AccessComputing at the Tapia Celebration in Washington, DC

Brianna Blaser, DO-IT Staff
AccessComputing Co-PI Stacy Branham talking with other participants.

The first in-person Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Celebration since 2019 was held September 7 – 9 in Washington, DC. Although there are still ongoing barriers to travel and meeting, AccessComputing was excited for the opportunity to gather with many in our community.

The first full-day of Tapia was kicked off with a keynote by AccessComputing co-PI Stacy Branham titled Hello, World! I Have a Disability. There were at least six other disability or accessibility-related sessions and for the first time, AccessComputing held a reception for our community members.

AccessComputing co-PI  Elaine Short (Tufts) served as scholarship chair and AccessComputing co-PI Raja Kushalnagar served as deputy accessibility chair.

AccessComputing partners Patricia Ordonez (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), Stephanie Ludi (University of North Texas,) and Sam Rebelsky (Grinnell College) and team members Vincent Martin and Heriberto Acosta-Maestre were also part of the organizing committee.

The Tapia Celebration provides a great opportunity to connect with mentors, network across computing educators and employers, and learn about diversity in computing.  We look forward to seeing our community at the 2023 Tapia Celebration in Dallas, TX next September.