Radical Adaptation: True Tales of Grit, Purpose, and the Power of Possibility

*** This is a cross posting for the GRIT CITY THINK & DRINK @ 7SEAS series hosted by UW Tacoma. **** RSVP is not necessary, you can just show up!

Radical Adaptation: True Tales of Grit, Purpose, and the Power of Possibility
Ann Paradiso, Principal Designer, Microsoft Research
Tuesday, April 9, 2024, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
7 Seas Tacoma Brewery and Taproom (2101 Jefferson Ave)

Free, Live, Open to Everyone (family friendly)
Have a drink, eat some food, win prizes, and learn something new!
Join Ann Paradiso as she shares adventures from her tenure as Principal Design Manager for the Microsoft Enable Group, who from 2014 to 2020 led collaborative, cross-disciplinary initiatives aimed at revolutionizing technology and improving quality of life for people with profound disabilities. Embracing an ethos of service and co-design, her team collaborated closely with members of various disability communities to create innovations once deemed impossible. From enabling people with speech and mobility disabilities to play music or drive a wheelchair with just their eyes to empowering blind, first-time paddlers to navigate a kayak scavenger hunt using spatial audio, these stories showcase the transformative potential of inclusive design and purpose-driven collaborations to pave the way for radical adaptation in the face of adversity.
Ann Paradiso (she/her) is a Principal Research Designer at Microsoft Research and the founder and director of the Microsoft Hands Free Music Project. A firm believer in purpose-driven innovation, she believes in the power of combining community, compassion, and commitment to a higher purpose with creative combinations of technology and human-centered design to help break down the barriers erected by disease and disability.