Lindsay Bryde

Course Content Accessibility Specialist
Start Date: September 2024

Lindsay Bryde has worn a lot of hats throughout her long and winding career. She was a teacher, project manager, carpenter, accessibility coordinator, and now, she works for CELT - the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. As a Course Content Accessibility Specialist, Lindsay combines her passion for education and accessibility to improve classrooms for all.

As the first person in this role, Lindsay is giving it her best. With the belief that accessibility is for everyone, she has a big task ahead of her. “The goal is, we’re a little bit more accessible than we were yesterday,” says Lindsay. “I know I’m going to have to make small wins every day, and so I’m working on it.”

Specifically, Lindsay is working to bring Stony Brook into compliance with state, local and federal standards. She follows WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), which helps her address accessibility for all individuals with disabilities, whether visible or invisible. With a new federal rule coming into effect in April of next year (2026), the updated standard is that rather than making content accessible on demand, it needs to be made accessible from the beginning.

“I think the biggest misconception that I tend to get from a lot of people is that, oh, we're making it for someone with a vision impairment or for someone who is physically disabled, and I have to go, whoa, whoa, no, we're making it so that it's accessible irregardless of what kind of ability level you have,” Lindsay explains. “So whether it's a short-term disability or a long-term disability, visible or invisible. The WCAG guidelines are meant to make content accessible for everyone so that we can all kind of join the party.”

Before Lindsay even dreamed of working for Stony Brook, she was a self-described ‘child of SUNY.’ Her father was a nurse for the Long Island State Veterans Home, bringing her to the village of Stony Brook and essentially part of the ‘Stony Brook family’ well before her hire date. She went on to achieve her bachelor’s and first master’s degree from SUNY Fredonia. She even went on to serve as adjunct instructor at Suffolk County Community College and then a professional role at Empire State University.

In her spare time, Lindsay takes ballroom dance classes with her husband, Ed, in Nassau County. This unique hobby was adopted after Lindsay became interested in dance lessons to prepare for their wedding. She also has a nine year old dog named Riley and currently resides in Commack with her husband.