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</style> </head> <body> <div id="header"> <h1 class="title">The Braille Monitor,
February 2025</h1> </div> <h1 id="braille-monitor">BRAILLE MONITOR</h1> <p>Vol.
68, No. 2 February 2025</p> <p><em>Chris Danielsen, Editor</em></p> <p>Distributed
by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive, by the<br /> NATIONAL
FEDERATION OF THE BLIND</p> <p>Mark Riccobono, President</p> <p>telephone:
410-659-9314<br /> email address: <a href="mailto:nfb@nfb.org">nfb@nfb.org</a><br
/> website address: <a href="http://www.nfb.org">http://www.nfb.org</a><br />
NFBnet.org: <a href="http://www.nfbnet.org">http://www.nfbnet.org</a><br />
NFB-NEWSLINE® information: 866-504-7300<br /> Like us on Facebook: <a
href="http://Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind">Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind</a><br
/> Follow us on X: @NFB_Voice<br /> Follow us on Mastodon: @nationsblind@nfb.social<br
/> Watch and share our videos: <a
href="http://YouTube.com/NationsBlind">YouTube.com/NationsBlind</a></p> <p>Letters
to the President, address changes, subscription requests, and orders for NFB
literature should be sent to the national office. Articles for the <em>Monitor</em>
and letters to the editor may also be sent to the national office or may be emailed
to <a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a>.</p> <p><em>Monitor</em>
subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year. Members are invited,
and nonmembers are requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
made payable to <strong>National Federation of the Blind</strong> and sent to:</p>
<p>National Federation of the Blind<br /> 200 East Wells Street <em>at Jernigan
Place</em><br /> Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998</p> <p><strong>THE NATIONAL
FEDERATION OF THE BLIND ADVANCES THE LIVES OF ITS MEMBERS AND ALL BLIND PEOPLE IN
THE UNITED STATES. WE KNOW THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES
YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS OF BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE
LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR DREAMS. OUR COLLECTIVE
POWER, DETERMINATION, AND DIVERSITY ACHIEVE THE ASPIRATIONS OF ALL BLIND PEOPLE.
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE
BLIND—IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.</strong></p> <p><em>ISSN
0006-8829</em></p> <p>© 2025 by the National Federation of the Blind</p>
<p>Each issue is recorded on a thumb drive (also called a memory stick or USB
flash drive). You can read this audio edition using a computer or a National
Library Service digital player. The NLS machine has two slots—the familiar
book-cartridge slot just above the retractable carrying handle and a second slot
located on the right side near the headphone jack. This smaller slot is used to
play thumb drives. Remove the protective rubber pad covering this slot and insert
the thumb drive. It will insert only in one position. If you encounter resistance,
flip the drive over and try again. (Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when
you insert the thumb drive, the digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once
the thumb drive is inserted, the player buttons will function as usual for reading
digital materials. If you remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges,
when you insert it again, reading should resume at the point you stopped.</p>
<p>You can transfer the recording of each issue from the thumb drive to your
computer or preserve it on the thumb drive. However, because thumb drives can be
used hundreds of times, we would appreciate their return in order to stretch our
funding. Please use the return envelope enclosed with the drive when you return
the device.</p> <p>Vol. 68, No. 2 February 2025</p> <h2 id="contents"> Contents</h2>
<p>Convention Bulletin 2025</p> <p>A Brief Report of the Meeting of the National
Federation of the Blind Board of Directors Held December 6 and 7, 2024<br /> by
Gary Wunder</p> <p>Blind Merchants Lift Off in Nashville<br /> by Terry C. Smith</p>
<p>Bullish on BLAST and the Blind<br /> by James Gashel</p> <p>We Dare to Be
Remarkable<br /> by Anil Lewis</p> <p>Evolving Principles, Practices, and
Philosophy<br /> An address delivered by Mark A. Riccobono</p> <p>Evolving
Principles, Practices, and Philosophy at the Rehabilitation Services Administration<br
/> by Danté Allen</p> <p>Innovate to Elevate: Fostering Excellence in
Rehabilitation Services for Blind Youth<br /> by Carlos R. Serván</p> <p>Shaping
Twenty-First Century Rehabilitation Systems: Leadership, Partnership, and High
Expectations<br /> Moderator: Anil Lewis</p> <p>We Need Your Help</p> <p>Why Every
Blind Postsecondary Student Should Apply for an NFB Scholarship<br /> by Cayte
Mendez</p> <p>The 2025 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award<br /> by
Carla McQuillan</p> <p>The 2025 Blind Educator of the Year Award<br /> by Robin
House</p> <p><em>Monitor</em> Miniatures</p> <h2 id="convention-bulletin-2025">Convention
Bulletin 2025</h2> <p>The 2025 Convention of the National Federation of the Blind
will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, this summer. Start planning your trip
now.</p> <blockquote> <p>Tuesday, July 8, through Sunday, July 13</p> <p>The
Marriott New Orleans and the Sheraton New Orleans</p> </blockquote> <p>As our
headquarters hotel, the Marriott will host convention breakouts, general sessions,
and the banquet. Right across Canal Street, the Sheraton serves as our overflow
hotel and will be home to the Exhibit Hall and Independence Market.</p> <p>If this
will be your first convention or if you need a refresher, check out our First
Timer’s Guide at <a
href="https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/first-timers-guide">https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/first-timers-guide</a>.</p>
<h3 id="book-your-hotel">Book Your Hotel</h3> <p>Reserve your room by calling
888-236-2427 for the Marriott or 855-516-1090 for the Sheraton New Orleans. Ask
for the “National Federation of the Blind 2025 Convention” block.
Here are important things to know about the rates and booking the room:</p> <h3
id="rates-and-taxes">Rates and Taxes</h3> <p>The nightly rate for both the Marriott
and the Sheraton is $119 for singles and doubles, while triples and quads can be
booked for $129 per night. You should also anticipate the combined sales tax and
tourism support rate of 16.2 percent and note there is a hotel occupancy fee of
$3.00 per night.</p> <h3 id="deposit-and-cancellation">Deposit and Cancellation</h3>
<p>At the time you make a reservation, a deposit of the first night’s stay
is required for each room reserved. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be
charged against your card immediately, just as would be the case with a check. If
a reservation is cancelled before Sunday, June 1, 2025, half of the deposit will
be returned. Otherwise, refunds will not be made.</p> <h3 id="registration">Registration</h3>
<p>Registration for convention will open in March. Registration will be $25 per
person plus $80 per banquet ticket. Register early because prices go up if you
register onsite in New Orleans. Registration includes the biggest event of the
year, access to the event app, and communications on the latest news and events.</p>
<h3 id="convention-schedule">Convention Schedule</h3> <p>The 2025 Convention of
the National Federation of the Blind will be a truly exciting and memorable event,
with an unparalleled program and rededication to the goals and work of our
movement.</p> <ul> <li><p>A wide range of seminars for parents of blind children,
technology enthusiasts, job seekers, and other groups will kick the week off on
Tuesday, July 8. Convention registration and registration packet pick-up will also
open on Tuesday.</p></li> <li><p>Breakout sessions continue on Wednesday, July 9,
along with committee meetings.</p></li> <li><p>Thursday, July 10, will kick off
with the annual meeting, open to all, of the Board of Directors of the National
Federation of the Blind. National division meetings will follow the board meeting
that afternoon and evening.</p></li> <li><p>General convention sessions will begin
on Friday, July 11, and continue through the afternoon of Sunday, July 13.</p></li>
<li><p>Convention ends on a high note with the banquet Sunday evening, so be sure
to pack your fancy clothes. The fall of the gavel at the close of banquet will
signal convention’s adjournment. Make plans now to be a part of it.</p></li>
</ul> <h3 id="request-for-door-prizes">Request for Door Prizes</h3> <p>Remember
that as usual we need door prizes from state affiliates, local chapters, and
individuals. Prizes should be small in size but large in value. Cash, of course,
is always appropriate and welcome. We ask that prizes of all kinds have a value
of at least $25 and not include alcohol. Drawings will occur throughout the
convention sessions, and you can anticipate a grand prize of truly impressive
proportions to be drawn at the banquet. If you have a prize that must be shipped
in advance of the convention, please email Greater New Orleans Chapter President
Tammy Green at <a href="mailto:tammygreen4401@gmail.com">tammygreen4401@gmail.com</a>
to make arrangements.</p> <h3 id="division-committee-group-meetings">Division,
Committee, Group Meetings</h3> <p>Over 200 sessions and meetings happen during
convention. If you are a leader in a division, committee, or group that will meet
at convention, please don’t wait to organize. Start planning your agenda,
goals, and connections now. Stay tuned for details from the Convention Chair, John
Berggren.</p> <h3 id="volunteer">Volunteer</h3> <p>Thank you to the hundreds of
volunteers who help make the national convention a big success. There are plenty
of opportunities to pitch in throughout the week of convention. Visit <a
href="https://nfb.org/convention">https://nfb.org/convention</a> to learn more
about the following opportunities.</p> <ul> <li><p>Convention Ambassador: assist
in making the national convention a welcoming and empowering experience for all
of our attendees.</p></li> <li><p>Independence Market: serve as demonstrators,
storekeepers, cashiers, and line marshals during the days the market is open in
the Exhibit Hall.</p></li> </ul> <p>Ambassadors and the Independence Market are
not the only areas where we need volunteers. Stay tuned for more details on shifts,
schedules, and signups for the following areas.</p> <ul> <li><p>Convention Ally
Network: facilitate participation in the convention and support those who feel
unsafe because of laws in the host state.</p></li> <li><p>Support Service Provider:
assist with optimizing participation in the convention for deafblind attendees.</p></li>
<li><p>Spanish Interpretation: help make the convention available to our
Spanish-speaking attendees.</p></li> <li><p>Action Fund Book Fair: assist with
box sorting, helping customers with book decisions and selections, and packing
selected books for delivery.</p></li> </ul> <p>If you are interested in learning
more about how to get involved, please connect with your state affiliate president.</p>
<h3 id="countdown-to-new-orleans">Countdown to New Orleans</h3> <p>The best
collection of exhibits featuring new technology; meetings of our special interest
groups, committees, and divisions; the most stimulating and provocative program
items of any meeting of the blind in the world; the chance to renew friendships
in our Federation family; and the unparalleled opportunity to be where the real
action is and where decisions are being made—all of these mean you will
not want to miss being a part of the 2025 National Convention. To assure yourself
a room in the headquarters hotel at convention rates, make your reservations early.
We plan to see you in New Orleans in July.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Gary Wunder]</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: The NFB Board of Directors: left to right,
back row: Everette Bacon, Marilyn Green, Shawn Callaway, Ben Dallin, Jim Marks,
Donald Porterfield, Tom Page, Tracy Soforenko; front row: Shelia Wright, Jamie
Richey, Grace Pires, Pam Allen, Mark Riccobono, Norma Crosby, Jessica Beecham,
Barbara Manuel, Marci Carpenter]</p> <h2
id="a-brief-report-of-the-meeting-of-the-national-federation-of-the-blind-board-of-directors-held-december-6-and-7-2024">A
Brief Report of the Meeting of the National Federation of the Blind Board of
Directors Held December 6 and 7, 2024</h2> <p><strong>by Gary Wunder</strong></p>
<p>On December 6th and 7th, 2024, the National Federation of the Blind Board of
Directors met in person at the NFB Jernigan Institute to discuss current programs
of the Federation, our successes, and our challenges for the future. After reviewing
the minutes of meetings held since the last in-person meeting, board members talked
about the reasons for their commitment to and faith in the work of the National
Federation of the Blind. Some were inspired by the need, while others were empowered
by the commitment shown by our members and leaders to help one another. Every
person who spoke made it clear that real progress for blind people comes through
the collective action we choose to take together and that they are grateful and
uplifted by the confidence that has been placed in them as leaders.</p> <p>The
fundraising landscape has been drastically changed as the importance of mail
through the United States Postal Service has diminished and electronic forms of
communication have superseded it. We have been the beneficiaries of a robust
mailing outreach program that has not only generated funds in response to our
informational mailings but has also planted our name in the hearts and minds of
donors who end up adding us as beneficiaries on their deaths. The decline in
revenue through the mail has been evident for some time but is increasing at an
alarming pace. Since we do not borrow money, our programs must function on the
revenue we generate, and a failure to do this on our part will necessarily mean
fewer programs and less money for those we continue to support. How we will replace
this revenue and continue to expand our programs must be the responsibility of
every Federationist to think about, offer suggestions, and help us devise a way
of seeking substantial donations from members of the public. The problem we face
is not for Baltimore or for the “national” to solve. This problem
and solutions to it belong to us.</p> <p>We will continue working to build the
Museum of the Blind People's Movement with the understanding that much of the
concept work will be wrapping up in May of 2025, and further progress will have
to wait until funds are available. We are still interested in the ideas of members
about what should go into the museum and what should not. Anyone having items they
think should be a part of our exhibits is encouraged to contact President Riccobono.
The longer we wait to do the physical construction, the more it will cost, but
until we are ready to fund that construction, we must wait and continue to work
on financing.</p> <p>Our Jernigan Fund continues to grant many people the opportunity
to attend their first national convention. In addition, it is helping support our
Kenneth Jernigan Leadership in Service cohort.</p> <p>We continue to certify
Braille transcribers for the National Library Service. A task before us is to
develop the code curriculum for mathematics using Unified English Braille. The
team is working on developing strategies for creating tactile graphics for the
American Printing House (APH) to use in building a library that can be viewed
using the Monarch.</p> <p>For very young children, we have our Braille Reading
Pals Program and our Early Explorers Program. In both we teach parents to be
teachers, offering to their children initial instruction in Braille with Braille/print
books, and cane travel through providing a cane and guidance on beginning skills
that the parents can teach.</p> <p>Our NFB BELL® (Braille Enrichment through
Literacy and Learning) Academy program continues to help children learn Braille
and other skills during the summer. “I Can Lead” was the theme for
2024, with eighteen affiliates hosting twenty-three programs. The program saw
eighty-eight new students and served a total of 222 students. The program thrived
not only because of the support of our membership but also because of the generous
donation of time by 214 mentors/volunteers/coordinators.</p> <p>The STEM-2-U
Program works with blind students to show that these fields are as possible and
as lucrative for blind people as for the sighted. This has meant coming up with
innovative approaches to teach blind people what others gain through vision.
Programs have traditionally been held at the Jernigan Institute, but this year
fourteen affiliates hosted programs that served 117 students. The theme was the
James Webb Space Telescope, and ninety-one mentors/volunteers/coordinators made
it happen.</p> <p>The Teachers of Tomorrow Program links teachers of blind students
with the real-life experiences of blind people. This year we selected twenty
participants from a pool of fifty-five applicants. It takes twenty-five mentors
to run this program and the support of all who help fund our Federation.</p> <p>The
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the most important document in mapping out
what a blind primary or secondary student will need from school and measuring
whether the needed services have been provided. Participating in negotiations with
school districts is not something that is second nature. It requires training,
confidence, and support. This year we offered the training to sixteen people who
have pledged to be advocates anywhere they are needed. We thank our partners: the
Professional Development Research Institute on Blindness (PDRIB) and the National
Organization of Parents of Blind Children. We also wish to thank the Lavelle Fund
for the Blind for their generous financial support.</p> <p>Because employment is
a significant goal, we have several programs to target acquiring skills and learning
the ropes of getting and keeping a job. This year we had 760 people participate
in our virtual and in-person career fairs, Where the Blind Work webinars, and
training sessions.</p> <p>Jonathan Mosen made his first presentation to the
in-person meeting in his new role as Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence.
