Patricia Short

Pat has over a decade of experience as an adult educator and 30-plus years of prior experience in information technology, business, and engineering.

She has worked for prominent organizations, including Sierra Systems Group, Bank of Nova Scotia, BMW, and Bell Canada. In 2014, Pat joined the Rick Hansen Foundation as a business systems analyst and training developer. However, she wanted to apply her professional background and skills to do something that would make a difference in the community. Accordingly, in 2016, she joined the inaugural Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification Program (RHFAC) development team as lead designer of the course curriculum. The course is now offered at multiple institutions across Canada and won a United Nations award, “Innovative Practice 2020 on Inclusive Education and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) for Rating-Based Training of Accessibility Assessors” from the Zero Project. The Zero Project’smission is to support the implementation of the Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations and to work for a world without barriers: https://zeroproject.org/practice/pra201387can-factsheet/

In her role as primary instructor, Pat has taught the course at Vancouver Community College (VCC), Nova Scotia Community College, and Athabasca University. In 2022, Pat also developed a BC Housing-approved online course for the SAFERhome Standards Society targets licensed builders and focuses on providing solutions based on aging in place and universal design.

One of the best ways of learning something is to teach it. And the best teachers are often those who regularly apply what they teach. Accordingly, in 2019, Pat set up a company, PeopleFirst Accessibility Solutions, to provide accessibility training and consulting services to large public and private sector organizations. Past projects include organizations such as VCC, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).

Pat is a Registered Professional Engineer in British Columbia (EGBC) and Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ (RHFAC) Professional. Her academic qualifications include a BSc in Civil Engineering from Queen’s University, an MBA from York University, a Certificate in Computing Studies from Simon Fraser University, a Provincial Instructor Diploma (PIDP) from VCC, and a Certificate in eLearning/Online Instruction from VCC.