Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility by Design in Seattle, WA

Upcoming project: Our liberation is bound up together: ongoing pandemic lessons and co-imagining a liveable future

Beginning in 2026, I’ll be initiating a new grassroots project exploring the social impacts of the ongoing SARS-CoV2 pandemic, reckoning with how the pandemic and societal abandonment has impacted our current political state, and imagining how we move towards a liveable, beautiful future that truly centers the most marginalized.

Currently seeking funding to make this project sustainable, from well-resourced individuals, as well as organizations, and possibly grants. Contact me if you are interested in any of these roles, or simply want to hear updates as the project develops.

See more about “Our liberation is bound up together” in my portfolio.

Now offering web and digital accessibility support

Websites, documents, presentations, virtual events, forms, data, and the rest of our digital world should be accessible to all - including those with disabilities. With a web and digital accessibility certification, I can support you in both learning how to make new digital products and services to be accessible from the start, and remediating existing ones.

Design-based, research-driven inclusion techniques

I am a diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) expert with a focus on intersectional gender equity, LGBTQ+ inclusion and disability justice. My specialty is to use data and research to pinpoint DEIA opportunities with organizations, then use a design-based approach to translate that data into positive action.

Design-based means going beyond awareness-raising to create low-risk changes in business operations and product design to boost DEIA. Just like using a smaller plate at a buffet means less food is wasted, or a flat door handle indicates "push" instead of "pull," it's possible to create "nudges" to positively change human behavior. The added bonus? Increased inclusion is linked to better business performance, lower staff turnover, and other measurable benefits. 

I have trained and collaborated with some of the most cutting-edge intersectionality researchers globally, and have led research-focused DEIA projects in the startup world, with environmental, health, and food security nonprofits, in coworking spaces, for tech events, in the sports industry, and more.

We’re a disabled LGBT-owned small business located on unceded Duwamish territory, now called Seattle, Washington.

Due to the ongoing SARsCov2 (COVID) pandemic, I practice COVID safety in my personal life and with work. This is integral to my values and I encourage everyone to wear respirator masks in public. All people should be able to access public spaces safely, and we all have a responsibility to one another and ourselves to mitigate harm, particularly given the ongoing collapse of our medical systems and increasing political violence that most heavily impacts marginalized groups. For any in-person engagements, I require everyone present to wear respirator masks, unless a disability makes that impossible, in which case we’ll discuss alternative layers of safety.

Collaborative research project: First Generation Professionals

Bernice Maldonado and I explore the experiences of those who are the first in their family to have a professional career. Explore our research summary How Does Your Company Support “First-Generation Professionals”? in Harvard Business Review

“With a world-class education, data-driven approach, and people-centric philosophy, working with M. on inclusive technology events was not only a value add for the company and projects, but has transformed me as a person and professional.”

-Technology events company

“M. Burwell is one of the most insightful, flexible, responsive, efficient, and planful researchers and consultants I’ve had the pleasure of working in my 20 years of consulting. She is a skilled communicator and project manager, and consistently exceeds expectations with the highest-quality work.”

-Amity Lumper, Co-President, Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc.