UniDescription
About Us

"Thoughtful, Committed Citizens"

These are the type of people, as described in nature by Margaret Mead, who make UniD what it is

Benefactors

Logo of U.S. National Park Service

U.S. National Park Service

Harpers Ferry Center, WV

$504,000 + IN-KIND SERVICES

The Google logo, consisting of an uppercase blue G, then followed by the following lowercase letters: o in red, o in yellow, g in blue, l in green, and e red.

Google, Inc.

San Francisco, CA

$375,000 + IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of National Endowment for the Humanities

National Endowment for the Humanities

Washington, D.C.

$296,000

Logo of National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

Washington, D.C.

$10,000

Logo of American Council of the Blind

American Council of the Blind

Alexandria, VA

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of University of Hawaii at Mānoa

University of Hawaii at Mānoa

Honolulu, HI

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of Montana Banana

Montana Banana

Seattle, WA

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of Parks Canada

Parks Canada

Ottawa, Ontario

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of Canadian Council of the Blind

Canadian Council of the Blind

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of National Parks UK

National Parks UK

London, England, United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales)

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of Royal National Institute of Blind People

Royal National Institute of Blind People

London, England, United Kingdom

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths & Adults

Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths & Adults

Brooklyn, NY

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of Blinded Veterans Association

Blinded Veterans Association

Alexandria, VA

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Washington, D.C.

In-Kind Services

Logo of Polytechnique Montreal

Polytechnique Montreal

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of Nigeria National Park Service

Nigeria National Park Service

Abuja, Nigeria

IN-KIND SERVICES

Logo of The Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center

Washington, D.C.

IN-KIND SERVICES

Research-and-Development Team

Profile photo of Brett Oppegaard
Brett Oppegaard

Principal Investigator

An Associate Professor in the UH School of Communications, Honolulu, HI

A smiling headshot of Joe Oppegaard, who has shaved blonde hair, brown frame glasses, a little bit of beard stubble, and a shirt with a collar.
Joe Oppegaard

Chief Technology Officer

Montana Banana, Seattle, WA

Profile photo of Michele Hartley
Michele Hartley

NPS Liaison

Media Accessibility Coordinator, Harpers Ferry Center, WV

Profile photo of Megan Conway
Megan Conway

Researcher

A Research and Accessibility Specialist at Helen Keller National Center, San Francisco, CA

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Thomas Conway

Researcher

Media Coordinator in the UH Center on Disability Studies, Honolulu, HI

Profile photo of Jo Lynn Bailey-Page
Jo Lynn Bailey-Page

ACB Liaison

Grants Manager at the American Council of the Blind, San Francisco, CA

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Dan Spoone

ACB Liaison

President of the American Council of the Blind Board of Directors, Orlando, FL

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Eric Bridges

ACB Liaison

Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind, Alexandria, VA

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Sajja Koirala

Research Assistant

Ph.D. Student at University of Hawai‘i Honolulu, HI

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Layla

Ms. Koirala's Assistant

Guide Dog at University of Hawai‘i Honolulu, HI

Christopher Patnoe
Christopher Patnoe

Google Liaison

EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) Lead for Accessibility and Disability Inclusion, Belsize Park, England, UK

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Beth Arnold

Research Assistant

Research Assistant / Intern in the Media Accessibility Coordinator's office, Harpers Ferry Center, WV

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Andreas Miguel

Research Assistant

Earned Master's Degree in Communication from University of Hawaii

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Andy Graydon

Sound Artist

Artist and Filmmaker, Boston, MA

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Ernst Karel

Sound Artist

A Sound Engineer, San Francisco, CA

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Eden Girma

Performance Artist

A multi-instrumental musician hailing from Madison, WI

Lily Meienburg
Lily Meienburg

NPS Intern

Intern in the Media Accessibility Coordinator's office, Harpers Ferry Center, WV

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Kyndra LoCoco

Google Liaison

Accessibility Partner and Community Programs Manager, Mountain View, CA

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Jason Kenison

Senior Programmer

Montana Banana, Seattle, WA

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Adrienne Biddings

Google Liaison

Policy Counsel, Google, Inc., Washington, D.C.

