Unsung Heroes: Meet Anat Caspi

ebruary is Parent Recognition Month. Strengthening Families Washington, of the Department of Early Learning for Washington State, believes there is no better way to recognize a parent, grandparent, foster or adoptive parent than by acknowledging the numerous and impressive things they do to strengthen their family and those around them in their community.

Seattle’s Child is proud to sponsor the Washington Unsung Hero Awards, recognizing our everyday heroes and honoring the important role caregivers play in children’s lives. There are 28 nominees for the 28 days of February, and Seattle’s Child will highlight each and every one.

Congratulations to the Unsung Hero for February 25: Anat Caspi

Combining her professional background of biotechnology, her relentless passion to maximize her daughter’s mobility access, and to honor her late husband Ben Taskar, Anat is currently the Director for the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology at the University of Washington.

The Taskar Center brings together University of Washington faculty with a broad range of expertise in computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, human-centered design and rehabilitation medicine to advance technologies that will improve independence and quality of life for people living with motor disabilities.

Projects of the center include:

– AccessMap, which helps people with limited mobility know where there may be access issues such as no curb ramps, steep hills, or bad surface conditions.

– Universal Collaborative Play, a project looking at how we re-imagine work and play space to better accommodate people of all abilities.

– Next Gen Augmentative Communication, diving into how we push technology to help advance speech devices.

– Taskar Center Holiday Toys, a volunteer program were community members works to adapt and deliver toys to children with special needs that have limited motor ability so they can control, manipulate, and enjoy a variety of toys.
Anat has been a tireless advocate for her daughter and the larger disability community. Her daughter received services at Boyer Children’s Clinic and is currently a 1st grader at Greenlake Elementary. Her vision to create accessibility, inclusion, and technology solutions is incredibly inspiring.

Anat epitomizes the journey of transforming her personal journey of resilience into widespread advocacy and innovation for the future of inclusive technology.

Nominator:  Mike Stewart

Source: http://www.seattleschild.com/Unsung-Hero-Anat-Caspi/