Volume 44, Number 4 Convention Issue 2025
A magazine for parents and teachers of blind children published by
the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults in partnership
with the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.
Deborah Kent Stein, Editor
ISSN-0883-3419
Copyright © 2025 American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
For more information
about blindness and children contact:
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, MD 21230 • 410-659-9314
https://nfb.org/nopbc • [email protected] • [email protected]
A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Eighty-five Years and Counting
by Deborah Kent Stein
NOPBC CONFERENCE
NOPBC National Report
presented by Cassie McKinney
Unite, Captivate, Empower
by Norma Crosby
I Am a Federationist Giving Back
by Zach Ledford
The Challenges We Face
by Conchita Hernandez
2025 Twig Award
Introduced by Melissa Riccobono
NOPBC BOARD MEETING
Educate, Transform, Empower!
An Address by Dan Kelley, 2025 Distinguished Teacher of Blind Students
Skills for Success: A Conversation with Sarah Kassim, Briley O'Connor, and Roland Allen
Education Opportunities from the NFB
by Karen Anderson
Not College Bound? Think about Randolph-Sheppard!
by Belinda Banks
Discovering Possibilities
by Narjis Karimipour
GENERAL SESSIONS
Access On through Collective Action: Mobilizing Leadership through Blind-Centered Technology Perspectives
by Jonathan Mosen
Building a Constellation of Opportunities: A Blind Astronomer Researching the Cosmos with Multisensorial Perception
by Wanda Díaz Merced
AWARDS
The Eighteenth Annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards
Presented by Everette Bacon
The 2025 NFB Scholarship Class
Presented by Cayte Mendez
CONVENTION EXTRAS
Finding a Place in the Movement through NFB Youth Track
by Amy Porterfield
"I'm Going to Make You a Heart!"
by Shelly Smith
WHAT’S NEW
Celebrate Braille Literacy with Braille Readers Are Leaders
Announcements
IN MEMORIAM
Remembering Treva Olivero
by Bre Brown
Are you the parent of a blind/low-vision child? Don’t know where to turn? Have you ever wondered what your child will be capable of when he or she grows up? Are you concerned that your child’s future will be limited by blindness or low vision? Do you have questions about how to parent a blind child? We are here for you.
Founded in 1983, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC), a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), is a membership organization of families, friends, and educators of blind children. We have thousands of members in all fifty states plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.
We have a very inclusive definition of blindness which includes children who have some usable vision. Instead of focusing on what the child can or cannot see, we focus on the child and what she or he wants to be.
NOPBC is for families, educators, and friends of blind children, including those who have some usable vision. We welcome all families of blind children, and many of our children have both blindness and other disabilities.
We help families and blind children themselves maximize the child’s abilities and opportunities; we hold high expectations for all of our children, regardless of any additional disabilities they may have.
As a division of the NFB, the largest and most influential organization of blind people in the world, the NOPBC is well informed about the societal, legislative, and technological issues that affect blind people. We enjoy the resources, support, and expertise of fifty thousand blind people who can serve as mentors and role models for us and our children. When we as parents join the NOPBC, our children belong to the Federation family.
The NOPBC:
Most states have an NOPBC affiliate chapter. You can find your state chapter at http://www.nopbc.org. If your state does not have a chapter and you would like to start one, please contact us. We may be able to offer training and other assistance to start a state NOPBC chapter.
We have been where you are, and we want to support you and your blind child. We know that blindness does not define your child's future. We can connect you with other families and blind adults who can serve as positive mentors and role models. They can teach you the attitudes and techniques that will enable your child to become independent and to succeed in life.
The NOPBC offers hope, encouragement, information, and resources for parents, families, and educators of blind children. NOPBC provides:
We offer a wide variety of programs, activities, and training to families, children, and youth. One of our most exciting activities is our annual conference. Every year since it was established, the NOPBC has conducted an annual conference for parents and teachers of blind children as part of the national convention of the NFB. This conference has grown to include five exciting days of workshops, training sessions, activities for all family members, including sighted siblings, and countless opportunities to meet blind adults and other families and children from around the country.
Contact Us:
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
[email protected]
www.nopbc.org
Photo/Caption: Ellana Crew tests out the Orbit Reader in the Exhibit Hall.
Photo/Caption: Aiden Jones holds Elvis the Alligator in Kids’ Camp.
Photo/Caption: Ryan Bergeron plays with the Braille Doodle.
Photo/Caption: In the Exhibit Hall canes and Braille games are on display.
Photo/Caption: NFB President Mark Riccobono delivers the 2025 Banquet Address.
by Deborah Kent Stein
For six jam-packed days, from July 8 to 13, some three thousand blind people of all ages and backgrounds gathered at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in New Orleans for the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind. The lobby echoed with the tapping of thousands of long white canes. Old friends greeted one another in the registration line, and strangers became acquainted as they waited for the next elevator to arrive.
The 2025 NFB National Convention marked a milestone in the history of the organized blind movement. Nearly eighty-five years before, on November 16, 1940, a group of blind leaders from seven states convened at the Reddington Hotel in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. “Everybody who came wanted to have a national organization,” founding President Jacobus tenBroek said in a speech years later. “It wasn’t a matter of some people having the idea and converting others. The only discussion really was over the mechanics of it and how to implement it, set it up. But everybody was agreed, apparently, before arriving, that the time had come to set up a national organization.”
Delegates from seven states attended the founding NFB convention. The original sixteen delegates represented California, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. They drafted a constitution that laid out the framework for the organization that has grown stronger year by year.
The founders believed without question in the ability of blind people to manage their own lives. They saw the new organization as a body that would forge opportunities and fight for equal rights for blind people throughout the United States. Above all, they believed that blind people should speak for themselves.
This year the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind was an extravaganza of exhibits, workshops, presentations, and fun for blind people of all ages, along with our families and friends.
Exhibitors demonstrated the latest wonders of technology that can promote learning and enhance our quality of life. Delegates voted on resolutions that will determine the organization’s policy on a variety of issues in the years ahead. At the annual convention banquet, NFB President Mark Riccobono delivered a thought-provoking address, “Creativity, Persistence, and Hope: Reclaiming Our Stories through the Organized Blind Movement.” You can read it in full at https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/
bm/bm25/bm2508/bm250805.htm.
The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) hosted talks and workshops throughout convention week. Teens had fun and developed leadership skills through a week of Youth Track activities. Children played and learned at NFB Kids’ Camp. They even got a hands-on introduction to a live alligator named Elvis.
The articles in this Convention issue of Future Reflections can give you only a taste of the convention experience. We hope you will join us in person next summer in Austin, Texas, for Convention 2026!
The sixteen delegates to that first convention in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, could never have imagined the joyfully chaotic scene in the lobby of the New Orleans Marriott or pictured the convention agenda with its dazzling array of options. Surely, they would have been thrilled to know that the movement they began on that Saturday in November has grown and flourished. We can only dare to imagine what the next eighty-five years may bring!
Presented by Cassie McKinney
From the Editor: Cassandra (Cassie) McKinney serves as president of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC). At the opening session of the NOPBC Conference at the 2025 NFB National Convention, Cassie delivered this report.
Our agenda this week is very full. We hope to have Spanish interpretation for many of our sessions and for some of our workshops today.
I have the title in this organization of president. But I’m really just a member. My title means I have to keep this meeting going. I have to remember who’s supposed to speak next and which state they’re from. But the work of this organization isn’t done by any one person. We have a board of directors for the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. Thirteen of us share the load. Without the support of the entire board and the work we do throughout the year, this week would not be possible.
I’d like to talk about some of the things we’ve done in 2024 and so far in 2025. As a division we embarked on a journey. We had to wear tennis shoes for this journey! It was the first time as an individual, and not just as a blind person, that I ever signed up for a 10K. I remember my husband lovingly saying, “Honey, are you sure?” I said, “It can’t be THAT bad, right? Six point two miles! That’s less than ten!” I thought, this will be really great! And there’s going to be a group from NOPBC in town, in Baltimore, for our retreat. After our seminar we’ll go out and walk the bridge. It won’t be any trouble at all.
So, we crossed the Bay Bridge from Annapolis, Maryland, over to the Eastern Shore. If you see me this week, I have my completion medal on. It’s actually a puzzle piece. The work we do is a puzzle that, we hope, will help our children’s futures fit together.
Over the past several months I’ve asked members of the NOPBC board to share at our board meetings why the work of the NOPBC is so important to the National Federation of the Blind. Board members answered in many different ways. We talked about the need to build a future generation of leaders. We talked about the need parents have for support. We talked about blind children needing a place where they can meet other children like themselves. All these answers are puzzle pieces that build the future for our children.
Sometimes when you come to us you’ve never met another blind person. You have questions that are hard to answer in a public setting. Sometimes, as moms, you need that one girlfriend you can call on the phone, somebody you can ask about anything. I know guys do that too. They have a friend, and they go watch football or play golf together, and they talk about things that involve their kids. We all need a network of people who go through the same challenges with their kids that we face ourselves. We hope that’s what the NOPBC will be for you.
Not only do we share your wish that our children have the resources and tools they need to be successful. We want to make sure they have other children to bond with, peers who will help propel them along on this journey.
When we walked across the Bay Bridge, we didn’t do it alone. We did it together. We were part of a group of about twenty-five people. We got up really early. Karen Anderson made delicious blueberry scones. We ate scones and gathered outside at our launching station, as it was called, and we all started off together. When we got to the finish line, a group of people were waiting for us, cheering us on.
In the Federation our family supports one another. We help provide tools to make sure we have what we need. We help with legislation to protect the rights of our children, to protect their futures with ABLE accounts. We make sure they can go to school and have everything they need all the way through secondary education and into college. We also protect the rights of parents. Some of us are blind parents of blind children. For blind parents of blind children there’s another whole rulebook! In the Federation we make sure that the rights of blind parents are protected as well.
The work is still going on. Did I tell you we’ve accomplished a lot in the past year? We’ve begun to reach out to our affiliates across the nation to make sure they have NOPBC representation at their state conventions. We did it in Massachusetts. We did it virtually in Arkansas. We did it in Vermont. As we continue our outreach, we have enlisted the help of advocates. We have trained people to be IEP advocates. That training program has brought people into our national center in Baltimore. We have trained them in how to provide services and resources to parents, to help them get what they need. I want to thank all the people who have worked on this: Karen Anderson, Casey Robertson, and all the others.
We continue to do so much, yet we find there is still so much left to do! Every day we strive to reach one more family. Our outreach doesn’t just stay within our borders. It spreads across the world. We are not only part of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. We are part of the National Federation of the Blind.
This year we decided that we wanted to reach out to our Spanish-speaking families. We wanted to reach a group of people who need us as much as we need them. We wanted to make sure they would be able to enjoy our sessions and our workshops. That is why we are providing interpretation for various events this year. We also want to make sure Spanish-speaking parents can enjoy our agenda as much as we enjoy putting it together. This year our agenda is available in English and Spanish, and it can be downloaded to Braille devices in Spanish.
It’s important for us to continue our outreach, and I need all of you who are here to help. My annual report doesn’t mean much if we don’t have the support of our members. While we continue to do good work, I invite you to join me on our journey to do even more.
I don’t know how many more 10Ks I’ll walk. As a side note on that event, when I finished the walk, I was in an immense amount of pain in my left foot. Three days after the walk I went to the orthopedist, and he said, “Oh, yes! It’s broken!” I felt so strongly about that 10K because as I walked that bridge, I thought about all of your children—all of our children! A lot of physical pain went into that walk. We all know there is pain as we make the journey to get our children all the things they need. We all know it’s worth it in the end!
I’m so glad that all of you are here with us this week. I hope I’ll have the chance to meet you. I hope you enjoy the sessions we’ve planned. We’re going to talk about how to get your kids involved in doing chores—how does that sound, kids? Thank you for being here! Thank you for everything we do together!
by Norma Crosby
Introduction by Cassie McKinney: As I was putting together this program, I realized that all these people on the agenda are my friends! Then I thought about this next speaker, and I thought, this person is more than a friend! She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met in the Federation. She reminds me of everybody’s mom. I have known Norma for about fifteen years. I invited her to come and talk to all of you, and I hope you’ll have that same warm feeling when you meet Norma Crosby.
I have the honor of serving as president of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas. (Even when we leave the state, we still have to mention Texas!) I serve not only as president of the NFB of Texas, but I have the distinct honor of serving as our national treasurer as well. I’ve come a long way since I attended my first NFB National Convention in 1982!
I didn’t know what to expect before I arrived at that first convention, but my blind friends had told me it would be a life-changing experience. They were absolutely right! That convention was held in Minneapolis. When I got to the hotel I saw something I had never encountered before. The convention was a little smaller than it is now—I think there were about fourteen hundred people in attendance, as opposed to the three thousand or more you might see assembled here this week. But it was similar, in that blind people were navigating not only the hotel, but lines. I saw people like me, people with limited vision, who were using the tools of blindness to be more efficient. I realized that how much they could see was not important to them, because they had the toolbox that I was missing. I really saw that there was hope.
I grew up in a rural community where there weren’t any other blind people. No one knew how to teach a blind student. Don’t misunderstand me! I had wonderful teachers, and they did their best, but I lacked role models. The only tools of blindness I had were large-print books. I had to stick my nose into my books in order to read. I had access to professionals, but they weren’t the enlightened professionals that I hope you’ll meet here this week. They taught me that the only way to be successful was to see—and guess what! I couldn’t do that very effectively! So, my expectations were pretty low.
The Federation gave me the opposite message. When I got to that convention, I found out that I didn’t need to see to be successful. I found a community willing to show me what success might look like for me. I saw canes everywhere—a cane was something I had been assured I didn’t need. I talked to people who let me know that if I used a cane, I wouldn’t have to worry any more about those steps that I couldn’t see. I saw their confidence when they were traveling, and I wanted that for myself.
I didn’t get a cane at that convention, but I got one pretty soon after. With some tips and tricks given to me by my Federation community, I began to use my cane to travel more confidently. That was a huge boost for me! Growing up I had always traveled with my sighted family members. Even when I moved away from home I was careful about where I went. I couldn’t see curbs and steps, and I couldn’t navigate effectively at night. The cane and my new community changed all that for me.
I could go on and on about the things my blind family has taught me, but this meeting is really about you and your children. It’s about learning that it’s respectable to be blind. It’s about understanding that using the tools of blindness is empowering rather than limiting. I bet you decided to attend this convention because you want your child to have a better life, better than what you expected when you found out they were blind. Guess what! You came to the right place!
This week you’ll have access to blind leaders who are willing to talk to you about how your child can become more independent. You might find someone who will show your child how to use an escalator; I’ve definitely seen that happen at convention! You’ll begin to build a community of people who will share their experiences, and who will be willing to communicate with you long after the convention is over. That community is perhaps the most valuable thing you will take home with you when you leave this convention.
