Raghavendra Satish Peri is a digital accessibility evangelist working at Deque Systems as Senior Accessibility Consultant breaking web accessibility & mobile accessibility challenges. He authors an Accessibility Blog & is galvanizing the adoption of accessibility by inspiring the local tech community with meetups and mentorship. He propelled this thought by founding HelloA11y, a community of accessibility professionals, developers and enthusiasts. When away from his computer, Raghava can be found at local cafes & restaurants sampling cuisines, attending local meetups, listening to audio books or writing on his Personal Blog. Raghavendra Satish Peri also helps small business & individuals with Digital Marketing Trainings & SEO consulting… He has been building websites & doing SEO Consulting for more than 14years.
My personal story
I was 19 when I started looking out for a job. I knocked on the doors of many MNCs and gave interviews but I was not offered a job. Not because I didn’t have the skills, but because I was and am visually impaired. The obvious reason was that the teams which interviewed me did not have any sensitization on disabilities & rejected me on various grounds. I was faced with a big question mark about my career and my independent lifestyle.
It was during one of those days that I stumbled into the world of web marketing by chance. I was at a friend’s place & saw him designing websites. We had an interesting conversation wherein he mentioned to me that we could make money from the internet. Apart from money, this conversation moved my attention to the internet as a plethora of possibilities. This was when I learned how to design websites using Dreamweaver & taught myself SEO-Search Engine Optimization.
When you have leaps and jumps, life gives you a stoppage. This was what I realized after two years of my venture into web designing. By 2008 I lost a considerable amount of my eyesight and this provided that stoppage to the dream of web designing. Not that loss of sight alone was a problem, but the design platforms themselves were inaccessible to me. This posed another challenging time in my career and a driver that forced me to focus on digital space more as an accessibility consultant.
In 2009, I joined IBM as a web accessibility consultant and moved to Bangalore. I stayed there for 4.5 years where I learned and contributed to making the digital spaces inclusive. This was the same time and place there where lot I could connect with of individuals through events like @ideasmaverick @dhempe. This not only boosted my level of knowledge in different aspects of online businesses and marketing but also many identified my skills and provided me a platform to share my knowledge. As a result of all the wonderful connections I made, I spoke at conferences and gave guest lectures in various colleges. I studied more about entrepreneurship by observing and hanging out with other entrepreneurs in Bangalore & became part of various startup & technology events, I regularly contributed my knowledge and helped various startups with their web marketing initiatives. To know more on my speaking engagements, visit this page.
In this modern digital era where challenges are more, I realized that a multifaceted approach towards my career in digital space was the key. So I worked and improved more and more on digital accessibility and online marketing. IN the year 2014, I moved back to Hyderabad and became a senior digital accessibility consultant at Deque Software.
This is where I am rooted now and have been trying to make the digital platforms a user friendly place for all user groups. In the accessibility space, I went on to do global certifications. Now, I am a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA). Also, I felt the need for sharing the knowledge on accessibility with the global community. Thus was born my accessibility blog www.digitala11y.com and a community initiative HelloA11y at www.helloa11y.com.
Amidst this a11y journey, I never stopped my online marketing quest. Occasionally I have done some consulting projects that are challenging and involve myself more in digital marketing training for individuals & business owner’s.
Now, who am I in the world of internet? I am IAAP CPWA Certified Digital Accessibility Specialist, Digital Marketing Consultant, Trainer & Speaker. I am one who looks forward to working with more, individuals, organizations and their challenges.
