Steve Dering

He/his

Accessibility Consultant and PhD researcher

Profoundly deaf since birth, Steve has worked for over 20 years across local government, private and third sector organisations. Since 2017, he has led the business development of accessibility consultancy Direct Access growing from a team of 2 to over 20 staff delivering facility audits and working with design teams on projects across Europe, the Middle East and North America.

Steve was the Accessibility Manager for the world exposition Expo 2020 Dubai and is currently seconded to West Coast Partnership, the shadow rail operator for HS2. He sits on the Greater Cambridgeshire Design Panel and the Global Leadership Council for the International Association of Access Professionals, for which he also holds certified Access Professional Built Environment (Advanced) status.

Steve’s doctoral research at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Disability Research is focused on accessibility of urban spaces and he regularly guest lectures on accessibility for Universities in the UK and North America.

Representation is important – Disability Power highlights people who are role models for the new generation

Q&A

Steve Dering

As a role model, what advice would you give a disabled person at the start of their career?

How has your work impacted the disabled community or raised awareness about disability issues?

What are your future goals or aspirations in your field or in disability advocacy?

What do you do to switch off and have fun?

What or who brings you joy?

Do you prefer dogs or cats?

What is the one thing you would change if you could?

What barriers do you think still need to be addressed to improve the lives of disabled people?

Useful links

Steve Dering

Areas of expertise

Accessibility, Architecture, Equality, Sign language (BSL)

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