At the start of the year, in Peanuts for the Elephant, we laid out how we at Stark think about the future of accessibility: what it takes to make it governable and scalable, and in turn the world we’re building toward. 

So as of today we're officially starting the Stark Expert Program in beta. 

We're building the Expert Program with a network of accessibility specialists — designers, developers, quality assurance engineers, dedicated practitioners, and more. We’re starting deliberately small to ensure we shape this in a way that works for both practitioners and the companies using Stark to accelerate their accessibility efforts.

Software sets the floor, not the ceiling. It makes the accessibility work continuous and shows teams exactly where they stand. Experienced practitioners in any domain are still essential for deciding what to do next relative to the company’s ever changing moments: standing up the practice, confirming prioritization of what matters, and making the judgment calls no scanner should make.

But accessibiliy consulting today is still slow and heavyweight by default: long statements of work, fixed scopes, months to get moving. We think it should work the way modern software does — fast, continuous, exactly where and when a team actually needs it. That's the future this program is meant to build: a new model for how accessibility expertise reaches the teams that need it, defined alongside the practitioners who live this work.

The beta is about bringing together the people who believe in Stark's approach and understand it deeply enough to guide others, and using that to help shape the program around how teams actually want to work.

How it will work

To minimize spam, the directory will live inside the Stark web app, available to Stark users who are signed in and have verified their own email. Users and companies can then browse experts, review how they work and what they focus on, and reach out via Stark’s directory to start a conversation around whatever services your team needs assistance with.

These are independent professionals, not Stark employees.

Stark doesn't endorse or guarantee any expert's work or outcomes. While Stark hosts the directory to make the connection, you'll contract with companies directly on your own terms. Listings are subject to Stark's review and approval, at its discretion, and on its own timeline. 

We're starting simple and neutral on purpose, and we'll evolve the directory as we learn how teams actually use it.

For experts applying to be listed

If you're Designer, Developer, QA Engineer, Product Manager, Accessibility Specialist, in leadership, someone working at an agency, have accessibility experience? If you know Stark, and work with teams to assist in building accessible products? You can apply to be listed! Included in the form is a request for some info like: 

1. Your areas of expertise

2. How you work with customers currently

3. Your focus areas with accessibility

4. Any third-party accessibility credentials or qualifications you hold

5. Your linkedin profile

6. How often you use Stark

We'll add qualifying experts to the directory as it rolls out.

Apply to be listed in the Stark Expert Directory.

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💬 If you'd like to understand more about the program, or share thoughts on how we can expand it, book a call to chat with us.

Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback at support@getstark.co, or join the conversations in our Stark Slack Community, on LinkedIn, and on Twitter.