Director | Faculty | Staff and PhD students | affiliated Researchers |Former Staff and Alumni| Collaborators | Funders

This page lists information about our amazing faculty, staff, collaborators, and funders.

Director

Dr. Amy Hurst

Associate Professor, Integrated Design & Media (IDM), Tandon School of Engineering / Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy (OT), Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. (She/Her)

Amy Hurst works closely with end users to understand accessibility challenges and the potential for novel assistive technologies to address them. She has been working in accessibility research since 2001, and is interested in how to empower others to “DIY” and build their own assistive technologies through designing accessible tools or training materials for digital fabrication machines. She has a doctorate in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon and a joint appointment in the Occupational Therapy Department and the Technology, Culture and Society Department.

Faculty

Gus Chalkias

Gus Chalkias wearing a maroon shirt with the East River and Brooklyn skyline in the background.

Adjunct Instructor, Integrated Design & Media, Tandon School of Engineering (He/Him)

Gus Chalkias is an assistive Technology Specialist with nearly twenty years of experience in the field. He is a graduate of Hunter College, earning Master’s degrees in both Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling. He began his work in assistive technology at the Computer Center for Visually Impaired People at Baruch college in 2001 and ran the Demo Center project there from its inception in 2009. He currently works for Helen Keller Services for the Blind as Program Director of Assistive Technology Services. Over the course of his career, Gus has developed a number of training programs for both pre-vocational students as well as vocationally oriented clients. These programs include working with both Windows and Mac operating systems as well as for many mobile platforms, using various types of assistive technology. He teaches the Looking Forward course on blindness related assistive technology at New York University through the Ability Project, which he created and developed. Starting summer 2019, he taught the assistive technology course for the TVI (Teacher of the Visually Impaired) and VRT (Vision Rehabilitation Therapy) programs at Hunter College. Gus currently sits on the advisory board of the Hunter College Rehabilitation Counseling Program, and more recently gave the Key Note at the 2019 Annual NYS AER conference in Syracuse, NY. Gus teaches Looking Forward.

Holly Cohen

Headshot of Holly Cohen against a gray background

Adjunct Instructor, Rusk Rehabilitation, Langone Health. (She/Her)

Holly Cohen OTR/L, ATP, SCEM, CDRS is an occupational therapist and assistive technology practitioner at Rusk Rehabilitation and teaches Rehabilitation courses at NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Occupational Therapy.

Dr. Luke Dubois

Ability Project Co-Founder / Associate Professor, Integrated Design & Media (IDM), Tandon School of Engineering. (He/Him)

Luke DuBois is a composer, artist, and performer who explores the temporal, verbal, and visual structures of cultural and personal ephemera. He holds a doctorate in music composition from Columbia University, and has lectured and taught worldwide on interactive sound and video performance. He has collaborated on interactive performance, installation, and music production work with many artists and organizations including Toni Dove, Todd Reynolds, Jamie Jewett, Bora Yoon, Michael Joaquin Grey, Matthew Ritchie, Elliott Sharp, Michael Gordon, Maya Lin, Bang on a Can, Engine 27, Harvestworks, and LEMUR, and was the director of the Princeton Laptop Orchestra for its 2007 season.

REGINE GILBERT

Headshot of Regine Gilbert smiling against white background wearing a black shirt.

Industry Assistant Professor, Integrated Design & Media, Tandon School of Engineering. (She/Her)

Regine Gilbert is a user experience designer, educator, and international public speaker with over 10 years of experience working in the technology arena. She has a strong belief in making the world a more accessible place—one that starts and ends with the user. Regine is Visiting Industry Assistant Professor at NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, teaching User Experience Design to students in the Integrated Design & Media Program. In 2020, Regine’s first book, ‘Inclusive Design for a Digital World: Designing with Accessibility in Mind (Design Thinking) will be released through Apress publishing. Regine teaches Looking Forward.

Allan Goldstein

Headshot of Allan Goldstein in a gray shirt with black vest in front of a window.