We are working on outdoor and indoor travel technology, autonomous vehicles, and
making a real effort to collaborate with product developers before their products
hit the market. We need to remember that our “big stick” can be used
for more than travel. We are actively working with Google, Microsoft, Amazon,
Apple, and Facebook. With this latter company we have seen many regressions that
make the platform much more difficult and less pleasurable to use. Talks are
ongoing and encouraging, but the real test is what happens, or fails to happen,
as a result. More aggressive action may need to be taken if real progress is not
evident soon.</p> <p>Open AI, one of the most prominent players in the artificial
intelligence space, is consulting with us, and this is a testament to who we are
in the community given that so many organizations dealing with technology for the
blind, such as Be My Eyes, are pressing this company for contacts and services.
When a company comes to us, one of our major offerings is market intelligence.
They know their products, but we know the people who need and will buy them. When
we act, we are much more persuasive than a petition, no matter the number of
signatures it may have.</p> <p>One area where we must make progress is in hearing
aids. Our hearing is essential, but too few companies are creating controls that
work with screen-reading technology. While some settings are done by an audiologist,
others such as adjusting the directionality and volume are under user control if
one can see.</p> <p>Infrastructure isn't always the most exciting thing to read
about, but without it little tasks become big ones and big ones become impossible.
John Berggren told the Board about updating our computer security, the updated
wireless system in the building, and the replacement of ten-year-old printers with
ones that are faster, cheaper, and have more functions. Our bandwidth is now 400
percent more than last year. The next major upgrade is our phone system, which we
expect to move to the cloud. This will cut cost and increase reliability. To stay
up-to-date, we replaced nearly three dozen laptops for the staff. Square is a
system we now use to process credit cards, whether at the Jernigan Institute in
our Independence Market or at our annual national convention.</p> <p>Reporting
for our Advocacy and Policy Department, John Paré briefly discussed the status
of bills and the importance of doing what we can before the new Congress takes
office on January 3. This year we will again be introducing the Medical Device
Nonvisual Accessibility Act, the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility
Act, and the Blind Americans Return to Work Act. We will again begin the work of
finding sponsors and cosponsors, and as the Congress becomes more comfortable with
these legislative concepts, our bills get ever closer to becoming the law of the
land. We will continue to support the Access Technology Affordability Act as well
as the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act. We strongly support
an appropriation for distribution of the Monarch, the dynamic Braille and tactile
graphics tablet which we have helped create along with the American Printing House
for the Blind and HumanWare. Autonomous vehicles will remain a priority for us as
we work to see that they are usable for the blind and become acceptable in the
states. In some localities this will involve changing laws that currently require
all persons operating a vehicle have a driver’s license.</p> <p>Currently,
twenty-three states have endorsed a full or partial phaseout of section 14(c) of
the Fair Labor Standards Act, meaning that businesses can no longer pay disabled
people less than the minimum wage. We are continuing to work diligently for blind
people to have the right to vote privately and independently. In addition to the
systemic changes we seek, we are also involved in directly helping blind people
with issues such as Social Security, with seventeen people being the beneficiaries
of our work.</p> <p>NFB-NEWSLINE® continues to be an important resource for
blind people, and as with other changes in technology, it is moving to the cloud.
Currently an Android version of the app is being tested, and we hope it can be
released soon.</p> <p>Stephanie Cascone, our Director of Communications and
Marketing, made her presentation to the board. She reminded us that at the core
of what we do must be the telling of our stories. Once we have told them, we must
be strategic in seeing that they are not only preserved but actively shared and
passed down. We must ensure that we use all of our publication assets in coordination
to send our message.</p> <p>Our branding has been updated, and it can be found at
<a href="mailto:found@nfb.org/brand">nfb.org/brand</a>. Although several articles
have been written about it in the past, it is always helpful to review the page
and to have it available, either through memory or reference, for those we meet.</p>
<p>We are continuing to build Mark AI as another resource for people to use to
learn more about the National Federation of the Blind. Currently the system reports
having 4,476 memories it can use in conversing with people who want to know more
about the Federation. Every person using it and building it will be helpful. We
are doing research on other AI opportunities as well.</p> <p>The organization
generates a tremendous amount of material, and one of our jobs must be to see that
it is retained in such a way that is easily findable and usable. The National
Association of Blind Students, the Performing Arts Division, and the National
Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania each generate a quality podcast, and a
number of affiliates have important speeches and presentations that they feature.
Though the staff of the communications group does not coordinate these, it should
be involved to see that branding, advertising, and retention have a high priority.</p>
<p>Our followers on social media continue to grow, and this provides one of the
fastest and most effective ways to be involved in current discussions of importance
to the organization. It is important that our members respond when questions and
issues arise.</p> <p>All of the presenters had much more to say than can be included
in this report. It is clear that the work we have to do is extremely important
and far from done. On the stairs to true equality, we continue to make impressive
progress, and although our organizational knowledge and resources are greater than
they have ever been, each step upward requires more planning and energy. Loving
and respecting our traditions, addressing our current problems, and being a part
of shaping the future are all commitments that the members of the Board of Directors
embrace as representatives of our organization. With the spirit of optimism,
commitment, and tremendous gratitude for being allowed to work together, the annual
fall board meeting was adjourned.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Terry
C. Smith]</p> <h2 id="blind-merchants-lift-off-in-nashville">Blind Merchants Lift
Off in Nashville</h2> <p><strong>by Terry C. Smith</strong></p> <p><strong>From
the Editor: Terry Smith is the Director of Training and Technical Assistance for
the National Association of Blind Merchants (NABM), a division of the National
Federation of the Blind consisting of Randolph-Sheppard vendors and other blind
entrepreneurs. Terry left his position as director of Tennessee Services for the
Blind in 2012 and joined NABM. In addition to his advocacy work, he currently
assists NABM President Nicky Gacos in planning and coordinating training events,
such as the conference he describes in this article, and provides technical
assistance to state licensing agencies and elected committees of blind vendors.
Here is his report on the return of the NABM’s Business Leadership and
Superior Training (BLAST) conference after a long hiatus:</strong></p> <p>In
November of 2024, Nashville, Tennessee, hosted the largest Randolph-Sheppard
training event in history. Almost six hundred blind merchants, teaming partners,
purveyors, state agency personnel, and other stakeholders converged on Music City
for four days of outstanding training.</p> <p>BLAST (Business Leadership and
Superior Training) is the premier training event sponsored by the National
Association of Blind Merchants (NABM), the National Federation of the Blind’s
Merchants Division. BLAST dates back twenty-five years, with past conferences
being held in such cities as Las Vegas, Orlando, Denver, Memphis, Austin, San
Antonio, Indianapolis, Chicago, and three previous times in Nashville.</p>
<p>“COVID hit our guys hard, so we were hesitant to do a big event like
this,” said Nicky Gacos, president of the National Association of Blind
Merchants. “This was our first full-blown BLAST since 2018, and we were
absolutely blown away by the turnout. I still have someone tell me every day that
it was the best BLAST ever, and it got folks regenerated and excited about the
future. Our goal is to educate, motivate, and stimulate creativity while having
some fun too.”</p> <p>NABM’s membership consists primarily of blind
merchants who operate food services in government buildings pursuant to the
Randolph-Sheppard Act. As a result of COVID, government workers left their offices
to work at home. Five years later, the majority of government workers still work
from home, meaning that there are fewer customers to buy food products from the
blind merchants. Twenty-five percent of these merchants went out of business, and
many more have lost significant income. The program is going through a transition
and needs innovation if it is to be here for future generations of blind people.</p>
<p>“This is why BLAST was so important this year,” said President
Gacos. “Superior training and creative thinking are more important than
ever and hold the keys to building a bigger and better program.” One of
the conference’s significant features was a full day of training for state
agency personnel; the Randolph-Sheppard program is administered through licensing
agencies in each state. One hundred and fifty state staff participated. The
event’s high-energy keynote address was delivered by Emmy Award winner and
bestselling author Clint Pulver. The America’s Got Talent alumnus’s
presentation on building a winning culture featured not only his dynamic drumming
but an impressive group performance by the attendees, who were all provided their
own set of drumsticks. They learned what they could do all working together.</p>
<p>There were sessions on micro markets, legal issues affecting blind merchants,
the new political landscape, investing and money management, social media,
nontraditional opportunities, innate commissaries, marketing, artificial intelligence
(AI), the violence epidemic, Social Security issues, and much more. The most
impressive presentation may have been an AI-generated conversation between President
Gacos and Senator Jennings Randolph, who sponsored the original bill that created
the program in 1936. And there was plenty of entertainment along the way. What
would an event be in Nashville without music? Whether you are a fan of Dolly
Parton, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, or not a country music fan at all, there was
something for you.</p> <p>BLAST has come to be synonymous with amazing trade shows.
This BLAST did not disappoint, as sixty purveyors were there to show their goods
and services. The big players like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Keurig Dr Pepper, and Mars
were there promoting their products. Smaller startup companies shared new products.
Vending machine manufacturers had their equipment on-site, as did micro market
providers. Technology companies joined in the fun, along with companies selling
their business-related services.</p> <p>But the highlight of the entire event may
have been the recognition of some outstanding contributors to this field. Foremost
among these was the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to James Gashel. “It
was a thrill for me to be able to present this award to a man who helped get key
legislation passed and has been such an advocate for our program for over a
half-century,” President Gacos stated. “No one has done more for
blind merchants than Jim.” President Gacos paused and then added, “If
there was a Mount Rushmore for Randolph-Sheppard, he’d be on it.”
Mr. Gashel, who had just presented on his reflections of the program fifty years
after the 1974 amendments, was surprised and humbled by the award.</p> <p>Awards
were also presented to three outstanding blind merchants. Ron Brown of Indiana
received the Scott Young Award, which recognizes outstanding advocacy efforts.
Melba Taylor of Maryland and Michael Colbrunn of Minnesota received Gold Star
Awards for their distinguished service.</p> <p>Where does BLAST go from here?
Large four-day events like this are expensive and difficult to plan. President
Gacos has hinted that the future may be smaller training events such as the one
being planned for May 5-6, 2025, in Las Vegas in conjunction with the National
Automatic Merchandising Association Show. But the community is already clamoring
for another big BLAST. “Never say never,” laughed President Gacos.
“Someone might just make us an offer we cannot refuse.” If they do,
you can bet it will be even bigger and better.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: James Gashel]</p> <h2 id="bullish-on-blast-and-the-blind">Bullish on
BLAST and the Blind</h2> <p><strong>by James Gashel</strong></p> <p><strong>From
the Editor: The following article is adapted from remarks given by James Gashel
at the Business Leadership and Superior Training (BLAST) conference held this past
November in Nashville, Tennessee, by the National Association of Blind Merchants,
a division of the National Federation of the Blind primarily consisting of
participants in the Business Enterprise Program (BEP). Long-time Federationists
will know that Jim Gashel served for over thirty years as director of governmental
affairs for the National Federation of the Blind. He has also been the
organization’s secretary, and he now lives in Hawaii with his wife Susan,
an accomplished attorney who defends the BEP in court. Jim continues to be a
staunch Federationist and is helping to build the Hawaii affiliate. His remarks
tell the story of how the BEP sprung from humble beginnings in 1936 to the
outstanding opportunity for blind entrepreneurs that it is today, largely due to
the 1974 amendments to its enabling legislation, the Randolph-Sheppard Act. Jim
was present for and a key participant in the passage of these amendments, and he
was invited to speak to the conference to reflect on the progress made in the
fifty years since their adoption. Following his reflections, Jim was presented
with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the NABM, although he is humble about his
role. Jim’s remarks also touch on the program’s future and the role
of the National Federation of the Blind in securing it. Here is what he had to
say to the conference attendees:</strong></p> <p>It's good to be back at BLAST.
Conferences like this make you proud. Fifty years ago, I was proud to be part of
the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) working to get a bill through Congress
that became the Randolph-Sheppard Amendments of 1974. Kenneth Jernigan was president
of NFB then. He hired me to be chief of our Washington office. The title was chief,
but I was actually the bell, the clapper, and the cord, too. I'm sure some of you
can relate. I started as chief on January 1, 1974, and soon I met Senator [Jennings]
Randolph. He chaired the Senate Subcommittee on the Handicapped, later renamed
the Subcommittee on Disability Policy.</p> <p>Jennings Randolph was first elected
to Congress in 1933, coming from Elkins, West Virginia, serving in the House. He
sponsored a bill on vending stands for the blind after its original sponsor,
Senator Thomas D. Schall from Minnesota, was struck by a car and killed in 1935.
Representative Randolph was drawn to the Schall bill as a member of the Lions
Club, which supports efforts to help the blind. He recruited Senator Morris Sheppard
of Texas to move the bill forward in 1936. FDR signed it into law on June 20,
1936. That was fast, but it wasn't easy. There was actually little support outside
Congress, except for Leonard Robinson, a blind attorney. There was no organized
effort of blind people, no NFB until 1940. The Federal Public Buildings Service,
then in the Interior Department, opposed Senator Schall's bill from the beginning.
They didn't want a preference for the blind on anything, especially not cafeterias.
Opposition from the Public Buildings Service was only part of the problem. Lack
of interest, and even some outright opposition voiced by professional workers for
the blind, was more troubling. The American Association of Workers for the Blind
defeated a resolution of support that Leonard Robinson proposed and asked them to
pass. Some even wrote to Congress opposing the bill. They wanted a different bill,
which became the Wagner-O'Day Act when passed in 1938, today known as AbilityOne,
where blind people work in direct labor, not as entrepreneurs. It's a different
idea altogether. You can almost say that Randolph-Sheppard was ahead of its
time.</p> <p>There were few work opportunities for the blind in the 1930s. Many
states had agencies for the blind, but the Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Law
excluded them from getting federal funds until the law was changed in 1943. After
that, and more so after the [Second World] War, things improved a little, but not
so much for the Randolph-Sheppard program, which was essentially stuck with small
vending stands that were being squeezed out by automatic vending machines,
cafeterias, and other competing businesses. Amendments passed in 1954 did little
good. Vending machines were preferred by [federal] employees, since proceeds after
sales and commissions funded their morale, welfare, and recreation activities. By
1970, competition from vending machines threatened to stamp out Randolph-Sheppard
opportunities altogether, which could have happened but for Jennings Randolph, by
now a US senator from West Virginia. Also, unlike in 1936, the blind were organized,
and agencies for the blind were mostly more enlightened.</p> <p>Let me just step
back and share a little bit of my background. I grew up in Iowa. Kenneth Jernigan
was the main director there of our state agency, the Iowa Commission for the Blind.
He started there in 1958. Ten years after that, he was elected president of NFB.
In Iowa, before Dr. Jernigan, the best thing a blind boy could hope for–and
I was a blind boy at that time–was to get the Commission for the Blind to
set you up in a popcorn stand, or weaving rugs at home if you were a blind woman.
That was what the Iowa Commission for the Blind would do for you before Dr.
Jernigan. I kid you not, because I was there.</p> <p>By 1970, Dr. Jernigan was on
board for ten years. By that time, blind people were running large cafeterias in
all the main state office buildings and in the state capitol in Des Moines.</p>
<p>I actually worked my first experience—I wasn't the entrepreneur, I was
a dishwasher—in one of these cafeterias for one summer, starting at seven
o'clock in the morning and working until, I think, around 3:30 in the afternoon.
We served two thousand patrons at this cafeteria. We used regular plates and actual
flatware. There was no plastic throwaway stuff for the Iowa state workers at that
time. I don't know what they do now, but this was my early work opportunity as a
college kid, made possible by the BEP and Neil Butler, the blind entrepreneur who
hired me.</p> <p>A new federal building was opened in Des Moines in 1966, when
the Randolph-Sheppard Act still excluded cafeterias, but that didn't stop Dr.