Perhaps your child’s vision is diminishing, and you need someone to reassure you that there is support for you as you navigate that journey. The community you begin to build at this convention can help with that. Maybe you know your child needs to learn Braille. They get intense, awful headaches after reading print for just fifteen minutes, so you know reading print isn’t the best alternative for them. This community can offer the advice and the encouragement you need. Perhaps you’ll even find someone to attend your IEP meeting with you and help you make the argument for Braille for your child.
What does the community mean to your child? It means access to role models. It means access to new friends. It might mean access to help when they are having difficulty learning something new.
Community and mentorship are the things the Federation does best. We want your child to have a sense of belonging—not only here, but out in the broader world. I believe you need what we have to offer. But guess what—other people have said it, and I’ll say it, too—we need what you have to offer as well. We know you have lives to live and that you’re busy, but your participation in the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children makes a difference for your child and for other blind children in your city, in your state, and around the world. You might be the link for a parent whose child has just become blind. You might share Future Reflections, our publication for parents of blind children, with another parent or with your teacher of blind students. Participating in one of our IEP academies can make you more effective at your child’s IEP meeting, and it might allow you to share your knowledge with other parents. You might find your own way to be part of this wonderful community that is the National Federation of the Blind.
As I was navigating the sea of humanity in the lobby last night, I thought, this is totally chaotic. And it was. Blind people were everywhere—figuring out how to navigate the hotel, the line for checking in, the elevators. And I saw what I always see at our conventions. I saw people showing one another how to navigate those terrible elevators. I saw people showing others how to find the end of the check-in line. I saw a community that I am proud to be a part of.
Was I glad to find peace and quiet on the twenty-sixth floor? Yes! But I also was overjoyed to be back home, in a space where I can explore new tools, make new friends, and occasionally offer a bit of mentorship myself. It’s a place where I am sure to learn something new that I can share with my community back in Texas.
This might be your first convention, as it was for me in 1982. Embrace the chaos. Attend as many seminars as you can. Talk to total strangers. Ask questions. Take a break when you need to—we all need to do that sometimes. And while you’re doing all those things, give your child the space they need to learn and grow. Send them off to Youth Track if they’re old enough. Let them go to the pool with the new best friend they made this week. I promise they’ll be okay.
This will be a week of intensive immersion into our community, but it will be worth the time you spend. When you go home, take the Federation with you. Share what you’ve learned with other parents back home. Help your child maintain the connections they made here. Get contact information for people you meet. We want to stay in touch with you for sure.
You’re the parents of our next generation of leaders. That makes your involvement critical to building a world where all blind people are valued and are treated with the respect they deserve. You and your children can help us build that world if you join our community.
I wish you a week of aha! moments, a week of seeing your child accomplish new things, a week of making new friends, and a week of getting to know ordinary blind people. Cassie and all our parents will embrace you, answer your questions, and hear your frustrations. And so will the rest of our community. Please enjoy! Please come back every year from now on so we can see your children grow up. Thank you!
by Zach Ledford
Introduction by Cassie McKinney: If you’ve been around the Federation very long, you’ll find that once you become a leader you get all kinds of different hats to wear. Sometimes you wear them all at once. One of my favorite hats—it probably has a cotton bow on it—is my position on the National Scholarship Committee and being able to meet students as they come into our organization. The first time I met our next speaker was the year he won a national scholarship. But I believe that his effort and his involvement in the organization go back further than that. I’m honored to introduce Zach Ledford from Utah!
Good morning, everyone! I’m honored and grateful to Cassandra and the entire NOPBC team for giving me this opportunity to share with you.
I participated in a lot of activities growing up, and it’s thanks to parents like you in this room. My parents are amazing, and I appreciate all the support they continue to give to me and my three younger brothers. Three of the four of us are blind or have low vision. I’m very grateful for the way my parents have advocated for us! Maybe some of my message will inspire you to do the same for your children.
About fifteen years ago I was in the position of a lot of your kids today. I was ten years old, and I was very excited to be at my first NFB convention. At the same time, I was a little scared to see so many people with canes and dogs. I kept hiding behind my mom! I asked my mom to go to the pool with me, to listen to the fireworks with me on the Fourth of July.
Currently I serve as a member of the board of the National Association of Blind Students (NABS). I’m president of the Utah Association of Blind Students and a board member in our Salt Lake Chapter. I wear a lot of hats, as Cassandra mentioned. I’m grateful to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind!
When I was growing up, my parents were eager for me to participate in a number of activities. I was involved in sports and after-school activities and activities within the Federation. I’ve participated in Federation activities for most of my life, from Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning [NFB BELL® Academy] to Junior Science Academy and on to Project STRIVE. All of these activities helped me become independent and develop skills as a blind student and blind leader.
My father grew up with little to no vision. He didn’t receive any services such as Braille instruction or mobility training until much later in life. He shared those experiences with my mother, who is fully sighted. They enrolled me for early services from the Utah School for the Blind. When I entered public school in first grade, they sought out a teacher of blind students and an orientation and mobility instructor. I remember my dad sharing about our blindness before I hit a baseball with my teammates. I remember hearing my mom share how I could be successful with low vision while I colored addition problems with my first-grade teacher. Experiences like those helped me understand the importance of advocacy.
By the time I was getting ready to attend middle school in sixth grade, I had been learning Braille and cane travel from an early age. At that point my parents decided I should start to attend my Individualized Education Plan [IEP] meetings. During the meeting in sixth grade, I heard my Braille instructor announce that I really didn’t need to learn Braille because I “had too much vision.” My parents fought for Braille, because no one knew whether I might lose all of my vision in the future. They fought because of the difficulties my father had growing up without Braille.
The struggle over my Braille instruction almost led my parents to take my case to court! It was all pretty upsetting while it was going on, but ultimately it helped me recognize the strength of our community.
My parents grew into the NFB because my dad eventually received services and went to a training center. His experience helped my parents build a successful life for me and for my siblings. Throughout our childhood my mom was a strong advocate, not only for us but for other blind children in the state of Utah. She even served for a time as president of the Utah Parents of Blind Children.
The National Federation of the Blind gave my parents a community, and the Federation continues to help support my family in many ways. I hope I can give back by sharing my story with others, supporting them, answering questions, and breaking down the barriers that keep us from success as blind individuals.
I want to thank each of you for being here. Your dedication goes a long way! Even though your kids might not remember this convention in ten years, they will be aware of your dedication to ensure their success. Thank you for lending a hand, for supporting your children and your friends’ children. We need that ongoing teamwork in order to accomplish great things.
by Conchita Hernandez
Introduction by Cassie McKinney: We’re very honored to have Conchita Hernandez with us today. She’s going to talk about some of the efforts we have been making to broaden the reach of our organization.
It is an honor to be here and to speak with you all. Actually, I’m going to go off script today. If you thought I was going to talk about my story, I’m sorry to disappoint you. The issues we’re facing right now are far too important, and I want to share that with you. You can Google me if you want to learn about me. Now please find something to take notes with, because what I’m going to say is really, really important. A lot is happening right now that specifically impacts our blind children. I want to share with you the urgency of those things and the steps you can take. I want to talk about federal funding and the misinformation around it.
When people talk about federal funding, many times they have no idea what it actually means, or all of the things that the federal government actually pays for, supports, and provides. Cutting federal programs is going to be devastating for our children. The federal cuts that have been taking place and others that have been proposed will affect every single aspect of your child’s life, from education to employment. This includes bills that have passed and others that are being proposed. This includes both short-term and long-term goals. I want to be clear—this has nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats. I want to let you know specifically what you can do to support the future of your child, and I want you to be informed and understand what it means.
