• Job: Accessibility consultant, Atlanta

(ENLARGE)

• What I do: While architects and developers plan beautiful buildings where people can live, work or play, Marie Latta makes sure everyone can get inside and use them.

Latta, 66, is part of the team on new construction and renovation projects to make sure the front steps and everything beyond comply with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as state and local requirements that may go beyond federal rules.

She can test things firsthand because she uses a wheelchair. She said it makes her the member of the team with a different perspective.

Latta has been consulting with developers since 1991, shortly after the ADA was passed. Businesses and builders were unsure what was required.

"People realized, you have to do this," she said. "I knew businesses wouldn't know how to handle the ADA."

Latta describes herself as a hawk about safety and accessibility as she looks over plans, and, when she goes to the building site for inspections, "I'm like a mother hen" as she checks the smallest details.

From her observations, she generates a report on where the project isn't in compliance with the law and what the builder can do to fix things. "I developed my own way of assessing and reporting," she said.

Her goal is to make each project as accessible as it can be. Projects can exceed the standards of the law, she said, but they can't fall short.

Latta is working on a renovation project at Welcome House, a downtown, single-room-occupancy facility for low-income residents. She said she approaches her job "with an auditor's mind and a human-services heart."

Latta ensures that each project meets specific criteria for accessibility, yet she keeps the users in mind.

She also uses skills she developed as an educator to "try to teach as we go" through the project. She said that, if she can help an architect or developer learn to increase accessibility, "then I've accomplished something."

• What got me interested in this: "I'm an incurable advocate," Latta said. "My mission in life and career came together."

The former high school teacher said she spent many years in education and human resources, working with people of all ages who have special needs. She was director of a facility for children with disabilities; the facility needed extensive renovations.

Shortly after the ADA passed, Latta began training people in the human resources side of compliance. She soon realized the need to help make properties comply.

"There was a time when everyone in a wheelchair thought they were an ADA consultant," she said. "But a broken leg does not an orthopedic surgeon make."

She and her late husband held a seminar on ADA issues, and she was hired for her first job by one of the attendees. "I discovered I absolutely loved it," she said.

She is the only employee of her company, Latta Enterprises.

"I came in the side door and established my own niche," she said.

• Best part of my job: "Knowing that what I do makes a difference in lots of people's lives," she said. "If I know something that can help you, I should share it."

• Most challenging part: "I have to assess needs quickly," Latta said. Developers "are on a schedule. When things start to happen, they need you right away."

• What people don't know about my job: "My job is about more than wheelchairs and wide doors," she said. "It's about the quality of life for people with disabilities."

Among other concerns in housing, she said, is making sure that doors swing the right way to accommodate people with mobility issues; that sinks, countertops and appliances are reachable; and that there are no tripping obstacles for people who are in wheelchairs or are visually impaired.

• What keeps me going: After she completes a project, Latta said, "people come back and thank me" for improving the quality of their lives.

• Preparation needed for this job: Accessibility consultants require no certification or license — just experience, Latta said.

She used her background in education and human resources — in addition to self-study on the law and on how to read architectural drawings — to gain expertise.

Would-be consultants also need good writing and communication skills; knowledge of people with disabilities and their environments; knowledge of the ADA, civil rights and other laws; and problem-solving, self-motivation and self-management skills.

She has a bachelor's degree in secondary education from the University of Arkansas and a master's degree in special education from Georgia State University. She has been a teacher and an administrator with government and private mental-health facilities.

Her work as a consultant includes Philips Arena, Gwinnett Center and hospitals, but she concentrates on residential projects now.

"I help [the developer] end up with a project that works," she said.

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.