[NFB-Science] Introduction from Your New Vice President

[avery ingram]

Good afternoon,

My name is Avery Ingram, and I have a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics. I also have strong interests in endocrinology and exercise physiology. I have been Beta-testing math software for blind people, and am a participant in the RISE program. I am also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In addition to the areas you have mentioned planning to focus on, which would be excellent, here are some hypothetical scenarios I hope the list could help people with:
What to do when someone believes people are choosing not to hire them because they believe a totally blind person cannot work with dangerous chemicals, but they cannot prove it.
When someone recommends workflows to a Disability Resource Office, and they choose not to implement the changes, even after complaints have worked in the student's favor.
What to do when a vocational rehabilitation agency tells someone their case is considered a low return on investment, and repeatedly denies requests that would allow someone to pivot to a computational science job, or delayed requests so long that the student missed the window for the Medical College Admissions Test.

I recognize that DRO and VR professionals operate under budget constraints and often do not have enough staffing, so this is not meant to criticize them. I am also grateful that some of them are in the NFB to learn and be as helpful as possible. Still, I sometimes wish I had a safe space to ask for guidance. I would also be very glad to help people struggling to succeed in their science classes. I know all of us have faced similar challenges or are here to support people who do, so I would like to thank you all for your dedication. I look forward to connecting with more of you.

All my best,

Avery

On Aug 16, 2026, at 12:27 AM, Harry Staley via NFB-Science <nfb-science at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Hello everyone,

My name is [Your Name], and I am honored to introduce myself as the newly elected Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind Science Division.

For those of you who may not attend the NFB national convention each year, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and let you know how excited I am to be serving in this role. I look forward to getting to know many of you and to working with the division's leadership and membership to strengthen our community.

One of my goals as Vice President is to help make NFB-Science an active and welcoming community for blind students, scientists, engineers, technology professionals, researchers, educators, and others interested in STEM. I believe there is tremendous value in creating opportunities for us to share our experiences, exchange information and resources, mentor one another, and encourage blind people who are considering careers in STEM.

I am also excited about helping revitalize this listserv and making it a place where members can learn about career and educational opportunities, accessible technology, conferences, scholarships, research, and other topics of interest to the blind STEM community.

I would love to hear from you as we move forward. If you are a student, professional, educator, researcher, or simply someone with an interest in STEM, please feel free to introduce yourself to the list and tell us a little about your interests and what you would like to see from the Science Division.

I am looking forward to working with all of you and helping build an even stronger NFB Science Division.

Best regards,

Harry Staley
330-718-1876
staleyh at gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrystaley



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