Revamping A Global

Employee Network

Overview & Approach

Role: President, ABLE Employee Network Group
Company: Sony PlayStation
Team: Volunteer leadership team across U.S., U.K., and Japan
Timeline: May 2023 – April 2024
Budget: $35,000 annually

ABLE is PlayStation’s global employee network group for accessibility advocacy and disability inclusion. When I stepped into the role of President in May 2023, the group had over 350 members but limited engagement, little measurable business impact, and weak alignment with corporate priorities — despite having the CEO as our executive sponsor.

To address these challenges, I applied design thinking and program management principles to rebuild the organization’s structure and influence:

Discover → Define → Iterate → Deliver → Measure

Rapid Impact: GAAD Event & Budget Utilization

Insight: Low internal awareness meant we needed a high-visibility, lasting way to promote ABLE’s mission.

Action:

• Invested $4,000 in branded pens and stickers that doubled as daily-use awareness tools

• Recruited Local Leads in six global offices to host Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) events

• Created a GAAD Playbook to streamline event planning, promotion, and execution

Results & Impact:

• 300+ in-person participants despite a remote-first workforce

• 40 new members (15% growth in one week)

• Established permanent Local Leads across multiple global regions

Fixing Communication & Increasing Engagement

Insight: An outdated Outlook mailing list was the cause of poor turnout and lack of communication.

Action:

• Assigned regional leads to collaborate with local IT to rebuild accurate distribution lists

Results & Impact:

• 200%+ increase in attendance at the following meetup

• Sustained participation growth, peaking at 74 attendees per event

Designing Content Members Actually Wanted

Insight: Survey data revealed that members were seeking more advanced, specialized content — particularly topics on emerging accessibility technologies rather than broad inclusion discussions.

Action:

• Partnered with PlayStation’s Academic Research Team to source expert speakers in the accessibility field

• Organized expert-led tech sessions, including Dr. Chukoskie’s presentation on VR games for Alzheimer’s and ADHD, attended by the CEO

• Coordinated cross-functional logistics between ABLE, research, and communications teams to promote attendance and engagement

Results & Impact:

• Repositioned ABLE as an innovation hub for accessibility and design thinking

• Increased member satisfaction and retention, with strong demand for continued expert sessions

Aligning ABLE’s Mission with Corporate Strategy

Insight: Led a full-day strategy workshop with the CEO, HR, and ABLE leadership.

Action:

• Created a Monthly Executive Summary to communicate key insights and progress to C-level stakeholders

• Updated ABLE’s mission to directly support PlayStation’s corporate strategy

• Defined 5 Key Goals and 10 Stretch Goals, achieving 100% of Key and 80% of Stretch

• Expanded ABLE’s presence to Japan and standardized communication through regional summaries

Results & Impact:

• Offices using the summary saw a 90% increase in local meetup participation

Results at a Glance

Key Skills Demonstrated

• UX Leadership: Applied discovery, iteration, and human-centered design principles to organizational challenges.

• Strategic Planning: Facilitated C-level workshops to define and prioritize actionable goals.

• Program Management: Coordinated scalable global initiatives with local ownership.

• Data-Informed Decision Making: Used survey insights and metrics to guide programming.

• Cross-Cultural Collaboration: Connected teams across time zones and offices to unify a global initiative.