If you think that these things do not impact you because you homeschool your child, or you think IDEA is going to be fine, I want to give you a little reality check. I need you to understand that by two years after your child graduates from high school, they have received at least a million dollars in federal funding. If you thought your child is valuable, just know how valuable your child actually is! You have a million-dollar baby walking around that gets funding in many, many different ways, ways you don’t even realize.
I’ll give you some examples of what that looks like. In public schools students receive OT and PT services—occupational therapy and physical therapy. Some, though not all of it, is funded through Medicaid dollars. You may think, that’s okay—my child doesn’t receive those services. Well, let me tell you what. When those positions are cut, it is absolutely going to impact your child. A school is an ecosystem. I have worked in schools everywhere, and when one position gets cut, everyone else is left to fill in the blanks. Our children have never been the priority in public schools. They never will be the priority, unless you show up and demand it. Schools already are making difficult decisions about what to cut, and they will never protect our kids first.
Whether you know it or not, your blind child in public school receives blindness-related products through the American Printing House for the Blind. These products include your child’s Braille display—Braille displays don’t just show up out of nowhere! This includes your child’s magnifiers. This includes your child’s JAWS license if they receive it through school. American Printing House for the Blind is federally funded. They receive an appropriation from the government, and they are being targeted for cuts. That would mean no Braille displays for your children, no magnifying devices, no JAWS licenses.
Teacher training. We already hear about the shortage of teachers of the visually impaired or teachers of blind students. The federal government funds teacher preparation programs. How many of you are from Louisiana Tech? Great! I’m a proud Louisiana Tech grad myself. Louisiana Tech receives federal funding to pay the cost of tuition to help support students going into the field of blindness and visual impairment. If these proposed cuts happen to these programs, we’ll have an even greater shortage of teachers for your children than we have now.
Has your child ever attended a special camp—a space camp? a STEM camp? any other recreational program? Guess where that money comes from! It’s federal money! Those programs are going to lose funding. Has your child ever participated in a program where they stay away at a college or university? That is going to be impacted; university programs are currently losing funding. Remember, we’re the smallest disability group. They’re not going to give us priority over research needs—they’re just not. Everything is connected.
Transition services. If your child is fourteen or above, they should be receiving transition services in public school. If they’re not, check with your IEP team. Those services help your child transition from high school to college. All those transition services and programs are being targeted.
Blindness training centers. How many people here went to a blindness training center? Training centers that are private and those that are public all receive federal vocational rehabilitation money. All NFB training centers receive that money. In fact, your child or student cannot go to a center unless they receive the federal money that goes along with it. Do you want your child to attend a blindness training center when they grow up? This training is in jeopardy.
Does your blind child receive books from the National Library Service for the Blind (NLS)? Guess what—NLS is federally funded! These libraries specifically are being targeted for defunding. Your child will have even less access to Braille and audiobooks than they have now.
Does your child use Bookshare for free? If you don’t use Bookshare, get it! It’s an amazing free service for students. But Bookshare is federally funded. If you have signed up for Bookshare’s newsletter, they sent a bunch of emails: please donate! Please donate! That’s because they can see the writing on the wall. They know they’re being targeted, and they may lose their federal funding.
There’s a lot more I could talk about pertaining to the public schools but now let’s move on to your child after high school. Your child’s success as a blind adult depends upon federal funding. Let me break it down. No other population depends more on federal funding than our blind population does. That’s because people don’t want to hire us, and they tell us straight to our faces. I am highly qualified. I have a doctoral degree, I have many years of experience, but I was told to my face that they would not hire me because I am blind. Our degrees, our experience, our affiliations, even with all that, most people see us as “less than.” That may not be the case when we’re in settings like this with such amazing people, but it is the reality in the wider world. Every single blind person has at least one story of being humiliated, discriminated against, or right out excluded. Many of us encounter this on a daily basis.
Contrary to popular belief, when this happened to me, I did not sue. I don’t have time for that—I need to pay bills. Many of us do not sue. Discrimination is a reality for all blind adults. We all have stories of being denied job opportunities.
The programs that ensure that your blind child is employable go through vocational rehabilitation services. Vocational rehabilitation is federally funded. Yes, rehab is state-run, but it receives federal money.
The Office of Civil Rights is the office that defends Americans against discrimination. Many people think of the Office of Civil Rights as just to protect people of color from discrimination. Did you know that the largest cases with the Office of Civil Rights involve discrimination against people with disabilities? We are being denied employment, being denied housing, and being segregated.
These cuts impact every aspect of your child’s life—where your child is going to work, where they’re going to live, and how they’re going to function in society. All of the protections through the Office of Civil Rights are at risk. The Office of Civil Rights has been gutted. If you decide you’re going to sue your school system and take your case to the Office of Civil Rights, good luck right now finding someone to take your case!
The employment status of your children is at risk. The work status of your children is at risk. Their ability to find housing and be allowed into the community is at risk. Does your child take alternative transportation? Guess what! It’s federally funded!
Why do you think so many blind people work for the federal government? (By the way, many blind people already have been fired.) It’s because the federal government has specific anti-discrimination policies in place that allow blind people to be hired. No other organization has these protections.
We currently have protections in place, and the unemployment rate for blind individuals is still abysmal. Some people quote it at seventy percent. If we lose the protections we have had, I shudder to think what that’s going to mean for us!
For those of you with kids who have multiple disabilities, these cuts will mean institutionalization. The programs that currently keep kids living in the community are federally funded. States receive federal funding for community living grants to pay someone to come to your home, to pay medical bills if your child has complex needs. All of that is in jeopardy. Right now, conversations are taking place about building institutions for people with disabilities and having nationwide registries. This should scare the heck out of us!
So, I’ve laid out the issues. Even though I may not sound very optimistic, I believe that with collective action we can turn things around. The reason blind people have the best Social Security benefits (we get more benefits than anybody else!) is because of the collective advocacy of the NFB. The reason there are some protections on accessibility in higher education is because of the NFB. The reason content must be made accessible online is because of the NFB and all our combined efforts. The reason you see so many competent blind adults here today is not by chance. Our training and opportunities have been won by the sweat, tears, protesting, advocacy, and legislative action of the people here. Many of the older blind people you see here today are responsible for the changes that we take advantage of. And—it’s all federally funded.
Perhaps you’re asking what life was like for blind people before all this federal funding was in place. Let me tell you. We were not allowed to attend public schools. Often, we were institutionalized. Sometimes we were sterilized. Most of us were unemployed. We are not willing to go back to that!
What can we do? Either we can get anxious and sit and watch things fall apart, or we can be part of the solution. I’ll tell you three things you can do immediately that will have a huge impact.
The first one is legislative advocacy. You need to build relationships with your members of Congress, both at the state level and the national level. You can learn to speak their language. Take your children with you. Your elected officials need to hear from you. You should know who they are by name, and they should know you by name, too! You need to share how these threatened programs impact your family—not by being confrontational, but by being respectful, honest, clear, and concise.
You can share data and heartfelt stories. Learn to tailor your message based on who you are talking to. If you’re speaking to Democrats, you need to use word such as equity and inclusion. Speak to the importance of the programs and how you are counting on them to vote in your interest, to protect the future of your child. If you’re speaking to Republicans, use words such as job readiness and future taxpayer. Talk about long-term savings due to short-term costs. Praise them for things they have voted on that have benefited your child, because they have done that! They have voted on things that have benefited your child. Do your research on areas that they specifically care about and connect those areas to your child. Make them a champion for your cause.
