Contact us
Contact details
Media Access Australia
Suite 4.08
22-36 Mountain Street
Ultimo New South Wales 2007
Phone: (02) 9212 6242
TTY: (02) 9212 6242
Fax: (02) 9212 6289
Email:
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About Media Access Australia
Media Access Australia (MAA) is Australia’s only independent not-for-profit media access organisation.
People with disabilities, particularly those who are Deaf, hearing impaired, blind or vision impaired, are in many cases excluded from mainstream audio-visual media, with often profound implications for educational outcomes, workforce participation and social inclusion.
MAA works to improve access to audio-visual media, such as TV, cinema, DVDs and new media, by providing information about technological solutions that make audio-visual media accessible to people with disabilities. These solutions include audio description, captioning and mainstream new media technologies. MAA also supports improvements in media access in Australia towards international best practice by identifying mainstream technological solutions and cost-effective ways to promote and implement them.
To this end, MAA works collaboratively with consumer organisations, Government and industry in Australia and internationally.
Background
Media Access Australia was formerly the Australian Caption Centre (ACC), which was co-founded by Adam Salzer and Alexandra Hynes in 1982. In 2005, ACC sold its commercial operations including captioning services to Red Bee Media, and became Media Access Australia (MAA).
MAA is a uniquely independent not-for-profit organisation, mainly relying on its own investments to fund its activities, rather than donations or commercial operations.
Staff members
Alex Varley, Chief Executive
Alex Varley is the CEO of Media Access Australia. He has been with MAA and its predecessor, the Australian Caption Centre, for 13 years. Prior to that he held senior roles at Sydney Theatre Company, Australian National Maritime Museum and BP Australia. He has a Bachelor of Business in marketing and post-graduate qualifications in town planning, which are surprisingly useful in the world of media access. Alex was the inaugural chair of the communications advocacy organisation Australian Communications Consumer Action Network Limited (ACCAN) and a director of Australian Social Innovation Exchange Pty Ltd (ASIX).
Allayne Woodford, Project Manager
Allayne Woodford is a project manager for Media Access Australia, focussing mainly on cinema and DVD. She has been with MAA and its predecessor, the Australian Caption Centre, since 1999, starting out as the executive assistant to the CEO and gradually moving into project management over time. Prior to joining MAA Allayne worked in various administrative roles within the NSW Ministry for the Arts, now known as Arts NSW.Chris Mikul, Project Manager
Chris Mikul is a Project Manager with Media Access Australia. He has had over twenty years experience with captioning, and was formerly National Production Manager at the Australian Caption Centre. He is a trained audio describer who oversaw the production of the first DVDs to be audio described in Australia in 2005.
Chris studied Communications at the University of Technology Sydney. He is also a writer and has had several books published.
Scott Hollier, Project Manager
Scott Hollier is the Project Manager, New Media for Media Access
Australia, a not-for-profit, public benevolent institution. Scott's
work focuses on making computers and Internet-related technologies
accessible to people with disabilities. Scott also represents MAA on
the Advisory Committee of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the
organisation primarily responsible for developing and promoting access
to media through technology for people with disabilities.
Scott has completed a PhD titled ‘The Disability Divide: an examination into the needs of computing and Internet-related technologies on people who are blind or vision impaired’, and has a background in Computer Science and a wealth of experience in both the information technology and not-for-profit sectors. Scott is legally blind and as such understands the importance of access at a personal level.
Anne McGrath, Education Manager
Anne works part time as Education Manager at MAA, and represents MAA on the Open Web Education Alliance Incubator Group of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Anne has worked as a primary school teacher in mainstream schools and as an Education Project Officer with the NSW Health Department, where she worked on the award winning, internationally acclaimed Triple A peer education program. She has also worked for the NSW Department of Education and Training as an Itinerant Support Teacher Hearing (ISTH) and as a Teacher/Consultant in Hearing Impairment for RIDBC School Support Services (Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children).
Anne currently works part time with the Catholic Education Office, Sydney, as an Itinerant Teacher with the Sensory Impairment Program, working directly with Deaf and hearing impaired students in Catholic mainstream schools.
Anne is passionate about inclusion and access for students who are Deaf and hearing impaired. She has personal experience of hearing impairment, growing up with a deaf mother and being hearing impaired herself. Anne uses assistive listening devices as part of her daily life.
Yasodai Selvakumaran, Education Assistant
Anne is assisted by Yasodai Selvakumaran who is a final year Education student at the University of Sydney majoring in Secondary English and History. Her interest in deaf education was sparked late last year after completing her special education practicum at The Shepherd Centre Head Office in Darlington- motivated by a curiosity to see how language developed in young children with a partial hearing impairment. Although she enjoyed her two subject practicums at mainstream schools, Yasodai currently thrives on the buzz of university life; works for the YWCA’s Links to Learning Program at Canterbury Girls High School and has shifted her focus to working in the dynamic nature of education in the non-profit sector.
Belinda Kerslake, Marketing Communication Manager
Belinda Kerslake is the Marketing Communication Manager at Media Access Australia. She has over 10 years of experience in marketing, in a range of sectors including the not-for-profit sector, government and financial services. Belinda is currently completing a Graduate Diploma in Marketing Communication and holds a BA (English Linguistics) from the University of NSW.
Rachel Mulholland, Marketing Communication Assistant
Rachel Mulholland is the Marketing Communication Assistant at Media Access Australia. She is currently a scholarship holder at the University of Sydney and is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications). Rachel is also a Department of Education debating and public speaking adjudicator, and coaches the debating team at Strathfield Girls High School.
Angela Tragotsalos, Administrative Assistant
Angela Tragotsalos works as the administrative assistant for MAA. She has been with MAA and its predecessor, the Australian Caption Centre, since 1994. Angela is Deaf, therefore has both a professional and personal understanding of access issues.
Board members
Graham Jones, Chair
Helen Crossing
John Losco
Ian Roache
Victoria Rubensohn
Stephen Wall
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