Meet our Presenters: Lynn Walsh

Meet Lynn Walsh, a consultant with over 30 years’ experience in the cultural organisation world who will present as part of the Organisational Buy-In and Training panel on Tuesday 9th March 2021.

Tell us a little about yourself and how you got to where you are today.

When I was 16 years old I began working at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago. This was years before the signing of the ADA so access and inclusion was not a focus for cultural organisations. My plan at the time was to become a special education teacher. It didn’t take long for me to realise teaching wasn’t for me, but I did learn that I loved museum work.

In 2003 my two passions – working with people with disabilities and museum work – finally collided. While working at Chicago Children’s Museum, an intern suggested that we could be doing more for people with disabilities. That conversation changed the course of my career and in turn, helped spark a change not only at Chicago Children’s Museum, but also at other cultural organisations in Chicago.

A few years after that conversation I became the first Manager of Accessibility and Inclusion at Chicago Children’s Museum, leading an award winning cross-departmental team. Working directly with people with disabilities, families and service providers helped us create a welcoming, inclusive and accessible environment for all.

In 2016 I was hired by Shedd Aquarium as their first Accessibility and Inclusion Manager. Working with another cross-departmental team, great strides were made to make the aquarium and its programs as accessible and inclusive as possible. Sadly, due to the impacts of Covid-19, my position at the aquarium was eliminated in June of 2020.

What organisations have you worked with / for?

Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago, IL
Imagisphere Children’s Museum, Bedford, TX
Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Chicago Children’s Museum, Chicago, IL
John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL

What access and inclusion provisions, services and programmes were in place in those organisations?

Provisions, services and programs in place at Chicago Children’s Museum included:

• Play For All – Events for families with children with disabilities. Once a month the museum opened an hour early for pre-registered guests. Admission was free and the families were welcome to stay for as much of the day as they liked. For many it was a safe introduction to the museum and they soon felt comfortable visiting during regular museum hours. For others it was the only time they were able to visit the museum.
• Parker Program – For over 30 years middle school students from Francis Parker School would assist children with disabilities during their visit.
• On-going accessibility and inclusion related staff training
• Storybook Guides
• Therapeutic Play Guides
• Personal Schedules
• Lap trays
• Sound reducing headphones
• Accessible and inclusive programming
• Dedicated A&I position – Eliminated in 2014

Provisions, services and programs in place at Shedd Aquarium included:

• Calm Waters – Events for people with disabilities. Once a month the aquarium either opened early or extended hours for pre-registered guests with disabilities and their families, friends and care givers. Similar to the children’s museum, some guests felt comfortable only visiting during these events. For others it was a comfortable introduction to the aquarium that led to visiting during regular hours.
• Sensory Friendly app – Included sensory friendly map, video story guides, personalised schedule, various tools and games for guests to use prior to, during and after a visit to the aquarium.
• On-going accessibility and inclusion related staff training
• Low sensory Aquatic Presentations
• Audio described Aquatic Presentations
• Real-time captioned Aquatic Presentations
• BEAM telepresence robot tours – For those who couldn’t physically visit the aquarium. Participants included residents of memory care units and nursing homes, residents of Veteran hospitals and patients from the local children’s hospital and rehabilitation facility, as well as people with disabilities from around the country.
• Mindfulness exercises – In collaboration with the local Veterans hospital, mindfulness exercises were created as a tool for those who found themselves overwhelmed during the visit. The exercises, similar to those used at the VA hospital, helped to calm and ground the users.
• Quiet Room – A dedicated space for those who needed some time away from the hustle and bustle of the aquarium.
• Wheelchairs and Rollator walkers
• Sound reducing headphones
• Assistive Listening System
• Tactile touchable models
• AIRA app – For those who are blind or have low vision
• Accessible and inclusive programming
• Dedicated A&I position – Eliminated in 2020

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m am currently looking for my next career opportunity.

What has been your greatest accomplishment?

Working with amazing cross-departmental teams at both the children’s museum and the aquarium led to positive changes in attitude and services provided. The work that was done by these teams improved the experiences for so many people and in some cases made visits possible for the first time. I am extremely proud of my involvement with these teams.

I am also very proud of the work done with Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC). Christina Gunther, Evan Hatfield and I created an organisation dedicated to improving access and inclusion for people with disabilities in and around the Chicagoland area.

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?  

The top 3 pieces of advice I have received are:

• Family first – you have to take care of your own before you can take care of others.
• You’ll never know all there is to know about access and inclusion work, but you do need to know where to find the answers.
• People with disabilities have to be included in the conversations.

What surprises you the most about your job?

I continue to be surprised that 30 years after the signing of the ADA there is still so much work to be done. Budgets continue to be used as an excuse and there are still those that don’t understand the importance of accessibility and inclusion.

Where do / did great ideas come from in your organisation?

Many of the great ideas came from conversations with people with disabilities, service providers and family members. Just asking the question “what more could we be doing?” sparked all kinds of wonderful ideas.

Describe an access and inclusion solution or innovation that has inspired you and / or your work.

I’ve been inspired by many access and inclusion solutions and innovations over the years but one project in particular was like nothing I had ever worked on. While at the aquarium I was asked to find a way to make the beluga encounter accessible. To participate in the encounter guests had to be at least 5 ft. tall, be able to walk down 4-5 steps into water and stand on a ledge in chest high cold water for at least 30 minutes.

The project lasted over a year and during that time I worked with animal trainers, veterinarians, facility managers, architects, rigging specialists, physical and occupational therapists, people with a wide variety of disabilities and of course belugas. Over the year we came up with a variety of solutions, but we kept finding that if it worked for the humans, it didn’t work for the animals and if it worked for the animals, it didn’t work for the humans.

In the end an amazing solution was found, sadly it was not budget friendly. One of these days an aquarium is going to make it happen and it’s going to be life changing for those who have not been able to enjoy the experience.

What inspired me most about this projects was the variety of people involved, all who were passionate about finding an idea that would make the encounter accessible to everyone interested in participating.

What is the biggest challenge that faces access and inclusion in arts and culture today?

I think the biggest challenge continues to be the need to convince people that the work is necessary, important, and has to be done. Unfortunately there are still those who believe that people with disabilities don’t want to do the same things the rest of the world likes to do or they think that not everything is meant to be accessible (yep, I heard this one from senior leadership at an organisation).

And then of course there is the issue of budget. I know I’m not the only one who is so tired of the budget excuse.

What has been your access and inclusion highlight to date?

There have been so many highlights, from being published, to winning awards, to being asked to participate in conferences such as this, but I think the most treasured highlights are the comments and feedback I have received from the people whose lives have been positively impacted by the work I have been involved in.

What is your access and inclusion goal for the future?  

With the hit cultural organisations have taken due to Covid-19 I’m not sure what the future holds, but no matter what I end up doing I will always fight for accessibility and inclusion!