About Us
Bio
Janis Kent, AIA CASp is a Certified Access Specialist (CASp), one out of about 475 in the State, and a licensed California Architect with over 30 years of experience. She has been the accessibility specialist for a nationally recognized architectural firm and has been involved in the world of Accessibility since the mid-1980’s. In addition to having managed a variety of architectural projects and providing professional seminars for architects, she has surveyed existing buildings for accessibility compliance, provided quality control for numerous surveys of existing facilities throughout the country, reviewed plans for Accessibility, and has been responsible for compiling standard architectural accessibility details nationwide. Ms Kent has also authored a book which is a compilation of architectural details on Accessibility combining ADAS with CBC.
In addition, she has been asked to speak on Accessibility at a variety of venues from the Dwell Mobius conventions in Los Angeles, the National AIA Convention in New Orleans, to a number of local California AIA Chapters, and the State Chapter of CCAIA has recorded one of her seminars. She also has been invited to speak at a number of business associations including Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Long Beach Business Association, BOMA-LA, and Congresswoman Janice Hahn’s Accessibility Workshop.
Ms Kent is the Founding President of the Certified Access Specialist Institute (CASI) which has been developed to provide a focal point on accessibility information as well as support to its CASp members. She serves on the Cerritos College Architectural Advisory committee and is on the Board of Directors for the AIA-Long Beach/South Bay chapter. She also participates on the State DSA-CASp Exam Development Committee and is designated as a permanent Subject Matter Expert. Janis received her M.Arch from the UCLA and is currently the principal of Stepping Thru Accessibility in Long Beach California.
The Company
Stepping Thru Accessibility was founded in 2009 in response to Senate Bills 1608 and 1186 implemented as CA Civic Code 55.51-55.54, and the need for information on Accessibility in the built environment. STA assists the Building Owner, Property Manager, Tenant, Architect, and Attorney navigate their way thru accessibility concerns and issues both for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as California Building Codes (CBC).
- Navigating the intricacies of California Building Codes and Federal ADAS is our specialty
- STA surveys facilities and provides detailed reports of items in non-compliance with today’s accessibility standards for the built environment
- CASp reports can be issued once correction schedules are established
- Construction drawings for new buildings and alterations can be evaluated to verify if accessibility requirements are adequately addressed
- And topical seminars for architects, facilities property managers, interior designers, landscape, civil engineers, & others involved in the built environment are offered
Stepping Thru Accessibility is located in Long Beach and is ideally located to serve the southern California area from San Diego to Santa Barbara with Los Angeles and South Bay being our immediate neighborhood.