Do not believe the inaccurate idea that you should not visit your members of Congress who you disagree with. All of this is far too important for that nonsense! You need to set political affiliations aside and become friends with them. Offer yourself as a resource if they need information on the education of blind children. Believe me, they will come to you if they feel they can trust you!
You need to be strategic. If you’re trying to build relationships with your members of Congress, please don’t be the same person protesting against them! Decide who in your group is going to do the protesting and who is going to do the policymaking! (Laughter) We need both. You need to be strategic. No one, and I mean no one, is going to save your kid for you—not Democrats, and not Republicans. You need to step up, tell your stories, be present, and change minds.
I often say it’s really, really hard to be an introverted blind kid. You always have to be speaking up for yourself, saying, I need this, I need that. I’m going to say the same thing to you parents. You need to learn your rights! You need to visit your Congresspeople. You need to speak up for the education and future of your blind children. If you don’t, no one else will. The NFB needs you to be allies, because the NFB cannot do it without you.
You are raising the child you have, not the child you imagined. In the same sense, we live in the world we have, not the one we imagined our children would grow up in. Being passive is no longer a choice or a path you can take. Decisions are being made right now, with or without your consent.
Item A: How do you find out about what is taking place? Obviously, I recommend participation in this organization, the NFB. Follow the NFB on social media. You also can follow the American Association of People with Disabilities—they constantly post information on action such as calling your Congresspeople. Reach out to the NFB legislative director. They can help support you in being politically active—because your blind child is federally funded!
Item B: You need to be the leader in the education of your blind child. Is your child a Braille reader? I’m so sorry, but there is no longer any excuse why you should not be learning Braille yourself. There are YouTube videos, there’s the Hadley School for the Blind, and there are lots of blind people here who can help you. You need to step up your education for your child, because no one else is going to do it for you. Learn about something called the Expanded Core Curriculum. It covers areas that your child needs to learn.
You are your child’s best teacher. Ask your child’s teachers how you can reinforce at home what they are teaching in school. If you expect the school system to teach your child everything they need to know in order to be successful, let me tell you something: there are not enough hours in the day for them to do that! And there is a shortage of teachers.
Item C: The biggest thing you can do at home to support your child is to give them chores. You don’t know how to teach them about doing chores? There are literally thousands of people here for you to ask, and there are going to be sessions on this later today.
Find blind mentors, not just for your child, but also for yourself! Ask them all the questions you have. Gather their contact information. Stay in touch. Get as many perspectives as you can from the people who are here today. Use this opportunity to change things for yourself and for your child.
I will leave you by saying that the future of your blind child is in your hands. You need to know now more than ever how to advocate and how to step it up. Together, and only together, can we create a world where every blind child has the best opportunity possible. Thank you!
Photo/Caption: Cassie McKinney and Melissa Riccobono present the 2025 Twig Award to Amy Porterfield.
Introduced by Melissa Riccobono
Melissa Riccobono: Good morning, everybody! It’s so great to have all of you here! I am Melissa Riccobono, and I’m second vice president of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. First, let’s give Cassie McKinney a round of applause! [Applause]
We are going to present our As the Twig Is Bent Award. This award began in 2008 at our twenty-fifth anniversary celebration. These awards get their name from a famous Kernel Book story. If you haven’t heard of the Kernel Books, they are little books filled with stories written by blind people. These stories offer little kernels of truth for blind people and also for a wider world. What is it really like to be blind? What is it like to experience low expectations from society? The Kernel Books are still available, and they’re here at the convention in the literature area.
There was a great story in one of the Kernel Books called “As the Twig Is Bent.” You’ve heard the quote, “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” We give this award to people who really have helped shape things for blind children and their families so that our trees can put down roots and grow up strong and confident. For this presentation I’m going to pass the mic back to Cassie.
Cassie McKinney: Thank you, Melissa. Every year we work on giving this award as a surprise. It’s always a big secret. As I thought about what I want to say about this year’s recipient, I’m reminded of their devotion to our movement. They give countless hours to help people find independence and find a place where they can feel they can succeed. It is always a pleasure to be in the same space with this person, because they have such a positive outlook on life. Even when things get hard, they are the sunshine in the room. They always have a warm word, and I believe that anybody who needs to talk to them can, whether they’re five or fifty.
My first impression of this person was that they were probably the coolest mom ever. I thought, I bet every day is a new adventure at home! I know it must have been something spectacular for them to come to this organization, to have found a place where they truly belong.
As women in this organization we understand how important it is for our spouses and our families to be part of it as well. I believe that this person’s family is in the room today. I know that they support one another, which is the most important thing we do in our Federation family.
This individual has given from their heart. The true purpose of leadership in this organization has been shown through their work. I’m honored today to present this year’s Twig Award to Amy Porterfield! [Applause]
Amy Porterfield: She really can keep a secret! I’m so incredibly moved! Thank you so so much for your kind words! I appreciate everything that this organization has given to me and everything that this division has given to our children. I’m grateful to be a part of it all. Thank you so much! [Applause]
An Address by Dan Kelley, 2025 Distinguished Teacher of Blind Students
From the Editor: During the NFB Board Meeting on July 10, Carla McQuillan presented the 2025 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award to Dan Kelley of Ohio. In presenting this award, she explained that Dan is a longtime teacher and coach at the Ohio School for the Blind (OSB). She recounted how, under his direction, the OSB marching band performed at a football game at The Ohio State University and spelled out the word OHIO in Braille on the field. The band also marched at the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California.
On accepting his award, Dan Kelley said, “Being recognized as a Distinguished Educator of Blind Students by the National Federation of Blind has very deep meaning for me. I’m proud to be carrying out our mission for our young students so they will be able to live the lives that they want to live. It’s more than just teaching a skill or a concept. It involves teaching how to apply those skills in life.
“As I reflect on the work that’s brought me here, one word rises above all the rest. And that’s collaboration. I’m not talking about cooperation, though cooperation is important, too. Cooperation says, ‘I’m going to help you do your thing.’ Collaboration says, ‘Let’s build something bigger and better together.’ Everything that I’ve been part of, every project, every success, has come from bringing people together—not just to share space, but to share vision and to share ideas, and whether it’s families or educators, advocates or the remarkable individuals that we serve. The magic happens when we bring our unique strengths to the table. We challenge one another, and we create something that none of us could do on our own.
“This award may have my name on it, but it belongs to all of us who make the choice to lean in, to listen deeply, and to build something intentionally. To my colleagues, my mentors, my partners in this work, I want to thank you for showing me what’s possible when we stop asking ‘How can I help?’ and we start asking ‘What can we create together?’”
Dan Kelley addressed the annual meeting of the NOPBC board as follows:
I want to share with you part of my story—where I came from, and how I came to be something of a professional educator. My wife Marie is here with me. We have four kids between us; we each have two kids from our first marriages. They range from age eleven to eighteen. There are probably a lot of arguments around our house with that bunch of teenagers, right?
I taught at the Ohio School for the Blind for twenty-eight years. This past August I accepted another position within the same agency, with Statewide Deaf and Blind Services. Now I can say that the whole state of Ohio is my classroom! I get to have fun every day. Every day is different for me. I might be doing direct service with kids, and then I’m joining in some IEP conversations. I get to plan programming in all five regions of the state. We have eighty-eight counties and five regions.
