About Us

A woodcarving portrait of Adam Weishaupt. He is wearing a powdered wig, cravat, and coat with a fur collar.

Our Story

Adam Weishaupt founded the Bavarian Illuminati in 1776 to oppose superstition, anti-intellectualism, religious influence in public life, and abuse of state power. These same forces exist today, especially when it comes to the disability community and their experiences. Our name is an homage and a commitment to the same ideals of equality, equity, and civil liberty. 

We pursue these goals through our inclusive design work. We challenge traditions and assumptions to bring disabled people to the center of design. Our focus is on storytelling, hardware, packaging, physical spaces, and experiences. Like the Illuminati before us, we see education as the best path for change. We strive to help organizations build their culture and practice of inclusive design into robust systems of equitable and consistent progress. 
Our services

It started with gaming

Solomon grew up in arcades. He was, is, and will always be an avid gamer. As controllers became more complex, though, he found he was struggling to beat games, not because of lack of skill, but because they were not shaped to accommodate his hands. The first Xbox Elite Controller changed everything. 

The programmable paddles allowed him to move hard to reach controls on the left to the right side where he has full dexterity. This empowered him to play more types of games and play them more effectively. In the first year he doubled his gamer score; in the second year he doubled it again. Sharing this experience with the Xbox team led directly to being invited onto the Xbox Adaptive Controller program.
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Solomon Stone Romney

Education and Credentials

CPACC, expires June 2028

International Association of Accessibility Professionals

MFA  - Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance

Mary Baldwin College

MLitt  - Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in Performance

Mary Baldwin College

BFA  - University Theatre Studies, cum laude

Eastern New Mexico University

Solomon Speaking on Accessibility

Solomon is an internationally recognized leader in inclusive design. After eleven years with Microsoft, he left to launch A11yminati, an independent inclusive design firm. He spent his last five years with the Inclusive Tech Lab where he led lab operations, accessibility, and inclusive design for Surface, Accessories, Packaging, and the Surface App. During his time at Microsoft, he helped design and launch the Xbox Adaptive Controller, Surface Adaptive Kit, Microsoft Adaptive Accessories, 3D Printed Pen Grips, Adaptive Touch Mode for touchpad, and the Surface Pro Keyboard Bold Edition.


His education is in Shakespearean scholarship and performance, with specialized training in playwrighting, dramaturgy, and criticism. He utilizes these skills to create and tell authentic, compelling disability stories. With thirty years of acting experience, he has done hundreds of performances in dozens of plays. As an accessibility and inclusive design speaker, he has presented to tens-of-thousands of people from scores of companies and industries and dozens of countries.


He is an active member of the limb difference community and serves as the previous past President of the Board for the Limb Difference Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to providing support, education, and advocacy for limb different adults and families.