Access Insights · Team
Darryl Adams
Founder
He led Intel's global accessibility strategy. Nearly 28 years at the company, from enterprise software delivery to Director of Accessibility, with four issued patents in accessible computing and hearing technology. He founded Access Insights to close the gap between what technology can do and what people need it to do.
27+
years at Intel, across delivery, digital health, and accessibility
4
issued U.S. patents in accessible computing and hearing technology
4
board and advisory roles in technology and disability communities
2
master's degrees, in assistive technology and technology management
About
Close the gap between what technology can do and what people need it to do.
Darryl founded Access Insights after nearly 28 years at Intel. His career there began in enterprise technology, managing software development and implementation programs for global customer support and warranty operations, then grew through digital health, product development, and emerging technology programs spanning software, firmware, and hardware. Along the way he built document lifecycle and compliance systems for Intel Digital Health, defined scope and resources for the Intel Reader, and managed programs exploring wireless charging and blockchain applications.
As Intel's Director of Accessibility from 2021 to 2024, he led the company's Accessibility Office and global accessibility strategy, connecting accessible product experiences with disability inclusion in the workplace. He helped establish the Accessible Technology Program and the Accessibility Champions Network, and chaired Intel's Disability Leadership Council.
Darryl lives with progressive vision loss and single-sided deafness, and his interest in accessibility grew from adapting to those changes while continuing a demanding technology career. That experience informs his emphasis on involving people with disabilities throughout research and development, and on treating user confidence and autonomy as essential outcomes. Technology alone cannot remove every barrier: in written testimony on Oregon's Senate Bill 20 in 2025, he advocated for employment opportunities that let people with disabilities advance their careers while keeping access to essential care and support.
Selected work
Technology that earns independence.
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Indoor Wayfinding
Intel · GoodMaps collaboration
Research with Intel employees identified navigating unfamiliar buildings as a recurring barrier. Darryl helped advance Intel's collaboration with GoodMaps, and discussed and demonstrated the work publicly as it expanded to Portland State University, Portland International Airport, and facilities associated with the Paris 2024 Games.
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Spatial Awareness Wearables
Intel
Contributed testing, advocacy, and outreach for Intel's spatial awareness wearable prototypes, demonstrating a RealSense based prototype during Intel's CES 2015 keynote.
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Intel Reader
Intel
Defined scope and resources for the Intel Reader, a device that made printed information available through speech and magnification.
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Gamers with Disabilities
Intel · with anthropologist Jamie Sherman
Explored the experiences of competitive gamers with disabilities as part of a yearlong study of gamers' lives and habits, connecting everyday barriers and community research to product decisions.
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Hearing Technology Patents
Intel
Named co-inventor on four issued U.S. patents covering accessible computing interfaces and personalized hearing technologies, issued between 2024 and 2026.
Boards and advocacy
Service across technology and disability communities.
- Consumer Technology Association Foundation, trustee: supporting technology that improves the lives of older adults and people with disabilities.
- Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, board member: services and technology that help people with vision loss live more independently.
- QUAD Inc., board member: accessible, affordable housing and resident directed services for adults with physical disabilities.
- Lehigh University Center for Community-Driven Assistive Technologies, community advisory board: connecting interdisciplinary research with the needs of disability communities.
- Interviewed by Forbes on the GoodMaps collaboration (2022) and, alongside Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, on hearing health technology (2023).
- Featured by NBC News and KGW on accessible navigation at the Paris 2024 Games.
- Guest on AXSChat: Shaping an Inclusive Future in Tech.
Why it matters here: Access Insights exists to connect community knowledge with technology that works in real life. Darryl spent nearly three decades building that connection inside one of the world's largest technology companies, and founded this organization to build it for everyone else.
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