Dreamforce Turns its Golden Spotlight on Accessibility

If you attended or tuned into Dreamforce this year, you may have caught one of the event’s shiniest moments when Mike Hess stepped onto center stage with his dark shades and white support cane and was awarded a Golden Hoodie. Mike, who has been legally blind for most of his life, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Blind Institute of Technology (BIT). 

Learn more about Mike’s story by watching the short video, Mike Hess is a Trailblazer.

Since 2016, the Golden Hoodie has been awarded annually at Dreamforce to Trailblazers who are using Salesforce to not only do good in their career, but also in their community.  
Mike’s recognition reflects his contributions and collaboration with Workforce Navigators, Salesforce’s workforce development program to support professionals with disabilities.

Launched in 2020, Salesforce’s Workforce Navigators Program is one of the key initiatives in the Office of Accessibility. 

According to the CDC, 27% of adults in the United States have some type of disability. In 2022, 21.3% of persons with disabilities were employed compared to 65.4% people who did not have a disability. This is one of the key problems the Workforce Navigators program in the Office of Accessibility is working to solve with the help of BIT. 

Notably, Salesforce is the only SaaS company that has a fully-funded workforce development initiative specifically for people with disabilities.