Senior Lecturer, in Technology Culture and Society, Tandon School of Engineering. (He/Him)

NYU Tandon School of Engineering Senior Lecturer Allan B. Goldstein connects student innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs with community members living with disabilities in his experiential Disabilities Studies course. A core course for the NYU cross-school Disability Studies minor, and the subject of the award-winning documentary The Ability Exchange, student/consultant teams create person-centered digital stories. Goldstein, the older sibling and guardian of a survivor of the notorious Willowbrook State School, explores with his personal experience writing the social barriers impeding an inclusive society. He has received NYU Tandon’s 2012 Jacobs Excellence in Education award, the 2016-17 NYU Martin Luther King, Jr. award and the 2018-19 NYU Distinguished Teaching Award. WPIX featured him as a Changemaker and the Chronicle of Higher Education included him on its inaugural list of teaching innovators.

Daniel ryan johnston

Adjunct Faculty (2022-present), ITP Interactive Media Arts (IMA) (He/They)

Daniel Ryan Johnston is a Brooklyn-based queer textile artist, accessibility researcher, and creative technologist. Mixing a love of creepy puppets, wearable technology, and machine embroidery sculpture, Daniel’s work explores personal experiences with managing mental health, body image, and psoriatic arthritis. Daniel’s research consists of multi-sensory design, tactile design, and assistive tools for hard and soft fabrication. Daniel teaches Intro to Wearables: Adorning the Head and Face for Communication within ITP’s Interactive Media Arts BFA.

Stefanie Koseff

A white woman with grey-streaked curly short hair wearing glasses and a black shirt with bright green trees in the background.

Accessibility Researcher & Adjunct Faculty, Integrated Design & Media (IDM), Tandon School of Engineering. (she/her)

Stefanie Koseff is a recent graduate of IDM and pleased to be able to continue her work in accessibility. While at IDM, she developed a technique for creating tactile interpretations of historical textiles using digital embroidery. Her current research focuses on making digital fabrication accessible and accessibility as creative practice.

Dr. Anita Perr

Anita Perr in front of colorful wall.

Ability Project Co-Founder / Clinical Professor, Occupational Therapy (OT), Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. (She/her)

Anita Perr, PhD, ATP, FAOTA, is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. Anita uses collaborative teaching to encourage students to explore the best ways to approach clinically relevant issues. Her extensive clinical experience informs her classroom teaching. Students appreciate the problem-based, practical nature of her courses. Anita teaches and helped develop the Developing Assistive Technologies, and Museum Accessibility classes.

Marianne Petit

Ability Project Co-Founder / Arts Professor, Interactive Technologies Program (ITP), Tisch School of the Arts. (She/Her)

Marianne Petit has been teaching classes in assistive technology since 2003. As a full-time faculty member at ITP, Marianne, in collaboration with Anita Perr, initiated a cooperation between ITP and Steinhardt OT, leading collaborations with many organizations, including Montefiore Children’s Hospital. Having received funding for several years (2005-2009) from the Nathan Cummings Foundation to support student projects for deployment into clinical sites, Anita and Marianne finally found a home for their multidisciplinary classes within the Ability Project. Marianne has taught and developed the graduate level course, Developing Assistive Technologies, as well as “Introduction to Assistive Technology” and “Adapting Everyday Items” on the undergraduate level.

Lauren Race

Lauren Race sitting at a desk wearing a black shirt and pink glasses, with her head propped up with her hand

Adjunct Faculty, Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP); Accessibility Researcher (2020 – present); Research Fellow (2019 – 2020) ITP, Tisch School of the Arts. (She/Her)

Lauren Race is an accessibility designer, researcher, and educator, working in academia and industry. Her process combines human-centered, multisensory, and co-design methods to remove barriers to information access in both formal and informal learning environments. She earned her master’s from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) and currently teaches Multisensory Design at ITP.

Beth Rosenberg

Headshot of Beth Rosenberg in an office.