Jernigan. The building opened, and the cafeteria serving employees and the public
was operated by a blind person from the first day until many years later when they
ceased having a cafeteria in that building. But it was always operated by a blind
person. It was under a permit that designated it as a “manually operated
snack bar,” but it was truly a full-blown cafeteria. It took Dr. Jernigan
and help from the Congressional delegation to get it that way because the law
wasn't adequate to support it; we got it done through political influence.</p>
<p>It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Dr. Jernigan was bullish on blind
entrepreneurs. In fact, he had been one; he had a small business of his own building
and selling furniture as a young man growing up here in Tennessee. He showed me
that furniture. Dr. Jernigan helped to convince me that blind people can be
entrepreneurs.</p> <p>By 1974, when I started at NFB in Washington, quite a lot
of work had been done to get a bill in shape to strengthen the Randolph-Sheppard
Act, but there was still lots of opposition. The Public Buildings Service, now
part of the General Services Administration (GSA), was still against putting
cafeterias under the Randolph-Sheppard law, as they had been since 1936. In fact,
Senator Randolph told me he had to promise GSA back in 1936 that he wouldn't try
to put cafeterias under this law. Well, he broke that promise in 1974, but they
didn't forget about it either. But we had proof by 1974 that blind people can run
large cafeterias. We proved that in Des Moines and some other places. So Senator
Randolph agreed to take the battle on. I was thrilled. I recall sitting in his
office talking this through and he said, “Well, I'll just go to the mat on
this.” Imagine me; I was kind of a kid, and a US senator told me “I'll
go to the mat on this.”</p> <p>Well, we had to agree to exclude certain
contracts; it was a bad agreement, but we had to make it. You don’t always
get everything you want, but the priority was still supposed to apply, so that
was good. The question of what to do about vending machine income almost upset
the applecart. Federal employees just didn't want to give up vending revenue that
they were getting to fund their morale, welfare, and recreation funds. Eventually
this was resolved when a fifty-fifty split on indirect competition vending income,
and additional concessions applying to the Postal Service, were agreed to.</p>
<p>The bill first (not last, but first) passed the Senate on June 20th, 1974, and
that was thirty-eight years to the absolute day that FDR signed the original law.
But the battle wasn't over because the vending machine deal wasn't done; it was
still hanging out there. I remember organizing members from our nearby affiliates
to make day trips into Washington to meet with members of Congress in September
and October 1974. Carl Perkins of Kentucky was chairman of the House Education
and Labor Committee. There was a need to extend some must-pass money authorizations
in the Rehabilitation Act to keep services going in that program. So I learned
that that's how you get things done in Washington: You find a bill that kind of
has a deadline that has to pass, and then you just hitch a ride on that bill. Carl
Perkins made our day when he agreed to make the Randolph-Sheppard Amendments Title
II of the rehabilitation bill. That bill had passed the House months before without
the Randolph-Sheppard provisions included, but Carl Perkins told us that what he
would do is agree to include Randolph-Sheppard if the Senate would pass the bill
with Randolph-Sheppard included. That was another lesson. When you want to get
something done, hitch two bills together so they both have a better chance of
passing. Elementary, but I was a kid out of college. I didn't know all that at
that time. Perkins taught me that.</p> <p>Here's another phrase I learned: The
train was leaving the station. That's what we say in Washington when a bill's
going to pass, and you might want to be on that train. The rehabilitation bill
with Randolph-Sheppard included passed the Senate on October 10, 1974, and passed
the House on October 16, 1974. But on October 18, 1974, President Ford vetoed the
bill. He was having a dispute with the Congress over some unrelated matters, and
it took about six weeks to work that out, and the bill had to pass Congress a
third time, this time in November. But when the dust settled, President Ford signed
Public Law 93-516 on December 7, 1974, with Title II as the Randolph-Sheppard
Amendments.</p> <p>Under the amendments, the preference for vending stands became
a priority for vending facilities. The definition of vending facility was made
much broader, including cafeterias. The bill declared—this was completely
new—one or more vending facilities are to be established on all federal
property to the maximum extent feasible, and priority shall be given to licensed
blind persons. Couldn't be clearer. Of course, this isn’t what always
happens, but it is what the law says. Every state must have an elected committee
of blind licensees to participate with the state licensing agency in making major
administrative decisions and doing other things. Vendors became entitled to income
from vending machines, within specified limits. Hearing and arbitration rights
were added to the law. New training opportunities were to include helping blind
vendors achieve their maximum vocational potential. What strong words! That's not
even in the Rehabilitation Act, but it is in the Randolph-Sheppard Act--their
maximum vocational potential. How fast can you say the word entrepreneurs! And
there was more, but we don't need to go through all that.</p> <p>Eight years later,
we got the priority extended to interstate rest stops as well when Connecticut
Representative Barbara Kennelly sponsored an amendment to the 1982 highway bill.
I didn't think representing the blind would ever get me into the highway bill,
but it did. But getting that done was a walk in the park compared to the 1974
amendments.</p> <p>The regulations implementing the ‘74 amendments came
out in March 1977, and that's when I learned the battles weren't over. You could
pass a law, but you still had battles. GSA still wanted more limits on cafeterias,
for crying out loud, and that's when they got the bidding provision. That's in
the regulations, not the law. Well, they got that, but we got the option of direct
negotiations on contracts. So you lose some and you get some. The state
committees’ role was emphasized in these regulations. This is where the
word “actively” came from before “participate with.”
In the first draft of these regulations that I saw—and I got it over the
transom, I wasn't really supposed to see it, I think—instead of
“participate with,” it had “consult with.” But we
protested that and got it changed to “actively participate with.”</p>
<p>So, fifty years later, how's it going? In 1973, the average net vendor proceeds
were $7,428. That's $51,025 after fifty years of inflation. By contrast, the
average of net vendor proceeds in 2023 was $103,085, so that's a hundred percent
above inflation. The total gross sales figure was $747,455,000. Twenty percent of
this amount after expenses ends up in the pockets of blind people. That is just
about three quarters of a billion dollars in gross sales.</p> <p>The number of
vendors and the number of facilities is going down every year, no question about
it, and that is a problem. But the people who can solve that problem are in this
room. You don't need amendments to the Randolph-Sheppard Act to solve that problem,
you need to get to work. The facilities are much better, much more rewarding than
the more prevalent vending stands before the 1974 amendments. There were no
Randolph-Sheppard dining facilities on Department of Defense (DOD) property in
1974. So all things considered, I would say that today's vending facilities, and
especially the work done by entrepreneurs, are by far a better demonstration of
the abilities of blind people than the vending stands of fifty years ago. No
question. Be proud.</p> <p>What about the future? Well, there's the short-term
and there's long-term, as they tell you when they talk about the stock market.
Short term, I'm very troubled. Long term, I'm absolutely bullish.</p> <p>Why
troubled? Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head a
department—I didn't think you could just create a department if you were
president-elect or even president, but anyway—they're going to add a
Department on Government Efficiency. That raises red flags. Who isn't for efficiency?
But Musk and Ramaswamy are private-sector billionaires who have made lots of money
on federal contracts, and they would like to make more and to help their other
private-sector buddies do the same. Privatizing is what they mean when they say
government efficiency. Don't forget that food service and other concessions on
federal property are very likely—I don't say they will be, but are very
likely to be—low-hanging fruit. They have been before. How much longer will
the Postal Service make it in competition with Amazon, Federal Express, UPS, and
other delivery services? How many blind vendors do you know who are at work within
private delivery service facilities as compared to USPS? Well, we'd like to think
there are some, but I'm guessing it's not too many.</p> <p>Consider this: employees
who worked on accessibility for screen readers were the first—this is
literally true—were the first group to get pink slips when Musk bought
Twitter, now called X. That's why we've all fled to Mastodon and whatever those
other services are. That's efficiency according to Elon Musk. Susan Gashel, that's
my wife, she calls it ableism. She's really good at spotting that, taught me the
term and how to think about it. There is talk that the Department of Education
will go away, and the programs will be block-granted to the states. Programs like
Rehabilitation and Randolph-Sheppard would be transferred to other federal agencies,
and some of that block granting may happen too. Nobody knows for sure what's going
to happen or even if this will be officially proposed. There's just talk, but you
have to think about this: it is a time of uncertainty. The only certainty is it's
a time of uncertainty, and uncertainty is not our friend. Be organized, be ready
to mobilize.</p> <p>I've seen this movie before. I remember when GSA and DOD tried
to replace cafeterias with fast-food chains— McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza
Hut, what have you. It helps to be around a long time because you do see these
things coming back around. If you don't think that could happen again, you aren't
on the same planet that I'm on. GSA’s out-leasing program, which excluded
the blind from potential priorities, was another similar transgression. Thanks to
our lawyers, we've fought these violations and most of the time won, but not
always. Could violations like these happen again? You have to assume they will.
Tough words, but you have to assume they will. Blind licensees have something
other people want, and you know what? We're going to keep it. The question is,
will what passes for government efficiency trump the blind priority? You have to
be concerned. You don't have to panic. You have to be concerned.</p> <p>I am
concerned, but like I said, I'm also bullish because I've seen our power at work.
We won in 1974 over opposition from federal employee unions, the postal workers'
union, GSA, DOD, the Postal Service, and others. We believed we could win, and we
did. Years later, we mounted a full court press when the Department of Veterans
Affairs snuck an exemption from Randolph-Sheppard into a veterans health care
bill. We got the provision pulled from the bill within hours of it going to the
House floor under suspension of the rules, no floor amendments allowed. We also
stopped a similar exemption effort by the Park Service.</p> <p>When an effort was
made in Congress to merge vocational rehabilitation with other federal job training
programs, making funds less available for blind business enterprises, we got an
amendment passed on the House floor to remove the Rehabilitation Act from that
bill. Getting that done is almost unheard of under the House rules. It's like
defying gravity, but that didn't stop us. After we beat him hands-down on the
House floor, the chairman of the committee told me: “You guys won. We won't
bring this up again on my watch.” Well, he's not in Congress anymore, so
it’s somebody else's watch. He won't have to break the promise. Somebody
else may try. Let them try.</p> <p>I'm bullish on the law because I know it can
work. I see it work. I watch it close to home. Susan Gashel represents states on
arbitration panels where they're trying to rein in the federal violators. She's
won 100 percent—she says, “Don't jinx it!”—100 percent
after court review, twenty-five out of twenty-five. Wouldn't you like to have a
batting average like that! Hats off to the state agencies who stand tall for blind
vendors. Lawyers working with us often—not always, but often—win.
Let's hear it for the lawyers! It's not to minimize the problems. There are
problems. We need to get remedies—recovery of money damages—restored
for blind vendors. We have the ability to do that.</p> <p>I'm bullish because of
your collective success, which I referred to earlier, gross receipts approaching
a billion dollars a year. It's a reasonable goal to top a billion dollars in annual
sales in 2026 for Randolph-Sheppard’s ninetieth anniversary. We should be
able to do that if we think about that, if we work on that. Just don't live in
fear; live in victory. A billion in sales would mean two-hundred million or more
going to blind people. Be proud of what you're doing and what you're about to do,
but don't be satisfied. Be bullish. Do more.</p> <p>The Business Enterprise Program
is by far the single most successful ongoing effort ever made on behalf of blind
people in this country or anywhere else in the world. Just think about that. You
know it's true. No matter your role—it could be managing, servicing,
supporting, or advocating—you're important to the total effort. Successful
business performance by blind entrepreneurs builds opportunities for all blind
people way beyond BEP, so just keep it up, keep building, make more money. It is
a win-win. That's the genius started by Randolph-Sheppard, but Randolph-Sheppard
is only the floor, not the ceiling. Think of that. The ceiling is as high as we
together can build it. I’m bullish on today's and tomorrow’s blind
entrepreneurs because of what we do in our movement, what we can do working
together. The smart money is on us. It's not on Elon Musk. He'll make his billions
somewhere else. We'll make more than a billion right here. Don't ever bet against
what we in NFB can do. Never bet against us. Just when you think we can't, we do.
Dr. Jernigan taught me that. I've seen it happen over and over again in sixty
years participating in NFB. Yes, I'm troubled. I'm concerned, worried, but I'm
bullish and I just want to say you should be bullish too. I'm bullish on BLAST
and on the future we are building together for the blind of 2074 and beyond. Thank
you very much.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis]</p> <h2
id="we-dare-to-be-remarkable">We Dare to Be Remarkable</h2> <p><strong>by Anil
Lewis</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Anil Lewis is the Executive Director
for Blindness Initiatives at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute.
As such he oversees many of our professional collaboration initiatives, including
efforts to build bridges between our organization and workers across rehabilitation,
education, employment, and other areas. Here he writes about the most recent
iteration of Dare to Be Remarkable, an ongoing effort to address the need for
these collaborative relationships in the vocational rehabilitation field. More
presentations from the Dare to Be Remarkable conference follow this introductory
article. Here is Anil’s overview:</strong></p> <p>The National Federation
of the Blind (NFB) Dare to Be Remarkable conference, held November 11-13, 2024,
at the NFB Jernigan Institute, brought together professionals and advocates in
the blindness education/rehabilitation community from across the country for an
enriching and empowering event. This gathering was a unique platform for participants
to engage in discussions, workshops, and presentations on the latest methodologies,
challenges, and solutions in the field of blindness and low-vision services. The
conference emphasized the transformative power of Structured Discovery (SD), a
client-centered approach that fosters independence and self-determination for
blind individuals through hands-on, nonvisual techniques. The schedule was packed
with dynamic sessions and keynote speakers, each providing invaluable insights
into improving rehabilitation practices and fostering greater inclusion in society
for blind and low-vision individuals.</p> <p>The opening keynote presentation by
Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, set the tone
for the first day of the conference, focusing on advocacy, education, and training
initiatives informed by the lived experience of blind people and connections with
the organized blind that are essential to empowering blind people. The two subsequent
mornings brought keynotes from Danté Allen, Commissioner of the Rehabilitation
Services Administration, and Carlos R. Serván, Executive Director of the
Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Their addresses and others
further explored the broader impact of effective blindness rehabilitation on
employment and societal inclusion. All of the conference presenters, covering a
variety of topics, emphasized the importance of innovation and continuous professional
development in shaping the future of blindness services. Sessions were also designed
to help participants learn how to meet the needs of various students with different
cultural and life experiences, including those learning English as a second
language, LGBTQ students, and students with additional disabilities including
neurodivergence and cognitive challenges. Other topics included preventing students
from “backsliding” after graduating from Structured Discovery training
and specific techniques for teaching Braille, cane travel, and other skills. There
were sessions for administrators, too, including one on successfully negotiating
government contracts and requirements.</p> <p>Some of the breakout sessions were
inaugural meetings of groups of blindness professionals focusing on a specific
area of training. These affinity workgroups offered a unique opportunity for
attendees to network and plan for personal and professional growth. Conference
attendees participated in diverse and thought-provoking discussions that were
tailored to their specific professional roles, including instructors and
administrators, with a focus on cultivating a deeper understanding of blindness
rehabilitation techniques. These groups offered a chance for participants to
interact with peers, exchange ideas, and share best practices in specialized areas
such as orientation and mobility, home management, Braille, assistive technology,
and administration of vocational rehabilitation programs.</p> <p>The Dare to Be
Remarkable conference served as an invaluable space for learning, networking, and
growth. By bringing together experts and practitioners from across the nation,
the event fostered a collaborative environment where participants can enhance
their skills and broaden their perspectives on blindness rehabilitation, ultimately
driving the vision of a more inclusive and accessible world for all.</p> <p>We
are already planning the next Dare to Be Remarkable conference, which includes
determining whether to meet every two or three years. The affinity workgroups will
continue to meet virtually between conferences. For more information, please email
<a href="mailto:employment@nfb.org">employment@nfb.org</a>.</p> <p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono]</p> <h2
id="evolving-principles-practices-and-philosophy">Evolving Principles, Practices,
and Philosophy</h2> <p><strong>An address delivered by Mark A. Riccobono, President,
National Federation of the Blind</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: This
was the opening keynote address of the Dare to Be Remarkable Conference held at
the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute from November 11-13, 2024.
