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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Federation Family,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We are about to kick off our annual NFB Washington Seminar, when Federationists throughout the country meet with our elected Congressional officials to educate and advocate on issues of importance to the blind. This email contains a lot of information about Washington Seminar, including the Maryland affiliate’s plans, so please read through to the end.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Great Gathering In:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The Washington Seminar will officially kick off with the Great Gathering In on Monday, February 7, 2022 at 5PM. Here, we will hear from our NFB Advocacy and Policy Team, President Riccobono, and some elected officials. This is our winter gathering of the NFB, so there will be tons of important information in addition to our legislative initiatives. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><h4 style='mso-margin-top-alt:18.75pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><strong><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Great Gathering In Access Information:</span></strong><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></h4><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><a href="https://zoom.us/j/96245510444" target="_blank"><span style='color:#005AA3'>https://zoom.us/j/96245510444</span></a><br>Webinar ID: 962 4551 0444<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>One-tap mobile<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>+13017158592,,96245510444# <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>+13126266799,,96245510444#<br>Telephone:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>301-715-8592<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>312-626-6799<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:19.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white'>Captioning: </span><a href="https://ecs.1capapp.com/event/nfb" target="_blank"><span style='font-size:19.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#005AA3;background:white;text-decoration:none'>https://ECS.1capapp.com/event/nfb</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Legislative Training Seminar:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Prior to the Great Gathering In, there will be a training opportunity for those who will attend legislative appointments and those interested in learning more about legislative advocacy and our 2022 legislative priorities. This seminar will take place from 2 – 4PM on Monday, February 7, 2022.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Whether you are a Washington Seminar veteran or an enthusiastic rookie, we urge you to attend this interactive seminar. The government affairs team will provide essential information about our legislative priorities for 2022. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions and put your knowledge into practice.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>The fact sheets are attached.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h4 style='mso-margin-top-alt:18.75pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></h4><h4 style='mso-margin-top-alt:18.75pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Legislative Training Seminar Access Information:<o:p></o:p></span></h4><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><a href="https://zoom.us/j/7567531013" target="_blank"><span style='color:#005AA3'>https://zoom.us/j/7567531013</span></a><br>Meeting ID: 756 753 1013<br>One tap mobile<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>+13017158592,,7567531013# <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>+16468769923,,7567531013# US (New York)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Telephone:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>301-715-8592<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>312-626-6799<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:19.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black;background:white'>Captioning: </span><a href="https://ecs.1capapp.com/event/nfb" target="_blank"><span style='font-size:19.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#005AA3;background:white;text-decoration:none'>https://ECS.1capapp.com/event/nfb</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>National Association of Blind Students Winter Seminar:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Students and those interested in student issues won’t want to miss the Winter Seminar of the National Association of Blind Students. This will take place virtually from 10AM – Noon on Monday, February 7, 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Students, educators, young professionals, and curious minds: kick off this year’s Washington Seminar by Joining the National Association of Blind Students (NABS) for our winter seminar! You won’t want to miss this opportunity to connect with blind students from across the country, learn from successful blind professionals, hear about scholarships and internships, and prepare for your upcoming Congressional meetings.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Direct questions to Trisha Kulkarni, President, at <a href="mailto:nabs.president@gmail.com"><span style='color:#005AA3'>nabs.president@gmail.com</span></a> or 937-361-2363.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Virtual Registration Link: <a href="https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJclfu2rrjIoHdMChOafVBV6GUmQXenvqqEU" target="_blank"><span style='color:#005AA3'>https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJclfu2rrjIoHdMChOafVBV6GUmQXenvqqEU</span></a>. Once you have registered you will receive via email, the Zoom link to join the meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Maryland on the Hill: Wednesday, February 9, 2022:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland will hold our meetings with our Congressional Representatives on Wednesday, February 9, 2022. All of our meetings are virtual. Everyone is welcome to participate, but we want to know who plans to attend so we can ensure constituents are present at each meeting. We expect to have ten meetings, one for each of the eight members of the House and one for each Senator. We have confirmation that at least three Members of Congress plan to meet with us directly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>If you want to participate in Congressional Meetings on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, please reach out to me as soon as possible. I’ll be sending out access information on Monday at the latest.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>I encourage everyone to be familiar with our legislative priorities. The Fact Sheets are attached. In addition, those who are able should plan to attend the Legislative Training Seminar on Monday from 2 – 4PM (information above). There are also some videos of training materials on our Washington Seminar website you can view on demand – <a href="https://nfb.org/washington-seminar">https://nfb.org/washington-seminar</a></span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>.<span style='color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>Below are our four legislative priorities for this Washington Seminar. Of course, our National staff and our NFBMD Legislation Committee are and will continue to work many other priorities in addition to these four, but for Washington Seminar we are focusing on these four initiatives.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='margin-left:1.5in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-1.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span>1.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Access Technology Affordability Act – HR 431 / S 212<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='margin-left:1.5in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-1.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span>2.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act – HR 4853<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='margin-left:1.5in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-1.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span>3.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>21<sup>st</sup> Century Mobile Apps and Website Accessibility Act<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='margin-left:1.5in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-1.5in;mso-text-indent-alt:-9.0pt;mso-list:l0 level3 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span>4.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act – HR 2373 / S 3238<o:p></o:p></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'>This will be a busy and transformative week for the National Federation of the Blind. I look forward to working with you all to change for the better the lives of blind Marylanders and blind Americans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black'><br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Ronza Othman, </span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>President</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>National Federation of the Blind of Maryland<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>443-426-4110<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Pronouns: she, her, hers<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland knows 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. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>