Adjunct Faculty, Technology Culture and Society, (Tandon School of Engineering), and Founder/Executive Director of TechKids Unlimited. (She/Her)

Beth Rosenberg is the Founder/Executive Director of Tech Kids Unlimited (TKU), a non-profit empowering neurodiverse students (ages 10 to 24) with essential tech and social skills for work-based learning. TKU is offered both in-person at The Ability Project and online. Immersed in the disability community she advocates for the inclusion of individuals disabilities in all aspects of life, emphasizing the crucial integration of technology. She’s an Adjunct Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, with a background in Educational Technology and Art History. With over three decades of educational experience, she previously held key roles at Eyebeam Center for Art & Technology and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Blair Simmons

Blair sitting on the ground, holding a cellphone and laughing in front of a dappled grey photography background.

Arts Professor, ITP, NYU Tisch school of Arts. (any)

I am a queer and anxious artist, curator, researcher, storyteller, and technician working in as many mediums as will have me. I enjoy exploring themes of technology, labor, bodies, and pain. In my making and iterative process, I often need to move both quickly and carefully, in a race against time as my own chronically pain-ridden body shuts down. My physical process of making mimics the daily pain of working and labor: warping, distorting, grinding and wearing down. My pieces are both critical of and dependent on technology, mirroring the ways technology can be a solution to my chronic pain, and the source of the pain itself. I am currently teaching at the Interactive Media Arts and Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. My research often materializes as objects and performances which have been performed at the likes of Pioneer Works, La Mama’s CultureHub, Wordhack at Babycastles, theBlanc and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I have been mentioned in publications like PARtake, The Scotsman, USA Today, The Guardian, NYTimes, etc.

Current Staff and PhD students

Chloe Adkins

Integrated Media and Design M.S. student, Tandon School of Engineering (2024-present), Ability Project Graduate Accessibility Researcher (2024-present). (she/they)

Tami Altschuler

Rehabilitation Science PhD student (2023-present). (she/her)

Tami Altschuler, MA, CCC-SLP, is a Rehabilitation Sciences PhD student with 21 years of experience as a speech-language pathologist. She works as a Clinical Specialist in Patient-Provider Communication at NYU Langone Medical Center, leading initiatives to include communication as standard patient care. Tami is a co-organizer of the Patient-Provider Communication Network and has served on the USSAAC (United States Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication) Board of Directors. She is a published author and lecturer at the national and international level with her research focusing on healthcare disparities faced by individuals with communication disabilities. She aims to explore and address the stigmas and ableism that impact healthcare equity through participatory action research.

Apoorva Avadhana

A grayscale Picture of Apoorva who has long wavy black hair and is wearing a scarf around her neck

ITP Research Resident, (2024-present) Ability Project Graduate Accessibility Researcher (2022-2024), ITP, NYU Tisch school of Arts. (she/her)

Apoorva is a Brooklyn-based neuro-divergent experimental researcher working on grassroots innovation, bridging the mismatches in people’s capabilities and the environment/product/platform they interact with. She has professional experience as a UX researcher and Accessibility SME. She has a B.Des in Human Centered Design(HCD) and an MPS in Interactive Telecommunications(NYU ITP) and, has gained badges and led workshops and trainings in Accessibility and Corporate Design Thinking Frameworks. ITP led her to ‘experimental research’, A research design practice that involves ‘making’ as rapid and iterative low-scale prototyping’ to collect, test, and synthesize information for actionable insights. She is a research resident at NYU ITP for the Ability Project. Herein, she is working with ml5.js to research applications of AI x Art x A11y, HeartShare to improve adaption methodologies, Level the Curve where she designs 3D printable assistive gripping tools, and the Ability Project where she is evaluating the accessibility within design methodologies.

nina li

Ability Project Research Assistant (2024-present), IMA, NYU Tisch School of Arts (she/her)

I am a second-year student at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Interactive Media Arts and Computer Science. I am passionate about creating artwork using emerging technologies and centering my focus on Design Accessibility, User Experience, Physical Computing, and Human-Computer Interaction.

