[Nfbmo] President's message

Mon Feb 1 20:24:02 UTC 2016

From: President, National Federation of the Blind 
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2016 2:14 PM
To: 'state-affiliate-leadership-list at nfbnet.org'
Cc: 'john.alahouzos at marketdevelopment.org'; Braun, Beth; 'gpaul at cpprov.org'
Subject: NFB President's Notebook - week of 02/01/2016

President's Notebook

National Federation of the Blind

Mark A. Riccobono

officeofthepresident at nfb.org

(410) 659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

Thank you for the tremendous effort everyone made to be in Washington, DC,
and cover the offices that were left without NFB members due to the weather.
Although we had fewer meetings because of our reduced attendance, we had
many quality meetings on the Hill and made a great impression.

This morning I was reading the NABS Notes-the update provided by our student
division. In reading the notes from state affiliate student divisions, it
struck me how much changes but how much stays the same. The sentiments,
projects, hopes, and dreams were largely the same as I remember them when I
first came into the Federation twenty years ago. The details are different,
of course, and the environment for students is very different; but the
underlying stuff of what makes the Federation important and critical
remains. This got me thinking about how we deal with the generation gaps in
our organization. As leaders in the Federation, we need to be sensitive to
the changing times while bringing the historical perspective. Likewise, we
need to manage the change so that we do not sideline expertise that is
invaluable in our organization. Far too often, we are not setting up
opportunities to talk about these different perspectives within our
organization so we can leverage them as building opportunities. I encourage
everyone to seek ways to bridge the gaps in our organization by
intentionally facilitating dialogues about the varying perspectives within
our organization. If you find ways we can help facilitate this at the
national level, please be sure to advise me.

News:

Registration Open for 2016 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium:
Registration is open for this year's law symposium
<https://nfb.org/law-symposium>  to be held March 31 through April 1, 2016.
Don't miss this opportunity to hear the keynote speaker U.S. District Judge
Myron H. Thompson and leading disability rights and civil rights advocates
examine the status of diversity in the disability rights movement and
explore ways to increase diversity so that all may achieve Dr. tenBroek's
vision of equality of opportunity.

Summer Internship Blog:

Anil Lewis posted an informational blog about the summer internship program
<https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/national-federation-blind-2016-summer-intern
ship-program>  this week. 

NFB EQ:

The National Federation of the Blind will facilitate three weeklong advanced
engineering design programs known as NFB EQ. The first program took place in
the summer of 2015 (August 2-8). This summer (2016), two additional programs
will be held June 19-25 and July 31-August 6. To learn more and apply,
please visit http://www.blindscience.org/NFBEQ. 

New Books:
The softcopy print version The Power of Love is now available at iUniverse
at
http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-001055365/The-Power-of-Love.aspx
for $28.99. The ebook will be released sometime in the near future, and is
expected to be priced at $9.99. 

The print version of Crooked Paths Made Straight is also available from
iUniverse at
http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000951291/Crooked-Paths-Made-Str
aight.aspx for $20.95. The ebook version will also be released sometime in
the near future, and is expected to cost $3.99. 

Spanish Version of the Presidential Release:
The Spanish version of the January release is now available at
https://nfb.org/presidential-releases.

Reminders:

Petition to sign and share:
Last week we launched a We the People petition
<https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/direct-us-department-justice-prom
ptly-release-ada-internet-regulations>  calling on the Obama administration
to promptly release the ADA internet regulations. We need to have 100,000
signatures by February 11, 2016, so please sign and share with your
contacts. The full URL for the petition is
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/direct-us-department-justice-promp
tly-release-ada-internet-regulations. 

Self-Advocacy in Higher Education Toolkit:
Equal access in higher education is an ongoing priority issue for us. To
better address students' needs and to help prevent or mitigate access
barriers, we have created the Self-Advocacy in Higher Education Toolkit
<https://nfb.org/self-advocacy-higher-education> . Please take time to
review this toolkit, forward the information on to others, and, importantly,
send us your feedback. 

We plan to expand the toolkit to include additional topics and want to
ensure it is useful to all blind students. Please send your suggestions to
Valerie Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org, (410) 659-9314, extension 2440, or
Mehgan Sidhu at msidhu at nfb.org, (410) 659-9314, extension 2314.

Legal Department Surveys:
In an effort to gather critical accessibility information from members, the
legal department is seeking information from members on the following
topics:

.         Redbox 

o    We are seeking members who have tried to use or would like to use
Redbox video and video game rental kiosks.

.         Social Security Kiosks and Forms 

o    We are gathering information regarding inaccessible field office kiosks
or online forms.

.         Online Banking 

o    We are gathering information pertaining to the accessibility of
online-only banks.

.         Electronic Health Records 

o    We are seeking information from employees and students required to use
electronic health record systems on the job or for school purposes.

.         Employment 

o    We are seeking information from anyone who has attempted to fill out an
online job application or take an online employment test with screen-access
software.

.         Common Core State Standard Assessments

o    We are seeking information regarding K-12 students who completed a 2015
PARCC or Smarter Balanced assessment or will be taking a 2016 PARCC or
Smarter Balanced assessment.

.         Technology in Higher Education 

o    We are gathering information regarding inaccessible technology and
discriminatory practices and feedback on the accessibility of student loan
documents.

. Applebee's

o We are seeking information about any experience you had with inaccessible
touchscreen devices that are used for ordering food, paying a bill, and
performing other tasks at Applebee's restaurants.

Please contact Valerie Yingling, paralegal at the National Federation of the
Blind, at Vyingling at nfb.org or (410) 659-9314, extension 2440 if you have
experienced accessibility barriers pertaining to these issues. For
Applebee's responses, please contact Tim Elder by telephone at (410)
415-3493, email at telder at trelegal.com.

Dates to keep in mind:

.         March 3-5: NFB STEM2U San Francisco

.         March 31: NFB Scholarship Program application deadline,
https://nfb.org/scholarships

.         March 31-April 1: 2016 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium
<https://nfb.org/law-symposium> ; Diversity in the Disability Rights
Movement: Working Together to Achieve the Right to Live in the World

.         April 15: Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Program nomination deadline,
https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main

.         May 17-20: BLAST, Chicago

.         May 19-21: NFB STEM2U Minneapolis

.         June 19-25: NFB EQ (first iteration)

.         June 30-July 5: National Federation of the Blind Convention, Rosen
Shingle Creek, Orlando, Florida

.         July 31-August 6: NFB EQ (second iteration) 

.         August 18-25: WBU and ICEVI General Assembly, Rosen Centre,
Orlando, Florida, www.wbu-icevi2016.org

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

Mark A. Riccobono, President

National Federation of the Blind

200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place

Baltimore, Maryland 21230

Phone: (410) 659-9314

Fax: (410) 659-5129

Email: officeofthepresident at nfb.org

Twitter: @Riccobono and @NFB_Voice

Web:  <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org

Gary Wunder, President

National Federation of the Blind of Missouri