[NFB-Braille-Discussion] FW: BANA Elects New Officers and Accepts New Member at Fall 2025 Meeting

Tue Nov 4 12:12:22 UTC 2025

From: Braille Authority of North America <info at brailleauthority.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, November 4, 2025 3:59 AM
To: Milton Ota <mota1252 at gmail.com>
Subject: BANA Elects New Officers and Accepts New Member at Fall 2025 Meeting

 <https://mailchi.mp/brailleauthority.org/new-braillebits-podcast-available-8335973?e=9d6d9140e5> View this email in your browser 

Press Release
November 2025
For Immediate Release

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Contact: Jen Goulden, Chair
Braille Authority of North America
613-552-4191; chair at brailleauthority.org

BANA Elects New Officers and Accepts New Member at Fall 2025 Meeting

The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) held its second 2025 semiannual face-to-face meeting in Boston, MA, on October 22 through 24. National Braille Press, a BANA member organization, hosted the meeting on the campus of Northeastern University.

BANA Chair Jen Goulden presided throughout the meeting. After greeting observers, she introduced Brian MacDonald, CEO of National Braille Press, who welcomed everyone to the meeting.

During its three-day meeting, the BANA Board reviewed semiannual reports from its general, technical, and Board committees, each of which works on specific charges from the Board. The Board acted on recommendations from these committees and issued new charges when appropriate.

The Board also established its 2026 budget, considered applications for membership, and elected a new slate of officers for 2026. The new slate of leaders consists of: 

*	Chair – Jen Goulden, representing CNIB (The Canadian National Institute for the Blind)
*	Vice Chair – Wendy Buckley, representing Perkins School for the Blind
*	Secretary – Amber Pearcy, representing the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled
*	Treasurer – Marie Zaldivar, representing the Alternate Text Production Center of the California Community Colleges (ATPC)

The Board is pleased to announce that the Foundation for Blind Children (FBC) of Phoenix, AZ will join BANA as a full member. Their membership will begin January 1, 2026. 

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) will host the spring 2026 BANA meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. The meeting will be held at the University of Pittsburgh on May 11 – 13, 2026. Additional information will be announced nearer the meeting date. 

Interested parties are invited to attend and observe the BANA Board’s face-to-face meetings. If you are interested in being an in-person observer, please contact BANA Chair Jen Goulden at 613-552-4191 or by email at  <mailto:chair at brailleauthority.org> chair at brailleauthority.org.

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The mission of the Braille Authority of North America is to assure literacy for tactile readers through the standardization of braille and/or tactile graphics.

BANA-Announce is an announce-only email list that disseminates official BANA information—summaries of meetings and BANA activities, new publications, announcements of code changes and clarifications, and general information to promote braille, its use and production. To join BANA-Announce, click the link below:  <https://brailleauthority.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b3b4e9f0dba6ddcc553d5fe89&id=c71ca04e86&e=9d6d9140e5> Join BANA-Announce. You can also follow BANA on Facebook and X! 

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Our mailing address is: 

Braille Authority of North America

c/o CNIB

1929 Bayview Avenue Toronto, Ontario M4G 3E8

Toronto, Ontario M4G 3E8 

Canada

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