Najia Sabir

About Najia Sabir

Accessibility is systems thinking disguised as empathy.Najia is Hyatt\'s Principal Accessibility Specialist on the Digital team. As a Principal, she is responsible for guiding the organization towards digital accessibility conformance to include ADA, WCAG, Section 508, AODA, EAA, and more!Previously, Najia served as the Accessibility Director at Management Concepts, where she led efforts to ensure Section 508/504 and ADA compliance throughout product development lifecycle. She successfully streamlined the company\'s workflow for accessible design and development practices and supported the upskilling of designers and developers.As a former Ph.D. candidate and associate instructor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University – Bloomington, Najia taught collegiate courses at Indiana University while pursuing her academic pursuits. Her research interests include professional learning, educator empowerment and techquity, global education and collaboration, and accessible gamification design. Najia\'s passion for education was ignited during her formative years as an AmeriCorp K12 teacher in California and while teaching and developing curricula abroad in South Korea and India. She has over 10 years of teaching experience and a strong interest in systemic educational transformative reform. She completed her M.A. in International Education from George Washington University, where she focused on educational media, with a regional emphasis on South and East Asia.Apart from researching accessible design practices, Najia serves as a peer-reviewer for a couple journals, including Multicultural Perspectives, FIRE, ICT4D, Higher Education Studies, and World Journal on Educational Technology. She also mentors her peers and participates on conference planning committees and organization boards.In her leisure time, Najia enjoys settling down with a book or going on a hike with her companion.

Experience

1. Principal Accessibility Specialist

   Hyatt

   Mar 2023 — Present · Chicago, IL, US

   Drive a corporate-level accessibility strategy for the Digital organization.* Provide big-picture strategy alongside hands-on program management (governance, reporting, compliance, execution).* Serve as a trusted advisor to product leaders on accessibility risks, opportunities, and client impact.* Work with senior leaders to advocate for and negotiate accessibility prioritization in the design and development lifecycle.* Coordinate, influence, and embed accessibility into other teams’ workflows and standards.* Serve as a trusted advisor to product and business leaders on accessibility decisions.* Build dashboards, report results to leadership, and participate in governance structures at the VP level.* Ensure alignment of digital products with U.S.(ADA, Section 508) and global (EU Accessibility Act) accessibility requirements.* Provide governance oversight for accessibility programs and initiatives.* Serve as a subject-matter expert on accessibility best practices, including WCAG, to provide internal guidance to teams.* Lead accessibility reviews, audits, and testing across digital products.* Integrate accessibility into the design and engineering lifecycle (e.g, design system standards, QA processes).* Partner with UX and research teams to ensure inclusive research practices.* Support accessibility integration within product roadmaps and delivery models.* Drive adoption of self-service accessibility tools and training for product teams.* Champion accessibility awareness across the organization through training and workshops.* Support vendor partnerships and procurement efforts to ensure accessibility is prioritized early.

Education

• Indiana University Bloomington

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Instructional Systems Technology

  2012 — 2020

• Rochester Institute of Technology

  Certificate in CAD 3D, Computer Aided Design and Animation

  2003 — 2004

• UC Irvine

  Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Physics

  2006 — 2010

• The George Washington University

  Master of Arts (M.A.), International and Comparative Education

  2011 — 2012

Skills

• Educational Technology
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Globalization
• Teaching
• Spss
• Technological Innovation
• Project Management
• Student Counseling
• Curriculum Development
• Online Research
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Strategic Planning
• Stem
• Microsoft Word
• Resume Writing
• International Education
• Program Management
• Research Design
• Public Speaking
• Qualitative Research
• Curriculum Design
• Information Technology
• Proposal Writing
• Linux
• Learning Management Systems
• Higher Education
• Career Development
• Teaching English as a Second Language
• Inquiry-Based Learning
• Adult Education
• Educational Leadership
• Microsoft Office
• Sas Programming
• Social Media
• Teacher Training
• Tutoring
• Policy Analysis