Kristin Burgess

Recent and upcoming courses

Summer 2026

• HSER 303: Disability Awareness

Fall 2026

• MAPL 668: Implementing Disability Policy: From Law to Lived Experience

Spring 2027

• HSDS 305: Disability Rights: History and Current Trends

Biography

Kristin Burgess is director of the Center for Accessibility Resources, senior community faculty in the College of Community Studies and Public Affairs, and ADA coordinator at Metro State University. Her work is grounded in a justice-model approach to disability, accessibility, and inclusion.

Burgess brings experience in disability policy, public administration, higher education, and state government to her work with Metro State’s diverse student community. She holds a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from Minnesota State University Moorhead and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, where she focused on disability policy.

She also earned a graduate certificate in disability policy and services from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in human services with an emphasis in disability studies from Metropolitan State University. She is a Certified ADA Coordinator.

Before and alongside her work in higher education, Burgess served in several Minnesota state agencies and offices. These include the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, Department of Employment and Economic Development, Minnesota Senate Research Office, Minnesota Council on Disability, and Minnesota’s Olmstead Implementation Office.

Burgess lives in south central Minnesota with her husband and their clowder of cats. She is a licensed amateur radio operator and volunteers at community events ranging from food distributions and town festivals to marathons and triathlons. She also serves her community as a head election judge, continuing more than 20 years of election service that began in Minneapolis.

When she is not navigating disability policy, higher education, or the occasional radio frequency, Burgess enjoys handcycling and adaptive kayaking.

Awards and Honors

• Equity and Inclusion in Action Award, 2025, for continued commitment to creating equitable, welcoming, and accessible spaces for students and employees.
• Student Ready Effort Award, 2020, recognizing efforts to eliminate barriers to student success.
• Innovator Team Award, 2018, for work on the University Accessibility Audit.
• Equity and Inclusion Leadership Award, 2018, for leadership of the Accessibility Audit Team.
• Paul and Sheila Wellstone Award for Public Action and Academic Excellence, 2013.
• Minnesota Department of Transportation SEEDS Student of the Year Award, 2012.

Publications

• “Harnessing AI for Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Spaces.” Chapter 8 in Ethical, Legal, and Pedagogical Perspectives on AI in Education, 2026.
• Phenomenological Study of Disabled Student Experiences Related to Inclusive Learning Environments in Public Higher Education, 2025.
• Co-author, Personal Care Assistant Certificate Program Curriculum, 2023.
• Co-author, The View from the Ground: Hennepin County Graduation Rates, 2013.

Presentations

• “Compliance Won’t Save Us (And Honestly, It Wasn’t Meant To),” MNAHEAD Conference, 2026.
• “Inclusive Communications Beyond Compliance: Designing for People, Not Just Policies,” Minnesota State Marketing and Communications Conference, 2026.
• “Not Either/Or: How ADA Title I and FMLA Work Together,” MAPE & AFSCME Frontline Conference, 2026.
• “Yes, No, and Not Exactly: Boundary Setting in Reasonable Accommodations,” Metropolitan State University, 2026.
• “Inclusive Learning Spaces & Accommodation in the Age of AI,” with Ezra Kesler, Metropolitan State University, 2026.
• “Academic Success for Neurodivergent Students,” with Brianna Droege, Metropolitan State University, 2026.
• “Artificial Intelligence for Accessibility and Accommodation,” with Ming-Ching Liang, Metropolitan State University, 2025.
• “Student Accommodations and the Sciences,” Metropolitan State University, 2025.
• “Empathy not Sympathy: Interacting Respectfully with People with Disabilities,” ADA Trainer Leadership Network training, 2025.
• “Beyond the Curb Cut and Door Openers,” ADA Trainer Leadership Network training, 2023.
• “Disability, Diversity, and the Workforce: Reframing Your Perceptions,” Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, 2022.
• “Ableism in the Workplace,” Metropolitan Council Leadership Forum, 2019.
• “Supporting Post Traditional Students in the Digital Age,” AHEAD Conference, 2017.
• Facilitator, public listening sessions for the Minnesota Olmstead Plan, 2013–2016.

Research Focus

Burgess’s research interests include disabled students’ experiences in higher education, inclusive learning environments, ableism, disability policy, accessibility, and universal design for learning. Her doctoral research used a phenomenological approach to examine disabled students’ experiences related to inclusive learning environments in public higher education.

Her related research has explored the relationship between ableism and faculty openness to universal design for learning from both faculty and student-experience perspectives. Her earlier public policy research examined Hennepin County graduation rates.

Her recent scholarly and professional work also addresses artificial intelligence in relation to accessibility, accommodation, inclusive learning, and disability rights.