Here is what President Riccobono told this gathering of rehabilitation
professionals:</strong></p> <p>Our nature as humans is to organize towards progress.
Once we have met our basic needs, we desire, unless it is conditioned out of us,
to explore, discover, and build something better than what has previously existed.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Human progress is neither automatic nor
inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering,
and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated
individuals.” That is for you who have dared to show up, to seek to redefine
and be remarkable as blind professionals. Thank you for being part of the dedicated
core of people sacrificing to build a better future. Winston Churchill said: "To
improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” Of course we know
that perfection is in reality unachievable, but his point should be well taken.
Change, or evolution, is essential in progress. What is right for the time may
only be partly right in a future time. If we fail to change while the world changes
around us, progress remains elusive. In order to make informed decisions about
where to change, we need to have some core beliefs that ground us in our work.</p>
<p>This brings us to how we change as dedicated professionals. An African proverb
tells us, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go
together.” Community is essential for sustained human progress. It is my
belief that the community of practice that can best serve us in our effort to dare
to be remarkable is the organized blind movement. In the brief time I have this
morning, I would like to discuss the outline of our evolution as blind professionals
and the next phase of our work.</p> <p>Throughout history, the popularized narrative
about blind people has not been one of progress. That narrative has been centered
on the success of non-blind people in inventing methods to provide some meaning
to the lives of blind people. It has been centered on charity, not equality. The
expectations have been low, and any success stories among the blind were mythologized
as extraordinary.</p> <p>This was the foundation for the development of the
vision-industrial complex, which came into maturity during the last century. The
lack of a true belief in blind people combined with a vision-centered approach
has limited progress within this system to a culture that has valued blind people
as recipients of charity rather than leaders of innovation. Fortunately, blind
people organized and resolved to dismantle the vision industrial complex through
the building of our own community where the culture deeply believes in the inherent
dignity and talent that we possess as humans who simply happen to have the
characteristic of being blind. This community became a movement as the National
Federation of the Blind grew on a nationwide basis. Since 1940, three generations
of blind people have cultivated, tested, built, and refined our own system to
raise expectations and explore the limits for blind people. And those limits remain
undiscovered for us.</p> <p>As we consider a fourth generation of our community,
we must recognize that systems that are not continuously built will go away (even
if the reduction happens slowly). We must also recognize that it is much easier
to tear systems down than it is to build them up. Therefore, failure to evolve
can make the future rebuilding exponentially more difficult. Today, I am calling
on each of us to recommit ourselves to the revolution of blind-centered and
blind-led training programs.</p> <h3 id="the-generations">The Generations</h3>
<p>The first revolution in our community-building effort was the early experiments
with blind-centered training. Blind people began by making small attempts to put
our shared philosophy about blindness into action. This happened through one-on-one
mentoring, testing ideas, and learning by doing. These early efforts bloomed into
what some called the Iowa experiment—the successful program effort led by
Kenneth Jernigan to put these ideas into formal programs of training.</p>
<p>Generations tend to meld together. The efforts of that first generation melded
into the second generation, where our blind community developed more model programs
including innovating work with blind youth. This is best exemplified by the training
programs that grew out of the Federation state affiliates in Colorado, Louisiana,
and Minnesota—training centers that get credit for multiple generations of
highly successful blind people living the lives they want the world over. These
programs were hosting transition programs before transition was even a concept in
rehabilitation and before piles of money were available for the effort. These
programs intersected with work done by Federation affiliates in places like Nebraska
and New Mexico where the blind asserted their leadership, their advocacy, and
their authenticity. All of these programs are represented in our community at this
conference.</p> <p>The third generation of work has been best represented in the
development of a new, nondiscriminatory system of accreditation, which the Federation
initiated and entrusted in the National Blindness Professional Certification Board.
Parallel to that effort has been the development of blind-centered university
training, innovative professional development like this Dare to Be Remarkable
conference, the coordination of blind-centered research questions, and the
establishment of an open access <em>Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research</em>.
While more professional development efforts led by the blind are needed and we
are hungry for more university training programs that are rooted in the lived
experience of the blind, we are emerging into the fourth generation of our blind-led
professional systems. So what is next?</p> <p>The emerging generation of work is
building a more mature community of blind-centered practice that continues to
evolve and advance the systems we have built while forging professional relationships
that foster greater cooperation and partnership. Our community of practice must
value sharing our blind-centered wisdom with the goal of diminishing the harmful
influence of the vision industrial complex. Those of us who are committed to
advancing a positive philosophy about blindness and to protecting the dignity of
blind people must unite around our common aim of deconstructing the vision-centered
approaches that are all too influential even in 2024.</p> <h3 id="building-the-community">Building
the Community</h3> <p>This blind wisdom community of practice will thrive if we
can value challenging each other to be better without falling into the pitfalls
of focusing on competing with each other. We are truly stronger together, and our
deep belief in blind people is still far too rare among the vast systems that
control much of the money and human resources in our field. Together, we can evolve
and grow into an even more powerful force than we are today. We are the envy of
those first-generation blind pioneers, but we cannot settle for what we have always
done, or we will be the shame of the fifth generation as it rebuilds. There are
far too few of us in this community, so we have to work together to go further.</p>
<p>This community must be willing to test new ideas and recognize the value when
those approaches fail against our shared wisdom. We must not be afraid to take
risks and to evolve our approach because that is precisely where innovation meets
freedom for the blind. In testing these new ideas, the critical element is that
we share in our learning, we evaluate what we could do differently, and we get
right on with trying something else. As long as we stay centered on the belief
that it is not the blind person who is broken but the failure to find the right
approach in the teaching, our community will continue to evolve towards being
remarkable.</p> <p>Let me say here that new is not always better. What makes our
community particularly effective is that we are rooted in some core philosophical
principles. How we apply those principles changes, but it is important that we
maintain those values. Some people are always seeking the new thing, and that
sometimes results in compromising the principles that serve as our foundation.
The road to evolving and building our community should never—yes, I said
never—begin with something other than our core belief in blind people.</p>
<p>Our community must stay strongly blind-centered but draw inspiration, wisdom,
and value from the shared knowledge of other communities. One example is the
persistent idea that Braille is difficult to learn and even harder to become fluent
in reading. Yet we have barely even utilized the best practices used to effectively
teach reading in other contexts within our Braille teaching community. There are
many other examples where we can borrow best practices and apply them to the shared
wisdom of blind people.</p> <p>Our community of practice must also lean into the
idea of blind pride rather than continuing to default to non-blind norms that
place blind people at a disadvantage in terms of advancement in the field. One
example is that we should expect our community to grow the best blind leaders,
and we should expect those leaders to reach the top positions in agencies for the
blind and in key government positions affecting programs for the blind. Our
community should invest in raising a generation of blind leaders who are not only
highly qualified to lead but who proudly tell anyone they meet that it is respectable
to be blind.</p> <p>Finally, our community of practice must be prepared to be
guided by the broader organized blind movement that is the National Federation of
the Blind. Furthermore, each and every one of us needs to be contributors to
building that movement. If we stand outside the movement, if we wall off our
community of practice from the diverse community of blind people, it simply becomes
another system which is not truly blind-centered. Let me call out many governmental
agencies in this nation which tell blind professionals that it is a conflict of
interest for staff to participate actively in the professional network that is
the National Federation of the Blind but then offer those same people paid time
to participate in professional efforts such as the Association for the Education
and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). I call for an immediate
end to this discriminatory and harmful practice in the field. Agencies should
encourage their staff to participate actively in organizations that professionally
benefit their development and growth. Thank you to those agencies that already
allow their staff the power to make that choice, and it is no surprise that the
best among these have professionals choosing to participate in the National
Federation of the Blind. To be clear, the professional development choice of any
blindness professional should never interfere with the right that the people
receiving services from that professional have to make an “informed”
choice about their own professional network. Now is the time for agency leaders
to stop preventing their staff from having access to our powerful community of
practice within the National Federation of the Blind. Our community has been born
from and evolved with the broader organized blind movement. That connection of
being shaped by and contributing to the organized blind movement is the magic of
our community of practice.</p> <p>Do you dare to be remarkable? The question makes
it sound much harder than it is. It is a choice: a choice to be blind-centered,
a choice to challenge your own assumptions, and a choice to evolve in your own
professional practices regardless of how many decades of experience you have behind
you. You can choose to be remarkable by choosing to be a contributor to our blind
community of practice. Thank you to each of you for making the choice to be here
and to be part of this powerful community. Let us take the rest of the steps
required to give every blind person the opportunity to be remarkable in their own
lives by gaining access to the training and connections that will allow them to
live the lives they want. Let us go build our evolving blind community of
practice.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO/CAPTION: Danté Allen]</p> <h2
id="evolving-principles-practices-and-philosophy-at-the-rehabilitation-services-administration">Evolving
Principles, Practices, and Philosophy at the Rehabilitation Services Administration</h2>
<p><strong>by Dant</strong><strong>é Allen</strong></p> <p><strong>From the
Editor: November 12, 2024, the second morning of the recent Dare to Be Remarkable
conference, kicked off with remarks from Danté Allen, who was confirmed as
commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) in December of
2023. Mr. Allen is a wheelchair user due to spina bifida who has worked in
healthcare, communications, and disability policy. Here is what he shared with
the conference attendees:</strong></p> <p>Good morning, everyone! I am so pleased
to join you today. I’d like to thank Mark Riccobono and Anil Lewis for
inviting me to speak with you. I truly appreciate their partnership and assistance
in helping me prepare for today’s event.</p> <p>The theme of this conference
is “Evolving Principles, Practices, and Philosophy” which really
resonates with me. It fits in quite well with my view of vocational rehabilitation,
and I believe it is also reflected in my priorities. However, before I dig into
those, I do want to take a moment to address the election. As we know, come January,
there will be a change in administration. And with a change in administration will
likely come changes in policies and personnel. What I’d like to make clear
is, no matter what happens, VR will endure and the mission of our work here in
RSA will endure. Those things do not change. They endure because we—as a
country—recognize the basic human and civil rights of Americans with
disabilities and the importance of good jobs. Those are some of the rare things
that we can all agree on. And no election can change our beliefs around those
things: around finding people jobs, around making the workplace as accessible and
available as possible to as many people as possible, around achieving competitive
integrated employment (CIE) to gain and to sustain independence. So while in some
ways things may be different, in some ways things will not change at all. RSA will
still provide leadership and resources to assist state and other agencies in
providing vocational rehabilitation and other services to individuals with
disabilities to maximize their employment, independence, and integration into the
community and the competitive labor market. In short, the mission will endure.
And I know everyone in this room believes in the value and the power of programs
like vocational rehabilitation. You have the wisdom to help create more equitable
communities and a more equitable country by ensuring individuals with disabilities,
particularly individuals who are blind or who have low vision, have access to
quality employment and good jobs. It’s people like you who make programs
like VR tick. And for that I am deeply grateful and appreciative. Your work and
the results you produce are a big deal, and I thank you for everything you do. So
with all of this in mind, I’d like to talk a little more about the evolution
of our work—of our principles, practices, and philosophy.</p> <h3
id="building-on-our-past">Building on Our Past</h3> <p>There is much to build upon
from our past. The civil rights and disability rights movements of years ago are
still very instructive and resonate strongly today. These movements changed policies
and laws and—just as importantly—hearts, minds, and attitudes toward
individuals from marginalized communities, including those with disabilities. I
recognize that the National Federation of the Blind has, over many decades, led
the civil rights movement for individuals who are blind. We know from experience
that we will not get progress without persistently demanding it. We know from our
hearts that there is nothing about us without us. We know from research and practice
that a key tenet of universal design—the importance of planning for the
needs of the widest possible population from the start, rather than retrofitting—is
the best way to ensure a maximally inclusive society. And we all know just from
living our lives the fundamental importance of being able to adapt to changing
circumstances. And, more broadly speaking, we know and appreciate the invaluable
insights that come from lived experiences. This hard-earned wisdom is also reflected
in the words and actions of the leaders who preceded us. Their guidance continues
to illuminate important truths for us, helping us make sense of today as we endeavor
to create a better tomorrow. I’ll share with you some examples:</p> <p>The
early leaders of the National Federation of the Blind, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek and
Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, dared to be remarkable, disrupting the common notions of
blindness. Today, the organized blind movement stands firm, and blind people rally
to the words “We know who we are, and we will never go back! We are changing
what it means to be blind!” Through self-advocacy and innovation, the
organized blind community is driving the progress in education, rehabilitation,
and legislation—assuring first-class citizenship, equal opportunity, and
full integration in society.</p> <p>In a speech nearly sixty years ago, Mary
Switzer, the first director of the federal vocational rehabilitation system, said
that we cannot accomplish our mission for individuals with disabilities “simply
by doing more of the same, in the same way … it calls for the minds and
the experience and the courageous determination of many people in many places, to
produce and use the improvements we will need.” The NFB has been at
the forefront of innovation in delivering successful programs and services in both
the educational and rehabilitation realms.</p> <p>More recently, Judy Heumann, in
her autobiography, wrote, “Change never happens at the pace we think it
should. It happens over years of people joining together, strategizing, sharing,
and pulling all the levers they possibly can. Gradually, excruciatingly slowly,
things start to happen, and then suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, something
will tip.”</p> <p>We must recalibrate our practices and mindsets to adapt
to a changing world, and we must do it in partnership with, as Mary Switzer said,
many people in many places. And we must do it together, in a coordinated and
collaborative manner, with persistence and urgency because as Judy Heumann noted,
change is hard and it typically takes time. </p> <h3 id="knowing-our-present">Knowing
Our Present </h3> <p>I believe that we are rather clear-eyed about our present.
At RSA, our expectation is that our collective efforts will result in increased
numbers of competitive integrated employment outcomes for those we serve. As many
of you know, this represents a paradigm shift from years past. A big reason for
that is the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which significantly
raised expectations for employment of individuals with disabilities. No longer is
just enough good enough. As a field, vocational rehabilitation is focused on
maximizing quality services and employment. We don’t just want to go to
school. We want credentials and degrees. We don’t just want jobs. We want
careers. We don’t just want wages. We want competitive salaries. And we
know that quality employment outcomes come through meaningful participant engagement,
informed choice, investment in post-secondary training, access to assistive
technology and critical support services, work-based learning experiences and
apprenticeships, and substantive partnerships within the workforce development
system.</p> <p>With this knowledge in mind, I set out three priorities for RSA
earlier this year: Build true partnerships with other federal agencies and
stakeholders, including VR agencies and their coalitions, to promote earlier and
deeper engagement and highlight best practices to achieve the best outcomes for
individuals with disabilities; elevate community expectations for competitive
integrated employment by showcasing success stories of individuals with disabilities;
and encourage integration of assistive technology and artificial intelligence
tools to fuel competitive integrated employment in the twenty-first century for
individuals with disabilities. I am pleased to report that RSA is making substantial
progress on all of these priorities.</p> <p>We are proactively engaging with VR
agencies on a weekly basis to gain insight into their successes, challenges, and
goals for the future. The focus of this outreach is not to monitor agencies, but
rather to let them know that we are partners in this work and will highlight their
achievements and promote their best practices. On a related note, we are
bright-spotting VR agencies’ success stories through our website and email
listservs. Each month, we are amplifying the great outcomes our agencies and
participants are achieving, whether it is working as an auditor for Dell or
fulfilling a lifelong dream of opening a café. The stories are piling in,
and we will share as many as we can.</p> <h3 id="building-for-our-future">Building
for Our Future</h3> <p>This brings me to my last priority, which very purposefully
is focused on the future. It is intended to be a catalyst for change—for
new ways of thinking. As I mentioned earlier, it is about artificial intelligence.
