[NFB-Idaho] FW: Sheila Wright from NFB.org

[danalynard at q.com]

What a priviledge to have such a capable individual as our national rep. She
and I have talked, but I hadn't looked her up on the NFB website. Thank you
Larry.

 

From: Larry Sebranek <lesebranek at q.com> 
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2023 5:45 PM
To: 'Sebranek Larry' <lesebranek at q.com>
Subject: FWD: Sheila Wright from NFB.org

 

 


Shelia Wright


Shelia Wright was elected to the National Federation of the Blind Board of
Directors in July of 2022. Her service in the National Federation of the
Blind began in South Carolina, was evidenced in Nebraska, and for more than
three decades the state of Missouri has been the beneficiary of her
initiative, hard work, and follow-through.

When Shelia was born, her vision problem was known almost immediately, but
the extent to which she could not see was often downplayed and the word
blindness was never used. She needed glasses by the time she started school,
but not much was provided in the way of accommodation except letting her sit
closer to the front of the class. By the time she got to the end of
elementary school, she was sitting about four feet from the blackboard near
the teacher's desk.

Shelia went to elementary school in Hartsville, South Carolina, and she got
there by walking or riding her bicycle. When in junior high the school was
too far away, she got herself to the elementary school in the same way and
then caught a bus.

By her senior year in high school, it was determined she needed large print
books; she often ran into the problem of getting ones that were out-of-date.
To her great frustration, she could study all she should but still end up
writing down the wrong answers because her books were not the newest edition
being used by her teacher and classmates. Soon she got to the place where
she started leaving books in the locker and relying as much as she could on
what she heard in class. Because she brought no alternative techniques to
the game, her grades in junior high and high school were less than stellar. 

Shelia remembers first being diagnosed as "blind" when she was sixteen.
Before she was always dismissed after examinations, and her doctors met with
her parents who were told that there was nothing they could do for her, and
they were referred back to the optometrist, who they said was doing an
excellent job fitting her with glasses. Shelia believes that the inaccurate
diagnosis and hesitancy by the ophthalmologist to talk with patient and
family did not provide them with the information needed to seek out and
support appropriate specialized educational services. This is the reason
Shelia has been so adamant about young blind children getting diagnosed
quickly and ensuring that students begin learning Braille at an early age.
"It certainly should have been before age sixteen that I heard I had a
progressive eye condition that was so significant that I was already legally
blind. The doctor told me I should learn Braille because it would be easier
to learn at sixteen than at thirty when there would be no other options."

When Shelia started to plug in to vocational rehabilitation services, she
immediately had to undergo psychological testing, a custom of the agency at
that time. The prediction of the psychologist and her rehabilitation
counselor was that she would not make it beyond one semester in college.
"The only reason you want to go to college is to get your M R S degree," she
was dismissively told. 

"None of my cousins went to college, but when I was told I could not, that
was very motivating for me. Being told I can't often is the prescription for
I can, and I will."

Her motivation, hard work, and innate ability meant that Shelia graduated
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. She chose this path to reduce the
number of classes in mathematics and science. She then entered a master's
program in education, specializing in vocational rehabilitation counseling,
and after successfully securing that degree, she has managed to work in
three states.

Shelia worked for several months at the Iowa Commission for the Blind as a
rehabilitation associate. This was an opportunity for her to see vocational
rehabilitation for the blind at its best, and this job gave her invaluable
experience. When she returned to South Carolina, she marketed her skills to
a nursing home that had several blind residents. She was hired to work with
blind and visually impaired residents on how to travel safely around the
facility. She also assisted them in participating in social and recreational
activities. Additionally, she taught staff to help blind residents be more
independent. She found this job exciting for about six months and worked
until a fulltime job in the field of vocational rehabilitation became a
reality. 

In the state of South Carolina, the general rehabilitation agency
discriminated against blind people, saying that if a blind person wanted a
job in the field, they should go to the agency for the blind because the
general agency needed its counselors to travel. The reality was that
rehabilitation counselors at the Commission for the Blind traveled more than
their counterparts in the general agency. 

When Shelia took a job at the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, she
did so with some reluctance. She really wanted to work in some other field
and then come back to rehabilitation for a career, but that is not the way
things worked out. "I was really afraid that I would end up being
pigeonholed into a job that I didn't want, and I wanted rehab to be
something that I actively chose to do with my heart and my soul." She worked
at the Commission for about three years, but periodically she would be
solicited by Dr. James Nyman, the director of the Nebraska agency. At first
she was cavalier about the interviews, at one point telling him that the
only job she would be interested in was the one he held. After more calls
and some negotiation, she eventually took a job as the director of the
orientation and adjustment center. Taking that job was a gutsy thing for her
to attempt given that she had never been to an orientation center, had never
had any cane travel, and what Braille she knew came from her own learning.
She relied on friends when she needed help and advice in any of these areas,
and though it certainly was not the easiest or most traditional way to begin
managing a program, she embraced and overcame the challenge. Those friends
also helped her solidify her understanding and internalization of the
philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind, a view she was familiar
with but was never sure she thoroughly understood or had worked at
integrating into her being.

