The team behind your audit

Marissa Hirt is an Inclusive Marketing and Digital Accessibility Specialist with over seven years of experience across digital marketing and accessibility strategy. Having lived with a visual impairment since early childhood, her perspective deepened significantly following a rapid loss of vision three years ago.

In response, Marissa immersed herself in building new systems of independence, studying assistive technology, Braille, and adaptive skills through the Braille Institute. This period of personal transition became a professional turning point. She was selected for the inaugural Ascend program, a fellowship designed for disabled professionals, where she further developed her leadership and evolved her marketing expertise through the lens of lived experience.

Today, Marissa advises organizations on how to build more inclusive digital and physical experiences. She brings a rare combination of marketing strategy and first-hand accessibility insight, helping brands move beyond visual-first thinking toward more inclusive, multi-sensory approaches. Her work focuses on identifying barriers, improving user experience, and guiding organizations toward more authentic and accessible communication.

Marissa is also an active advocate within the disability community. She serves as President of the Orange County Chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and has represented the community at the AAPD Power on the Hill, engaging directly with policymakers to advance accessibility and disability rights.

Shana Kassel is a technology professional, educator, and accessibility advocate known for combining creative problem-solving with practical execution. As someone who is visually challenged, she approaches challenges with a “where there is a will, there is a way” mindset, applying adaptability across technical, legal, and advocacy environments.

She built her technical foundation at World Services for the Blind, where she earned her CompTIA A+ Certification and completed the Desktop Support Technician program. Her custom desktop design was selected as the model build for her class, requiring her to assemble complex hardware through tactile methods rather than sight. Shana later served as an IT Administrator and Instructor, developing curriculum to help visually challenged individuals build independence through hands-on, tactile approaches to technology.

In addition to her work with Accessibilities, she works as a Senior Client Intake Coordinator at a law firm, managing operations and supporting system functionality. She also serves as Vice President of the Orange County Chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, continuing her work in advocacy and community support.

Connie Cardona is a lived-experience accessibility tester specializing in low vision user evaluation. She has Stargardt disease, a genetic retinal condition that causes progressive central vision loss, and regularly relies on assistive technologies such as screen readers, magnification tools, and high-contrast settings.

Connie evaluates digital content under real-world conditions, uncovering barriers related to layout, readability, navigation, and visual clarity that are often missed by automated tools or purely technical reviews. Her testing reflects how people actually interact with digital environments, bringing critical insight into how accessibility issues impact usability in practice.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Connie is a passionate food lover who enjoys exploring the city’s restaurant scene and is especially excited to support her favorite local businesses in becoming more accessible.

Her contributions ensure that accessibility evaluations extend beyond baseline compliance, helping organizations deliver experiences that are not only technically accessible, but truly usable for individuals with low vision and other visual impairments.

Darren Gresham is an advocate, educator, and accessibility-focused entrepreneur with over 20 years of professional experience across a wide range of industries, and has traveled to more than 30 countries.

While many initially focus on his blindness, his career reflects a broad and diverse path, including roles in counseling, construction, and international education. Having been sighted until the age of 14, Darren brings a unique perspective shaped by experience in both sighted and blind communities. He has taught English abroad in Costa Rica and Morocco, using those experiences to challenge assumptions and demonstrate what is possible for individuals with disabilities in both educational and professional settings.

His work is grounded in a strong belief in raising expectations for blind individuals, their families, and society as a whole. He has seen firsthand how advancements in assistive technology, including built-in speech on smartphones and computers, as well as improvements in environmental design such as lighting, large print, and tactile features, have expanded access and independence for people with visual impairments around the world.

Through his global travels and lived experience, Darren has developed a deep understanding of how often people are judged at first glance, without consideration for their abilities or ambitions. This perspective continues to shape his approach to education, advocacy, and community engagement.

He is the founder of Blind Travels LLC, a company created to provide accessible, guided travel experiences for blind and visually challenged individuals. Through thoughtfully organized trips that include sighted assistance, the company focuses on delivering personalized, supportive travel opportunities that make cultural experiences more accessible and attainable.