Speaking

Making Barrier-Free Design Understandable

Shawna Barnes speaking during an educational presentation.
Practical, engaging presentations, workshops, and training programs that help organizations, business owners, and professionals identify and remove digital barriers.
Whether you're booking a keynote, a workshop, or a lunch and learn, every session is built around meeting your audience where they are.

Trusted By / Featured In

Meet Shawna

Shawna Barnes is the founder of S. Barnes Designs and creator of the Barrier-Free Design Model (BFDM). As a web designer, accessibility specialist, educator, author, veteran, and person living with disability, she helps organizations understand accessibility in a way that feels practical, approachable, and actionable.
Her presentations bridge the gap between technical requirements and real-world implementation, helping audiences move from awareness to action.
Shawna in a teal sleeveless top pointing to the side with a playful expression, wearing black-and-white cat-eye glasses in her home office.

A Few Quick Facts

  • Founder of S. Barnes Designs, LLC
  • Barrier-Free Design (aka Digital Accessibility) consultant, educator, and speaker
  • Web designer and developer with years of hands-on experience
  • Creator of the Barrier-Free Design Model™ (BFDM)
  • Trainer for entrepreneurs, small businesses, nonprofits, and organizations
  • Known for making accessibility practical, approachable, and jargon-free
  • Service-Disabled Combat Veteran, using lived experience to inform her practice

Signature Topics

Barrier-Free Web Design 101

An accessible, jargon-free introduction to digital accessibility for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives who are ready to stop guessing and start doing.
Best for: chambers of commerce, small business associations, entrepreneur groups
Format: keynote, workshop, webinar

Designing for Real Brains

Cognitive load, focus, and sensory design for neurodiverse users — relevant to any digital creator.
Best for: designers, content creators, educators, DEI/HR teams, agencies
Format: workshop, breakout session, lunch and learn

The Barrier-Free Design Model™ (BFDM)

A framework-driven session introducing the BFDM — a five-stage model that helps individuals and organizations understand where they are in their accessibility journey and what to do next.
Best for: web professionals, agencies, educators, nonprofits
Format: workshop, breakout session

The Four Barriers Framework

A practical way to evaluate accessibility beyond a WCAG checklist: Access, Navigation, Understanding, Cognitive Load.
Best for: web professionals, agencies, content creators, accessibility teams
Format: workshop, breakout session, keynote

AI + Accessibility: Helper or Hype?

A practical, honest look at what AI tools can and can't do for digital accessibility — and how to use them without creating new barriers in the process.
Best for: tech audiences, marketers, content creators, agencies
Format: keynote, panel

The Legal & Business Case for Accessibility

A non-technical, business-focused session on why barrier-free design matters — legally, ethically, and financially — for organizations of every size.
Best for: business owners, chamber events, associations, leadership teams
Format: keynote, lunch and learn

Building Inclusive Digital Systems

A deeper dive into embedding accessibility into workflows, processes, and organizational culture — not just fixing individual pages.
Best for: agencies, internal teams, project managers
Format: workshop, breakout session

Speaking Experiences

  • Webinar Host — Barrier-Free Web Design: Introduction to Digital Accessibility
    S. Barnes Designs | May 14, 2026
  • Webinar Host — Pushing Back at MG: Get Informed. Take Action.
    Myasthenia Gravis News (BioNews) | October 23, 2025
  • Presenter — Gateways to Creativity, Growth, and Recovery
    4th Annual Assessment for Learning & Leadership Conference | May 6, 2019
  • Presenter — An Introduction to Arts Accessibility
    Maine Arts Education Association Spring Conference | April 6, 2019
  • Presenter — An Introduction to Arts Accessibility
    MALI Mega Conference | March 15, 2019
  • Presenter — Art as Therapy: An Introduction to the Physiological & Emotional Benefits
    Brain Injury Association of America — Maine State Conference | October 16, 2018

Book Shawna For

Keynotes

30–60 minute presentations designed to inspire and educate.

Breakout Sessions

Practical sessions with actionable takeaways.

Virtual Webinars

Accessible online learning experiences for distributed teams.

Workshops

Half- or full-day interactive learning experiences tailored to your audience.

Virtual Webinars

Half- or full-day deep-dive implementation and strategy sessions.
I speak to small business groups, chambers of commerce, marketing and content creators, web professional communities, nonprofits, veterans organizations, and mission-driven audiences — virtually and in person.

FEATURED WORKSHOP

The Barrier-Free Design Roadmap™

Using the Barrier-Free Design Model™, participants learn how to:
  • Identify common digital barriers
  • Understand where they currently are in the BFDM journey
  • Prioritize improvements
  • Build a practical action plan
  • Take meaningful next steps
Participants leave with a roadmap they can immediately begin implementing.

Why Audiences Connect With Me

Practical application over theory. No technical industry specific mumbo-jumbo.
Technical without being technical. I take complex concepts and explain them in plain language. See above - no mumbo-jumbo jargon.
Lived experience informs everything I do and teach. Audiences get the best of my professional expertise and my personal experience with acquired disabilities.
Action oriented so attendees leave knowing exactly what to do next and the why behind it.

Let's Create a More Barrier-Free Digital World

Whether you're planning a conference, webinar, workshop, team training, or community event, I'd love to help your audience better understand accessibility and barrier-free design.
S. Barnes Designs, LLC is registered as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) through the Small Business Administration (SBA).

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All Rights Reserved and Retained by S. Barnes Designs, LLC