After working in this position for three years she decided it was time to
move along. Though Shelia would return to the agency for some temporary work
to help them in solving a staffing problem, eventually she came to Missouri.
The job search she conducted saw her sending out thirty to forty job
applications a week for about six months, and strangely, on the day when she
received a job offer from Missouri, there were two of them: one was with the
state agency and the other with a private agency in St. Louis called ABLE.
She took the counseling job with the state agency and moved to Kansas City.
She was challenged because at that time there were no blind counselors
working for the agency. "If you were blind, you worked as a rehabilitation
teacher who is paired with a sighted assistant. As a counselor they did not
even give me as much as a Braille writer." Her work for the agency started
in July of 1984 and continued until August of 1988. She then went to work
for Blind FOCUS, a private agency, where she worked until 1995. She is
particularly proud of the program she helped to build that was for students
transitioning from high school to college to work.

Believing that she had spent too much of her life working in the field of
blindness and wanting to move into event planning, Shelia left Blind FOCUS
in 1995. Though she did not pursue the career she thought she would, she has
held a number of jobs that have resulted in new programs and good
programming for the blind. She helped in shaping the Technology Access
Program for Internet, an innovative program in Missouri that provides
screen-reading software and other assistive technology to allow blind people
to gain access to the resources found on the internet. She has worked as a
consumer support provider (CSP) for that program since its inception and
continues to do so, providing direct teaching and product evaluation. She
contracted with Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind to conduct
the Code Master Project which focused on blind adults needing intensive
training in Braille, and she has contracted to do program evaluations in
other states. 

Nationally one of the efforts that Shelia is most proud of is participating
in the creation of the National Association of Blind Rehabilitation
Professionals. "Before this group, many of us felt like Lone Rangers out in
our agencies, and I saw this group as being really important to give us
inspiration as we tried through our daily work to bring about the hopes and
dreams that are embodied in the Federation."

Of course, her work with the National Federation of the Blind has kept her
extremely busy. She has been an active member in all the states in which she
has lived, joining the Missouri Board in 1993, becoming second vice
president in 2001, moving to first vice president in 2003, and assuming her
current job as affiliate president in 2017. Since Gary Wunder was the state
president for much of the time before she assumed that title, he can tell
you that one of the things that elevates people to office and keeps them
there is the willingness to follow through on commitments. He says, "Never
did Shelia leave us hanging out on a limb. If she promised to make a call,
it was made, write a letter and it was written, chair a committee and it
met, organize a legislative event and it was organized, and, wow, could she
keep a list. She has always been an active supporter of anything we put our
names on, but her support has not always been without criticism. When I sent
out an annual list of affiliate committees and asked my ranking officer
Shelia what she thought of the appointments I had made, she said, 'I often
wonder whether you are drunk when you make these lists.' You can bet I
worked harder at seeking her advice when drawing up future lists."

Like the rest of us, Shelia has a life beyond work and Federation
activities. She married Harvey Fisher in 1985, he being a rehabilitation
teacher for the state agency.  Unfortunately, Harvey died as a result of
cancer in 1991. Shelia found an able and loving helpmate, and she  married
Jeff Wright in 1996. Jeff shares her love of the Federation and in addition
to helping her do many behind the scenes tasks, he has also served as a
chapter officer for many years. Together they work hard in their church and
strive to live the values in which they deeply believe.

Shelia's hobbies include tandem biking, swimming, playing the guitar, and
reading. She also enjoys sports, and those who know her are well aware they
should not call when either the Kansas City Chiefs or the South Carolina
Gamecocks are playing. 

Shelia says that she believes one of the greatest assets she brings to the
Federation is developing projects and programs and then overseeing many of
them until they are well-established. "I like being a change agent and the
new endeavors we create. I am proud of the fact that we established a
program for young students called Mission Believe, another program called
Mission BEAM, and an active group that is now known as the Cane Drivers." I
am not always the person who does most of the work, but one of my strengths
is in building teams and in helping them get things done."

"I have enjoyed watching things change such as seeing kids who come to the
convention with canes learning to use them and getting around by themselves.
I was glad that Nebraska was a part of this and that at the time I was a
part of the Nebraska agency and the affiliate. When I look back on
advancements we have made, I am proud of all of them; whether they bear my
handprint is less important than the fact that I have actively participated
in the Federation and therefore have something to do with everything that
gives blind people an opportunity to live a better life." 



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