Meet

Our Speakers for the 2025 Symposium

Meet the talented speakers who have been selected to share their precious insight on usability and accessibility this year for the University of Strasbourg Symposium. Discover their field of expertiese, their background and their topic of discussion for their speech.

Ashley Miller

TCLoc Master’s Graduate, Educator and College Counseling Certification Candidate

Ashley Miller’s passion for education began at Bucknell University. She then taught in the Washington, DC Public Schools, earning a « Teacher of the Year » nomination. In France, she has taught at CentraleSupelec and Université de Lorraine and teaches at the Ecole Jeannine Manuel Academy. In addition to earning her M2 through the TCLoc program, she is in the final months of her College Counseling Certification with UCLA.
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Carolyn Gubala

Director of Teaching for the Writing Center

Carolyn Gubala serves as the Director of Teaching for the Writing Center at the University of California Davis. Her research involves data-driven programmatic and pedagogical projects and examines topics ranging from online learning to the perception of writing errors in professional contexts. Carolyn has taught a wide range of technical and professional writing courses for University of California Davis, the University of Strasbourg, San Diego State, and the University of South Florida.
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Ceren Cicek

CAWEB Master’s Graduate and Instructional Designer

As an Instructional Designer with over ten years of expertise in the education and training field, I value creating engaging and interactive learning experiences. My work involves designing instructional scenarios and developing online resources using various authoring tools, online content creation platforms, and LMS such as Moodle. Passionate about accessibility, user experience, and the cognitive aspects of digital learning, I carefully integrate these principles into my work by selecting the right digital products that ensure a seamless user experience. I also value training and skills development among both teachers and students. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and learning from others’ experiences in teaching and learning by fostering a learning community through various channels. I continuously explore new pedagogical approaches, emerging technologies and products, and best practices in instructional design, adapting my methods to meet diverse learning needs.
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CJ Walker

Founder and Principal of Firehead SAS

CJ Walker, founder and principal of Firehead SAS, a training and recruitment consultancy specializing in digital communications, helps content professionals develop AI-era skills. A Cajun-Swede now settled in France, CJ’s background is computational linguistics. Her career spans technical communications, instructional design, information architecture, and all things digital content. CJ has a passion for classification systems and semantic technologies, that make her happy to finally be able to apply linguistic theory to the real world and real-world clients. CJ works in English, French, Swedish, and Sign Language.
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Colleen May

Master’s Student in Technical and Professional Communication

Colleen May is a second-year master’s student in Technical and Professional Communication at Auburn University, where she also serves as an Instructor of Record in the English Department. With a background in nutrition science, her research interests include health and medical communication, information design, and information literacy.
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Jennifer Stanger

Recent Master’s Graduate in Translation Studies

Jennifer Stanger recently graduated with a Master of Arts from the University of Turku, Finland. In her theses, she has explored how computer aided translation (CAT) tools impact visually impaired translators and how translation technology developers integrate accessibility into translation software. She now plans to start doctoral research focusing on the accessibility of translation technology.
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Jenni Virtaluoto

Adjunct Professor and Senior Lecturer in Technical Communication

Jenni Virtaluoto is an adjunct professor (title of docent) and senior lecturer in technical communication at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests include the multidisciplinary field of technical communication, meaningfulness in the work of language professionals, and the work life relevance of university studies. She has published in national and international journals on these themes. Before her university career, she spent 15 years in the technology sector as a technical communicator and customer trainer.
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Julianne Newmark

Director of Technical and Professional Communication

Julianne Newmark is Director of Technical and Professional Communication (TPC) at the University of New Mexico. She has authored one book and dozens of articles and chapters across disciplines, from TPC pedagogy, to Indigenous Rhetorics, to UX and usability. Currently, she is a Fulbright Scholar at Tampere University in Finland. Her co-authored textbook (with Joesph Bartolotta), « UX+You, » is under contract with State University of New York press, with a projected publication date of 2026.
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Leena Salmi

University Lecturer in French and Translation Studies

Leena Salmi works as a university lecturer in French and translation studies at the University of Turku. Her PhD thesis dealt with the usability of computer user documentation, and her current research interests relate to translation technology and translator training. Her teaching focuses on practical translation courses (French-Finnish), translation technology, and translation company simulation, as well as supervision of MA and PhD theses.
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Leonie Saremba

User Assistance Expert

Leonie Saremba brings a decade of expertise in User Assistance to the forefront as an experienced speaker. Holding a B.A. in Technical Documentation from Hochschule Karlsruhe, her presentations seamlessly blend depth with practical insights. Offstage, you’ll find Leonie in Hamburg enjoying its vibrant music scene. And if this bio sounds impressively articulate, it’s because she cleverly outsourced the task to AI.
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Lisa Marie Haag

Senior UX Designer and Accessibility Expert

Lisa Marie Haag is a Senior UX Designer and Accessibility Expert at Ergosign. She has led numerous projects, focusing on Accessibility (A11y) and Inclusive Design. As an autistic person, she brings a unique perspective to her work. She leverages her strengths in pattern recognition and design thinking to develop innovative approaches for accessibility. Lisa is committed to ensuring that inclusive design receives greater consideration in the UX world and looks forward to sharing her insights with you.
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Louisa Ait Hadda

LEA Student at the University of Strasbourg

My name is Louisa Ait Hadda, I’m 21 years old and currently pursuing an LEA (English/German/French) degree at the University of Strasbourg. I came to France at quite of a young age, starting in Paris before making my way to Strasbourg. Growing up in a Kabylian family, I’ve seen myself immersed in a world of rich cultural diversity, which has shaped me into someone who sees opportunity from every angle. My goal is to bridge businesses between the U.S., France, and Germany, building and keeping connections that drive innovation. Fluent in multiple languages, I thrive on creativity and fresh ideas—whether it’s reimagining sales strategies or transforming communication.
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Lusine Zilfimyan

PhD Student and Lecturer

Lusine Zilfimyan is a PhD student and lecturer at the Department of Mathematical Modeling in Economics, Yerevan State University. She is a researcher at the Human-Computer Interaction + L Laboratory, focusing on behavioral economics, cognitive biases, and the non-rational aspects of economic decision-making. Her work integrates data analytics and statistical modeling to analyze decision processes. She also has a deep academic interest in Mathematics.
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Maija Surakka

University Lecturer in Technical Communication

Maija Surakka is a University Lecturer in Technical Communication at Tampere University, Finland. She holds a Ph.D. in Humanities (Finnish Language) and a Master’s degree in Social Sciences (Information Studies). Her research focuses, for example, on language acquisition and multilingualism in industrial workplaces, particularly from the perspective of Technical Communication.
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Marie-Lou Wechsler

Senior UX Designer

Marie-Lou Wechsler is a Senior UX Designer at Ergosign with a strong focus on visual design and pixel-perfect precision. Being French-Austrian, she has worked on a variety of projects, from industrial applications to e-commerce, adapting to diverse user needs. Aware of the barriers that can exclude people—whether linguistic or digital—she is committed to creating inclusive and accessible experiences for all.
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Martin Schuler

Lecturer and Head of the Usability Lab

Martin Schuler is a lecturer and head of the usability lab at the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences. He holds a masters degree in human computer interaction design. His research interests include usability, technical documentation, augmented reality, human-computer interaction, eye tracking, and accessibility. He teaches localization and usability testing at BA- and MA-level and is involved in various research and service projects with students, other researchers and third parties.
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Pavel Zemliansky

Professor in English for Academic Purposes

Pavel Zemliansky is a professor in the English for Academic Purposes unit at Oslo Metropolitan University where he teaches courses in academic and professional writing at various levels. He also leads technical writing course and program development efforts for the Faculty of Technology, Art, and Design and other units. His research interests include teaching of academic and professional writing, design of online learning, and international professional communication. His work has appeared in the field´s leading journals and other publication outlets. He is a distinguished fellow of the International Association for Writing Across the Curriculum.
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Ray Gallon

Writer, Educator, and Communication Specialist

Ray Gallon is a writer, educator, and communication specialist. He is president and co-founder of the Transformation Society, a fellow of the Society for Technical Communication, and former president of the Information 4.0 Consortium. His most recent work focuses on applications of Artificial Intelligence for personalized information delivery, personalized learning, and meta-analysis. Ray is a frequent speaker and keynoter on communications and learning professions at conferences and seminars around the world. He has contributed nearly 100 articles and chapters to books, and to professional and scholarly journals.
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Tiffany Bourelle

Professor at the University of New Mexico

Tiffany Bourelle is a Professor at the University of New Mexico (UNM) where she teaches technical communication, multimodal composition, and user-centered design. She also works as a curriculum designer for UNM’s medical school and teaches Localization for UX Writers for the University of Strasbourg. Her most recent publications include the books Teaching Writing in the Twenty-First Century and Administering Writing Programs in the Twenty-First Century.
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Tiia Suomivuori

Head of Technical Communications at Kempower Oyj

Tiia Suomivuori works as the Head of Technical Communications at Kempower Oyj, Finland. With a background in translation studies and technical communication, she has worked in both subject matter areas for over 20 years and is familiar with the challenges in the field. She has also chaired the Finnish Technical Communications Society (STVY) since 2022. As a doctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, her focus is on the technical communication activity system, namely creating a technical communication ecosystem that is beneficial for all its stakeholders in a business-to-business context.
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