As President Biden has said, “Responsible AI use has the potential to help
solve urgent challenges, while making our world more prosperous, productive,
innovative, and secure.” I believe that, and I believe we can leverage AI
to help improve VR services and outcomes. Some of us may be energized about working
with artificial intelligence. However, for some of us, particularly the less
technologically-gifted among us—and I consider myself a part of that
group—AI may give us pause. It is something a bit foreign and decidedly
out of our comfort zone. Please do not let that stop you. In fact, now is the time
to lean in—to embrace the challenge and let it invigorate or re-invigorate
your work. We can all contribute to improving access, advocacy, and employment in
this new environment. To be sure, it is your experiences, your determination, your
solution-oriented mindset, and your values that have driven progress in VR. We
need those qualities now, and we need them more than ever to shape a better tomorrow
for individuals with disabilities.</p> <p>In a recent “dear colleague”
letter released last month, RSA has identified three ways that AI has the potential
to support individuals with disabilities in achieving competitive integrated
employment and solve urgent challenges in the field. VR should prepare individuals
with disabilities for careers in AI. VR must provide the services and supports
necessary for individuals with disabilities to gain the technical skills to achieve
CIE in AI-related careers, if that is the individual’s choice. VR can
leverage AI to support CIE in any career field that an individual with disabilities
chooses. AI has the potential to remove longstanding barriers to CIE by providing
needed accommodations and support. For example, AI-backed software applications
using speech synthesis and Braille, AI navigation for blind or visually impaired
users, and reasonable accommodations that leverage AI are all now available. States
may use AI to create efficiencies in the operation of VR programs. Examples of
this are surfacing with increasing frequency. AI chatbot tools can help agencies
improve customer service, AI algorithms can be leveraged to enhance assessment
and planning services, and AI-powered smart technology can remotely deliver VR
services in hard-to-reach areas.</p> <p>From our vantage point at RSA, we are
seeing increased interest and enthusiasm for AI-related work in VR. However, for
all of this interest and enthusiasm, there are still lots of unknowns about AI,
and if we are not vigilant, lots of potential pitfalls. We must give ourselves
the time and the space to fully and deliberately consider how AI and other advanced
technology can best support our goal—our expectation—of competitive
integrated employment for all VR participants. And we know—right now, in
the present—that there are more questions than answers around the use of
artificial intelligence in the workplace. So therein lies the challenge: how do
we answer those questions? How do we ensure artificial intelligence tools fuel
competitive integrated employment in the twenty-first century for individuals with
disabilities? How do we build for the future, with AI?</p> <p>We do it together,
in partnership. We do it by drawing upon our experiences, our values, and our
determination. We do it before answers are handed to us by those who may not share
our values, our lived experiences, or our vantage points. We do it by leaving
behind the status quo and the idea of retrofitting, and by focusing on active,
real-time participation in the development of the AI-influenced workplace. AI is
still in the early stages of its impact on the American and global workplaces.
Let’s make sure that we are not only at the table, but that our voices are
heard loudly and clearly as new AI-driven technologies take shape. If we want to
empower future generations of individuals with disabilities to be prosperous and
productive, we must act swiftly and persistently. And to be clear: now is the time
to do it.</p> <p>The voice of individuals who are blind is incredibly important
in general, and your voices need to be heard now, for a variety of reasons. Two
come immediately to mind. Number one, innovation is part of the DNA of the NFB
and the blind community, in general. It is difficult to name another population
that has had to create solutions to make this world more accessible. Those skills
and abilities are vitally important in this work. Number two, the sooner we get
involved, the better our chances of mitigating and eliminating potential biases.
Put another way, the sooner we get involved in this work, the more likely that AI
tools and resources will be maximally inclusive in their scope.</p> <p>If we do
this right, AI can actually help us address longstanding biases. For example, we
must recognize and support the certification of blind education and rehabilitation
professionals in fields such as orientation and mobility, rejecting any notions
that blind persons are incapable or unsafe instructors simply because they are
blind. Better orientation and mobility tools, informed by AI, can help further
this cause. So let us explore how AI may intersect with our current
issues—around recruitment, retention and staffing challenges for teachers
of the visually impaired and rehabilitation professionals; or enhancing the standing
of strong blind professionals in the workplace, for example—and how it can
potentially help us do our jobs more efficiently and effectively.</p> <p>From a
VR professional standpoint, I am hopeful that AI will allow us to focus on those
core, fundamental aspects of our careers that drew us to the blindness field and
to VR in the first place. I encourage you to find ways to ensure your voice is
heard. You can always reach out to us. Our contact information is on our website,
which is located at rsa.ed.gov.</p> <p>To return to the words of Mary Switzer,
let us harness “the minds and the experience and the courageous determination
of many people in many places, to produce and use the improvements we will
need.” Let us work together on the evolution of our principles, practices,
and philosophy to push for excellence in vocational rehabilitation, and to meet
the challenges of our incredibly important mission to empower this—and
future—generations of individuals with disabilities.</p> <p>I thank you
for your time and attention today. It is certainly a privilege to speak with
you.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Carlos R. Servan]</p> <h2
id="innovate-to-elevate-fostering-excellence-in-rehabilitation-services-for-blind-youth">Innovate
to Elevate: Fostering Excellence in Rehabilitation Services for Blind Youth</h2>
<p><strong>by Carlos R. Serván</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Until
recently, I had personally never heard the term “Pre-Employment Transition
Services,” let alone its shorter form, “PRE-ETS.” Apparently,
the concept as such is relatively new, although training centers affiliated with
the National Federation of the Blind and some other rehabilitation programs have
offered outstanding services to blind children and youth for many years. Other
programs, however, continue to fall short in this critical area. My own experience,
admittedly over thirty years ago, was that these services left a lot to be desired,
so I ultimately continued my rehabilitation journey at the Louisiana Center for
the Blind.</strong></p> <p><strong>Carlos Serván is the Executive Director
of the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where he was the
deputy director for services from 1998 until 2017. Before working in Nebraska, he
coordinated transition from school to work programs in New Mexico where, according
to his official biography, “he developed a model of training and work
experience for blind youth, including those with multiple disabilities and minority
backgrounds, based on a model of high expectations. The program he developed
became nationally recognized as a model for other transition training programs
across the country.” This is unsurprising given Carlos’s
background; he came to the United States shortly after being blinded and losing
his right hand in an explosion while training with the police force in his native
Peru. Consequently, he found himself learning blindness skills at the same time
he was learning the English language and navigating a new country and culture. To
say that he successfully met the challenge is an understatement; Carlos holds both
a master’s in public administration and a law degree and is a longtime
Federation leader, having served as president of the student division and the
Nebraska affiliate, among other roles. On the final day of the recent Dare to Be
Remarkable Conference, he spoke about his belief that collaboration with the
National Federation of the Blind and other blind-led entities is crucial to
successful PRE-ETS. Here is what he had to say:</strong></p> <p>As I prepared for
this presentation, I reflected on the name and meaning of our conference, “Dare
to Be Remarkable.” It is more than just a title; it is more than just a
buzzword. It is about striving for greatness, aiming to be extraordinary, and
challenging ourselves to excel. It means embracing our uniqueness and going beyond
the ordinary. It’s about having the courage to stand out and pursue
excellence. Each of us has the potential to be remarkable. It begins with a
mindset—a belief that we are capable of more than we think. It requires us
to step out of our comfort zones, take risks, and push our boundaries. It’s
about setting high standards for ourselves and not being afraid to fail, because
every failure is a stepping stone to success. Remarkable people are not afraid to
dream big and work hard to turn those dreams into reality. Being remarkable is
not always easy, but it is always worth it.</p> <p>Why do I start with these words?
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) mandates that at least 15
percent of basic support funds be expended on Pre-Employment Transition Services
(PRE-ETS). Yet many state agencies are returning funds to the federal government
because they don’t know how to utilize all of that 15 percent. They get
stuck in red tape and fiscal obligations and become gatekeepers. While fulfilling
these responsibilities is necessary, we must not allow them to paralyze us.
Furthermore, in several cases, some states are allocating funds in areas that do
not yield meaningful outcomes. We need to focus on having high expectations,
challenge ourselves, and be innovative.</p> <p>For decades, we have worked on
transition services, investing time and resources into what we know is achievable.
We uphold high expectations and determination, ensuring our students master
non-visual skills and know how to deal with public misconceptions about the
capability of blind individuals. It took several decades for the federal government
to recognize that investing in youth is essential for successful rehabilitation.
I recall being monitored in the early 2000s when the Rehabilitation Services
Administration (RSA) suggested we focus only on adults rather than providing
services to those under eighteen. Today, the law requires us to allocate 15 percent
of our budget to youth services.</p> <p>While the law can influence behavior, it
does not necessarily foster understanding. Many agencies allocate funds, but often
to unproductive areas. To shift attitudes and raise expectations, we must first
recognize that blind individuals can live full, productive lives when given proper
training and opportunities.</p> <p>It is highly fitting to mention Dr. Jernigan
during a Structured Discovery conference, at the institute bearing his name, and
especially on November 13, his birthday. Dr. Jernigan revolutionized the Iowa
Department for the Blind, establishing the best services ever known in the nation.
At a time when the rehabilitation system did not believe in the capabilities of
blind individuals and most states considered them too severely handicapped to
benefit from rehabilitation, Dr. Jernigan dared to challenge the system, dared to
raise expectations, dared to invest in quality services, and dared to confront
federal officials who prioritized fiscal responsibility over innovation.</p> <p>In
February 2024, RSA Commissioner Danté Allen wrote a letter of introduction
to the rehabilitation community. Some highlights from his letter and his remarks
from yesterday include:</p> <blockquote> <p>Individuals with disabilities must
experience equity in the workforce and every aspect of our society to take their
rightful place as first-class citizens who lead purposeful lives. “Just
enough is not enough.” If RSA programs do not add value to the lives of
those we serve, we are wasting our time and resources. We must raise our expectations,
leave behind the status quo, and deliver on our nation’s promise of economic
security, equal opportunity, and independence for Americans with disabilities…
If you have not done so already, I encourage you to take steps within your programs
to revisit longstanding practices and implement strategies to maximize VR services,
fully engage with individuals with disabilities, and advance high-quality competitive
integrated employment.</p> </blockquote> <p>In other words, Commissioner Allen
urges us to rethink our methods and discover innovative ways to provide high-quality
services for individuals who are blind. This includes helping them secure jobs on
par with their sighted peers. He emphasizes the importance of engaging
consumers—partnering with organizations of blind individuals—to
foster new and creative ideas.</p> <p>As society advances rapidly, we must prepare
our students to succeed in various fields. PRE-ETS services are designed to equip
blind students with the skills, knowledge, and confidence necessary for a smooth
transition from school to the workforce. These services include a range of
activities, featuring five required activities, four coordination activities, and
nine authorized activities. The five required activities are job exploration
counseling; work-based learning experiences; counseling on postsecondary education
opportunities; workplace readiness training; and instruction in self-advocacy,
including peer mentoring. These categories offer a framework for innovation and
diversity in service delivery. Examples include job fairs, university tours,
college workshops, résumé writing, drafting cover letters, mock job
interviews, meeting blind role models, finding mentors, attending placement
conferences, on-the-job experience and on-the-job training, participating in
integrated summer work experiences, mobility training, social skills development,
advocacy and self-esteem activities, networking with employers, training at
orientation centers, technology training, and opportunities for integrated school
or after-school activities. The National Student Seminar and Washington Seminar
are particularly well-suited for many of these activities. Students have the chance
to engage with blind mentors, learn about colleges and universities, practice
social and mobility skills, network with peers from across the country, develop
advocacy skills, and advocate for initiatives with US Congress members.</p> <p>When
contracting for these programs, it is crucial to collaborate with entities that
believe in the capabilities of blind individuals—those who have high
expectations and challenge us and our students. In Nebraska, we have partnered
with organizations like the Jernigan Institute for our mentoring program for
PRE-ETS consumers and job-hunting skills for center students; JB&K Services
for summer work experience, including attendance to national convention, retreats
for independent living and advocacy skills, and national college workshops including
the Washington Seminar; Independence Science for STEM activities such as organ
dissection, chemical experiments, and forensics; and Blind Savvy and Sky’s
the Limit for networking skills development, employment conferences, college
workshops, financial literacy, and events for blind seniors. These organizations,
led by successful blind individuals, share a core belief that blind people can
live full, productive lives and perform on par with their sighted peers when given
proper training, encouragement, and opportunity.</p> <p>Now, let’s discuss
the importance of sending consumers and staff to state and national workshops and
conventions organized by organizations of the blind. As directors or counselors,
we often find ourselves buried under red tape, reports, and a number of administrative
tasks, leaving us little time or energy for innovation. However, these opportunities
are knocking on our doors, reaching out via email, or presenting themselves during
conferences and networking events like this one. If we focus solely on what feels
safe, we may inadvertently filter out valuable possibilities.</p> <p>Some states
hesitate to send staff and clients to national conventions, fearing RSA disapproval.
However, in Nebraska, we have consistently sent staff and consumers to national
conventions for over twenty-five years. Throughout this time, RSA has never
questioned our decision, as long as we document how these experiences benefit our
clients’ vocational goals. Like any other services, we simply need to
document the benefits, emphasizing exposure to mentors, advocacy events, social
skills training, mobility skills, job counseling, networking with professionals,
and learning about new technology. Attending national conventions aligns perfectly
with Informed Choice and the required PRE-ETS activities.</p> <p>Initiatives by
the National Federation of the Blind, such as science camps and leadership programs,
provide substantial benefits that RSA and state auditors also recognize as valuable.
