In this episode of Investing in Accessibility, co-hosts Kelvin Crosby and Chris Maher sit down with Angela Lean, Senior Accessibility Program Lead at Microsoft, for a powerful conversation about turning disability into a true competitive advantage. Angela shares her lived experience of having a stroke at age 12, how her perspective shifted from “succeeding despite disability” to “succeeding because of it,” and why she now sees disability as a core asset in her life and work.

Angela walks us through her unconventional career path—from answering phones in Senator Tom Harkin’s office just after the ADA passed, to shaping accessibility and AI initiatives inside one of the world’s largest tech companies. She explains how Microsoft is using AI to support employees with disabilities, improve tools like screen readers and captioning, and build services such as the Enterprise Disability Answer Desk. The conversation digs into why accessibility is not a cost center but a massive market opportunity touching 1.5 billion people, how entrepreneurs can plug into Microsoft’s ecosystem, and how AI can personalize work so that disabled and non-disabled people can use the same tools on an equal footing. If you care about inclusive innovation, the future of work, or investing in accessibility as good business—not just good intentions—this episode is for you.

Links & Resources:

Angela Lean: LinkedIn

Microsoft Accessibility Support for Customers: Website

Microsoft Marketplace: Website (trusted source for cloud solutions, AI app, and agents)

The Huddle for Families: Website

COMING SOON!

American Sign Language (ASL) and Captioning for each episode will be provided on our YouTube channel. Go to handle @SamaritanPartners.

In this episode of Investing in Accessibility, co-hosts Kelvin Crosby and Chris Maher kick off the holiday season with something special: a recorded panel from the RALLY Innovation Conference in Indianapolis.

Moderated by Jennison Asuncion (Head of Accessibility Engineering Evangelism at LinkedIn and co-founder of Global Accessibility Awareness Day), this conversation brings together four leaders shaping the future of disability tech and digital accessibility:

• Chris Maher – Founder & General Partner at Samaritan Partners
• Molly Lazarus – Director of the Remarkable US Accelerator
• Kate Kalcevich – Head of Accessibility Innovation at Fable
• Michael Bervell – Co-founder & CEO of TestParty

Together, they explore why disability is not a niche market but a massive, underserved opportunity; how accelerators and impact VCs are backing founders building assistive and disability-focused tech; and why accessibility is both a moral imperative and a powerful business strategy. You’ll hear how human insight and lived experience combine with AI and automation to scale accessibility, what founders in this space commonly struggle with, and why “nothing about us without us” needs to be a non-negotiable design principle.

The panel also digs into:

• The growing legal and regulatory landscape, including lawsuits and global accessibility laws
• How accessibility features like captions and curb cuts become mainstream advantages
• The travel industry and other sectors waking up to the economic power of disabled consumers and their families
• The promise and risks of AI in accessibility, and why inclusive leadership at the top matters

If you’re an investor, founder, product leader, or just curious about how innovation and inclusion intersect, this episode will challenge how you think about accessibility and show why now is the time to invest in change, not wait for it.

Links & Resources:

RALLY Innovation: Website

Jennison Asuncion: LinkedIn / GAAD: Website

Molly Lazarus: LinkedIn / Remarkable Accelerator: Website

Kate Kalcevich: LinkedIn / Fable: Website

Michael Bervell: LinkedIn / TestParty: Website

COMING SOON!

American Sign Language (ASL) and Captioning for each episode will be provided on our YouTube channel. Go to handle @SamaritanPartners.

In this episode, co-hosts Kelvin Crosby and Chris Maher welcome a very special guest: Chris’s oldest daughter, Charlotte Maher—an EMT-turned-emergency management professional whose life with spastic hemiplegia has forged extraordinary resilience. Charlotte shares early memories (and family stories) of therapies, leg and back braces, and the infamous “constraint camp,” then traces how those experiences shaped her confidence, leadership, and service mindset.

Charlotte takes us inside life on an EMS crew, the power of teamwork-based accommodations, and why inclusive planning isn’t a nice-to-have in crises—it’s table stakes. Fresh from FEMA’s Emergency Management Basic Academy, Charlotte demystifies tactical project management, whole-community planning, and accessible communications—closed captions, ASL, multilingual alerts, and more. This warm, funny father–daughter conversation delivers practical insights on designing for everyone, building resilient systems, and picking yourself up and dusting yourself off to keep moving forward.

Links & Resources:

Charlotte Maher: LinkedIn

GWU Campus Safety: Website

FEMA: Website

COMING SOON!

American Sign Language (ASL) and Captioning for each episode will be provided on our YouTube channel. Go to handle @SamaritanPartners.