[nabs-l] New year, new leadership; and we need your help!

[NABS President]

NABS family,

 

                Happy Wednesday morning fellow students. For those of you
who were in Orlando last week, I hope you are catching up on sleep after an
incredible week at our National Convention!

I am more than enthused to be serving each and every one of you for the next
two years as President of the National Association of Blind Students, the
proudest and greatest division within the National Federation of the Blind.
I am grateful for the support I have received over the past few months, and
am eager to embark on a journey with you as we improve the lives of blind
students across our nation. In this role, I want to hear from you. I want to
truly know your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions as we shape our
objectives for the next few years.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new leaders. Below, you
will find a list of the newly elected officers and board members, as well as
which affiliates they will be serving as a state liaison to. To clarify,
state liaisons are national student leaders who have the necessary tools to
create, grow, and refine student divisions. If you are in a state and have
no idea how to get involved in your local student division, we are here to
help. If you have questions or simply want to brainstorm ideas with someone,
our national student leaders are here to mentor you throughout.

 

President: Kathryn Webster

1st Vice President: Bre Brown


Alabama


Louisiana


Oklahoma


South Carolina


Vermont


West Virginia


Wyoming

2nd Vice President: Syed Rizvi


Connecticut


Florida


Georgia


Massachusetts


North Carolina


Puerto Rico


Texas

 

Treasurer: Luke Schwinck


Illinois


Indiana


Kansas


Montana


New York


Oregon


Virginia

 

Secretary: Michael Ausbun


Alaska


Idaho


Kentucky


Missouri


Nebraska


Nevada


Tennessee

 

Board Member 1: Vee Gaspa


Delaware


Iowa


New Hampshire


New Jersey


New Mexico


Wisconsin

 

Board Member 2: Tarik Williams


DC


Maine


Mississippi


Pennsylvania


Rhode Island


Utah

 

Board Member 3: Chris Nusbaum


Colorado


Hawaii


Maryland


Michigan


Minnesota


Washington

 

Board Member 4: Bryan Duarte


Arkansas


Arizona


California


North Dakota


Ohio


South Dakota

 

Congratulations to each of them! And, now, for where you come into play. The
National Association of Blind Students has three committees this year, all
of which need your help to be successful. I encourage you to consider
joining one of our committees, based on your preferences, skill set, and
interests. Please do reach out to the committee chairs, contact information
listed below, in order to dive into the work of our movement.

 

Fundraising Committee:

Chair: Luke Schwinck (luke.schwinck at hotmail.com
<mailto:luke.schwinck at hotmail.com> )

The most important part of any movement is funding that movement.
Therefore, the Fundraising Committee of the National Association of Blind
Students, a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind, is
paramount to effecting positive change for blind students in our nation.
This is illustrated by the majority of the NABS Board, beginning with their
involvement on the Fundraising Committee. We are seeking passionate,
creative, and hardworking students from all corners of the country to learn,
and lead alongside President Kathryn Webster and the NABS board.  Our vision
for this year is to engage in a variety of ventures from grant writing to
hosting local and national fundraising events, and everything in between.
The majority of our committee’s work is creating, planning, and implementing
events such as Monte Carlo Night at national convention and NABS Café at
Washington Seminar, as well as making fundraising merchandise decisions.  We
are anxious to share with you our experience, and knowledge with the sincere
hope that you will return the favor.  This year on the fundraising committee
you can expect to work hard and have a great time doing it!

 

Legislative Committee:

Chair: Michael Ausbun (mausbun at nevada.unr.edu)

Have you ever found yourself in a class where the materials were
inaccessible? Have you ever thought legislation, the political process, or
advocating for equality, opportunity, and security for blind students is
important? We need your help! The Legislative committee of the National
Association of Blind Students is looking for volunteers! We work closely
with the Governmental Affairs team at the National Federation of the Blind
Jernigan Institute, in order to facilitate the dialogue which leads to the
development of equitable policy. We will be focusing on our national agendas
from a student’s lens, and need your help doing so!

 

Membership/Communications Committee:

Chair: Bre Brown (bbrown at nfbtx.org)

Are you interested in communicating with our membership, and facilitating
personal and professional development? How about insuring students have
access to resources to help them be successful? Join us! The
Membership/Communications Committee of the National Association of Blind
Students is looking for volunteers! Tasks include, though are not limited
to, planning and participating in membership calls, writing and gathering
blog posts, generating resources for student toolkits, development of
regional student programs, and membership outreach. This is a newly formed
committee, so it’s got a lot of reach to get your feet wet in something new
and fun!

 

Thank you in advance for your efforts and contributions for ensuring that
blind students live the lives we want.

Please reach out to me if you have any questions, want to chat, or have an
idea you’d like to throw around. I am eager to hear from you!

 

Best,

Kathryn Webster

President | national Association of Blind Students

(203) 273-8463

Nabs.president at gmail.com