They evaluate these experiences just as they would any other program and acknowledge
the significant advantages they offer.</p> <p>In addition to the five required
activities, four PRE-ETS Coordination Activities help foster relationships between
schools and businesses to support students. Collaborating with local educational
agencies and American Job Centers is vital for creating work opportunities for
students with disabilities. Furthermore, once a VR agency reserves sufficient
funds for direct services to students, it may allocate any remaining funds for
the nine authorized activities. However, the agency is not required to wait until
all students have received direct services before spending on these activities.</p>
<p>The nine authorized areas broadly address activities that enhance support for
PRE-ETS students in obtaining services. These activities can include financing
agency staff and teachers of blind students to attend the same conferences we send
our consumers to.</p> <p>As we examine WIOA, the letter “I” stands
for innovation, and the letter “O” stands for opportunity. Innovation
is the driving force behind advancements that shape our world. It ignites new
ideas, powers growth, and transforms challenges into opportunities. In every aspect
of our lives—technology, health, employment, and rehabilitation—innovation
plays a crucial role in creating a promising future.</p> <p>The enemy of innovation
is complacency. We risk becoming outdated and disconnected from the realities of
those we serve. It is about improving what exists and finding better ways to meet
their needs. Collaboration with consumer organizations enhances our ability to
innovate. As Commissioner Allen reminded us yesterday, innovation is in the DNA
of the National Federation of the Blind.</p> <p>Opportunity represents the potential
for growth, change, and success. It allows us to step out of our comfort zones
and embrace the unknown. In the context of rehabilitation, this is our greatest
opportunity to be innovative.</p> <p>Opportunities often appear as challenges. As
Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is
dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Our ability to see potential
where others see problems sets us apart.</p> <p>Three weeks ago, during a national
conference, Commissioner Allen reminded VR state administrators to be bold and
invest in clients. Yesterday, he quoted Mary Switzer: “We cannot accomplish
our mission for individuals with disabilities simply by doing more of the same in
the same way. It calls for the minds, experience, and courageous determination of
many people in many places to produce and utilize the improvements we will
need.”</p> <p>Several organizations who have high expectations are already
focusing on developing innovative ideas and programs for the blind. We don’t
need to “reinvent the wheel.” By collaborating, we can challenge
and support one another, exposing our consumers to successful partnerships. In
Nebraska, we actively seek diverse opportunities. If the NFB offers science training
for youth, we send our students. The same applies to mentoring, advocacy, and
employment programs.</p> <p>Pre-employment services for blind students are not
just about preparing them for employment, but for high-quality employment; they
empower them to live fulfilling, independent lives. We need to reflect this belief
through our policies, our training, our programs, and the risks we take. It is
our collective responsibility to expose our students to high expectations—expectations
drawn from the collective experience and wisdom of blind people. We need to be
innovative, ensuring these services are accessible, timely, effective, and tailored
to each student’s unique needs. We need a rehabilitation system that does
not primarily see itself as a gatekeeper. While we must fulfill certain fiscal
responsibilities, approaching rehabilitation solely from that perspective risks
hindering our ability to be remarkable and help individuals reach their full
potential. Such gatekeeping can lead to dysfunction. There are countless examples:
if you’ve ever sought authorization from RSA or your state to implement a
new idea, by the time you receive a decision, it may be too late, and the funds
could be returned to the federal government after navigating unnecessary red
tape.</p> <p>In conclusion, good rehabilitation means consumers leave the system
knowing they have received timely and valuable services that elevated their
expectations. We need to provide innovative, high-quality services so blind youth
will not just survive but thrive, not just get by but get ahead, and not just move
forward but charge forward. As we look to the future, let us dare to be remarkable;
let us embrace the spirit of innovation, nurture our curiosity, and work together
in partnership with consumers to create new ideas and opportunities.</p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis, Cassondra Williams-Stokes, and
Stephen Wooderson]</p> <h2
id="shaping-twenty-first-century-rehabilitation-systems-leadership-partnership-and-high-expectations">Shaping
Twenty-First Century Rehabilitation Systems: Leadership, Partnership, and High
Expectations</h2> <p><strong>Moderator: Anil Lewis</strong></p> <p><strong>From
the Editor: The panel discussion that follows was moderated by Anil Lewis, Executive
Director for Blindness Initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind. He
was joined by Cassondra Williams-Stokes, President, National Council of State
Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB); and Stephen Wooderson, Chief Executive Officer,
Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR). Keep in mind
that this was a free-flowing conversation that, were it transcribed verbatim,
would probably do more to obscure than to clarify the issues and innovations
described. We have therefore taken more liberty in editing than we normally would
in transcripts of speeches. Those wishing to hear the original audio can find it
by going to <a href="http://www.nfb.org/convention">www.nfb.org/convention</a>
and then clicking on Past Conventions.</strong></p> <p><strong>This is what
President Riccobono said in introducing the panel:</strong></p> <p>This next topic
is rehabilitation. This crowd provides a lot of expertise to the rehabilitation
process, right? Yeah, we know a lot about it, because we live it every day, and
in some states we have been successful in getting separate agencies for the blind,
and those agencies come together under the National Council of State Agencies for
the Blind that we have had the opportunity to work with in a number of ways. In
other places within general agencies for the blind, it’s been harder, but
we have found ways to raise expectations and create understanding about blindness.
We talked in the Presidential Report about the work that we’re doing to
build some training materials for affiliates related to agencies. Those agencies
come together in this Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation.</p>
<p>Increasingly we are finding ways not just to advocate with agencies but to find
ways to partner with them, to help them in their pursuit of quality outcomes by
being the organization that provides them with that expertise through youth
programming or transition youth programming or other things. Our organization
brings that expertise. We thought it would be appropriate to invite both of the
overarching organizations that bring agencies together to a conversation here at
this convention, and here to introduce the panel and lead the conversation is our
Director of Blindness Initiatives. Part of his background is in the Client Assistance
Program, so he knows a lot about vocational rehabilitation. Here to introduce the
panel is Anil Lewis!</p> <p>[Applause]</p> <p>ANIL: Good morning. Thank you,
President Riccobono. During my report from the [Jernigan] Institute on the Blindness
Initiative Programs, you saw we are putting a lot of emphasis on partnering with
blindness professionals. One of the best ways to do that is to partner with
organizations that help bring together blindness professionals.</p> <p>So I’m
very pleased that our panelists today accepted President Riccobono’s
invitation to be with us at our convention, and I’m optimistic that we will
continue to have ongoing discussions throughout the coming years to make sure we
can improve the quality of rehabilitation services to blind and low-vision consumers
across the country.</p> <p>So I’m going to introduce our first panelist,
Dr. Cassondra Williams-Stokes. I met her when I was serving as national representative
for the Arkansas affiliate. We all know how some agencies come, and they have
representation for just the thirty minutes they’re there to present.
Cassondra was there the whole time. She’s been a really good, tremendous
friend of ours already, and now in her capacity as director of services for the
blind in Arkansas and recently elected as the president of the National Council
of State Agencies for the Blind. Here, to introduce herself, is Dr. Cassondra
Williams-Stokes.</p> <p>CASSONDRA: Thank you, Anil, for that, and thank you,
President Riccobono, for the invitation to NCSAB. I’m honored to be here
to speak on behalf of NCSAB and the state of Arkansas, as well as all the directors
of blind agencies today. I really appreciate the opportunity to engage in our
partnership. This is probably my eighth convention I have attended. [Applause]</p>
<p>I’ve been with the state of Arkansas Services for the Blind about fifteen
years. I served as director for six of those, so I’m really honored to be
here and thankful for the opportunity.</p> <p>ANIL: Tell us a little about NCSAB.</p>
<p>CASSONDRA: Yes, thank you. Our primary goal is to promote and advocate for
individuals who are blind or visually impaired. We do not lobby. I just want to
go on record to say that.</p> <p>ANIL: That’s okay; we’ll continue
to advocate in Congress.</p> <p>CASSONDRA: Our purpose is to educate and promote
advocacy. I am one who really believes in independence. All my life I have lived
with a disability. I am hearing impaired, so these acoustics are really killing
me right now. Just bear with me.</p> <p>ANIL: You’re doing fine.</p>
<p>CASSONDRA: We just want to make sure that independence is absolutely a priority
for all of our consumers who are reaching and striving for that goal, and our role
is to make sure that we are there to support them. This is not just for Arkansas
for sure; it’s nationwide, so we are available. If there is anything that
we can do right now, my platform is just to make sure that the partnerships are
strong and making sure that our legislators are aware of our needs. Because there
are so many. I know we’re going to get into that, so that is the primary
reason for NCSAB to provide that support.</p> <p>ANIL: Thank you very much. I just
wanted to introduce our second panelist and then we’re going to engage in
a little conversation. I’m very pleased to have Stephen Wooderson with the
Council of State Administrators for Vocational Rehabilitation. Just to make it
clear, not every state, as President Riccobono said, has a direct agency serving
blind people. There are general agencies to serve VR, and they are responsible
for serving blind consumers in the whole area of disability. But the thing I love
about Stephen is that he has been a longtime partner. Back when I used to work on
the Advocacy and Policy side of the shop under John Paré’s leadership,
serving in the capacity for the education of Congress that Cassondra was begging
out of, Stephen was right there with us on the issues around subminimum wage,
Section 511, etc. Again, please, Stephen, glad you were able to accept our
invitation. Please take a little bit of time to introduce yourself and tell us
about CSAVR.</p> <p>STEPHEN: Well, thank you, Anil. I’m a newcomer. This
is my first time, and I am absolutely impressed. [Applause]) Thank you, Anil, for
the invitation. President Mark, thank you for the coffee this morning and the
conversation. It was good to get to know you a little bit more.</p> <p>I am the
chief executive officer for the Council of State Administrators of Vocational
Rehabilitation. We’re the sister agency to NCSAB. I’ll try not to
use a lot of initials today, but we’ll probably get into that pretty
quickly.</p> <p>We have seven full-time staff that work across the country. We
all work remotely. But the bottom line is I work for Cassondra; I work for the
other seventy-seven state vocational rehabilitation agency directors. I think a
couple have been in the room maybe today or over the last few days: Robert Doyle
from Florida is our treasurer. Cassondra sits on our executive committee, so
we’re very well represented by agencies for the blind. As Anil mentioned,
CSAVR is the broad organization that represents all state vocational rehabilitation
agencies, all seventy-eight of them. Twenty-two specifically serve folks who are
blind, another twenty-two serve others than those who are blind, and then the
balance are combined, so it’s all job seekers with disabilities seeking VR
services in those state agencies.</p> <p>I am proud to be able to say, Anil, I am
a lobbyist. I can lobby. That’s a part of our organizational structure, so
it was a great opportunity and continues to be a great opportunity to partner with
you all.</p> <p>Personally, I have been in the business, as we sometimes say back
home, since Pluto was a pup. I began as a counselor in Rolla, Missouri. I’ve
got some Missouri folks back there—good old folks—good to see you.
I was there twenty years, and then I went to the great state of Iowa, my second
home, where I ended up being state director. I live in Minnesota now. I’ve
got the middle of the room out there represented, and it’s good to be able
to reconnect with good friends like Jim Marks. I saw him this morning and of course
he is from Montana. Thank you for all the work that you guys are doing. That’s
who I am and where I come from and a little bit about CSAVR.</p> <p>ANIL: Thank
you for sharing. I love the way you’re trying to win the crowd. So establishing
this relationship, let’s start with perspective, and we’ll probably
go pretty quickly because I have more intense questions. Can you both share your
perception of the National Federation of the Blind, and let us know what you feel
our role is in the rehabilitation process?</p> <p>CASSONDRA: Absolutely. I’ll
tell you. Just so you know, I’m neutral. I attend all the Arkansas Council
of the Blind meetings as well. That’s why I didn’t show up the other
years; I was at the American Council of the Blind conference. I will tell you my
experience with NFB really has been just looking at strong advocacy in education
and accountability. I don’t necessarily need NFB Arkansas to keep me
accountable, but they do. I can tell you that. I know they’re over there
listening.</p> <p>But over the years, NFB really has been a partner for us at the
state level for sure. I know that at the national level, NFB executive leadership
has shown up for those meetings in Arkansas, and I know that they really believe
in advocacy, making sure that every consumer has an opportunity to be independent.</p>
<p>So for me, I think that has really helped me understand more about what my role
is. I just want to add that one of the great opportunities that I have had in
Arkansas is that, because we are an independent commission, this means that our
agency is managed and operated by a board. That autonomy has been very important.
The voice of consumers, blind or visually impaired consumers, actually runs our
agency. Everything that we do is on behalf of the individuals that we serve.</p>
<p>I just want to say that I think that NFB represents you well, making sure that
any challenge that is put before our consumers is addressed. That is what I have
seen. I know that the partnership and being able to refer individuals to NFB,
whether in Arkansas or at the national level, has served our consumers well and
has helped to remove many barriers. So I want to thank you and Arkansas NFB for
making sure that we are able to move forward with any challenges presented to
us.</p> <p>ANIL: We definitely wear those hats proudly. How about you, Stephen?</p>
<p>STEPHEN: Honestly, Anil, for my first twenty plus years, my association with
NFB was somewhat secondhand. It was through representatives on the State Rehab
Council, and the state Independent Living Councils, that I became acquainted with
the power of NFB. At that point, frankly, I didn’t fully appreciate it
until I met you and John Paré, and we began working together on the Hill, as
you mentioned, and recognized the power of the voice of NFB. Working thirty years
in a general agency, then coming to the national level helped me in understanding
the power of the voice of your organization. I think it’s important for me
to say, as one who doesn’t work daily in the blind community, that NFB is
really a good representative of the observation that “A rising tide floats
all boats.” What you do for the blind community is good for all. And that
is the power of NFB.</p> <p>ANIL: We’re proud of that.</p> <p>STEPHEN: I
really have learned that, Anil, and I appreciate so much what you all do.
That’s my take.</p> <p>ANIL: Thank you.</p> <p>So let’s get right
to the big elephant in the room. A lot of our members have expressed some concerns,
and we know that within the agencies that the Pre-Employment Transition Services
(PRE-ETS) as implemented through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA) has really had a rocky start. Maybe some things are smoothing out, but
we're just curious to know what you are encouraging your membership agencies to
do to address Pre-Employment Transition Services for blind and low-vision youth.</p>
<p>CASSONDRA: Well, the first thing: You know that in 2014, we all encountered
the WIOA, and that put us in a position where we had to reeducate ourselves about
what was important. Absolutely, the Pre-Employment Transition Services funding is
very important to all of our states. I know with NCSAB, that we are making sure
that all of our states understand the importance of reaching out to our Technical
Assistance Centers to ensure that they understand how to implement the pre-employment
program. Right now we are looking at states that are turning money back because
they can't spend it. I don't like that. I know in Arkansas we are able to spend
our funding, and I think that part of the issue is there are restrictions where
states aren't able to implement the program.</p> <p>I know several of the directors
around the country bring students here to NFB. I'll tell you that, as a result of
my experience on my first trip here to NFB years ago, I was a little intimidated.
I ran into a group of students who were really outspoken, active, and I had never
seen anything like it. I was just so impressed. I really was. With that, I know
the importance of teaching our young people the importance of advocacy and their
advocating for themselves, and how essential it is that they be advocating for
what they want in life. I know that is really important.</p> <p>The other thing
that we are looking at is making sure our states understand about fiscal forecasting
and what that is. It is making sure that you have a plan in place to implement
the pre-employment program, making sure that you understand how you are going to
spend those dollars so that you don't have to turn those back to the Rehabilitation
Services Administration.</p> <p>Those are two of our concerns for NCSAB, and making
sure that we continue to receive those dollars to support our young people.</p>
<p>ANIL: Thank you. [Applause] Stephen.</p> <p>STEPHEN: I agree with Cassondra
and that problems in smoothly implementing the Pre-Employment Transition Program
came from not fully understanding what states could and could not do under WIOA.
I hope that through the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition and
the collaborative of nearly forty-five agencies, some of this will be clarified,
and states can proceed to offer quality programs with the knowledge that they are
complying with the law. They are sharing good examples of things that are happening
and ways to increase the numbers of students and youth who are blind. I might
mention that PRE-ETS numbers are improving. We're engaging more students and youth.
We are having more services provided and more outcomes. At the same time, numbers
don't tell the whole story.</p> <p>I also want to mention that another model that
I would encourage us to consider is kind of a regional approach. The states of
Kentucky, Minnesota, Michigan, and Delaware—I understand they are working
across state lines, virtually bringing blind students and youth together to have
experiential kinds of events online to build that sense of community and capacity
building as well.</p> <p>The last thing that I want to mention to respond to Anil
is our concern about community providers having the expertise to meet the needs
of our PRE-ETS programs. I know that it impacts all across the board. I suspect
there is even greater impact in the blind community as well. Our goal is really
stepping up our efforts to identify those competencies, those skills that are
needed to be able to deliver these services for those in our pre-employment
programs. We’d like to see or develop a training module to help in this.</p>
<p>ANIL: Excellent, and hopefully we can expand on our partnership, because at
this convention we have eleven students from Mississippi who are pre-employment
transitioning students, and I think Nebraska has fifteen students here. We can
continue to build on that because this is not just a one off. When the students
get here, they get ongoing support, develop peer relationships, etc. Because one
of our biggest problems is that many of the agencies are interpreting PRE-ETS as
one offs: like, well, you have had your module on self-advocacy. And that's just
not the way it works; we have to continue to involve ourselves in their lives and
continue to have them involved. Thank you for what you are doing, and hopefully
we can build on that.</p> <p>One of the other concerns that our members have
expressed is that, in the effort of many of the agencies to focus on employment—and
we recognize that's the mandate—but we as the National Federation of the
Blind also recognize that actual acquisition and mastery of the alternative skills
of blindness are important. That's Braille, access technology, independent travel,
but it also includes activities of daily living, you know, being able to manage
a household, cook and clean for yourselves, but many members find it much more
difficult to get support from the agencies for those particular services in order
to be the well-rounded individuals they need to be to seek competitive integrated
employment. I'm just curious as to whether you recognize that as a problem and
what you have done to brainstorm a strategy?</p> <p>CASSONDRA: Well, one thing is
I think that we need to make sure that agencies are educated about how to use the
VR process. If there is a consumer who actually needs a particular ADL (activity
of daily living) skill, that needs to be shared with their counselor. That's one
thing we want to make sure we are doing is getting the message out to all of our
membership and all directors in all the states: make sure you understand and know
how to use the VR process. If ADL is part of meeting an employment goal, it should
not be any different from any other type of resource that you would need to get
to your goal.</p> <p>For OIB (Older Individuals Who Are Blind), I know that we
are really working hard. Part of the problem with the Older Individuals Who Are
Blind Program, for that matter, is that we don't have enough funding. I know that
this has been true for many years. In 2023, Carlos Serván from Nebraska, our
former president, wrote a letter to our House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees
for additional funding for the OIB program and VR. Just this year, I did the same.
