About Us
About Us
Our Team
Stan Leyenhorst,
RHFAC™
Professional
Stan is lead design consultant with Universal Access Design. Stan has spent the last several years focused on accessibility in the built environment: performing assessments of existing sites, preparing recommendation reports, and presenting reports to interested parties.
With respect to new construction, he reviews blueprints, crafts accessibility design criteria manuals and collaborates with city staff, architects, and developers at stakeholder meetings. In addition, Stan has been involved in educating customer service representatives, designers, and engineers by means of simulation training and language and etiquette presentations.
Stan’s desire to improve the accessibility of our communities fueled his desire to found Universal Access Design Inc. He gets great personal satisfaction from contributing his knowledge to assist engineers and architects with the application of universal design principles in their work.
Ingrid Baartman,
RHFAC™
Professional
Ingrid completed her RHFAC™ Professional training in 2020 and has participated in assessing more than 100 sites since then, including commercial sites, recreation centres, Federal buildings, and parks/outdoor areas. Ingrid has experience in onsite data collection, data organization, crafting current conditions/recommendation reports, disability awareness and sensitivity training, and the promotion of inclusive environments.
Additionally, she has spent the last five years managing the administration department at Universal Access Design.
Prior to joining Universal Access Design, Ingrid worked in Special Education in a school setting. She provided direct support both to students and teachers in inclusive classrooms. Ingrid's range of experience also offers the perspective of a deeply invested caregiver; her father was a paraplegic who used a wheelchair for over fifty years. She believes that inclusion is imperative to strong families who, in turn, make strong communities.
Daniel Cedeno, Project Manager
Daniel, a seasoned professional with over seven years of experience in project management, merges his architectural background and engineering qualifications to champion Universal Design principles. His academic journey includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, a Master's Degree in Architecture, and the RHFAC™ Professional training program, underpinning his holistic approach to creating inclusive, functional, and aesthetically pleasing spaces.
Daniel's commitment goes beyond regulatory compliance, consistently delivering results in site preparation investigations and project execution. His project work includes several site assessments for accessibility involving exterior and interior elements of the built environment in urban, rural and park settings.
Caleb Van Esch,
RHFAC™
Professional
Caleb is the principal of Urban Ability, an access consulting firm in Ontario. Caleb works primarily with property management companies to ensure code compliance as well as to design accessibility strategies. His work in institutional project management helps him understand the obstacles that arise when retrofitting structures.
Caleb is the leading RHFAC™
Professional in Ontario. He has worked on most of the high profile RHFAC™
ratings in Ontario including Federal Government and capital projects. His academic credentials include a Diploma in Hospitality. In addition to his diploma, Caleb also has an AHLA Certificate in Facilities Management.
Bruce Gilmour
Associate consultant, Bruce Gilmour, is a long-time advisor and advocate of accessibility and inclusivity for persons with a disability.
Bruce has served in the city of Vancouver in various roles including serving on the Advisory Committee on Disability Issues, and as an advisor and mentor to City staff in the identification of standards, best practices, and options in the planning for adding value in the outcomes sought for an accessible and inclusive city.
Sam Van Esch,
RHFAC™
Professional
Sam comes from a background in residential construction as a second-generation carpenter. While only recently being immersed into the world of universal design, many of the customers he has worked for are experiencing reduced mobility and have required their homes to be made more accessible.
He has constantly been surrounded by an older adult population that has had to struggle with barriers, specifically in the built environment. He looks forward to creating a more universally accessible environment for all people.
Lyn Metzlar,
RHFAC™
Professional
Lyn has a Bachelor of Education degree, with minors in Geography, English, and Learning Disabilities. She taught for over 30 years, most of that time in the middle school grades, focusing on English, Core French, and Visual Arts.
Upon retirement from the classroom, she joined our team as an Accessibility Associate, writing and editing reports and web copy. She completed coursework and the exam to become an RHFAC™ Professional.
Lyn also has 30 years of lived experience as the spouse and sometimes caregiver of a person with quadriplegia, which has opened her eyes to the needs of the built environment.