First, an introduction: My name is Meade Peers McCoy
Pronunciation [ Meed Peerz Muh-koi ]
When I was seven years old, I wanted to be an Efficiency Expert
I dreamed of redesigning office processes to reduce the required time and physical effort by improving the environment, machines/tools, and ergonomics. Dreaming of being an efficiency and ergonomics expert might seem like an odd life goal for a 7-year-old, but I was an odd child.
It all started with my obsession with the book Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
The book and its sequel tell the story of real-life efficiency experts Frank Bunker Gilbreth and Lillian Moller Gilbreth, a husband and wife research team who expanded on the time studies of Frederick Taylor (Taylorism scientific management) with their Motion Study, which examined the human aspect of efficiency. Lillian Moller Gilbreth was eventually known as the mother of Industrial Engineering. The Gilbreths also happened to have 12 children, and for months I made my father read me a chapter a night (we made it through the book at least three times).
As a designer and educator, my primary focus is accessible design. My passion for accessibility started with my need for a more accessible digital experience and my search for assistive technology. I am dyslexic, a disability that has impacted my life in many ways. Accessible and assistive technology has enabled me to navigate the world more smoothly.
I want to help remove barriers for all disabled individuals so that an increasingly digital world doesn't lock them out of banking, going to school, borrowing books from the library, visiting the doctor, grocery shopping, and so much more. Not providing equal and equitable access to the digital world will maintain the barriers that have prevented full access to society that disabled people have always experienced.
We have the opportunity to rectify past mistakes, and we must embrace that opportunity.
Outside of work, I'm an avid audiobook reader, mostly science fiction, mystery, and romance. I've set myself the challenge of watching every episode and movie of Star Trek in chronological order (totaling 835 hours), I tap dance when I can, and I pick up and abandon crafting projects as a hobby.