So, we are really looking at how we can increase the funding for these programs
that are serving our consumers. Right now, the current funding level for the Older
Individuals Who Are Blind Program is $33 million. Now that sounds like a lot, but
many of these states who can receive these funds are getting less than $300,000,
and Arkansas is one of those. It's been a challenge, but we do everything we can
to make sure that our membership understands.</p> <p>At our spring and fall
conferences, we try to have workshops that are one, appropriate; and two, relevant.
I think that's key. I know it's key, because a lot of issues are coming forward.
I have learned how to utilize the resources by using the Technical Assistance
Centers, and we don't turn money back. We spend all of our money for Pre-Employment
Transition Services and for VR. That is because I and the staff who work with me
have learned how to use the process of making sure that we are maximizing every
dollar that we can for our consumers.</p> <p>I think that we can continue the
conversation to make sure that we understand how important the resources that need
to be available to our consumers truly are and that they are there. That's one
message that we're trying to get out.</p> <p>ANIL: Great. Thank you. [Applause]</p>
<p>ANIL: Stephen.</p> <p>STEPHEN: Before I speak to that, I want to acknowledge
that I didn't see Carlos over there earlier. He's another one of my bosses. Carlos,
thank you very much. I would hate to walk out of here and then there be an important
vote along the way, and you voted against me because I didn't call your name out.
And then you mentioned Mississippi—Dorothy Young—and I know her
coming into her role with NCSAB is important as well.</p> <p>On this particular
question, I think that Cassondra probably has a much deeper appreciation for the
community and the challenges there. Maybe I will take a little different view or
angle on it and speak to the issue of CIE (Competitive Integrated Employment),
and the fact that a lot of this rests, I think, in our proper movement to the
vocational rehabilitation program being responsible for services that lead to
competitive integrated employment outcomes. In my observation, across the country
you see more and more community providers moving in that direction. It's hard to
believe, but perhaps the legislation may have moved so fast that other services
that needed to fill this void have not completely matured. That is a bit of my
view of the world.</p> <p>To get to the question, the need for ADL and other basic
skills need to be there before we can get to getting people into competitive
integrated employment, and our state agencies need to see this as a strategy that
is essential to employment. Maybe agencies for the blind can help educate our
other agencies more in understanding that there is a need for these services.</p>
<p>ANIL: Nice. We'll start doing a better job of making sure we encourage and
empower our members to do exactly that. Thank you for that advice. I just got
updates saying we also have PRE-ETS students from Washington and from Texas.
Cassondra, you already addressed the older blind question I was going to ask. I
just wanted to see if Stephen had anything to add around older blind services.</p>
<p>CASSONDRA: The one thing I'm going to say is that I did want to talk about
partnerships. That's one of the reasons I know I'm here today to represent NCSAB.
We are looking to increase our partnerships: one, because it makes sense. There
are so many states that are challenged with the lack of funding or resources. It
makes sense to partner with organizations who are doing the same things or have
a similar goal, even when we don't always agree on each and every point. It makes
sense for us to partner so that our dollars will go further to serve consumers.</p>
<p>And two, the other thing I want to mention is that the Older Individuals Who
Are Blind Program funds that are channeled into the states sometimes are the only
source of funding for services for independent living. That's huge. In Arkansas
we are a retirement state. I'm sure Florida is. We have an overwhelming number of
individuals who are fifty-five and older who are experiencing vision loss or some
type of blindness issues. It is important for us to look at our partnership
opportunities to make sure that, if we can't provide a service due to the lack of
funding, we can make a referral to a partner who is at the table and who does have
those resources.</p> <p>STEPHEN: Again, you have the inside track on OIB. Generally
speaking, it's a tough market right now, a very tough market. That partnership
Cassondra is speaking to is so critical in our lobbying or educating with members
of Congress. I do want to give NFB a shout out when it comes to partnering. Recently
I had a conversation with the AbilityOne Center provider, SourceAmerica, and I
appreciate how NFB and SourceAmerica have worked together in advocating for
legislation. Quite honestly, I'm not going to speak for you all, but I think this
is a newer relationship and partnership that is having great impact, seeing two
major voices come together. CSAVR is pleased to be part of that.</p> <p>ANIL: And
the Federation stands ready to help advocate for more money for older blind
services. That's another way to enhance our partnership moving forward.</p> <p>I
want to take the last few minutes to talk about the future. The Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act is going to be up for reauthorization soon. I don't know
whether you guys have heard anything on the Hill as to when, but we should start
strategizing now on how we can work together to make sure we address the problems
that exist and put pieces in place that are more forward thinking to innovate the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.</p> <p>CASSONDRA: NCSAB does not have
a paid executive director, so all of our services and relationship are all from
volunteers. [Applause]</p> <p>ANIL: We recognize the power of volunteering here
in the Federation.</p> <p>CASSONDRA: To me that really speaks to the people who,
over the years, have addressed the challenges and who stand ready to address them
today. We are working toward getting a full-time executive director, so hopefully
in the near future we will be able to do that.</p> <p>But as we consider the
reauthorization of WIOA, NCSAB hopes we will consider clarifying outstanding issues
that make it difficult for agency administrators. One issue has to do with
competitive integrated employment. Some agencies place consumers in work settings
in which the Rehabilitation Services Administration lets the agency take credit
for a placement while other such placements that seem similar are not allowed.
Then we have the issue of subminimum wages. Some agencies are in states where this
is accepted, and they make the placements while others cannot. Again, what we need
in the reauthorization is clarification so administrators know what we can and
cannot do, and this clarity is what NCSAB hopes will come out of the reauthorization.</p>
<p>One thing that is certain and unambiguous is that at NCSAB we really look at
pre-employment; it's high on our list, because our young people are the future.
They're the present as well. We need to be training them now if they are going to
be in position to be leading NFB one day.</p> <p>ANIL: We're always looking for
new leaders.</p> <p>CASSONDRA: We need to address the restrictions some states
are under, with the goal of helping them provide the best service possible with
the money that is available.</p> <p>I didn't mention the Randolph-Sheppard Act.
That is a huge issue I am working on this year with our executive committee, to
look at how we can educate our states and let the elected committees and the state
licensing agencies know more about Randolph-Sheppard and get more funding if we
can. We are trying to partner with George Washington University to gather more
support and training.</p> <p>ANIL: All key points we're interested in working with
you on. Stephen, bring it home.</p> <p>STEPHEN: CSAVR is very pleased to be able
to support NCSAB on the Randolph-Sheppard advocacy effort. We have a director of
legislative affairs, Tonia Ferguson, working very closely with Catriona Macdonald,
who is helping with advocacy in that arena as well. We don't have that expertise,
so we provide some financial resources to be able to expand that capacity with
those that do have the expertise.</p> <p>Specific to WIOA, of course, there are
two bills on the floor right now. They do not address specifically the Rehabilitation
Act Title IV of WIOA, but there are provisions in the bills that could impact the
VR program and the WIOA. No language requires that state agency directors, blind
or general agency, serve on the state workforce board. We think that's wrong. We
think that, in order for us to be well represented, the state director must be
appointed to that state workforce board. That is how we get full representation.
[Applause]</p> <p>ANIL: And I know that we have a history of working well together
on the Hill, and we are looking forward to doing that and moving forward. Someone
is asking if there is going to be a Q&A opportunity; unfortunately not. What
I encourage people to do who have questions is reach out to me or John Paré
because we will be continuing this dialogue with both of these stellar individuals.
Again, thank you guys for attending and presenting.</p> <p>----------</p> <h2
id="we-need-your-help">We Need Your Help</h2> <p><em>Attending my first National
Convention in Orlando, Florida, I was overwhelmed by not only the resources,
mentorship, and national community of students, but the love that filled every
corner of the organization. The National Federation of the Blind gave me the
world.</em> - Trisha</p> <p>Blind children, students, and adults are making
powerful strides in education and leadership every day across the United States,
but we need to continue helping students like Trisha. For more than eighty years,
the National Federation of the Blind has worked to transform the dreams of hundreds
of thousands of blind people into reality. With support from individuals like you,
we can continue to provide powerful programs and critical resources now and for
decades to come. We hope you will plan to be a part of our enduring movement by
including the National Federation of the Blind in your charitable giving and in
your estate planning. It is easier than you think.</p> <p>With your help, the NFB
will continue to:</p> <ul> <li><p>Give blind children the gift of literacy
through Braille.</p></li> <li><p>Mentor young people like Trisha.</p></li>
<li><p>Promote independent travel by providing free, long white canes to blind
people in need.</p></li> <li><p>Develop dynamic educational projects and programs
to show blind youth that science and math careers are within their reach.</p></li>
<li><p>Deliver hundreds of accessible newspapers and magazines to provide blind
people the essential information necessary to be actively involved in their
communities.</p></li> <li><p>Offer aids and appliances that help seniors losing
vision maintain their independence.</p></li> </ul> <p>Below are just a few of the
many tax-deductible ways you can show your support of the National Federation of
the Blind.</p> <h3 id="lyft-round-up">LYFT Round Up</h3> <p>By visiting the menu,
choosing Donate, and selecting the National Federation of the Blind, you commit
to giving to the National Federation of the Blind with each ride.</p> <h3
id="vehicle-donation-program">Vehicle Donation Program</h3> <p>We accept donated
vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles.
Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to
pick up your donation. We can also answer any questions you have.</p> <h3
id="general-donation">General Donation</h3> <p>General donations help support the
ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they
want. You can call 410-659-9314, extension 2430, to give by phone. Give online
with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit our online
contribution page at: <a href="https://nfb.org/donate"><u>https://nfb.org/donate</u></a>.</p>
<h3 id="pre-authorized-contributions">Pre-Authorized Contributions</h3> <p>Through
the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of
the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by
direct withdrawal of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card.
To enroll, call 877-NFB-2PAC, or fill out our PAC Donation Form <a
href="https://www.nfb.org/pac"><u>https://www.nfb.org/pac</u></a>.</p> <h3
id="plan-to-leave-a-legacy">Plan to Leave a Legacy</h3> <p>The National Federation
of the Blind legacy society, our Dream Makers Circle, honors and recognizes the
generosity and imagination of members and special friends who have chosen to leave
a legacy through a will or other planned giving option. You can join the Dream
Makers Circle in a myriad of ways.</p> <h4 id="percentage-or-fixed-sum-of-assets">Percentage
or Fixed Sum of Assets</h4> <p>You can specify that a percentage or a fixed sum
of your assets or property goes to the National Federation of the Blind in your
will, trust, pension, IRA, life insurance policy, brokerage account, or other
accounts.</p> <h4 id="payable-on-death-pod-account">Payable on Death (POD)
Account</h4> <p>You can name the National Federation of the Blind as the beneficiary
on a Payable on Death (POD) account through your bank. You can turn any checking
or savings account into a POD account. This is one of the simplest ways to leave
a legacy. The account is totally in your control during your lifetime and you can
change the beneficiary or percentage at any time with ease.</p> <h4 id="will-or-trust">Will
or Trust</h4> <p>If you do decide to create or revise your will, consider the
National Federation of the Blind as a partial beneficiary.</p> <p>Visit our Planned
Giving webpage (<a
href="https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving"><u>https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving</u></a>)
or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information.</p> <p>In 2023 our
supporters helped the NFB:</p> <ul> <li><p>Send 401 Braille Santa and Winter
Celebration letters to blind children, encouraging excitement for Braille
literacy.</p></li> <li><p>Distribute over six thousand canes to blind people across
the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout
their communities.</p></li> <li><p>Deliver more than five hundred newspapers and
magazines to more than 130,000 subscribers with print disabilities free of
charge.</p></li> <li><p>Give over seven hundred Braille-writing slates and styluses
free of charge to blind users.</p></li> <li><p>Mentor 321 blind youth during our
Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning® Academy.</p></li> <li><p>Award
thirty scholarships each in the amount of $8,000 to blind students.</p></li> </ul>
<p>Just imagine what we will do this year and, with your help, what can be
accomplished for years to come. Together with love, hope, determination, and your
support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality.</p> <p>---------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Cayte Mendez]</p> <h2
id="why-every-blind-postsecondary-student-should-apply-for-an-nfb-scholarship">Why
Every Blind Postsecondary Student Should Apply for an NFB Scholarship</h2>
<p><strong>by Cayte Mendez</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Cayte Mendez
chairs the National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Committee. She is a
full-time elementary school teacher in the New York City public schools and serves
as president of the National Organization of Blind Educators as well as second
vice president of the NFB of New York. Here is what she has to say about the
benefits not only of receiving an NFB scholarship, but of the application process
itself:</strong></p> <p>In July of 2001, I was privileged to be one among a group
of thirty winners who received National Federation of the Blind scholarships at
our annual convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I had just graduated high
school and at the time had absolutely no concept of how that experience would
direct the course of my professional and personal life. For the past eight years,
I have served as chair of the NFB Scholarship Committee. When I look back on my
own experience as a scholarship winner, I can’t help but reflect on how
the most significant part of that experience had nothing to do with the scholarship
check I received.</p> <p>The rewards of the scholarship experience begin, believe
it or not, with the application process. Each year at our national convention,
the banquet closes with a ceremony during which thirty blind students from across
the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are awarded $8,000 in
recognition of their academic aptitude and demonstrated leadership qualities.
While the attention and admiration of the Federation focuses on these deserving
individuals, it is worth mentioning that beyond these thirty winners are several
hundred applicants who may not have come away with a check, but who have participated
in an experience that has the potential to help them grow personally and
professionally.</p> <p>Each year, the NFB Scholarship Program receives many times
the number of applications than we have scholarships to award. As a result, many
winners have applied more than once before being selected. Through the years, as
these students, undaunted, continue to submit their evolving applications, the
members of the Scholarship Committee have the privilege to observe them grow and
develop as scholars, as leaders, and as individuals. Some of this growth comes
from the dedication and perseverance required to complete the scholarship process
and the accompanying interview with an NFB affiliate president. Our youngest
applicants gain experience through this process that can be applied to their
college and career advancement as they take on the responsibility of gathering
and submitting all the required application components. Our more experienced
applicants gain the opportunity to reflect on their own sense of themselves as
blind people and their impact on the world as they complete the essay and the
president’s interview.</p> <p>One of the most important goals of our national
scholarship program is to find, recruit, and encourage new members. As our state
scholarship chairs reach out to students in their states and our affiliate presidents
conduct their individual interviews, hundreds of potential new leaders and members
of our Federation have the chance to get to know us for the first time each year.