The latest thing I’ve been involved in is multiline Braille displays. I’m trying to get the word out about those in the state of Ohio, serving as a bridge between APH [American Printing House for the Blind] and some of the schools that have won the Monarch Arise Grant.
A really cool thing I got to do last year was Transportation Day. We brought in all kinds of vehicles for kids to climb on and explore at will. You know those tow trucks that can pick up semis on the highway when they jackknife and flip? They’re big, big old things!
I want to go back and talk about where I came from and how I grew up. I think that’s important. It wasn’t always great, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I wouldn’t be the person I am without the experiences I had.
I was born in 1972, so I’m fifty-three. I have an eye condition that comes from rubella, German measles. My mom was exposed to it during pregnancy, and it affected my retinas. My education was a mixture of public school and residential school. I started public school in kindergarten. Then I went to the Alabama School for the Blind for a few years and back to public school for a year. Then I went back to the school for the blind for six more years.
When I was in my senior year of high school, we moved to Ohio. My dad worked for Goodyear, so we moved to Akron. I finished high school there in public school.
I went to Ohio State and got my bachelor’s degree in music education. Then I found myself looking all over the country for a job. I looked everywhere! I even looked in Alaska! In Alaska, if you’re willing to go out into the bush, the starting salary for a music educator was $120,000 back in 1994!
I ended up staying right in Columbus, Ohio, working as a substitute teacher for three-and-a-half years. I went everywhere every day. My toolbox of equipment contained two briefcases and a backpack full of technology. I was dealing with reverse accessibility. I was going into mainstream classrooms, and I had to make my content accessible to the sighted students. I had a Mac PowerBook 165 and an LCD projector so I could put material on the overhead. I had a scanner and a portable printer. It was a lot to lug around! I took the buses for a while, and eventually I ended up hiring a driver.
I call that having a work ethic. You do what you have to do. It’s not just something I had to learn, and it was something I had to live.
I was very fortunate when I was growing up to have teachers and parents with high expectations. I was going to do the things my brother did and my friends did. I was going to take out the trash, wash the dishes, and clean the floor. Imagine pulling the weeds out of a gravel driveway! There I was, crawling around, pulling up the weeds!
High expectations were very important when I was growing up. I was expected to earn A’s and B’s. And it was also very important that I knew how to take care of myself. When I was eight my dad said, “Son, you better learn how to cook, and you better learn how to clean.” I focused a lot on those skills. It had to be done right. My dad was in the Marines; you know, once a Marine, always a Marine! We had regular inspections. It was the same at the Alabama School for the Blind; we had regular inspections. I’m grateful for that now, even though I resented it at the time.
I was accepted at Ohio State as a provisional student. I was in music education, but I’d never had a music lesson in my life! They said, “We’ll take you for two quarters as a provisional student, and then we’ll see where you are.” I finally got accepted full-time for my third quarter. I had a 4.0 grade point average; I was doing well. I made good friends, and I tried a lot of things I never imagined I would do.
I tried out for marching band, because if I was going to teach it, I needed to do it. A lot of folks provided a lot of support. I learned the importance of networking and making connections. That’s how you make things happen. I told a student one time, “When you eat a hamburger, you don’t put the whole thing in your mouth and try to swallow it all at once. You eat it one bite at a time.” My philosophy became, “Let’s get people together who can make things happen.” It’s about making valid connections with folks and getting folks to invest in you. I realized that a lot of people invested in me. The best way to pay that investment back was to continue that practice.
After my subbing experience in Columbus, I went to teach at the school for the blind. I got the chance to learn a lot about diverse learners and diverse learning needs. I learned the importance of approaching someone where they are. I had a music teacher back in college who said, “If you don’t approach people where they are, you’ll have a constant battle of wills.” If you have people in your music class who listen to hip-hop, and you say, “We’re going to listen to Brahms today, and then we’re going to analyze it,” you won’t have anybody with you. But you can start where they are and work your way backward. You can show them, “This is where this music comes from.” You get a lot more buy in!
When I had student teachers I’d say, “I don’t care what the paperwork says about this kid. Put the paperwork aside and get to know the kid first.”
I was hired at the school to teach Braille and assistive technology. I love Braille, and I’m a Braille user. I think we should teach Braille to kids whenever it’s appropriate. Braille has uses all across the board. My house has Braille all over it. My microwave has Braille. My stove has Braille. I put Braille on my filing cabinets; it makes it easy to find things. The technology has made access to Braille so much greater than it used to be! You can do so much if you have a screen reader and a notetaker.
Sometimes it’s hard to get students to buy in. I have a lot of students who are losing their sight. They need Braille, but they don’t want to buy into it. They don’t want to look different. They don’t want to be different. You have to find a hook. Sometimes it’s, “Hey, you can text your girlfriend, and nobody will know what you’re saying!” “You can read in the dark.” “You can play cards with the cards under the table.”
Getting that buy-in, learning where each kid is and going from there, has been huge for me. I got really involved in sports at the school, in wrestling. I did public speaking; I coached forensics for a while. I played goalball, and I coached goalball. We took second place in the nationals, and I didn’t have a goal scored against me! I played beep baseball.
Making those connections outside the classroom gave me a chance to mentor students. Kids need that! My band director at the Alabama School for the Blind was one of my mentors. That’s why I went into music education. It’s very important for kids to see adults who are blind or have low vision being successful! It’s very important that they learn the strategies we use.
Thank you all for having me here today and letting me share my story with you. Teaching and learning are an ongoing journey. It never ends, and it constantly changes. Have high expectations for your kids. Teach them to problem-solve and troubleshoot. When I talk to parents I say, “You want your kids to do great things. You want your kids to be able to do all these things if something happens to you tomorrow. You want your kids to be able to figure it out.” That’s what we do as parents—we get our kids ready for the world.
Listen to your kids. See what barriers they face, and work on the strategies for circumnavigating those barriers. That’s where success comes from! You can be the biggest brainiac in the world, but that’s not the complete package. Developing life strategies as soon as you can is crucial for all of us to be successful. Thank you all very much!
Introduction by Cassie McKinney: I’d like to introduce the panel that will lead our next discussion. This afternoon we have Sarah Kassim, who is the parent of a blind child and a teacher of blind students. Next to her is Briley O’Connor, who is also the parent of a blind child. Finally, we have Roland Allen, who works at the Louisiana Center for the Blind as an orientation and mobility instructor. I’ll let each of them have a minute or so to introduce themselves, and then we’ll ask them some questions.
SARAH KASSIM: Hello everyone! My name is Sarah Kassim. I actually live in New Orleans, so this convention is in my back yard. I also happen to be president of the Louisiana Parents of Blind Children, and a lot of my board members are here with me today. My daughter Narjis is in the back of this room. She recently was diagnosed as a deafblind student. My husband is here, and my older son Amir is here for the very first time.
BRILEY O’CONNOR: I’m executive director of the Minnesota Center for the Blind, formerly known as BLIND, Incorporated. I’m also the parent of Silas, who is ten. He’s blind, and he’s at Grandma Camp this week. Next year he’ll be old enough for Youth Track, and I’m going through things about that!
ROLAND ALLEN: Hello, everybody! I’m Roland Allen, and I’m a cane travel instructor at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. I’ve been teaching travel since 1995. I went to the training center in Ruston in 1986. This is my thirty-ninth national convention! [Applause] I was born in New Orleans, on the West Bank, which is across the river. It’s so good to have you guys here!
CASSIE MCKINNEY: A lot of times families come to us fairly early in their child’s education. One of the questions we get asked a lot is, “How soon should we begin independent travel with our child?” Who would like to answer that question?
