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News  Artificial Intelligence, Disability, and the Future of Work Panel Discussion

A panel discussion exploring how artificial intelligence is shaping employment for people with disabilities.
8/24/2026
  • Permanent Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities

Media Contact

Imene Bouziane Saidi, Executive Director

AI Flyer with panelists description, date time and location October 7 at the MA State House and on Zoom from 2 to 3:30pm with a QR code to register

Room 428, 4th Floor, Massachusetts State House and on ZoomPanelists:

Ashley Bloom
Chief Accessibility Officer, Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security

Alexandra DeVoe
Lead Accessibility Engineer, Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security

Rania Kelly, MPA, M.Arch.
President, MassFamilies; Director of Family Engagement, Perkins School for the Blind; LEND Fellow

Greg Mazzeo, PsyD
Organizational Psychologist and Founder, Nourishment Consulting LLC

Adriana Mallozzi
CEO of REquipment, Inc. 

Sheila Phicil
Founder/CEO, Phicil-itate Change LLC

Moderators:

Carl Richardson
ADA Coordinator/504 Diversity Officer, Massachusetts State House
Commissioner, Massachusetts Permanent Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities

Rachel Stanton
Investor Relations & Comms. Designer, Clean Water Trust | Debt Management, Treasurer's Office
Commissioner, Massachusetts Permanent Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities

Meet our Panelists and Moderator:

Meet Ashley!

Ashley Bloom has been involved in the field of accessibility both personally and professionally for over 20 years. Her past experiences are in the private sector developing and leading accessibility programs and strategy at higher education and corporate environments. Ashley is very passionate about all things accessibility involving both the digital and physical spaces. Ashley partners with individuals and teams across the Commonwealth to bake accessibility into all of our digital processes and purchases and providing accessibility guidance and strategy to take a proactive approach to delivering accessible and equitable content.

Meet Alexa!

Alexandra DeVoe is a seasoned accessibility engineer with experience in creating accessible design systems and creating web accessibility training. She serves as the lead accessibility engineer on the Accessibility Center for Consulting, Education and Support Services (ACCESS) team working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS).

She is an expert in creating requirements for product teams, including accessible code examples, and providing guidance for designers and code reviews for developers. Throughout her career as a web designer, front-end engineer, and accessibility specialist over the past 20 years, Alexandra has worked on remediating websites and performing accessibility audits. She specializes in responsive web development for desktop, tablet, and mobile, and accessibility for all users.

Meet Rania!

Rania Kelly, MPA, M.Arch., is President of MassFamilies, Director of Family Engagement at Perkins School for the Blind, and a LEND Fellow. She recently developed an AI prototype to help family caregivers capture, organize, and share caregiving knowledge. Her interests in AI include employment, caregiving, accessibility, autonomy, and inclusive design. Her work focuses on disability systems and community inclusion and is informed by her experience as a family caregiver to her son with profound autism.

Meet Greg!

Greg Mazzeo PsyD., is a leadership and organizational psychologist, TEDx speaker, podcast guest, and founder of Nourishment Consulting where he is dedicated to creating conditions for healthy, human-centered leadership and organizational functioning. He holds a Doctorate in Leadership Psychology from William James College and a background spanning restaurant leadership, Human Resources practice, and teaching. His research and TEDx talk examine how inclusive language and symbols build deep psychological safety, connection, and workplace belonging. Greg supplies leaders with actionable, science-backed strategies that create excellence without exhaustion and performance without burnout. As AI and emerging technologies reshape the future of the workforce, he advocates for designing accessible environments that prioritize human dignity and safety in the modern workplace.

Meet Adriana!

Adriana Mallozzi is the CEO of REquipment, Inc., a Massachusetts nonprofit that coordinates the statewide durable medical equipment and assistive technology reuse program. She is also a disability advocate, assistive tech entrepreneur, and founder of Puffin Innovations, which developed hands-free technology that incorporates artificial intelligence and machine learning to adapt to each user. Her work focuses on advancing accessibility, independence, and meaningful inclusion for people with disabilities. As a woman with cerebral palsy who uses a power wheelchair and assistive technology daily, Adriana brings both lived and professional experience to conversations about disability, technology, employment, accessibility, and inclusive innovation.

Meet Sheila!

Sheila Phicil is a Social Change Futurist™ with nearly 20 years in healthcare innovation. She founded Phicil-itate Change, a company that helps hospitals, startups, and investors build AI tools that put the most vulnerable people first. She led innovation at three major hospitals: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Boston Medical Center, where she directed innovation for the Health Equity Accelerator. Sheila created SEEDS Innovation™, a framework for making smart, responsible AI decisions. She also founded Listen Phirst™, a platform that turns patient stories into real research data, while keeping people in control of their own data and paid fairly for it.

Sheila is a first-generation Haitian American who started her first nonprofit at 14. She holds two master's degrees from Boston University and the PMP and FACHE certifications. She speaks widely on healthcare and AI and writes for journals like JAMA Oncology. Her upcoming book, Remembering How to Care, explores what it means to care for people in the age of AI.

Meet Carl!

Carl Richardson identifies as DeafBlind and serves as the ADA Coordinator/504/Diversity Officer for the Massachusetts State House. In this role, Carl works with the Governor and Executive branch, as well as with members of the legislature and leadership from state agencies to serve individuals with disabilities across the Commonwealth, ensuring that the State House is an accessible, inclusive, and welcoming environment. Carl also serves as Treasurer for the Mayor’s Office for the City of Boston Disability Commission, as well as Treasurer for the Commission on the Permanent Status of Persons with Disabilities, president of the Guide Dog Users of Massachusetts, and is co-chair of the Audio description Project for the American Council of the Blind.

Meet Rachel!

Rachel Stanton is the Investor Relations and Communications Graphic Designer for the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust and Debt Management at the Office of the State Treasurer and Receiver General. Rachel is responsible for the graphic design, marketing, social media, and investor relations for both departments. Her passion for accessibility and transparency in the public sector drives her to educate and implement best practices when designing and publishing content. Rachel also serves as a Commissioner on the Massachusetts Permanent Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities and previously served as Co-Chair of the Commission’s Disability Employment Subcommittee.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Commission's Executive Director Imene Bouziane Saidi at imene.bouzianesaidi@mass.gov

Additional Resources

Media Contact

  • Permanent Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities

    Established in Chapter 3 Section 74 of the Massachusetts General Laws by the 2020 law enforcement reform legislation, the Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities is a 23-member, independent state agency with a broad charge to advance the cause of all persons with disabilities in the Commonwealth.
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