Alex Parent

Rehabilitation Science PhD Student (2024-present), Steinhardt, (he/him/his)

He completed his Masters education in User Experience Design at the University of Toronto. His Bachelors education was in Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies from the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, also at the University of Toronto. Alex views disability perspectives as imperative for a more-justice oriented future – and he seeks to help bring about enabling technologies to help that future become reality. Outside of time spent in the Ability Project, Alex enjoys singing, curating his music library and finding Manhattan restaurants to become a regular at.

Gaurav Seth

Brown man with dark hair and a light beard wearing a grey sweater over a white shirt.

Rehabilitation Science PhD Student (2022-present), Steinhardt, (he/him/his)

Gaurav Seth is a Rehabilitation Sciences PhD student. Prior to joining NYU, he completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Biomedical Technology from IIT (BHU), India. He is primarily interested in the origin and control of complex, coordinated movements and their deviation from normalcy due to disease or injury. Being an engineer by passion and education, Gaurav hopes to develop more effective rehabilitation interventions to assist in or restore normal motor functioning in the differently-abled population. Loves Chai!

Affiliated Researchers

Dr. Cheryl Fogle-Hatch

Ability Project Affiliate (2022 – present). (She/her)

Dr. Cheryl Fogle-Hatch founded MuseumSenses LLC, a consulting business that helps museums design multi sensory exhibits for everyone, regardless of their visual acuity. Selected clients include the Intrepid Museum, Macculloch Hall Historical Museum in Morristown N.J., and the Peale Museum in Baltimore, MD. Dr. Cheryl Fogle Hatch believes that designing exhibits with tactile and audio components creates an integrated experience for all visitors. She earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of New Mexico where she taught 100 and 200-level undergraduate courses in anthropology. She has designed and led hands-on science activities for high school students in programs run by the National Federation of the Blind. She is an affiliated researcher with the New York University Ability project where she consults with faculty and mentors’ students.

Dr. WILLIE PAynE

Ability Project Affiliate (2023 – present), Assistant Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, Music Technology PhD, Steinhardt (graduated in 2023) (he/him)

Willie studies how technology can facilitate creative expression and open pathways for people to express themselves on their own terms. He is currently co-designing accessible musical instruments and creative coding environments alongside artists and learners who use them. Willie holds degrees in Music Composition (BM) and Computer Science (BS/MS) from CU Boulder and works as an Accessible Music Technology Fellow at the Filomen M D’Agostino Greenberg (FMDG) Music School.

Spandita Sarmah

Photo of Spandita, smiling, standing in a park in front of a tree that has red leaves

Ability Project Affiliate (2023 – present), Ability Project Graduate Assistant (2021-2023), IDM Graduate (2023), (she/her).

Spandita is a present NYU IDM graduate student and an experienced design technologist. Her work has emphasized on human computer interaction and assistive technology. Most recently, she has been focusing on researching ways to make computer usage easier for people with physical disabilities. She designed and developed an application that could use gestures to feed input to computers. At present, she is working on making tactile maps to improve navigation in public spaces for people with visual impairments.

Former Staff and Alumni

Michelle Binyan Xu

Research Resident, ITP, NYU Tisch School of Arts (She/her)

Michelle Binyan Xu is currently a 2023/2024 NYU ITP Research Resident.Michelle’s research focuses on Textile Interfaces, wearable technology, motion capture, and accessibility in extended reality (XR).Her research specifically explores how soft interfaces can enhance technology engagement, especially for seniors and children.

Yuhua cao

Long Black hair Asian female in a black suit.