ROLAND: When should you start? I believe that the process of moving toward independence starts right away. As soon as that child can hold a cane, put a cane in their hand. We have some great kids’ canes at the Independence Market. It’s important that kids get connected with someone who can show them how to use the cane, but as a parent, you’re going to be their number one cane instructor.
BRILEY: When I was an instructor, I had a lot of students who had been blind all their lives and had an incredibly low threshold for discomfort. If you would let your sighted ten-year-old walk to the gas station to get a candy bar, that’s a goal you should also have for your blind ten-year-old. Encouraging age-appropriate goals builds your child’s threshold for discomfort. That’s not just a life skill to do with travel. It’s a skill that can help your child move through life as a blind person. What happens when you get lost? What happens when you wander through the lobby of this hotel thirty-seven times because it’s so loud? Do you stand still and quit and wait for someone to come along and save you? I’ll tell you what—a lot of the students I’ve worked with, that’s exactly what they do! They will stop and not engage because they think somebody will come rescue them.
SARAH: Before she used a cane, my daughter Narjis bumped into things a lot. She wore out so many shoes because she’d use the front of her foot instead of a cane. She had some vision, and I didn’t really think the white cane would benefit her at all. I was one of those ignorant people asking, “What can a white stick do for a kid?” I’d never been exposed to the blind community. This was one of the gifts we received as parents. We got to learn that the opportunity remains.
My first NFB convention was the state convention in Louisiana. Apart from that I had many mentors. I had a close connection with the director of the Instructional Materials Center, Robin King. Robin introduced me to Jennifer Hart, who’s here with us today. She told me I needed to go to the Louisiana Center for the Blind [LCB], which was the best gift anyone could have given me! I went to the LCB, I learned about technology, and I got to take their O&M class. I experienced the benefit of the cane; how wonderful it can be.
ROLAND: As a cane travel instructor all these years, I’ve worked with a lot of people. I’ve met blind adults who had never crossed a street by themselves! I put together an entire list of things my students had never done! You don’t want your kids to be like that. I’ll be happy to train them, but it’s much better if you give them the opportunity to be kids and to experience things. If they bump into things, so what? Start them early! You guys can help them a lot if you start now.
CASSIE: A lot of the technology that’s available today was not around in 1986, when Roland came to his first convention. It was not available when I came to my first convention in 2003. Technology has advanced so much! In a world of technology, what are the advantages of pushing for Braille? Do you think that technology should be pushed over Braille?
BRILEY: I think it’s a mistake to believe it’s an either/or proposition. It’s not. We need to focus on the outcomes. Braille is analogous to print. Braille is literacy for your blind child. There are some rare exceptions, but most children with visual disabilities can be proficient and functional Braille readers if they have the appropriate time to learn it and if it’s integrated into their curriculum.
Sometimes a professional will say to you, “Braille is obsolete, and it’s going to go away.” They’ve been saying that for twenty-five years, and we still use Braille. Sometimes when professionals tell you your child won’t need Braille, it’s because they’re not comfortable with Braille themselves. What they’re telling you is code for, “I don’t really know Braille, and I don’t know how to teach it.”
To be successful under those circumstances, it helps to bring in an advocate. I’ve been an advocate for many, many families. When it’s your own young’un in that IEP meeting, and your blood pressure is really high, don’t be nervous about bringing an advocate with you. Have someone look at your IEP. If you’re not sure where these results came from, if you don’t know how they got these present levels of performance, ask for their assessment data.
What I’ve found to be most successful is to meet with the teachers separately and try to get to the root of the issue. Usually, it’s not about Braille versus technology; it’s more likely that the teacher is not equipped to serve your child.
Provide your teacher with resources. Connect them with Casey Robertson. Connect them with people who have the skills to help them be better teachers. Start with the presumption of best intent. Most teachers are not in it for the pay! They’re in it because they want to help. They want to do a good job, but many of them just don’t know how. Direct them to our Teachers of Tomorrow program and other resources.
If you are wondering whether your blind child needs Braille, the answer is yes! You use print, right? For blind kids reading Braille is the equivalent to reading print.
SARAH: You need Braille and technology both, alongside each other. It isn’t one versus the other. Braille alongside technology can be very beneficial. I wouldn’t start with Braille and then say, “Once she gets old enough, let’s bring technology on board.” Kids need to learn both at the same time. As we know, it’s really hard to get Braille books on time, especially school textbooks. If we can download a book as an electronic file, our kids can get instant access. It might not be exactly the same access, with the graphs and everything, but it’s access. Now we have the Monarch, which is going to be a great thing when it comes to graphics.
ROLAND: This is great information. I believe that it’s very important to start with Braille. I’m pretty old school when it comes to technology versus Braille. I believe that Braille is the foundation. Besides, technology is very expensive. The slate and stylus is low tech that you can carry around anywhere.
CASSIE: Who in this room knows that the NFB gives away free slates and styluses? [cheers] We give away free white canes, too! Go to nfb.org and search for Free White Canes. You can get one every six months if you need one. You can get a free slate and stylus, too. The NFB also gives away free Braille books to children. Please take time to sign up for all of those programs.
Before we wrap up, does anyone in the room have a question?
CAROL CASTELLANO: Can you speak a bit more to early cane instruction for kids with low vision?
BRILEY: I have always been blind, and I was raised full NFB, with Braille and a cane. I was really lucky in that sense. My own kiddo, Silas, is blind with quite a lot of functional vision. If that’s your kid, pay attention to me now. Listen!
It is challenging for you as a parent, and it’s also challenging for your kiddo in ways I have had to learn to appreciate as a blind parent. I have had to figure out how to navigate the system. If Silas were totally blind, print wouldn’t be an option. The school would have to provide everything in Braille. But I hear, “It’s just in print this time, because we forgot to send it to the teacher,” or, my favorite, “It’s just in print because he likes it better.”
Learning the Braille code is great, but it doesn’t matter unless kids have real curriculum access in the classroom. For Silas as a dual media learner we determined that, for anything literacy related, he would produce and receive all assignments in Braille. Other subjects, for the moment, he does in print. That system has been successful.
I understand we don’t want to force our children to do things. But sometimes they don’t want to eat green beans, and we make them eat green beans. Should your child learn Braille? Sometimes the answer is simply, “You have to do this.” When they’re seven or eight, they won’t understand the long term. They won’t understand, “When you’re eighteen or twenty you’ll appreciate this.” Set clear expectations and give the teacher permission to set boundaries and expectations, too.
Last year Silas was supposed to get Braille instruction four days a week. The IEP looked great! Then I found out two months later that he was not getting his pull-out services because “He didn’t want to come.” They didn’t tell me! You can imagine when that boy got home that day!
If you establish that you’re on their team, then the teachers have permission to set boundaries and expectations with your children. When a teacher looks at you and says, “Braille is always going to be slower,” get a new teacher if you can, or connect that teacher with someone who can educate them.
SARAH: I think the most important thing we need to do is set high expectations. Just because a child is blind or deafblind, we can’t say, “We’ll exempt them from this assignment.” Anything the sighted students are doing, we should expect our children to be capable of doing, too. [Applause] As a parent I have the benefit of knowing how to read and write Braille, thanks to Casey Robertson, who was my mentor. She always helped me and supported me in any way she could. If my daughter didn’t have access to something, I told her teachers, “Let me know. Text me. I’ll make sure she has it. She has the will to do what her classmates are doing, even to go above and beyond.” Narjis’s expectations are way above those of the rest of her class.
