Salimah LaForce

Muslimah "Salimah" LaForce serves as Senior Research Scientist and Director of Research at Georgia Tech's Center for Advanced Communications Policy (CACP), which operates within the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy. With 14 years of experience in user needs research and policy analysis, she specializes in technology access for vulnerable populations, particularly people with disabilities. Her current leadership includes the American Sign Language-Accessible Diabetes Education (ASL-ADE) project sponsored by Emory University and the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Inclusive Technologies (Wireless RERC).

LaForce's research interests center on disability access policy, inclusive emergency communications, and social inclusion of underrepresented populations. Her work employs qualitative methodologies and survey research to examine how technology access impacts educational, employment, and social opportunities. She has particular expertise in evaluating federal regulations like the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system and identifying implementation gaps affecting people with disabilities. Her research spans emergency preparedness, employment participation, and healthcare accessibility, consistently focusing on the lived experiences of socially vulnerable populations.

Her extensive publication record reveals consistent themes in accessible technology adoption, with particular emphasis on emergency communications systems, digital inclusion during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, and employment barriers for people with disabilities. Her work demonstrates a methodological preference for mixed-methods approaches combining survey data with policy analysis, often translating research findings into actionable policy recommendations for federal agencies like the FCC.

• Principal Investigator for American Sign Language-Accessible Diabetes Education (ASL-ADE) project
• Project Director for Wireless RERC's Policy and Outreach Initiatives
• Senior editor of monthly policy newsletter "Technology and Disability Policy Highlights"
• Co-investigator on Field-Initiated Project about contingent employment for people with disabilities
• Former operations manager for DHS S&T contract on public response to alerts

LaForce earned her BA in English literature from Agnes Scott College and her MS in Clinical Psychology with applied research specialization from Capella University. Her graduate studies focused on culturally competent mental health services and workplace inclusion of people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and women, with emphasis on perceptions, bias, and social attitudes.