Ability Project Graduate Assistant (2022-2024), IDM, NYU Tandon school of Engineering . (she/her)

I’m Yuhua Cao, pursuing a Master’s at NYU, where I specialize in accessibility design, UX research, and AI. My passion lies in creating inclusive design solutions that enhance user experiences. I’ve dedicated myself to projects that make technology accessible and meaningful, particularly in educational settings for the visually impaired. My journey has been shaped by a commitment to innovation, leveraging my skills in design tools and programming to develop intuitive user interfaces and impactful digital experiences.

viviana del toro

Viviana with black wavy long hair wearing white and grey patchwork sleeveless shirt is smiling while facing the camera

Ability Project Graduate Assistant (2022-2024), IDM, NYU Tandon school of Engineering. (she/her)

My name is Viviana Del Toro, and I’m a first year IDM graduate assistant at the ability lab! Currently I’m working with ADA (adaptive design association) and the ability project working on multiple projects using my technical skills! My background is in game design and development and I hope to use my coding skills to create accessible emerging technology.

Maxine DeLuca

Ability Project Research Assistant (2024), IMA, NYU Tisch School of Arts (she/her)

I’m a practical and logical undergrad Interactive Media Arts student from Manhattan who is an aspiring UX designer and Art Director. I have a background in visual arts and digital media, and I have experience in Adobe Programs and coding. As a fellow member of the autism spectrum, I hope to become a positive impact in serving people alike to me and others.

Angie (Hojung) Kim

Asian female in her 20s with black long straight hair wearing a greyish brown jacket, smiling in front of the camera

Ability Project Graduate Assistant (2022-2024), ITP, NYU Tisch school of Arts (she/her)

Angie is always passionate about collaboration, innovation, problem-solving, and human-centered design. In recent years, She has been working on Product Design, UI/UX design, and Immersive experience design projects. She is primarily interested in Assistive Technology to help enhance literacy and non-visual communication between humans and computers. With her research and Design skills, Angie hopes to develop more effective ways to assist people to have a better-connected life.

Verónica Alfaro Arias

headshot of Veronica Alfaro smiling

Ability Project Affiliate (2021-2023), Ability Project Research Fellow (2020-2021), Accessibility Researcher, and Design Technologist. (She/her)

Verónica Alfaro Arias is a Design Technologist who works in the intersection between Accessibility and Healthcare through the fields of Human-Centered Design, UX/UI Design, and Information Visualization. She is passionate about the use of technology and design for social good and strives to create projects that serve as conversation starters around ethics in Tech. Her most recent work focuses on the design of frameworks for developing customizable Assistive Technologies for people with disabilities and reimagining the use of technology and design to improve the relationship between patients and providers as part of her work in the HiBRID lab at NYU Langone Health.

Themis García Cádiz

Ability Project Research Fellow (2021-2022). (She/Her)
Themis García Cádiz (she/her) is a designer, researcher, and hands-on prototyper.Her recent research has focused on alternative and playful kinesthetic experiences for children, employing machine learning and augmented reality technologies.As a designer, she has worked on affordable parametric insurance for farmers, and a community-driven website for the ITP/IMA Code of Conduct project, emphasizing community participation.Themis is passionate about creating experiences that support, enhance and care for our relationships with our ecologies. Accessibility and inclusivity are at the core of her principles as a designer.Themis holds a Master’s Degree from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, as well as a BA in Humanities from the University of Puerto Rico.

Dr. Claire Kearney-Volpe

Ability Project Affiliate, Rehab Science PhD graduate, and former Research Fellow (She/Her)

Dr. Claire Kearney-Volpe, is an art therapist, researcher, designer and maker interested in the participatory development of technologies for promoting health and well-being.

Mithru Vigneshwara

Ability Project Resident (2018-2019). (He/Him)

Mithru is a researcher and maker who focuses on accessibility and universal design. His work stretches across digital and physical spaces and objects.

Christie Leece

Former Ability Project Resident (2017-2018)

Collaborators

Adapt Community Network

Andrew Heiskell Library

HeartShare Human Services

Helen Keller Services for the Blind

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Level the Curve

Luv Michael

MuseumSenses

NYU College of Dentistry

Tech Kids Unlimited

Funders

IMLS: Institute of Museum and Library Services

Lyft

NSF

National Parks Service