Portland Accessibility and User Experience Meetup (PDX A11Y UX)

About

The Portland Accessibility and User Experience (PDX A11Y UX) Meetup addresses how to incorporate accessibility and universal design principles into project planning, user research, and UX evaluation. We are based in the Portland, Oregon metro area.

This meetup hosts an ongoing conversation about how to create in a way that is inclusive to the greatest number of people possible — meaning those with and without disabilities.

The accessibility conversation is timely around the world and locally in our Portland tech community. Some join the conversation to mitigate legal risks, others are motivated by social justice purposes, while many find that building accessibility early into a development lifecycle improves user experience.

PDX A11Y UX acts as a resource for Portland based companies and individuals interested in accessibility, universal design, and inclusive design. We encourage you to use the #PDXa11yUX hashtag for accessibility topics you are interested in seeing in the future with our group.

Upcoming Events

Subscribe to calendar (iCal feed)

You can also find our events on Portland's community tech calendar, Calagator.

Community-based event: Chronic Pain Project "Illuminating the Invisible" exhibit — August 17

Note: Rescheduled to Sunday, August 17th, due to a heat advisory on the original date.

Sunday, August 17th, 2025, 1:00pm–2:30pm; optional bike ride to the event at noon
In-person event
Location: Vancouver Community Library, 901 C St, Vancouver, WA 98660. Art exhibit is on the 3rd & 4th floors; discussion in Skamania meeting room, 4th floor.

"Illuminating the Invisible" is an art exhibit by the Chronic Pain Project at the Vancouver Community Library branch. The Chronic Pain Project is a local nonprofit "dedicated to raising awareness of the often-overlooked experience of living with chronic pain." The exhibit on display at the library was created by participants in the Chronic Pain Project and "the art created is a visual representation of their experience of pain intended to provoke conversation and promote understanding the wide variety of experiences people have with chronic pain." We'll meet with Janna Kimel, founder of the Chronic Pain Project (and PDX A11Y UX organizer emeritus), to discuss and view the exhibit.

The exhibit runs for all of July and August. If you can't make it to this event, check it out anytime the library is open!

Note: This is a community-based event that we feel our members may be interested in attending. This event is organized and run by a third-party, not PDX A11Y UX.

Agenda

1:00pm–2:30pm: View and discuss "Illuminating the Invisible" exhibit by the Chronic Pain Project. Exhibit is viewable anytime the library is open; artist reception begins at 1:00pm in the Skamania meeting room on the 4th floor.

For an optional bike ride to/from the event:

12:00pm: Meet at Multnomah County Library North Portland branch (512 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97217). At 12:15pm, leave on a group bike ride to the Vancouver library (led by Josh, PDX A11Y UX organizer). See the Shift calendar ride listing for more details.
1:15pm–1:30pm (estimated): Arrive at Vancouver library
3:00pm (estimated): Bike back to Portland
4:00pm (estimated): Return to the North Portland library

RSVP on Meetup

Learn and share: accessibility office hours and open forum — August 20

Wednesday, August 20, 2025, 5:30pm–7:30pm
In-person event
Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214. Find us on the back patio; look for our sign/table topper.

Come together for an evening of accessibility sharing and learning! We'd like to hear from you, whether you consider yourself a novice or an expert. Bring your questions, projects, or ideas to discuss as a group. Or, just bring yourself to connect with other accessibility-minded folks! We'll break into small groups if needed to cover different topics. Drop in or leave at any time.

Backup date in the event of heat wave etc: Tue Aug 26th