I’m a Bay Area native (born and raised in Fremont) and veteran freelance tech journalist who’s based in San Francisco’s perpetually-foggy Richmond district. For the last 12 years, I’ve managed a newsroom of literally one person, where I cover accessibility and assistive technologies. My byline has appeared in a number of leading publications; they include TechCrunch, The Verge, MacStories, MIT Technology Review, iMore, and TidBITS, amongst numerous other places on the internet—some of them extinct.

My first-ever bylined piece, published back in 2013, is still available to read today.

The majority of my coverage nowadays appears at my owned-and-operated blog called Curb Cuts, which I built in 2024. From 2020 to 2025, I was a part of the Forbes contributor network, writing a regular column about disability and technology as part of the outlet’s consumer technology vertical. In addition to its dutiful presence online, over the years my byline has occasionally been featured in print magazines.

I’ve lended my expertise to stories from fellow reporters at other news organizations that have appeared in high-profile mainstream outlets such as CNBC, The New York Times, and MIT Technology Review. In addition, I’ve been serving as a years-long participant in grading the annual Six Colors Apple Report Card.

What exactly is my beat? In essence, it shines a spotlight on how technology, in all its forms, impacts the lives of disabled people like myself. In a Journalism 101 sense, my coverage strives to hold truth to power by holding accountable those who create things that light up and make noise to keep making their product(s) accessible to everyone. In a social justice context, disability coverage in mainstream media has long been woefully inadequate compared to areas such as race and sexuality. Accessibility coverage may never enter the zeitgeist nor win me a Pulitzer nor get A1 placement in a broadsheet, but I don’t do this for adulation. I view my work as my role in moving the representational needle for my community.

Accessibility is decidedly not a beat conducive to breaking news and big scoops—but that doesn’t mean I’ve had zero in my time. This one about AirPods from 2018 remains the biggest scoop of my career by far.

I write all my stories in Markdown. My favorite text editor is MarkEdit on macOS.

What makes my reporting distinct from that of my compatriots in the tech press is my perspective. I’m a lifelong disabled person who copes with multiple conditions; this lived experience enables me to imbue my work with firsthand knowledge and expertise that transcends sheer enthusiasm for technology. The fact I’m a proverbial card-carrying member of the marginalized and underrepresented group that is the disability community gives my work instant credibility and allows me to write authoritatively. I’m also bilingual; I’m fluent in American Sign Language, as my parents were deaf. That makes me a CODA.

This one time—not at band camp—I conducted an interview entirely in ASL.

In my career, I've covered every big tech company in existence, including the five biggest in Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. I’ve written about everything from myriad software updates to the newest iPhones and MacBooks to autonomous vehicles and scooters to CPAP machines and hearing aids and many more things. If there’s one lesson to take from my wide-ranging anthology of articles, it’s that accessibility is a dynamo. It manifests in multitudes that are worthy of exploration and explanation.

I've interviewed several high-ranking executives for on-the-record conversations, the most prominent people being Apple CEO Tim Cook in 2018 and former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger in 2023. Elsewhere, I've spoken with folks working on accessibility at Activision Blizzard, Adobe, Airbnb, Amazon, Capital One, Chase, Comcast, CVS, DoorDash, Ford, GitHub, GE Appliances, Indeed, Intel, Lenovo, Lyft, Netflix, Nvidia, OpenAI, PBS Kids, Salesforce, Samsung, Slack, Sony, TD Bank, VITAC, Webex, Xbox, Yelp, and Zappos, as well as the leaders of umpteenth startups. In addition, I’ve covered the accessibility efforts of companies such as Amtrak, CAI, Chime, Consumer Reports, eBay, Electronic Arts, Hilton, Honda, Instacart, LG, LinkedIn, Razer, Starbucks, United Airlines, Walmart, and Whirlpool. Then come the litany of institutions: AbleGamers, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the American Society for Deaf Children, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Department of Justice, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Fashion Institute of Technology, the FCC, Harvard University, NYU, Temple University, the NBA and NHL, the University of North Dakota, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the United States Association of Blind Athletes, the United Spinal Association, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, NBCUniversal, and Special Olympics.

