Annette Bourbonniere, the owner of Accessibility & Inclusion Consulting, LLC,
has lived with disability for more than 50 years. Since her injury, she worked in the
healthcare industry, eventually focusing on disability advocacy.

In 1999, she began the first of several appointments to state (RI) and local councils
and committees related to disability issues, including the RI State Rehabilitation
Council, the Newport Accessibility Advisory Committee, and others. She authored a weekly column regarding disability issues in the Newport Daily News for more than 10 years.

Her personal employment experience, along with the work on these councils and
committees provided her with a broader view of disability issues than would be
possible otherwise. In particular, she became aware that persons with disabilities:

• Can benefit from many developing technologies that would allow them to
function in the workplace.
• Face barriers to employment that are a direct result of disability policy, both
on the federal and state levels.
• Are routinely left out of the discussions and decision-making processes that
directly affect their lives.

She is the founder and Board President of Accessible Healthcare Rhode Island.

Her new podcast, Nothing without Us: Stories and Discussions of Meaningful
Inclusion, begins in February 2024.