[NFBCS] FW: Coordination of efforts

Tue Jun 2 14:30:19 UTC 2026

Brian,

I realize we don’t all get copied on everything, but has there been any follow-up on Jonathan’s note?  Curtis, I noticed you passed on an “Access On” announcement.  I think Jonathan would be willing to forward those announcements as well as announcements of CENA webinars if we let him know that is all right.  To me, that seems like something simple we could do to move forward.  The offer to meet before the convention also seems like a good idea to me.  There could, for example, be information about all that is going on at Microsoft that he could convey that might be useful.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

From: Steve Jacobson
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2026 8:31 AM
To: 'Mosen, Jonathan' <jmosen at nfb.org>; 'Brian Buhrow' <buhrow at nfbcal.org>; staleyh at gmail.com; mike.sahyun at gmail.com; 'Michael Forzano' <michaeldforzano at gmail.com>; Louis Maher <ljmaher03 at outlook.com>; Chong, Curtis <chong.curtis at gmail.com>
Subject: RE: Coordination of efforts

Brian and Board,

To follow up on Jonathan’s note, I would like to propose one specific action that we can take immediately that I think would be mutually beneficial to NFBCS and to CENA.  There has apparently been some hesitancy to post announcements of CENA Webinars and Access On announcements on the NFBCS email list.  I think that occasionally there have been webinar and Access On announcements forwarded there, but I don’t think those have been posted consistently.

As a Board, we have never really controlled what goes on our list, and as far as I know, we would never have blocked either announcements of CENA webinars or announcements regarding the Access On podcast.  In my opinion, it would benefit us to facilitate both announcements because it shows our involvement in these areas as an organization.  This gives us a way to counter, to some degree, the criticisms of some that NFBCS should do more in these areas.  It also helps CENA by spreading the word about these resources.

Given that we have not taken a position that would have prevented such announcements, I would like to see us immediately encourage Jonathan to have posted on NFBCS any announcements of Webinars.  These happen regularly but not so often that they would clutter the list.  I also think that much of the content of the Access On podcast is relevant enough to our general topics that an announcement of the content of new episodes would also fit into the NFBCS list.  Is there any reason placing such announcements on the NFBCS list can’t start happening immediately?  I don’t personally know of any reason.

Beyond the suggested immediate action, Having a virtual meeting with Jonathan before the convention makes a lot of sense.  We should be knowledgeable of other interactions with Microsoft, for example, before having a private meeting with them.  Also, the offer of letting people know about NFBCS through Access On would be helpful to us.

I hope we can move forward on this quickly.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

From: Mosen, Jonathan <jmosen at nfb.org<mailto:jmosen at nfb.org>>
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2026 12:47 PM
To: 'Brian Buhrow' <buhrow at nfbcal.org<mailto:buhrow at nfbcal.org>>; staleyh at gmail.com<mailto:staleyh at gmail.com>; mike.sahyun at gmail.com<mailto:mike.sahyun at gmail.com>; 'Michael Forzano' <michaeldforzano at gmail.com<mailto:michaeldforzano at gmail.com>>; 'Steve Jacobson' <steve.jacobson at outlook.com<mailto:steve.jacobson at outlook.com>>; Louis Maher <ljmaher03 at outlook.com<mailto:ljmaher03 at outlook.com>>; Chong, Curtis <chong.curtis at gmail.com<mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com>>
Subject: Coordination of efforts

Dear Brian,

I hope all’s well, and that you’re looking forward to a great national convention.

I’m following up on President Riccobono’s email last week and the previous discussions you and I have had about coordinating with the NFBCS Board.

I’ve been reflecting on how CENA and the National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science can work more closely together so that we maximize the impact of the Federation. I recently had a helpful exchange with Steve Jacobson about this, and I remain of the view that it would be enormously valuable for me to meet with the Board on a regular cadence, perhaps quarterly would be a good initial frequency to try.

. I appreciate that while national convention is always a valuable opportunity to connect, the realities of scheduling and competing responsibilities can make it difficult to have the kind of focused, strategic conversation that would really move things forward.

With that in mind, I wanted to suggest that we consider scheduling a virtual meeting ahead of national convention. My hope is that doing so would give us the space to:

  *   Share perspectives on how our respective efforts can maximize the impact and public profile of the Federation
  *   Clarify roles and expectations, particularly in areas like engagement with industry partners
  *   Discuss the benefits of promoting CENA content on the NFB in Computer Science email list, and whether there is any more I can do to promote NFBCS on Access On or other forums
  *   Identify a few concrete opportunities for collaboration that we can carry into convention and beyond, so we have some positive momentum we can convey at the public meeting in Austin.

NFBCS brings deep technical expertise and an important connection to blind developers and technology professionals, while CENA is working to strengthen coordination, advocacy, and strategic engagement across the Federation. There is a real opportunity here to ensure we are aligned and presenting a cohesive approach, especially in our work with companies like Microsoft and others in the tech space.

If this sounds like a productive path forward, I’d be glad to coordinate on scheduling and framing an agenda, or to work with you to shape the conversation in whatever way you think would be most useful. I am including in this email those who also received President Riccobono’s message last week.

While I am writing, just as with last year, if you would like to discuss with the Access On audience what is planned for the NFB in Computer Science at national convention, it would once again be a pleasure to talk with you on Access On in the next couple of weeks.
Warmly,

Jonathan Mosen
Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence
National Federation of the Blind
410-659-9314 ex 2233
jmosen at nfb.org<mailto:jmosen at nfb.org>

Reminder: Attend National Convention<https://nfb.org/convention>, July 3-8, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
“It’s the time of year where blind people are the majority.”
[National Federation of the Blind logo, Live the life you want tagline, nfb.org]<https://nfb.org/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260602/936c5849/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 49649 bytes
Desc: image001.jpg
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260602/936c5849/attachment.jpg>