Even before the Scholarship Committee meets, these applicants have an opportunity
to receive the gift of the Federation, a gift that will last far longer than
scholarship dollars. For those applicants who are already familiar with and involved
in the Federation, the scholarship application process provides an excellent
opportunity to deepen existing relationships with state presidents, as well as to
take stock of their personal leadership experiences and the ways they give back
to the organization.</p> <p>For the thirty finalists that the Scholarship Committee
selects annually, the announcement of the prizes on banquet night is only one
facet of the award. During the NFB’s National Convention, which all finalists
are required to attend in full, scholarship finalists can network with other blind
students, exchange information and ideas, and meet and talk with hundreds of blind
people who are successfully employed in many occupations and professions. Our past
winners often comment that the money was quickly spent, but the contacts they made
and the information they gathered at the convention have continued to make their
lives richer than they ever imagined.</p> <p>There is no monetary value that can
be assigned to the friendships that develop among the members of a scholarship
class as they support one another during an action-packed week of getting to know
the Federation and sharing their own accomplishments and goals with us. Likewise,
there is not a financial equivalent to the unprecedented access our finalists gain
every year to the outstanding leaders who serve as members of the Scholarship
Committee. Through discussions with these successful blind mentors, scholarship
winners have an unequaled opportunity to get to know our organization’s
leaders by asking questions and discussing their own ideas and opinions. They also
have the chance to make all our Federation experiences richer as they share their
own diverse experiences and perspectives with us during the Board of Directors
meeting and at student division events.</p> <p>When the gavel drops each year and
the convention draws to a close, the rewards of the scholarship program do not
come to an end. Our winners continue to deepen their connections and maintain
their collaboration with one another as they pursue their various academic degrees
and professional goals. They continue to build relationships with the Federation
through involvement with their state affiliates, strengthening and evolving the
foundations laid during those initial applicant interviews and enriched during
the week of the convention. Our winners develop and strengthen professional networks
with other blind people in their chosen fields and with members who share in their
intersectional identities through the work of our divisions and groups. They serve
on division boards or committees; take on the work of the Federation in their
affiliates; and carry what they have learned about the capacity of the blind into
their schools, communities, and families. The scholarship checks are mailed and
cashed in August, but the rewards of being an NFB scholarship recipient last for
a lifetime.</p> <p>Twenty years ago, when I won my NFB national scholarship, I
had previously had no direct exposure to the Federation. I expected to “take
the money and run” and did not go into the process with the hope of receiving
anything more than some financial aid. Through the application process, I came to
know my state affiliate president, who took the trouble then and in subsequent
years to encourage my involvement in Federation work and to engage me in discussions
and debates that broadened my understanding of myself as a blind person and my
role in the NFB community. During the week of being a scholarship finalist, I laid
the groundwork for friendships and relationships with my classmates that I still
maintain today. Many of these people have since taken on leadership roles in the
Federation across the country. I now serve as second vice president of the New
York State affiliate of the NFB, president of the National Organization of Blind
Educators, and as scholarship chair, and it all started with an NFB scholarship.</p>
<p>It is my sincere wish that as many blind students as possible take the opportunity
to engage in the scholarship process each year, as each step along the scholarship
pathway brings with it tangible rewards, most of which will far exceed and outlast
the financial benefits of a scholarship check. The 2025 application deadline is
March 31. If you are a legally blind student, will be enrolled full-time in a US
degree program in the fall of 2025, and are able to attend the Annual Convention
of the National Federation of the Blind from July 8-13 in New Orleans, Louisiana,
I hope that you will grasp the same opportunity that I did twenty years ago and
apply for one of the National Federation of the Blind scholarships.</p> <p>This
year, the committee is excited to announce a small but impactful change to the
NFB scholarship eligibility requirements. Traditionally, each year one of our
scholarships has been made available to an otherwise qualified applicant who is
attending school part-time and simultaneously working full-time. Beginning this
year, the National Federation of the Blind may award up to five scholarships
annually to applicants enrolled part-time who meet all other eligibility requirements.
We recognize that employment, family caregiving, or ongoing medical care concurrent
with post-secondary enrollment can contribute to the need for students to carry
a part-time courseload. Our application has been revised to allow students who
will be enrolled part-time in the fall to share additional information with the
committee.</p> <p>The application window closes at midnight EST on March 31, 2025.
Go to <a href="http://www.nfb.org/scholarships">www.nfb.org/scholarships</a>. To
apply, do the following: read the rules and the submission checklist, complete
the official 2025 scholarship application form, supply all required documents,
and request and complete an interview with an NFB affiliate president.</p>
<p>Remember, the only way to win is to apply! The benefits of engaging in the
process will be yours for a lifetime.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Carla McQuillan]</p> <h2 id="the-2025-distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award">The
2025 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award</h2> <p><strong>by Carla
McQuillan</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Carla McQuillan chairs the
board of directors of the Minnesota Center for the Blind (formerly BLIND Inc.)
and is the owner and executive director of Main Street Montessori Association,
operating two Montessori schools. She is the chairperson of the Distinguished
Educator of Blind Students Award Committee, and she has written this announcement
seeking applications for the 2025 award:</strong></p> <p>The National Federation
of the Blind will recognize an outstanding teacher of blind students at our 2025
National Convention, taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana, from July 8 through
July 13, 2025. The winner of this award will receive the following:</p> <ul>
<li><p>An expense-paid trip to attend the convention;</p></li> <li><p>a check for
$1,000;</p></li> <li><p>a commemorative plaque;</p></li> <li><p>a place on the
agenda of the annual meeting of the National Organization of Parents of Blind
Children to make a presentation regarding the education of blind children;
and</p></li> <li><p>the opportunity to attend seminars and workshops that address
the current state of education of blind students, as well as a chance to meet and
network with hundreds of blind individuals, teachers, parents, and other professionals
in the field.</p></li> </ul> <p>The education of blind children is one of the
National Federation of the Blind's highest priorities. We are committed to offering
and supporting programs that enhance educational opportunities for this group.
Please help us recognize dedicated and innovative teachers who provide quality
education and meaningful experiences and opportunities for their blind students.</p>
<h3 id="award-faq">Award FAQ</h3> <p>Q: Who is eligible for this award?<br /> A:
Anyone who is currently a teacher, counselor, or the administrator of programs
for blind students.</p> <p>Q: Does an applicant have to be a member of the National
Federation of the Blind?<br /> A: No, but attending the 2025 National Convention
of the National Federation of the Blind in New Orleans, Louisiana, is required.</p>
<p>Q: Can I nominate someone else for this award?<br /> A: Yes. Applicants can be
nominated by colleagues, parents, supervisors, or friends who have first-hand
knowledge of the individual’s work with blind students.</p> <p>Q: How would
I apply?<br /> A: You can fill out the application at the end of this article or
find it on our website at <a
href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award-form-fillable.pdf"><u>https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award-form-fillable.pdf</u></a></p>
<p>Q: What is the deadline to submit an application or make a nomination?<br />
A: All applications must be received no later than May 1, 2025.</p> <p>Please
complete the application and attach the required documents specified in the
application. If you are submitting a nomination for someone other than yourself,
please answer the questions to the best of your ability. Your experience and
observations of the nominee will assist the selection committee in their decision.
Direct questions to Carla McQuillan at 541-915-0896, or by email at <a
href="mailto:carla@mainstreetmontessori.org">carla@mainstreetmontessori.org</a>.</p>
<h3
id="national-federation-of-the-blind-distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award-2025-application">National
Federation of the Blind<br /> Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award<br
/> 2025 Application</h3> <p>Deadline: May 1, 2025</p> <p>Name:
_______________________________________________________<br /> Home Address:
_________________________________________________<br /> City, State, Zip:
_________________________________________________<br /> Phone: (H) ____________________
(W) ____________________________<br /> Email:
______________________________________________________<br /> School/Program:
______________________________________________________<br /> Address:
_____________________________________________________<br /> City, State, Zip:
_________________________________________________</p> <p>Please list any awards
or commendations the applicant has received.</p> <p>How long and in what programs
have you worked with blind children?</p> <p>In what setting do you currently
work?</p> <p>Briefly describe your current job and teaching responsibilities.</p>
<p>How would you describe your philosophy of blindness as it relates to the
education of blind students?</p> <p>What are your thoughts on teaching Braille
and cane travel? When and at what age would you begin? How do you determine whether
to teach print or Braille?</p> <p>What was your most memorable experience working
with blind students?</p> <p>Why should you be selected to receive this award?</p>
<p>Email is strongly encouraged for transmitting nominations; letters of support
and other relevant materials should be included as attachments. Applications sent
by mail and postmarked by the deadline will also be accepted. Send all material
by May 1, 2025, to Carla McQuillan, chairperson, Teacher Award Committee, at:</p>
<p>Carla McQuillan<br /> 2378 11th Street<br /> Florence, OR 97439<br /> Phone:
541-915-0896</p> <p>or email them to <a
href="mailto:carla@mainstreetmontessori.org">carla@mainstreetmontessori.org</a>.</p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Robin House]</p> <h2
id="the-2025-blind-educator-of-the-year-award">The 2025 Blind Educator of the Year
Award</h2> <p><strong>by Robin House</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor:
Robin House has many initials after her name for her educational credentials: MEd,
LPC, RPT. In other words, she holds a Master of Education, is a Licensed Professional
Counselor, and a Registered Play Therapist. Selected as our Blind Educator of the
Year in 2018, Robin now chairs the NFB’s 2025 Blind Educator of the Year
Award Selection Committee. What is harder to convey is that, beyond the tremendous
admiration we have for her accomplishments, the thing that makes us blessed is
that Robin is Robin and that she chooses to be an active part of us. This is what
she says:</strong></p> <p>A number of years ago the Blind Educator of the Year
Award was established by the National Organization of Blind Educators (the
educators’ division of the National Federation of the Blind) to pay tribute
to a blind teacher whose exceptional classroom performance, notable community
service, and uncommon commitment to the NFB merit national recognition. Beginning
with the 1991 presentation, this award became an honor bestowed by our entire
movement. This change reflects our recognition of the importance of good teaching
and the effect an outstanding blind teacher has on students, faculty, community,
and all blind Americans.</p> <p>This award is presented in the spirit of the
outstanding educators who founded and have continued to nurture the National
Federation of the Blind and who, by example, have imparted knowledge of our
strengths to us and raised our expectations. We have learned from Dr. Jacobus
tenBroek, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Dr. Marc Maurer, and our current President, Mark
Riccobono, that a teacher not only provides a student with information but also
provides guidance, advocacy, and love. The recipient of the Blind Educator of the
Year Award must exhibit all these traits and must advance the cause of blind people
in the spirit and philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind.</p> <p>The
Blind Educator of the Year Award is presented at the annual convention of the
National Federation of the Blind. Honorees must be present to receive an appropriately
inscribed plaque and a check for $1,000.</p> <p>Nominations should be sent to Ms.
Robin House by email to <a
href="mailto:robin@mindsrealm.net"><u>robin@mindsrealm.net</u></a> or by mail
to Stix ECC, 647 Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. Letters of nomination must
be accompanied by a copy of the nominee’s current résumé and
supporting documentation of community and Federation activity. All nomination
materials must be in the hands of the committee chairperson by May 1, 2025, to be
considered for this year’s award. For further information contact Robin
House at 314-265-6852, or <a
href="mailto:robin@mindsrealm.net"><u>robin@mindsrealm.net</u></a>.</p>
<p>----------</p> <h2 id="monitor-miniatures"><em>Monitor</em> Miniatures</h2>
<h3 id="news-from-the-federation-family"> News from the Federation Family</h3>
<h4 id="elected">Elected:</h4> <p>Kane Brolin, the treasurer of the National
Federation of the Blind of Indiana, submitted the following announcement:</p>
<p>The most recent biannual election to the Board of Directors of the National
Federation of the Blind of Indiana was held on Saturday, October 5, 2024, as
part of the Indiana affiliate's state convention, which was held that weekend at
the Embassy Suites by Hilton Indianapolis North. The NFB Indiana Board now is
composed of the following members: Diane Graves, president; Lee Martin, first vice
president; Ray Montgomery, second vice president; Abby Fleenor, secretary; Kane
Brolin, treasurer; Daniel Belding, board member; Tammy Hollingsworth, board member;
Dr. Evette Simmons-Reed, board member; and Tyler Sherck, board member.</p> <p>Lesley
Landry, secretary of the Greater Portland Chapter of the National Federation of
the Blind of Maine, submitted the following announcement:</p> <p>On January 2,
2025, the Greater Portland Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
Maine held its elections, and the results are as follows: Sarah Bellavance,
president; Gerard Landry, vice president; Randy Bellavance, treasurer; Lesley
Landry, secretary; Frances Bergeron, trustee 1; and John Lee, trustee 2.</p> <h4
id="register-for-midwest-student-seminar">Register for Midwest Student Seminar:</h4>
<p>When: Friday, March 7 – Sunday, March 9, 2025<br /> Where: Holiday Inn
Chicago O'Hare, 5615 North Cumberland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60631</p> <p>Join us
for the National Federation of the Blind Midwest Student Seminar, hosted by the
National Association of Blind Students. This year’s theme, “Beyond
the Handshake: Networking in the Windy City,” focuses on career exploration
and planning, offering practical insights and strategies to help you thrive.
Together, we will dive into how to forge meaningful connections, open new doors,
and envision possibilities beyond the expected.</p> <p>Get ready for a mix of
interactive activities, thought-provoking conversations, and exciting presentations
that will provide essential tools and encouragement for tackling obstacles on your
journey. Reserve your spot and pay the $100 registration fee using the form located
at <a
href="https://nabslink.org/civicrm/event/info?id=5&reset=1"><u>https://nabslink.org/civicrm/event/info?id=5&reset=1</u></a>
by <strong>February 14, 2025</strong>. Reserve your room at the Holiday Inn Chicago
O’Hare for $119 plus taxes/fees per night by calling 800-465-4329 and using
the group code National Federation of the Blind Student or visiting <a
href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=37149&qid=10843105"><u>www.hiohare.com</u></a>
and typing in the group code: NFB. The hotel block deadline is <strong>February
8, 2025.</strong> Please direct all questions to Joshua Olukanni at 678-313-1543
or <a
href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=37138&qid=10843105"><u>joshuaolukanni2002@gmail.com</u></a>.</p>
<h4 id="save-the-date-knowledge-is-sweet-seminar-of-the-diabetes-action-network">Save
the Date: Knowledge is Sweet Seminar of the Diabetes Action Network:</h4>
<p><strong>by Debbie Wunder</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Debbie Wunder
is president of the Diabetes Action Network and is married to Gary Wunder, the
immediate past editor of this publication. She shared the following
announcement:</strong></p> <p>The Diabetes Action Network of the National Federation
of the Blind will be holding its second annual Knowledge Is Sweet seminar on
Friday, May 16, and Saturday, May 17, 2025. It will be held at the NFB Jernigan
Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Not only do we want you to come, but we want
you to help us figure out agenda topics and who might present them. If you have
contacts with professionals in the field, we would like to talk about having them
come and using your influence to get them there. For more information about the
seminar, you may write me at <a
href="mailto:debbiewunder@charter.net"><u>debbiewunder@charter.net</u></a> or call
573-268-6989.</p> <h3 id="in-brief">In Brief</h3> <p><strong>Notices and information
in this section may be of interest to <em>Monitor</em> readers. We are not
responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space
and clarity.</strong></p> <h4 id="new-email-newsletter-from-nls">New Email Newsletter
from NLS:</h4> <p>With hundreds of thousands of audio and Braille books and
magazines available from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print
Disabled (NLS), for some patrons it’s hard to know where to start when
searching. <em>Collections Connections</em>, a free email newsletter from the NLS
Collection Development staff, can help! Each month it highlights fiction and
nonfiction titles focused on a timely theme. To sign up, send your name and email
address to the <em>Collections Connections</em> team at <a
href="mailto:connections@loc.gov"><u>connections@loc.gov</u></a>.</p> <p>----------</p>
<h2 id="nfb-pledge">NFB Pledge</h2> <p>I pledge to participate actively in the
efforts of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity,
and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation;
and to abide by its constitution.</p> </body> </html>