I’ve interviewed several professionals like audiologists, dietitians, registered nurses, speech-language pathologists, optometrists, ophthalmologists, and physical therapists—all of whom work in fields adjacent to, and intersecting with, disability and technology. Lastly, I’ve interviewed indie software developers, all of whom write software for Apple platforms, about their app(s) and supporting the disability community. They include Marco Arment, The Iconfactory, AssistiveWare, and Procreate.

To borrow a bar from my favorite rapper in Eminem, I’ve bodied features with some legendary names. A considerable number of the interviews I’ve done have been with notable individuals goodly enough to have their own Wikipedia page. I like to believe it’s a nice feather in my cap given my scope. They include:

• Tony Coelho (D-CA), pioneer of the Americans with Disabilities Act

• Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)

• Pennsylvania state treasurer Stacy Garrity

• New York City comptroller Brad Lander

• Gallaudet University president Roberta Cordano

• Authors and disability rights activists Haben Girma and Dr. Victor Pineda

• Astronaut Kellie Gerardi

• Tech YouTuber iJustine

• Television host Sophie Morgan

• Sports broadcaster Ernie Johnson

• Former NFL player Tim Wright

• Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis

• NWSL player Asisat Oshoala

• Paralympian athletes Brenna Huckaby, Lex Gillette, and Matt Scott

• Disney Legend Andreas Deja

• Musician Matthew Whitaker

• Actors Chris Evans, Lou Ferrigno, Dolly Lewis, and Daryl Mitchell

• OUAI founder Jen Atkin

• The Bachelor alums Sarah Trott and Arie Luyendyk Jr, as well as social media influencers such as Becca Moore, Laura Whaley, Rachel Chaleff, Carrie Minter, and Avery Woods.

In addition to famous faces, I have extensive experience doing reporting at the confluence of disability, technology, and Hollywood. I’ve interviewed innumerable creators and showrunners for said coverage, including industry heavyweights such as esteemed Arthur creator Marc Brown, amongst many others.

I've been on podcasts, radio, and television to talk my career in the news business accessibility, and more. For a time, I was co-host of Accessible, a now-defunct fortnightly podcast on accessibility in technology, alongside my good friend Timothy Buck. In 2015, I went on NPR’s Science Friday. I was interviewed for Story & Pixel's 2017 documentary, App: The Human Story, appearing in B-roll. It examines the sociological effects of iPhone apps and their development since Apple opened the App Store in 2008.

Besides my infrequent media hits, I’ve done my fair share of public speaking in life; topics have included special education and disability in the media and in newsrooms. In 2023, I spoke virtually to journalism students at Rutgers University. I’ve also served as moderator of panels at disability-centric events such as the 2023 edition of the all-virtual Sight Tech Global Conference and the 2024 edition of MOVE America.

My background is in special education and early childhood development. Prior to pivoting to tech journalism, I spent nearly a decade working with preschoolers (ages 3-5) with moderate-to-severe disabilities. Most of those years were spent working with children on the autism spectrum; I had extensive training in teaching methodologies specifically designed for autistic children. They include ABA, PECS, and TEACCH. Before getting into Pre-K, I spent a couple years working with middle schoolers in a similar role. Educationally, I completed Early Childhood Studies coursework. It spanned the growth and development of children birth thru early elementary (ages 0-8) at my then-local community college.

If you have a story idea to share, a question or comment, or just wanna say hello, I’d love to hear from you! You can send me an email at contact@stevensblog.co. If you have a pitch for me, please read this first.

In full transparency, the standard disclaimer applies: I can be a lousy correspondent. The reality is, my inbox lives in a state of constant chaos and messages have been known to slip through the proverbial cracks. If I reply after an inordinate amount of time—or don’t reply at all—please don’t take it personally.