Marnie Peters has been involved in the field of Accessibility & Universal Design, and Disability Inclusive Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Risk Reduction for nearly 20 years.
Marnie is currently the Executive Officer of the Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES), the leading international organization dedicated to the promotion of accessibility of the built and virtual environments. Registered as a non-profit NGO in Canada, GAATES was incorporated in 2007 by an international consortium dedicated to promoting accessibility worldwide.
Marnie is an expert in accessibility of the built environment, conducting accessibility audits, the review of construction drawings and the development of recommendations for the construction and redevelopment of facilities to ensure accessible environments. She has assisted in the research and development of technical databases on the application and technical requirements of Canadian and International building codes and accessibility standards for multiple projects. She was the lead researcher and an assistant to the editor of the seminal document, International Best Practices in Universal Design: A Global Review.
Marnie has been involved in disability inclusive emergency preparedness and disability awareness training of first responders and firefighters in several Canadian municipalities.
Marnie is a retired member of the Canadian National Wheelchair Basketball Team and won gold medals at both the 2000 Paralympic Games (Sydney, Australia) and the 2002 World Championships (Kitakyushu, Japan).
