Michael Perry

Mike is a nationally recognized universal design expert helping organizations create inclusive, accessible, and safer environments across the globe. With the goal of bringing positive change to the world, he advocates for eliminating physical and social barriers in the built environment so all individuals can flourish, maintain their independence, and improve their quality of life.  

To help organizations reach their diversity and inclusion goals, Mike deploys a human-centered design approach. He works with companies such as Merck & Company, Oracle, Amazon, DHL, Pfizer, Nielsen, TruStage, Nationwide Insurance, MetLife, Bloomberg, T-Mobile, and Siemens Energy. He was instrumental in bringing the Mary Free Bed YMCA to fruition – the first building in the world to receive Universal Design Certification from the Global Universal Design Commission (GUDC).

As a recognized thought leader on the topic of universal design, Mike has presented throughout the world to leaders at the U.S. Access Board in Washington D.C., San Antonio Inclusion Summit, Disability:IN Chicagoland, Bloomberg Leadership Summit, CoreNet Global, and Zero Project in Vienna, Austria.

Mike co-authored a published research paper for the Disability and Health Journal titled “Participation by Design - Integrating a social ecological approach with universal design,” and authored a chapter for the National Inclusion Project Standards specifically applying universal design thinking to facilities and equipment, so that no child has to sit on the sidelines. In 2018, Mike led the effort to create a proprietary set of universal design assessment tools and strategies receiving registration from the US Copyright office.

“People are at the heart of everything we do, and during the design process we need to consider a wide variety of individual abilities,” says Mike. “Universal design ensures we value everyone as part of human experience by creating spaced designed for all.”  

In September 2023, Mike received the Disability Inclusion and Accessible Design (DIAD) Certification through the University of Michigan, and in 2018 was recognized with the International Zero Project Award for his work on the Mary Free Bed YMCA.