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Patricia Morrissey

Researcher

Director of the UH Center on Disability Studies, Honolulu, HI

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Chris Matthias

Senior Project Manager

Montana Banana, Seattle, WA

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Tyler Mendez-Guerrero

NPS Intern

Intern in the Media Accessibility Coordinator's office, Harpers Ferry Center, WV

Profile photo of Ashiyan Rahmani-Shirazi
Ashiyan Rahmani-Shirazi

Research Assistant

Ph.D. Candidate at University of Hawai‘i Honolulu, HI

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Miles Gordon

Research Assistant

Multimedia Developer at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Honolulu, HI

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Tuyet Hayes

Research Assistant

Ph.D. Student at University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI

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Sina Bahram

Consultant

President of Prime Access Consulting, Raleigh, NC

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Annie Leist

Consultant

Special Projects Lead at Art Beyond Sight, NY, NY

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Terence Rose

Research Assistant

Ph.D. Student at University of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI

Profile photo of Sean Zdenek
Sean Zdenek

Researcher

An Associate Professor at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

Profile photo of Marsha Matta
Marsha Matta

Graphic Designer

Freelance Graphic Designer, Vancouver, WA

Collaborators Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired













Thank you, ACB, HKNC, BVA, RNIB, and CCB Collaborators!

The American Council of the Blind, nationally and through its state chapters, the Helen Keller National Center, the Blinded Veterans Association, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (in the United Kingdom), and the Canadian Council of the Blind have been instrumental organizational supporters of our research-and-development efforts. They have contributed to The UniDescription Project in many ways, such as through helping with Descripathons, reviewing Audio Description, and testing Audio Description at U.S. National Park Service sites. As a recognition for the most-involved collaborators from these organizations, we especially want to thank these 100+ volunteers:

Melissa Allman
Debee Armstrong
Renee Arrington-Johnson
Natalie Barrett
Connie Bateman
Eric Bridges
Christina Brino
David Brun
Lynn Burnett
Karl Jason Calimag
Dawn Carello
Matt Carello
Lori Castner
Mary Castellano
Brian Charlson
Kim Charlson
Tonia Clayton
Bev Clifford
Victor Clifford
Susan Crawford
Cheryl Cumings
Kay Darden
Megan Dausch
Denise Decker
Chenier Derrick
Dan Dillon
Steve Dresser
Clarisse Durnell
Martha Espitia
Jonathan Finley
Carol Francisco
Zelda Gebhard
Maile George
Bob Geyer
Jamie Gibson-Barrows
Shawntina Gibson
Louise Gillis
John Glass
Susan Glass
James Gonsalves
Chris Gray
Gabe Griffeth
Pam Groswald
Debbie Grubb
Harvey Guary
Sheela Gunn-Cushman
Bob Hachey
Katia Hadjeb
Rae Hail
Chip Hailey
Sarah Harris
Lynn Hedl
Veronica Hernandez
Robyn Hughes
Betty Hunter
Sharon Ige
Peggy Ivie
Linda Jenkins
Cory Kadlik
Alva Kaneaiakala
Mike Keithley
Vickie Kennedy
Lynette Kersey
Perla Kohs
Sajja Koirala
Ralph Korosec
Laureen Kukino
Cindy LaBon
Lew Lasher
Samantha Rosa Leftwich
Carl Lewis
Vanessa Lowery
Sally Maguire
Jane Manley
Shirley Manning
Jolie Mason
Rich McCarthy
Michelle McGrew
Nicholas McNeill
David Meador
Tanja Milojevic
Rick Morin
Joy Nagata-Muranaka
Cecily Laney Nipper
Olivia Norman
Tom Osborn
Linda Porelle
Doug Powell
John Quarles
Clark Rachfal
Sudha Rajagopalam
Shana Ray
Nikki Richards
Joey Ruiz
Noel Runyon
Gina Russo
Gary Schoelerman
Pat Sheehan
Jonah Sniffen
Mita Solanki
Dan Spoone
Leslie Spoone
Tony Stephens
Corine Stanley
Jo Anne Stombaugh
Sheila Strong
Sheila Styron
Michael Talley
Laura Tanigawa
Loreen Theveny
Jeff Thom
David Trott
Rhonda Trott
Robb Turner
Alice Turner
Ernie Udo
Barry Vaughn
Frank Welte
Christina Weymouth
Beth White
Ruth Williams
Tanya Williams
Erika Wolf
Roger Womack
Sheila Young

Want to reach the UniD team?

Email the project's Principal Investigator, Brett Oppegaard, at University of Hawaii

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