Tawâw / Welcome

I am a passionate advocate for disability issues and social justice. I strive to raise awareness about ableism, discrimination, and accessibility issues through consultation, workshops and public speaking.

How can I help?

  • ACCESSIBILITY EXPERTISE

    Detailed recommendations and solutions to make spaces, special events websites, and digital content inclusive for all individuals.

  • TRAINING & WORKSHOPS

    Empowering inclusive environments through comprehensive accessibility and staff training.

  • KEYNOTE SPEAKER

    Zachary, delivers dynamic talks on accessibility and inclusion. With engaging storytelling, he shares personal experiences and best practices. Zachary's keynotes motivate change, tailored for diverse audiences, sparking inclusivity.

Educate. Advocate. Design.

Projects

The Katz Group received detailed recommendations on many aspects of the facility, such as stairways and ramps that had appropriate signage for wayfinding, restrooms equipped for those with disabilities, seating areas designed to be accessible to spectators of all abilities, player benches situated at the ice level, countertops that were compliant with accessibility requirements, hearing impairment devices for improved communication and the drop-off area for the Disabled Adults Transit Service on 104 Avenue.

Project
Rogers Place

Year
2012-2016

The Bill Black Auditorium at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital has played a vital role in providing a space for learning and celebration for staff, patients, caregivers, and the community for the past 50 years. The renovation of the auditorium supports increased accessibility and inclusivity for all users.

Project
Bill Black Auditorium

Year
2019

Freedom Tower is a 14-story compact high-rise comprised of 42 micro-suites. Each suite is barrier-free (wider doorways and hallways, turnarounds in the kitchen and wet bathrooms) and sustainable (inclusive to all incomes) through efficient floor space design. There is a woodworking shop in the basement that has a full-time custodian. The building comes with its own DATS-type bus and driver that is scheduled through an UBER-type app primarily for residents (another social enterprise here is where the revenue from the non-resident sharing of the bus pays into the operating fund). The ground floor has yet another social enterprise business in the form of a coffee shop. The second floor is operated as a co-work space for residents. And the third floor is a rehabilitation and physiotherapy gym (utilized by the UAlberta OT Department.)

Year
2021 - present

Project
Freedom Tower

Trusted by

Awards & Recognitions

  • The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal (Provincial) commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second to the Throne as Queen of Canada. While no national medal was created on this occasion, several Canadian provinces created their own Royal commemorative medal, uniform in design, scope and intent and aligned with previous national programs for such anniversaries. The medals are administered by the various provinces which created them, namely Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

  • Created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal was a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, this commemorative medal served to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians.

  • Rick Hansen wheeled through 34 countries to complete the Man In Motion World Tour. Since then, he and his team have been working tirelessly to raise awareness and funds for the Rick Hansen Foundation, which supports spinal cord injury research and helps build accessible communities for all. To commemorate the original Tour and celebrate the accomplishments of Canadians who are making a difference in their communities, the Rick Hansen Foundation retraced the Canadian portion of Rick’s original journey.

    The Foundation supports the two big dreams of Rick’s original Tour – the search for a cure for paralysis after spinal cord injury, and building accessible and inclusive communities.

  • The Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference brings together Canada's emerging leaders from business, labour, government, NGOs, education and the cultural sector for a unique two-week experience aimed at broadening their perspectives on work, leadership, their communities and their country.

Follow the journey.

  • As a Métis person, I acknowledge and am grateful to live, work, and play in the traditional meeting place of my ancestors from the Alexander reserve. I'm proud to share this land with the other diverse Indigenous peoples whose ancestors’ footsteps marked this land for centuries in Treaty 6, including the nêhiyaw (Cree), Dené, Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), Nakota Isga (Nakota Sioux), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) peoples, and the home of Métis Nation of Alberta Region 4. Treaty 6 is also the largest population of Inuit south of the 60th parallel.