[NFBNJ] Women's History Month: Josephine Lister Taylor

[joe ruffalo]

Greetings to all!
Received the following from Pamela Gaston, NJ CBVI.
Another outstanding woman!

Please share with others.
Warmly,
Joe

**
Josephine Taylor (1910-1988) was born in Minnesota (same as CBVI's first 
Executive Director, Lydia Hayes). She received her B.A. from Western College 
in Oxford, Ohio, and M.A. degrees from Teachers' College, Columbia 
University and New York University. She completed individual studies with 
Dr. Kathryn E. Maxfield and Dr. Samuel P. Hayes on developmental assessments 
and intelligence testing of blind children. She received honorary doctoral 
degrees from Boston College; Stonehill College, N. Easton, MA.; and college 
of St. Joseph, Rutland, VT.

Jo Taylor began her career in the education of children who were visually 
impaired in 1933 as a nursery school teacher in New York. From 1936 to 1942, 
she taught at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Mass. She then 
served as the Commission's Director of Educational Services, here in NJ from 
1942 to 1967. She always had a special love for multi-handicapped children, 
especially deaf-blind. Jo Taylor was a strong advocate and worked diligently 
for the statewide implementation of mainstream public day school programs 
for blind and visually impaired children.

Jo Taylor moved to the Washington area in 1968 and joined the Department of 
Health, Education and Welfare, Division of Personnel Preparation. While 
serving as a project officer and branch chief with the Special Education 
Services, she continued her role as a strong advocate for educational 
services for blind and multi-handicapped children as well as advocating for 
teacher training programs for those specialized populations. She retired 
from the Department of Education in 1982.

During Jo Taylor's varied roles on behalf of blind children, she was 
president of the National Braille Club (1955-58), president of the New 
Jersey Conference on the Handicapped, member of the board of directors of 
the American Association of Instructors of the Blind and the International 
Council for Exceptional Children. She was one of the delegates from the 
United States to the International Conference of Educators of Blind Youth in 
Oslo, Norway, 1957. In 1985 she was a member of the Advisory Group for the 
Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China on the Education of 
the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Jo Taylor was the recipient of many honors. The Council for Exceptional 
Children presented her with a special award for outstanding service. She 
received the Migel Award from the American Foundation for the Blind for 
exceptional service. In 1984 she was the recipient of the AER Mary K. Bauman 
Award. In 1985 the State of New Jersey presented her with the first 
Josephine L. Taylor Award during the Commission's 75th anniversary 
celebration in honor and recognition of her state, national, and 
international impact on services for the education of blind, visually 
impaired and deaf-blind people. In 1986 the American Foundation for the 
Blind hosted the First Annual Josephine L. Taylor leadership institute, 
named in her honor.

Photos of Josephine Lister Taylor:

[Josephine Taylor]  [Josephine Taylor]


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