Managing Principal, Kessler McGuinness & Associates, LLC
Katherine McGuinness is Managing Principal of Kessler McGuinness & Associates, LLC, and has specialized in accessibility planning and universal design for more than 25 years. She has assisted architects and large property owners in developing universal design standards and review protocols that ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and response to the market realities of a diverse public’s requirements. Ms. McGuinness has conducted access audits of hundreds of buildings and developed 504 and ADA compliance plans for numerous clients in the private and public sectors.
She is currently a consultant for ADA compliance and universal design in healthcare, transportation, education, and judicial and commercial settings. She is a former Chairperson of the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board, of the Boston Society of Architects Access Committee (www.universalaccess.org), and has served as a Member of the Federal Access Board’s Recreation Access Advisory Committee.
A leader in the field of accessibility and universal design, Ms. McGuinness has developed ADA training materials for the U.S. Department of Justice, has led the first negotiated rule-making process to achieve accessible design standards, has updated the Federal Access Board’s products library, and has conducted best-practice studies for accessible airports, courthouses, ferries, and docks.
