Ensuring Engagement for All: How to Improve Social Media Accessibility

Priya Bates is an award-winning professional communicator with a passion for driving strong performance from the inside out. As President and owner of Inner Strength Communication, Priya builds strategic internal communication, engagement, branding and transformational change plans that enable, engage and empower employees to deliver business results. Her clients include organizations and leaders across technology, retail, financial, healthcare, mining and manufacturing sectors looking to build strategic internal communication expertise. Priya is also a co-founder for A Leader Like Me, an empowering community driving global diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging through communication, conversation, courage and confidence. Her upcoming book on "Building a Culture of Inclusivity: Effective Internal Communication for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" was released in June. Priya is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) and was proud to become one of the first Certified Strategic Communication Management Professionals (SCMP) in the world. In 2010, she received the Master Communicator (MC) designation, the highest honor bestowed upon a communication professional from IABC Canada. In 2016, she was recognized as an IABC Fellow, a global lifetime achievement award for her contribution to the profession.  Priya is also a passionate volunteer with the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and is proud to have led the organization’s successful global rebranding effort.

Emily Lucht joined the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation (USNA AA&F) in May of 2022 as director of digital communications. She serves USNA midshipmen and alumni who are/were in the Navy and Marine Corps. Her team creates and manages accessible digital content including social media, video, e-newsletters and more, while ensuring messages reach the whole alumni community and all social media followers. She served the State of Maryland for seven years in roles including director of communications with the Department of Housing and Community Development, communications and media specialist with the Center for School Safety, and digital engagement coordinator with the Department of Emergency Management. She was responsible for creating and updating accessible social media content, including video, graphic, audio and visual designs. She managed/maintained accessible website content, agency branding and outreach campaigns found on all digital platforms. Before/during emergencies, she trained PIOs on the creation of accessible digital content in the State Joint Information Center and in FEMA classrooms. She's passionate about ensuring digital media is accessible to people with and without disabilities. She’s an international speaker and won Government Social Media’s 2020 Golden Post Award for “Social Media Leadership.” She served on GSM Council in 2021-22 as the Northeast representative.