GRID: Google's Rising Influencers with Disabilities Program
The Challenge
Google wanted to invest directly in disabled creators rather than talk about accessibility in the abstract — building a program that gave up-and-coming influencers with disabilities real skills, real mentorship, and real product feedback loops with brands and Google product teams, while staying genuinely useful to participants rather than a one-off PR moment.
The Goal
Launch a first-of-its-kind experiential learning program and build a structure — cohorts, mentors, curriculum, brand partnerships — durable enough to run as a recurring cycle rather than a one-time activation.
The Solution
As Creative Director and Accessibility SME for GRID, delivered through Where the Buffalo Roam, I helped shape a program built around fifteen nano and micro influencers selected by application across three cohorts — Blind or Low Vision, Deaf or Hard of Hearing, and Physical Disability — each paired with a mentor cohort of six accomplished creators with disabilities spanning fashion, music, tech, and lifestyle content. I helped design the program arc — production fundamentals, self-promotion and marketing, branding, and accessibility for participants — delivered through monthly trainings with subject matter experts and Google product managers, plus five monthly content challenges timed to cultural moments like GAAD, Disability Pride Month, and NDEAM.
On the brand side, as Creative Director I first wrote our Brand Voice, Values, and Tone guidelines. I worked with Regina Saldivar on the program's name, sketched initial logo concepts, then worked alongside Steph Sanchez to finalize the GRID logo and its launch animation. I designed the external-facing program overview deck, made the internal strategy decks accessible, and created the social media graphics used to announce the program.
I worked with confirmed partners and SMEs, including Molly Burke, Whalar Talent, Making Space, and the Rollettes, to structure brand participation two ways: sharing expertise directly in seminars and workshops, or offering participants hands-on access to accessible products for PR features. The result gave Google product teams a direct feedback channel from disabled creators, and gave participants real skills, mentorship, and industry access rather than just a spotlight moment.
Google announced GRID publicly on Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2024, with coverage from Google's official blog, Android Central, and Yahoo Tech.
