[Ohio-talk] Kudos to JW.

[Eric Duffy]

The following information is lifted from the Workforce Integration Task Force 
Final Report to Governor John R. Kasich. Notice that JW made sure that his involvement and leadership in the Federation got included. This is the way we should all do it. 

Be proud of the fact that you are a part of the National Federation of the Blind.

Thanks JW.
Again, kudos to the Dr.

Eric 


Appendix A: Workforce Integration Task Force Members 

J. Webster Smith 
J. Webster Smith (J.W.) was born blind on March 9, 1959, in Chicago. Dr. Smith is a professor of speech 
communication in the School of Communication Studies at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He received his 
Bachelor of Arts degree in history and speech communication from Indiana University, his Master of Arts degree 
in speech communication from Purdue University, and his PhD from Wayne State University. He is a member of 
the National Communication Association, Central States Communication Association, National Federation of the 
Blind, National Federation of the Blind of Ohio (where he served as president from 2008 to 2012), and the 
National Association of Blind Educators. In addition, Dr. Smith has served as a member of the Ohio State Library 
Consumer Advisory Committee, the State Consumer Advisory Committee of Opportunities for Ohioans with 
Disabilities (formerly known as the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission), and the Ohio Governorís Council 

on People with Disabilities. 

Sherill K. Williams 


Deborah Kendrick

Deborah Keefer Kendrick is an award-winning journalist, poet and technologist. Her newspaper column on 
disability rights has appeared in numerous newspapers since 1986, including the Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus 
Dispatch and San Francisco Chronicle, among others. Kendrick also serves as senior features editor for 
AccessWorld, a technology news magazine for individuals who are blind or visually impaired published by the 
American Foundation for the Blind. Deborah has written the Jobs That Matter series of books for AFB Press, a 
series profiling a wide variety of blind and visually impaired individuals and the jobs they do. Her features, 
editorials and reviews have also appeared in numerous regional and national publications, including Womanís 
Day, Parenting, Marriage and Family, St. Anthony Messenger, and many others. She serves on a number of 
boards and councils, has three grown children, and lives in Cincinnati.