Meet Leanna
Exploring accessibility, communication, disability, and belonging through work and lived experience
Accessibility has shaped both my professional and personal life for many years.
Through my lived experience of disability and difference, as well as more than a decade of experience in communications and accessibility, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the role that clear communication plays in helping people participate, connect, and belong.
Today, I work full time in accessibility consulting and continue to explore accessibility through creative projects. This website is a place where I share my interests, experiences, and reflections on accessibility, communication, and disability.
Hi, I’m Leanna Manning (she/they)
I’m an accessibility professional based in BC, Canada, with a background in accessible communications, plain language, disability inclusion, and digital accessibility.
My work is informed by both my own lived experience of disability and divergence and the realization that I have felt out-of-place and different for most of my life. Everything I bring to my work today has been learned and developed through my own personal journey over the last 10+ years.
Leanna Manning, a multiply neurodivergent and disabled person. She has green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. Leanna wears a red, green, and blue floral jacket. Photo by Hayf Photography.
A lifetime of experiences have brought me to where I am now
As a late-identified neurodivergent person, I look back now and realize many of the things that shaped my interest and career were connected long before I had the language to describe them. Every piece of my history offers another part to the puzzle that makes me who I am, and I find myself including everything I’ve learned in what I do now.
Things like:
My love of colour and art.
My teaching experience and love of playing “teacher” as a child.
Working with people from equity-deserving communities from a young age.
Being surrounded by entrepreneurs, community-builders, and business owners throughout my life.
Learning firsthand how communication can either create barriers or remove them.
All these things came together in the best way imaginable— coupled with an early understanding that accessibility relates not only to who I am but to everything I do.
Curiosity and creativity are at the heart of how I approach accessibility. I enjoy exploring different perspectives, asking questions, and finding thoughtful ways to reduce barriers and increase participation.
I love Leanna’s clarity in speech and in action,
her ability to kick back and have a laugh and appreciate the humour in life, her enthusiasm for being alive, and [her] sensitivity to the finer dimensions of life.
— Chloe, Copywriter & Content Marketer
Some of my credentials and qualifications include:
Lived experience of disability and neurodivergence
Self-teaching and mentorships from folks in the community: Sheri Byrne-Haber, Iva Cheung, Alexa Heinrich, Chad Chelius and Dax Castro, among many others
Plain Language Certificate (in progress), Simon Fraser University
Bachelor of Design, OCAD University
Certified Product Marketer, Pragmatic Institute
Foundational values
Community
I’m dedicated to building social inclusion and actively challenging social and systemic barriers that restrict accessibility.
Integrity
With integrity, I uphold a strong moral compass and ensure transparency and reciprocity in all my actions.
Growth
I believe in growth, both professionally and personally, by always learning from diverse perspectives.
Above all else, I prioritize the well-being of the people I work with and the communities I serve, by helping to build a culture of accessibility and positive impact.
Mixed media artwork with purples and pops of yellow and orange, combining paint strokes, shapes, and pencil lines.
A few things I believe
Accessibility is an ongoing practice, not a destination.
Clear communication benefits everyone.
Lived experience matters.
Inclusion requires curiosity, flexibility, and continuous learning.
Communities are stronger when more people can participate and belong
Small changes can have a meaningful impact.