The Rick Hansen Foundation Launches Accessibility Professional Network

Aug 7, 2019

The Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) is announcing the launch of an Accessibility Professional Network, a professional association developed to bring together the accessibility community in Canada. The network will connect like-minded professionals with a shared mission to improve accessibility in the built environment. 

Members of this association will benefit from access to an industry job board, educational resources, professional development, and networking opportunities. This network is for:

• Those interested in or working in the field of accessibility in the built environment;
• Designated Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) Professionals;
• Students interested in the field of accessibility.

RHFAC Professionals have been trained in rating the accessibility of buildings and spaces using the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ (RHFAC), a national program that rates the accessibility of the built environment based on holistic, meaningful access. 

Currently over 150 people have taken the RHFAC Accessibility Assessor course, and over 1,200 buildings have been rated in the program. The new Accessibility Professional Network will bring together this community. 

Brad McCannell, Vice President, Access and Inclusion at the Rick Hansen Foundation, said: “Currently 22 per cent of Canadians identify having a disability, and that number is growing as our population ages. We launched the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification^TM in 2018 to work with industry to change design culture. The Accessibility Professional Network will bring accessibility professionals together to improve the meaningful access of places and spaces in which people live, work and play. Only through collective collaboration and action can we make Canada truly accessible from coast-to-coast.” 

Stanis Smith, the Executive Vice President at Stantec and Chair of the RHFAC Advisory Committee said: “The number of accessibility professionals is growing across Canada, and there is a real need to bring this community together to share best practices and collectively improve the accessibility of Canada. The Accessibility Professional Network supports this goal.”

Membership to this association is free for the remainder of 2019. To join the Accessibility Professional Network, visit the Accessibility Professional Network website.