Centering Disability: Deaf & Hard of Hearing Perspectives

Clara Chee (she/her), Team Lead, Equal Dreams

Clara is a Team Lead at Equal Dreams, where she fronts the design, development, and delivery of training curriculum on accessibility and disability inclusion. She has successfully run these programmes in-house with organisations and in public iterations, and has facilitated cross-disability groups of participants. These include Equal Dreams’ core programmes, such as Organising Accessible Events, Disability Inclusive Language, and programmes for accessibility professionals.

In leading the development of these programmes, Clara rigorously seeks to find a well-tuned balance between practical, applicable and locally-contextualised learnings, with a pedagogy that truly welcomes diverse learners and centers disabled lived experiences.

As a consultant, Clara partners with organisations to provide consultancy on inclusive design across spaces, policies, and programmes. She supports organisations with varying levels of resources and capacities in translating accessibility principles into sustainable practices, advising on both strategic direction and on-the-ground implementation.

As an accessibility specialist leading teams that provide Singapore Sign Language interpretation and speech-to-text interpretation, Clara brings together technical proficiency and reflective practice. Her professional experience spans the arts, international productions, overseas events, conferences, and higher education settings. These have allowed her to hone skills in advocating for raising accessibility standards in a range of environments, including those that are complex or high-stakes. She also mentors newer accessibility professionals entering the field, and is committed to growing both the capacity of the sector and the participation of disabled people within accessibility work itself.

Identifying as neurodivergent, Clara is guided by a commitment to co-creating inclusive spaces alongside fellow disabled individuals and allies. Her work is grounded in empathy, critical insight, and a strong belief that effective accessibility must be a collective approach to how we all think, plan, and act.