Julie Sawchuk , B.Sc., B.Ed., RHFAC

As a best-selling author, speaker, educator and accessibility strategist, Ms. Sawchuk is committed to forming positive, strong, and responsive relationships that help you create accessible spaces. After sustaining a spinal cord injury in 2015, she became aware of the everyday challenges of living in a world not built with accessibility in mind, and so began her journey as an accessibility strategist. Ms. Sawchuk earned the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification and launched Sawchuk Accessible Solutions, where she consults, completes accessibility ratings, and educates folks in the design and construction industry across Canada. In 2022, she was chosen by the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility to chair the review of the design of public spaces for the province of Ontario. Ms. Sawchuk was also a key member of the Canadian Standards Association’s Accessible Dwellings Technical Committee and is the vice chair of the Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee. Whether it’s retrofitting an existing building or starting from scratch, she speaks to audiences of architects, facilities managers, engineers, and builders to achieve meaningful levels of accessibility for private homes, international airports, and everything in between.