mgifford's picture

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Posts on Drupal.org
Starred projects

Location Ottawa, Ontario
Current Role(s): 
Senior Strategist
CivicActions
IRC: 
mgifford

Professional Info

Industries Worked In: 
NGO, Unions, Government, Politics, Business

Personal Info

Pronouns: 
he/him
Primary language: 
English
Other languages: 
English

On Drupal.org for 18 years 8 months

Over 100 edits to documentation

Bio: 

Mike Gifford is a Senior Strategist at CivicActions. His primary focus is on building digital accessibility confidence and capabilities in the public sector.

Previously, he was the Founder and President of OpenConcept Consulting Inc., a web development agency specializing in building open source solutions for the open web. We worked primarily with the Drupal CMS. In this role he was an active part of the Government of Canada's Open Source Advisory Board.

Pushed by a desire to build better and more inclusive world, Mike has been involved with accessibility since the beginning of the 90s. He has spearheaded accessibility improvements in Drupal since 2008, and officially became Drupal’s Core Accessibility Maintainer in 2012.

As a techie at heart, Mike likes to get into the code when he gets the chance. There is always more to learn and he is always exploring better practices to resolving problems. Usually better incentives and policies provide an improved experience for people with disabilities than incorporating artificial intelligence. Not always though.

Mike's wide range of experience provides the ability to understand the technological big picture.

Contributor roles

Documentation guides

✓ Can opt projects into security advisory coverage

Drupal Contributions: 

Since 2009, I've contributed to the accessibility enhancements adopted by the Drupal community, including improvements in Drupal 7 core. I've also presented at DrupalCamp Toronto & Montreal and organized meetups and events showcasing Drupal in government. I've played a leadership role in the Ottawa Drupal Users Group and am contributing to our first Drupal Camp.

Events spoken at

Areas of Expertise: 
I'm a Drupal 8 Core Accessibility Maintainer
Drupal events: 
DrupalCon Boston 2008
DrupalCon DC 2009
DrupalCon San Francisco 2010
DrupalCon Chicago 2011
DrupalCon London 2011
DrupalCon Portland 2013
DrupalCon Austin 2014
DrupalCon New Orleans 2016
DrupalCon Baltimore 2017
DrupalCon Nashville 2018
DrupalCon Seattle 2019
DrupalCon Europe 2020
DrupalCon North America 2021

Credited on 259 fixed issues

Projects maintained

Gold Drupal Certified Partner
Premium Supporting Partner
Drupal Association Individual Member

mgifford helps support and grow the Drupal community with the Drupal Association.

19 people list mgifford as a mentor

I contributed Drupal patches
I contributed Drupal modules
I contributed to Drupal issue queues
I contributed to Drupal.org
I contributed Drupal documentation
I contributed Drupal translations
I contributed Automated tests
I help in the Drupal support forums
I provide Drupal-related services
I give support on IRC
I help mentor new contributors