Business Spotlight with Brad Bartko from Accessible by Design
Brad Bartko, co-founder of Accessible by Design, runs a successful business that has barely reached the 3 year mark. In just over 2 years, Brad and his wife, Jenn, have partnered with numerous restaurants, an outdoor comedy festival, hotels, and institutions to run all encompassing accessibility audits. The value in Brad’s accessibility audits lies beyond providing physical changes that can be made to spaces. The audits include a staff training program that opens employees eyes to inclusive employment that is more about having railings in the bathrooms and wide doorways – and this is what sets Brad apart from other accessibility auditors.
In the first 6 months of their business, Brad and his wife visited and audited 36 restaurants around the province of Alberta. They suggested changes that could be made overnight and some over a longer period of time. If businesses could not make the changes in a short amount of time, Brad built out a 2 year plan for the business with the help of his wife’s background in construction. It’s not a one and done with Accessible by Design, but an authentic and sustainable experience in transforming business to be inclusive and accessible.
Brad comes to businesses with a list of questions to get to know where they are at with their accessibility. He may ask – how do you treat patrons with disabilities? How should employees help patrons with disabilities? What can we shift in the layout of this room and what can you shift in your practices and mindsets towards people with disabilities?
Brad’s lived experience gives him the insight of connecting with each person visiting the restaurant that has a disability – visible or not. Accessible dy Design’s offer to employers and businesses can be broken down by the following:
- Staff Training Program
- A review of blue prints with recommendations
- Reviewing a business’ current accessibility meter
- Curating a report based on the establishment’s needs
- An opportunity for employees to learn through his experiences
- An opportunity for employers and employees to ask questions
- An explanation of the importance of inclusivity
- Long term recommendations for the staff and the venue itself in terms of build
- A follow up to ensure the business has guidance with the accessibility changes, even if it takes months or years
- Following a universal design code – put together by ABD team with extensive research of design codes that exist around the world
- Working with the employers to hire a person with a disability
- Not location specific, Brad will travel where needed with his team
If a full accessibility audit is not accessible to your business, Brad is willing to consult where needed.
“People with disabilities just want to be heard and seen.”
Businesses essentially want returning clients and patrons. Brad notes that making everyone feel accepted and included is the easiest way to do so. He reminds employees and employers that you just don’t know what you don’t know. By asking questions at Brad’s audits, employees learn how best to serve people with disabilities in a restaurant, event, or office setting. He encourages asking questions in general – especially by asking a person with a disability if the employee or employer needs to know more. Alas, disability is a spectrum and the needs of every patron or client differs whether they are able bodied or disabled.
Brad’s knowledge is apparent, not only when interacting with him but in learning about the projects he’s been invited to work on. Starting in June, Brad and his team will be training with the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival. As they travel around the country and make a visit to the United States, they will be working with staff and venues to ensure accessibility suggestions are made, long term recommendations are provided and that the event becomes more inviting for people with disabilities to attend.
“You have to hire people with lived experiences, not have most people in the team making decisions for them.”
There’s not much of a secret behind Brad’s influence, it all lies in his lived experience, his knowledge of the disability community and his ability to connect with people. Brad will be the first to share his experiences to those who are interested. When Brad approaches employers he opens up with a personal experience to encourage a human to human connection that may trigger an eye opening mindset shift. Brad reminds us that we may all become disabled one day, in the same ways that we all pay taxes and that we all age. Within these collective experiences, ABD encourages the steps to make current workplaces, restaurants, institutions and establishments a place that can invite and serve everyone comfortably.
Accessible by Design has transformed more than 40 businesses and establishments in the last 2 years. What makes an accessibility audit from Brad so valuable is the education on inclusive employment and the solution based steps provided for employers. He takes his own lived experience and the ones of the disability community to curate authentic and action based reports for his clients. Brad envisions working with a larger team, to serve a global reach and use a more permanent and widespread code that aligns with universal design. With the wide reach the company has already managed, ABD is sure to grow on a global scale as time goes on.
Author : Mariebelle Sawma
