical and Equitable Procurement and Classroom Hybrid Standard Virtual Learning Strategy grant teams.
Member of a STEER/R application project for accessibility at McMaster.
Co-coordination of the User Testing Group, a disability-led initiative to facilitate the user testing of inaccessible materials and platforms in the McMaster community. Incorporates best-practice, legislative guidelines, and accessibility research.
Member of the Employee Accessibility Network at McMaster, Blended Community of Practice, the Healthy Workplace Committee, the Accessibility Community of Practice, the Technology Round Table, UNIFOR 5555 Pride Committee, and the McMaster Creative Community at McMaster.
Nominated and awarded the 2022 CUCCIO Community Award for “Amplifying Digital Accessibility in Education at McMaster University.”
Member of an international Accessibility Interest Group (AIG) and local a11y Hamilton community to discuss and learn about new accessible communication and design innovations.

Accessible document creation workshop facilitator on Webex. Up to 30 individuals attend synchronous, remote sessions.

Consulted during two focus group sessions on the campus-wide Digital Learning Strategy at McMaster in March & April 2022.
Creation of accessible and professional visual presentation materials using Microsoft PowerPoint for the Board of Governors Faculty of Science Financial Recovery Plan and the 2022 Science Faculty Retreat, including graphics and data visualizations.
Ongoing creation of summaries and reports to iteratively modify projects and aid in evaluation and budgetary decisions.
Consultation on Virtual Learning Strategy (VLS) grant applications and completed projects with the MacPherson Institute.
Panelist for the May 2022 Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds: presented on Accessibility and Wellness for 80 attendees.
Reviewed and evaluated 64 scholarship applications on AwardSpring for the 2022 awards cycle at McMaster.
Collaboration with Media Production Services to develop relevant accessibility training for MacSites at McMaster.
2022 Spring/ Summer FHS EDI & Indigenous Health Equity Speaker Series planning committee member – facilitated two workshops on accessible digital content creation and moderated a panel discussion on reframing disability in healthcare.
Development of hyflex (in-person and remote hybrid) recording solutions for 2022 Science May at Mac presentations.
Member of a Learning Technologies Analyst hiring committee for the MacPherson Institute in April 2022.

Created the Remediation of Course Content for Accessibility in Science Program (RCCAS), in partnership with the MacPherson Institute and the CAPS/IWSO programs within the Student Success Center, educating, training, and supervising up to nine students at a time. These students conducted audit and remediation activities for over 20 courses and over 300 course outlines during the spring and summer terms of 2021. This program also tested and facilitated further development of accessibility training and AODA-focused project structures to disseminate across campus.
Managed the migration and updates of the Accessible Digital Content Training on Pressbooks, creating new sections and curating content from multiple authors for additional digital communication platforms.
Reviewed and evaluated submissions for the 2022 IDEAS grant (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Sustainability).

Jessica started Blue Creek Designs in 2012. Now a McMaster alumnus, she has completed a Master of Science to refine her knowledge of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and how they intersect with graphic and web design. She is also an avid equestrian and a former Ontario Collegiate Equestrian Association president.

A full portfolio of graphic design, web, photography, and illustration work completed by Blue Creek Designs can be found on their website.

Graphic design and print company focusing on website design and hosting, graphic design, illustration, and photography.

WordPress based web design, brand-focused graphic design, photography, audio/visual production, and physical materials, such as stickers, decals, clothing, and custom items.
Biomedical communication work creating diagrams and graphics to visualize research results in meaningful ways.

Nominated for a President’s Award as a member of the Science Remote Tech Task Force – promoted accessibility throughout the transition from in-person to remote environments at McMaster during COVID-19 for students and employees of the Faculty of Science through technical support, large-scale procurement, education, auditing, and remediation.
In response to the rapid shift to remote work, created and maintained the Accessible Documents Webinar,
a series of asynchronous accessibility training videos with campus partners for Microsoft Office 365 and online presentations.

While working as a Course Developer with the Faculty of Science at McMaster University I have created or contributed to the following:

Developed an auditing and conversion process for Blended Learning course content to satisfy SAF grant requirements and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)/Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA legislation.
Reviewed and updated faculty accessibility best-practice guidelines for website and document content creation.
Co-developed accessibility training with campus partners for accessible use of Office 365 that was also presented at the 2020 IT Forum (Accessible Documents Webinar available here).
Created additional training in response to COVID-19, including: Remote Teaching and Captions at McMaster, Best-Practice Hardware Recommendations for Remote Work, Sharing Files using Office 365 and OneDrive, Microsoft Teams Installation and Use Tutorial, Zoom Installation and Use Tutorial, Cisco Webex Installation and Use Tutorial.

While working as a web assistant with the Faculty of Science at McMaster I completed weekly website maintenance and updates on Joomla and WordPress-based content management systems and assisted in the migration of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics website to the new branding.

Teaching Assistant in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences for the Speech-Language Pathology program.

Monitored and evaluated online student participation through Avenue to Learn discussions and evaluated written essay submission and mixed-method mid-term and final examinations based on research and course readings.

While a member of CanChild’s Knowledge Translation team, I participated in:

Website maintenance and biomedical communications.
Photography and audio/video production and editing.
Accessibility-focused work with Hamilton’s and the GTA’s disability community.

Audio/Video Projects

Worked with the Faculty of Humanities to complete web updates, social media management, and various audio/visual projects (capturing and editing).

Professional Experience

Work Experience

Accessible Digital Media Specialist Supervisor with the Faculty of Science at McMaster University

Accessible Training Facilitator at the Toronto Public Library

Accessible Digital Media Specialist with the Faculty of Science at McMaster University

Accessible Digital Media Specialist Supervisor with the Faculty of Science at McMaster University

Blue Creek Designs

Accessible Digital Media Specialist with the Faculty of Science at McMaster University

Course Developer with the Faculty of Science at McMaster

Web Assistant with the Faculty of Science at McMaster

Teaching Assistant - McMaster University

Digital Media Specialist at CanChild

Audio/Video Projects

Humanities Media and Computing Digital Media Intern