Maigen Thomas is the founder of Level 11 Technology, an Apprenticeship Agency. She has over 10 years of experience in enterprise software design and product development, and almost as many years of experience teaching and mentoring. Prior to creating Level 11 in April 2024, she was a Sr. UX Designer for an HR technology company and taught 3 cohorts of the 6-month UX/UI (User Experience and User Interface Design) Bootcamp at UC Berkeley.

Maigen's specialization is in website accessibility and she focuses on helping organizations with under $25m in revenue increase their market share by reaching up to 15% more potential customers and decrease the likelihood they’ll be a target for costly digital accessibility lawsuits or fines. She gets excited to empower folks at all levels of the business (and technology experience) with knowledge to ensure inclusive experiences for all of their customers, regardless of their level of ability or disability. Not just because it’s legally required, but because it’s good business.

If organizations choose not to find and fix the accessibility issues on their website, they are potentially missing out on the $1T in spending power the 1.3 Billion people with disabilities globally have (and run the risk of expensive digital accessibility lawsuit settlements). Ultimately, Level 11 seeks to work with government agencies to ensure services are available to all constituents equitably.

Level 11 Technology is an Apprenticeship Agency, a unique business model like a “teaching hospital” where Apprentices get paid to get their first year of experience. Level 11 Apprentices spend a year learning how to design and develop accessibility-first websites that serve all customers, regardless of their level of ability or disability.

- - -

If you are an early-career UX designer, READ THIS: I teach ux designers how to assess a website for accessibility and usability and make a case study showing how they would improve the website. It can be conducted by an in-house designer (or front-end developer, actually), or by a bootcamp graduate trying to get real world experience (when they can't get a job without real world experience). ASK ME HOW, it's FREE

If you’re an early-career UX designer or developer stuck in the 2026 job market, read this carefully.

Accessibility isn’t just “nice to know” anymore. It’s one of the few skills that actually converts to paid work right now. Here’s why small healthcare practices are such a powerful niche for you:

• They are legally required to be accessible
 • They already care about compliance
 • Their websites are usually… bad
 • And (this is the kicker) the IRS will reimburse them for fixing it

The Disabled Access Credit means many small practices can get 50% of accessibility costs back. That changes the sales conversation entirely: “This won’t just reduce risk — it’s literally subsidized.”

If you can:
 • Identify accessibility + usability issues
 • Explain them in plain English
 • Prioritize fixes that actually matter
 • Document the work professionally

You can:
 • Run paid audits
 • Offer remediation
 • Sell retainers
 • Build real experience instead of waiting for permission

Next Tuesday, I’m leading Website Accessibility & Usability Evaluation #62 — a live session where I review a real website and show exactly how I do this work in practice.

Not theory.

Actual, billable skills.

🎟 Tickets are $25

If you’re tired of being “almost qualified” and want a skill you can use immediately, this is for you. 

Link in comments

Maigen Thomas

Founder, Level 11 Technology // Author of Practical UX // Accessibility and UX Design Consultant

Sticky, chewed up (probably flavorless) green gum is smeared and stuck onto the bottom of a blue shoe with stretchy strings connecting to the floor. Green text over a pink background says "Feeling a little stuck? It's time to build real experience instead of waiting for permission."

If you already follow Vitaly Friedman, you know his articles and posts share incredible value. I'm grateful to have my favorite tool mentioned in this one! 

What's your plan for 2026?

View newsletter: Interface Design Patterns 🍣

Open article: ⛳ UX and Product Designer’s Career Paths by Vitaly Friedman • 8 min read

⛳ UX and Product Designer’s Career Paths

Are you ready for the first Website Accessibility and Usability Evaluation of the year? 

Yeah, me too. It's been a while since I've seen you all. 

Get a ticket here: https://luma.com/unxx1fyt

#accessibility #usability #website #evaluation #manualReview #inclusiveDesign

Maigen is hosting another event in the Website Accessibility and Usability Evaluation series, this time is #62. 

taplio

Maigen Thomas's Linkedin Analytics

Maigen Thomas

Performance ScoreMaigen Thomas's LinkedIn Performance

What is Maigen talking about?

Maigen Thomas's Best Posts (last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

.css-6ytdur{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39, 43, 72, 1) 0%, rgba(33, 47, 183, 1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Maigen Thomas's Linkedin Analytics

Maigen Thomas

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Maigen Thomas's LinkedIn Performance

What is Maigen talking about?

Maigen Thomas's Best Posts .css-1emoo84{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:400;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);}(last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Maigen Thomas's Linkedin Analytics

Performance ScoreMaigen Thomas's LinkedIn Performance

Maigen Thomas's Best Posts (last 30 days)