[nabs-l] NABS Leadership Transition

Sean Whalen nabs.president at gmail.com
Wed Jun 29 00:13:27 UTC 2016


Good afternoon to each of you,

 

As the National Federation of
the Blind 2016 National
Convention rapidly approaches,
I am writing regarding the
impending transition in NABS
leadership. As you may know,
my term as President of NABS
is set to expire this Friday
at the conclusion of our
annual business meeting. I
have been privileged to serve
in this role for the last 5
years, and have enjoyed
working with and for so many
of you. Though I will be
continuing my studies at
Harvard Law School, and while
I remain dedicated to changing
what it means to be a blind
student in America, I will not
be seeking another term as
President of NABS during
Friday’s elections. As I walk
away from this position,
though not the division, I am
writing to convey a few quick
messages.

 

First, I want to offer my most
sincere and heartfelt thanks
to those of you with whom I
have had the opportunity to
work over these years. It has
been a pleasure to get to know
so many of you. I am proud to
call many of you friends. I am
grateful for the confidence
that the membership has placed
in me in allowing me to lead
this vibrant division of the
most important organization
related to blindness in the
United States of America, the
National Federation of the
Blind. Though I have certainly
made my mistakes and had my
shortcomings, I am proud of
what we, both on and off the
board, have been able to
accomplish. I believe that
over the past number of years,
including under President
Arielle Silverman from 2009 to
2011, NABS has continuously
grown bigger, stronger, and
more active. Not only do I
believe this, objective
measures like members added,
funds raised, articles
published, and programs and
activities executed bear it
out. We can be proud of our
successes in sharing
resources, offering advice,
and demonstrating to blind
students that blindness is so
much less limiting than is
often assumed. We all share in
this success and our work
truly matters.

 

Second, I wish to communicate
to you my wholehearted and
unequivocal endorsement of
Kathryn Webster for NABS
President in the upcoming
election. Kathryn has
demonstrated a skill set, work
ethic, passion for the cause,
and strength of character that
I believe make her an
excellent candidate for the
position. Kathryn has served
as Secretary, Treasurer,
Fundraising Chair, and
Webmaster over this last year.
And she has met or exceeded
expectations in each role. In
virtually every program we
carried out this term – from
funding students to Washington
Seminar to collecting letters
to Congress about accessible
materials, from running a
legislative leadership
workshop to expanding our
membership database, from our
annual NABS Café to improving
our website – Kathryn has had
a hand. As Fundraising Chair,
she and her excellent team
gave NABS the biggest
fundraising year we have had
in at least the last 7 years,
and almost certainly much
longer than that. As Secretary
she has executed her duties in
a timely and professional
manner. And as Treasurer she
has been responsible,
organized, and accurate.
Though her skills speak
volumes, there are other
equally important
considerations. Kathryn has
shown herself to be truly
passionate about the work of
NABS and the NFB. She
understands the immense
positive impact that the
philosophy and resources of
the NFB can provide to blind
students. And she is willing
to work hard to ensure that as
many blind students as
possible are exposed to the
Federation. Finally, Kathryn
is forthright and honest. She
takes responsibility and is
accountable. And, most
importantly, she acknowledges
her weaknesses, accepts and
considers criticism, and
consistently works to improve
her leadership and
performance. On Friday we as a
division will decide who will
lead NABS for the coming two
years, and I urge each of you
to give strong consideration
to this track record of
success. I firmly believe that
one of the best indicators of
what somebody will do is what
they have done, and Kathryn’s
demonstrated leadership and
passion lead me to conclude
that she is hands down the
best individual for the job.
She has my vote, and I hope
you will consider giving her
yours, too.

 

Third and finally, I just want
to make it very clear that,
while I am not going to
continue to serve on the NABS
Board, I certainly intend to
remain an active engaged
member of the division. I
still have ideas about how
NABS can improve, and I still
have a deep-seeded desire to
empower and lift up blind
students to our full
potential. I hope NABS will
continue working on
legislative matters, perhaps
by replicating programs like
the leadership workshop we did
in Connecticut this term.
Students are powerful
advocates and we must continue
to harness our enthusiasm and
skills to move our legislative
agenda in the Federation. I
also hope that we can return
to being a source of powerful
and informative articles
related to blindness, be it
through the Student Slate
Blog, or some other medium
identified by the incoming
board. I hope to be involved
in seeking out, editing, and
writing content for such an
effort. Lastly, I hope to
continue to serve as a
resource to anybody out there
who might benefit from a chat.
So, as I step away from the
position of President, please
remember that I am still here
and interested in doing what I
can to further our work.
Starting after convention, you
can all reach me at
smwhalenpsp at gmail.com rather
than at the NABS address.

 

Thanks for the opportunity to
serve and grow in this role.
And thanks for reading. I hope
to see many of you in Orlando
at the NABS meeting on July 1
at 7pm. And remember,
registration starts at 6:00,
so come early!

 

Take care,

 

Sean

 

Sean Whalen

President, National
Association of Blind Students

(608) 957-7337

@nabslink

www.nabslink.org




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