Coffee with an NFB Staff Member: Beth Braun
From the Editor: This article is gratefully taken from the Fall edition of the Maryland Spectator, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. Here is the way it was introduced:
[Editor’s Note: NFBMD is a proud state affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind. In Maryland, we’re particularly fortunate to be the home affiliate of our national organization’s headquarters as well as the affiliate where many members of the staff of our headquarters hold membership. Our national staff work hard to offer national programming and implement operations for the NFB, and like all our sister affiliates, we benefit from that work. But in Maryland, we share a unique relationship with the NFB national center due to our proximity and also because the staff of the NFB are often among the affiliate’s volunteers. We will spotlight a different member of the staff in each edition of this magazine, and so we bring you: Coffee with Beth Braun, NFB Chief of Staff.]
Q: What is your role on the NFB staff?
A: I work in the Office of the President, supporting President Riccobono. My relatively new title is Chief of Staff.
Q: How long have you worked for NFB?
A: Eleven years.
Q: Tell us about your educational and/or work background.
A: I have a bachelor’s in forestry and master’s in hospitality management. I worked in hospitality for a long time, segueing into technology through point-of-sale work.
Q: Tell us about your family to the extent you are comfortable sharing.
A: I have a husband, Tom, and four cats.
Q: What is your favorite beverage?
A: Coffee before five, and after five it’s a tie between Dark Waves mead and Harborworks Cyser (from Charm City Meadworks).
Q: What is your favorite food?
A: Anything that doesn’t have raisins in it. Seriously, I could never pick one favorite food.
Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?
A: I spend a lot of my vacation time visiting family in Houston. Other than that, any place quiet, in the trees, by some water, with a stack of books.
Q: What is your favorite quote?
A: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Q: What is your favorite way to spend free time?
A: Sitting on my stoop with time-of-day appropriate beverage doing the NYT crossword puzzle (and Wordle), reading, weaving, and spending time in Patterson Park.
Q: What motivates you?
A: The hope that I am making a positive difference in someone’s day.
Q: If you could pick which actor played you in the movie about your life, who would it be?
A: Janeane Garofalo
Q: What is your favorite part about your job?
A: I love answering people’s questions—and being able to share what knowledge I have. The more shallow side of me would say that I love my office. I have more than a dozen plants and lots of little things that make it a happy place for me to be.
Q: What is your least favorite part about your job?
A: Talking to angry people on the phone who don’t understand or believe in the National Federation of the Blind. Luckily, that doesn’t happen very often.
Q: What is one really memorable experience you’ve had during your time with NFB?
A: I have been extraordinarily fortunate to travel to some very interesting places with President Riccobono. But the two memories that I will cherish forever were both at the White House at ADA events. First, I got to shake President Barack Obama’s hand and then years later, at an event in the Rose Garden, sit inches away from the Bidens.
Q: If you could give the membership one piece of advice, what would it be?
A: If you have a problem or a question, try to figure out the solution on your own. Use the resources and tools available to you; that’s how we all learn and grow. And when you have exhausted all of the options at hand, ask for help.