[NFBofSC] ANNOUNCEMENT: NFBCS Virtual Meeting, December 14, 2025, 8 PM EST

Thu Dec 11 11:08:01 UTC 2025

Hello,

If you are planning to attend  this seminar, please register so that we can
have an accurate count of our attendance.

Thanks.

---- 

The National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science is presenting a
Zoom meeting on how blind individuals are succeeding in careers in the field
of information technology. 

The Zoom meeting will take place from 8 PM through 9:30 PM Eastern Standard
Time (EST), on Sunday, December 14, 2025.

Meeting Registration

To register for this meeting, go to  

 <https://web.nfbcal.org/nfbcsvirtual.html> NFBCS Virtual Seminar
Registration 2025. The seminar registration deadline is Friday, December 12,
2025. The meeting link will be sent to registered attendees on December 13,
2025.

Program

All times will be in eastern standard time (EST). 

The speakers, talk titles, and presentation descriptions are:

Seminar Introduction: Brian Buhrow ( <mailto:buhrow at nfbcal.org>
buhrow at nfbcal.org) 8:00 PM 

Speaker: Lewis Wood ( <mailto:lewislwood at gmail.com> lewislwood at gmail.com)
8:05 PM 

Title: VS Code Introduction (navigation, how to, accessibility, and more) 

Description: Lewis Wood started in Academic Computing at Southern Illinois
University of Edwardsville. 1986. (JCL, Unix, IBM 360, Cobol, Fortran,
Pascal 64, Ibgener, SAS/SPSS, REXX, and more.

Jumped on Borland Turbo Pascal when it 1st came out.  I fell in love with
object Oriented programming and ability to program on my IBM 286 and display
graphics on my CGA monitor.

My first real job was Clipper (dBase compiled language)

I was downsized so I became independent and never looked back. I worked
remotely for over 500 law firms. My final jobs/contracts were providing web
hosting services.

Speaker: Michael Forzano, ( <mailto:michaeldforzano at gmail.com>
michaeldforzano at gmail.com) 8:30 PM 

Title: A Practical AI Approach For The Blind Developer

Description: The AI tools landscape changes fast - faster than any single
developer can keep up with, and especially fast for blind developers who
must constantly navigate accessibility challenges alongside rapid
technological change. In this talk, Michael Forzano shares how he adapts to
the shifting world of AI-assisted development and what actually works in
practice.
Drawing from his daily workflow as a blind Senior Software Engineer working
on accessibility at Amazon, Michael demonstrates how he uses AI to explore
unfamiliar codebases, reason about architecture, debug problems, generate
and refactor code, and work around inaccessible tools when necessary. Rather
than abstract hype, this session focuses on concrete techniques, common
pitfalls, and the accessibility considerations that truly matter when you
rely on AI every day.

Attendees will walk away with adaptable strategies for staying effective
amid rapid AI evolution, plus practical methods blind developers can use
right now - regardless of which tools or models become the next big thing. 

Speakers: Brian Buhrow, Curtis Chong, Steve Jacobson, and Harry Staley (
<mailto:buhrow at nfbcal.org> buhrow at nfbcal.org,
<mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com> chong.curtis at gmail.com,
<mailto:steve.jacobson at outlook.com> steve.jacobson at outlook.com, and
<mailto:staleyh at gmail.com> staleyh at gmail.com) 8:55 PM 

Title: The Challenges Of Using Tools Which Are Not Blind-Accessible

Description: 

Brian Buhrow has worked in IT in various capacities for more than 30 years.
His primary focus has been as a Unix/Linux system programmer/infrastructure
architect and as an Internet network engineer.  He began his career working
in the central IT department of the University of California at Santa Cruz
where he designed and implemented their adoption of the Andrew File System,
as well as designing and implementing various network services.  From there
he moved to a company called Santa Cruz Operation, the makers of SCO Unix,
where he designed a proprietary system for a fortune 500 company.  Next came
a move to a small Internet Service Provider, ISP, where he designed,
implemented, and managed the infrastructure for the back-end network
services, think Web hosting, DNS, and e-mail, as well as the customer
relationship management process.  Over time he expanded is knowledge of
networking to include the management of the network itself, including
routers, switches, cross-country circuits, and the management of the vendors
who provide those circuits.

Brian also served as the chair of the NFB Research & Development Committee
from 1997 until it was dissolved around 2020.  He now serves as the
president of the NFB in Computer Science.  

Brian is a firm believer in the NFB philosophy which says if we have
training and opportunity,

we can compete with our sighted colleagues and succeed as first class
citizens. That is why the

work of the NFBCS Division is so important. We need to show our students of
today they can

succeed in technical fields by giving them the knowledge and tools to
compete, as well as the

confidence to know they'll make it if they work hard and think creatively.
One of the ways we

give that confidence is to serve as role models for the next generation.

Curtis Chong spent more than 20 years working in information technology. He
programmed his first mainframe computer in 1972, at a time when computers
did not talk to the blind. As a designer/consultant at American Express
Financial Services (now Ameriprise), he provided technical support for
mainframe database and communications software, maintaining systems for
sighted coworkers within the company. From 1997-2002, Curtis worked as the
Director of Technology for the National Federation of the Blind, supporting
internal information technology for the Federation and its external programs
to improve nonvisual access technology and accessibility for the blind in
several different areas. He then spent ten years in Iowa as Director of
Field Operations for the Iowa Department for the Blind and five years as an
access technology expert with the New Mexico Commission for the Blind.

Curtis Chong has served as the president of the NFB in Computer Science for
more than three decades and now serves as the treasurer of that
organization. Today, Curtis Chong has retired from paid employment but still
performs consulting in nonvisual access technology. He 

continues his work to help blind people to live the lives they want
regardless of their blindness. 

Steve Jacobson has worked in a number of different capacities in Information
Technology for almost fifty years, after majoring in mathematics.  During
that time, he has often had to deal with inaccessible and changing
technologies, often before there were any kinds of legal protections.
Currently, Steve is semi-retired and works part time for 3M Company as a
Data Quality Analyst.

Final Remarks: Brian Buhrow 9:20 PM 

Adjourn 9:25 PM  

Division Registration, And Division Email List Subscription Page

To either become a registered member of the National Federation of the Blind
in Computer Science, or to renew your membership, go to
<https://web.nfbcal.org/nfbcsreg> NFBCS Membership Registration 2026. The
dues are $5 a year per person. Dues paid in or after December 2025 will
count until the end of 2026. The registration page has yet to be updated to
show this early December registration date.

The " <https://www.nfbnet.org/> https://www.nfbnet.org/" website contains
the Email/Web/FTP service of the National Federation of the Blind. The first
link on the page is where you go to join or drop NFB mailing lists, as well
as browse the archives. Clicking that link opens a page containing the NFB
e-mail lists. Search for "NFBCS" and follow the subscription instructions.

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact Louis Maher (713-444-7838,
<mailto:ljmaher03 at outlook.com> ljmaher03 at outlook.com).

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