Submitted by Basil DiFrancesco
I did not start my career with accessibility in mind. For most of my professional life, I have centered my work on the belief that happy employees create successful companies. The foundation of that relationship should be built on trust and honest communication. That belief still holds true for me.
However, I didn’t know how to narrow that to a specific focus. I thought it would take shape by joining an employee engagement team and working my way up. I also had a passion for exposing the torturous cost of education and countless barriers people face just to learn, grow, and build a career. I knew I wanted to help people, but I hadn’t yet realized the role accessibility plays in it all.
For someone with ADHD, the traditional pathways to learning and professional success are anything but straightforward. I often felt like the systems I was navigating weren’t built for how I process information or manage my time. I’ve always worked hard, but often felt like I had to either work around everything or work harder than my peers. I kept adapting myself to structures that weren’t designed with me in mind. It was exhausting. And for a long time, I assumed that was just how it had to be. That I was always stuck three or four steps behind my peers, especially when it came to how and when to communicate.
After years in the retail space, I moved into learning and development. As a facilitator, I worked on developing different ways to conduct training in support of our teams as we expanded globally. I learned about business decisions that created barriers for those who learned similarly to the way that I did. I wanted to have a great impact, by not only advocating but by becoming a decision-maker.
I earned my Master’s degree in Human Resource Management and the PHR certification. These were huge stepping stones that helped me get into the role I’m in today. I had the opportunity to attend the ATD conference in Washington, D.C, in May 2025, where I connected the dots to everything I’d been feeling and observing.
In a session on coaching neurodivergent employees, I had an unexpected moment of clarity: it wasn’t just about how to support others, it was about realizing how I could support myself. For the first time, I saw that I wasn’t broken or behind. I just hadn’t had access to the right tools, systems, or expectations. Then, I attended Sarah Mercier’s session on using AI to support accessibility, where I discovered the concept of universal design. That was the epiphany. This wasn’t a side topic or a nice-to-have. Accessibility was the focal point. It was the missing piece that tied together my passion for inclusive workplaces, my lived experience with ADHD, and my belief in equitable access to learning and growth.
Now, I’m focused on learning and growing as much as I can, being 1% better every day, and helping to build systems that work for more people from the start. Accessibility work is not something I stumbled into. It’s something I recognized in myself and in others and finally named for what it is: essential. Because when we design for access from the beginning, we don’t just help people survive. We help them belong and thrive.
One Thing You Can Do Right Away
Take a moment to talk with your manager, colleagues, or direct reports about how you communicate. Clarify what tools (like email vs. Teams) are best for which types of messages, and when it’s okay to ask questions right away versus waiting. Clear communication boundaries are a simple, powerful step toward a more accessible and productive workplace.
Basil DiFrancesco is a Seattle-based HR and learning and development leader passionate about building strong cultures where equity, belonging, and accessibility are woven into everyday work. They believe workplaces thrive when systems adapt to the people they serve, not the other way around.
You can connect with Basil on LinkedIn to share ideas, stories, and ways to create more human-centered, inclusive workplaces.