SPONSORED

Jessica Murray

The first meeting of the year of the NYC chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America will be on September 21 at 6:00-7:30. Jessica Murray, chair of the New York City Transit Advisory Committee for Transit Accessibility (ACTA), will talk about ACTA’s role in prioritizing and developing accessibility initiatives across New York City transit. She will be joined by MTA’s Deputy Chief Accessibility Officer, Rachel Cohen, who will provide updates on accessibility initiatives underway across the MTA. Rachel will also speak about the new OMNY payment system which will allow NYC transit users to pay their fares at subway turnstiles and on buses by tapping their contactless card or smart device on the OMNY reader. When OMNY is completely rolled out it will replace all MetroCards, including those for seniors and riders with disabilities currently on the reduced fare MetroCard program. 

Dr. Murray earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at The Graduate Center, CUNY in 2020, focusing her research on daily travel. Her dissertation, Self-Determination in Transportation: The Route to Social Inclusion for People with Disabilities explores the role of basic psychological needs in transportation environments. In addition to chairing MTA’s ACTA, she advocates improving transit accessibility in New York City as part of the Rise and Resist Elevator Action Group.  

Rachel comes to her new role at the MTA after three years as the Director of Systemwide Accessibility for New York City Transit. Her team led several technology pilots such as the Accessible Station Lab at Jay St – MetroTech station in 2019 and worked on implementing accessibility improvements such as enhanced announcements and bus seating design. Rachel holds a Masters in Urban Planning from the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and worked previously at the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission.

To register for this captioned program, click here. After registering, you will receive an email with the Zoom link.

Can’t Hear? We are here for you!

The New York City Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America is a vibrant community dedicated to helping people with hearing loss lead more satisfying and productive lives. At the chapter’s monthly meetings, speakers address topics such as hearing aids and hearing-aid alternatives, assistive technology, interpersonal strategies, and advocacy initiatives. Those of you who are interested can find information about our organization on our chapter website by clicking here.