Meet the Team


Michael Johnson, Vice President of Content

Michael is a seasoned executive with almost 40 years of experience in the technology, publishing, and distribution markets. Michael speaks regularly around the world on the need for content that is Born Accessible, meaning designed from the beginning in digital formats that are compatible with all key book reading platforms and accessibility features. Michael also works directly with the publishing industry to implement Benetech’s Global Certified Accessible program which empowers organizations to create, distribute, sell and offer fully accessible ebooks. He fervently believes in the importance of providing equal access to written information for people with disabilities and is using his long-standing relationships in the publishing industry to lead to systematic change.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn
A photo of Michael, a white man with black hair and light colored facial hair. He's wearing a white collared shirt and gray sports jacket. He's smiling and looking to the right of the camera.

George Kerscher, Ph.D., Senior Advisor of Global Literacy

George began his IT innovations in 1987 and coined the term “print disabled.” George is dedicated to developing technologies that make information not only accessible, but also fully functional in the hands of persons who are blind or who have a print disability. He is an advocate for semantically rich content which can be used effectively by everybody. As Chief Innovations Officer of the DAISY Consortium, Senior Advisor, Global Literacy to Benetech, and member of Publishing Groups in the W3C, Kerscher is a recognized international leader in document access. In addition, Kerscher chairs the DAISY/NISO Standards committee, Chairs the Steering Council of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), and serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Connect with George on LinkedIn
A black and white photo of George, a white man with light colored hair wearing a suit and tie. He's smiling and looking at the camera.

Charles LaPierre, Principal Accessibility and Content Quality Architect

Charles has over 25 years’ accessibility development experience and has been a pioneer in accessible product development since 1993. Charles currently a member of the following W3C Working Groups: Publishing Working Group, MathML Refresh, ARIA, APA / Personalization Task Force, as well as a member of the EPUB3 W3C Community Group, and co-chair of the Accessibility Metadata W3C Community Group. Charles is the technical architect of the Global Certified Accessible initiative at Benetech to certify publisher content as conforming to the EPUB 1.1 Accessibility Specification, for which Charles was a co-editor.

Connect with Charles on LinkedIn
A photo of Charles, a white man with brown hair wearing glasses and a white polo shirt. He's smiling and looking at the camera.

Ready to work with us?