CASSIE: If you have more questions, you can go to nopbc.org and send them to the president’s email. I’ll make sure they get to one of these folks, and you will get an answer.
by Karen Anderson
Introduction by Cassie McKinney: Our next speaker is a very busy person in the Federation! She loves being around kids and parents and students. Here is Karen Anderson!
Hi! I’m the Education Programs Coordinator for the National Federation of the Blind. I have the best job in the world. I get to work on programs for kids. Kids are fun—but yesterday I was less than thrilled by the one who told me he got to go to Kids’ Camp, and when I asked if I got to go to Grown-up Camp he said, “No, you have to work and be responsible!” [Laughter]
I get to do a lot of fun stuff with your kids. I get to work on our NFB BELL® Academies, and I get to work on STEM2U, which I’ll tell you more about in a minute. I also get to work on programs for adults, because sometimes I like to be around people who don’t tell me I have to work! You all would let me go to a grown-up camp, right? [encouraging laughter] I appreciate that!
I get to work with teachers of blind students, and I get to work with parents. When I’m not working, I love to knit. I have a house full of yarn. I just came back from a trip to Amsterdam, and I brought back a whole sweater worth of yarn. Then I came here, and I went to the yarn shop. I also have a sourdough starter that has survived since the pandemic. I don’t have kids, but I have raised a sourdough starter, and it’s never told me that I have to be responsible. I also have a toy poodle who is four-and-a-half pounds. I like to think she doesn’t run my household, but she does.
I tell you these things because I think it’s important that you, as parents, know that blind adults live fulfilling lives. We have hobbies. We do fun things. We have things we’re passionate about, and we have things we’re not passionate about. (I have not said that I am a runner!) I’m not a body builder, and while I have camps, I’m not exactly outdoorsy, either.
When we talk about blindness at conventions, and when you hear from blind adults, I think it’s important for you to hear that we are multi-faceted beings.
Our Federation programs are unique, not necessarily because of the content. Our content is awesome; our content is fun. We have our NFB BELL Academy—BELL stands for Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning. How many of you have kids who went to BELL? [cheers and applause] Has anyone participated in STEM2U? [More applause] Nice! STEM2U helps our blind kids realize they can be successful in science, technology, engineering, and math.
The experiments we do in STEM2U are not special experiments just for blind kids. When Ashleigh Moon designed our STEM program, she did research to find out what fun science experiments kids are doing in school. Then we figured out how we can make those experiments accessible. It wasn’t difficult. We didn’t change the premise of the experiment. Anybody can do this with the right understanding of nonvisual skills.
What we bring to our Federation education programs is our real understanding about blindness. We understand that blindness is just a characteristic. It’s a part of who you are. We bring in blind role models to work with your kids. We bring in blind leaders.
All of our programs are led by blind people. Even our programs that have sighted coordinators are being led by blind people. It is the blind people who do the leading.
One day your kids will look around, and they’ll see a world that is built for sighted people. Sighted people lead all the time. Does that mean sighted people are bad leaders? No! You are not all bad leaders! I have sighted friends, and I love my sighted friends!
But we see sighted people leading everywhere. Your kids will see almost nothing but sighted people leading. Forever. The difference in our education programs is that that’s not the case here. Sighted people are not the ones running the show. Do we have sighted people involved? Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. It depends on the program. Some of my favorite blindness professionals are sighted. Casey Robertson, she’s sighted. It’s not her fault. [laughter] Krystal Guillory, Emily Gibbs, Kristen Sims, they’re all sighted. They’re lovely humans! And they all know that when they work with blind people, they need blind role models. They need to have blind leaders in their programs.
The other thing that makes our education programs different is that we let your kids fail. I sound like the meanest person on the planet! They’ll cast me as Elphaba in Wicked, the Wicked Witch of the West!
I have failed many times at this convention. I was confident that I was going to make my friends’ and my life easier by cutting across and going down the escalators on Two so we could avoid the madhouse of the lobby. It ended up I took us into a complete madhouse, and we had to wander around in the lobby for twenty minutes. It happens. I messed up. The only reason it didn’t send me into a spiral of anxiety or shame is that I have been around the Federation. I have been encouraged to, maybe even made to fail.
My teachers in the Federation did a great job of finding my dome of proximal development. That’s education-speak for that nice squishy place where you’re not comfortable, but you’re not so uncomfortable and so unready that you’re going to check out.
My Federation teachers have done a great job, and for that reason I can fail and get back up again. I cannot tell you how many kids I have worked with who don’t have that ability! They’ve never been allowed to fail. Someone has always made sure they’re successful, and everything they do is “amazing!” We work really hard in our education programs to find challenges that are age-appropriate for our kids, but that are going to give them opportunities to fail and try again.
I want to point out a couple of things that I think are under-known about our education programs. Our Early Childhood Initiatives are great programs for our kids from birth through age eight. These programs are our Braille Reading Pals and our Early Explorers. When you sign up for Braille Reading Pals, you get a free book every year. In both programs you get a birthday card in Braille. You get some really cool activities in the mail every quarter. You also get an electronic newsletter in the mail every month. If you have a little one, and you’re not registered for those programs yet, please go to nfb.org and search for Early Childhood.
I also want to talk about our IEP Advocacy Academy. If you have school-age kids, grades K through 12, you might need some help with your IEP. We’re here to help you find an advocate who can help make sure your kiddos are getting the services they deserve and that they are entitled to. We have our IEP Advocacy Academy thanks to a grant from the Lavelle Fund.
Finally, I want to talk about Teachers of Tomorrow. We have our former Teachers of Tomorrow in the room today. Teachers of Tomorrow aims to connect early career teachers of blind students with the lived experiences of blind people. Briley O’Connor and I just completed interviews for the next cohort. We interviewed fifty teachers. I would estimate that only five to ten percent of them had ever had contact with any blind people outside the classroom! These teachers of blind students didn’t know blind people! They’re working with your kids, and they don’t know any blind people! How are you possibly going to expect a teacher to have high expectations for your kid when they have never known a successful blind person?
Teachers of Tomorrow aims to make real connections. I think we’re being successful, at least in part, based on the fact that we have four or five former Teachers of Tomorrow at convention this year. We will be opening up applications for that program again next spring. Please get your kids’ teachers to apply! I’ve seen how the program changes education for students! It helps teachers get connected with families, and it helps build a network in your state.
The last thing I want to say is that we cannot do this work without you. We want to build education programs because we hear from our members that they’re needed. As parents, you are our members. If you see something that needs to be done, let’s work to make it happen.
Our programs only work because our members work to put them on. I promise you; I don’t put on NFB BELL Academies in twenty-five states by myself! I don’t put on fourteen STEM2U programs in a year singlehandedly. I don’t go to all the IEPs, and I don’t do all the Teachers of Tomorrow sessions myself. We are only successful because our members help.
If you have an idea, that’s great! Let’s work on it. We’re going to have to work on it together.
I want to remind you how incredibly important it is that you have blind friends in your tribe, just as your kids have blind people in theirs. If you have blind friends, blindness is going to be more normal to you. Your kids are going to see that, and that is going to make an impression. It’s also going to become more normal that blind people do some things a little differently from the way you do them. As someone who has many blind friends and many sighted friends, my sense is that it takes some time for sighted people to get comfortable with blindness skills. If you only see people using those skills here at convention, it’s going to be hard for you to see those skills as equally effective.
Your kids absolutely need blind people in their tribe. And so do you! Part of the power in our education programs is that, while your kids are doing one thing, you get to spend time with other people who get what you’re going through and who have high expectations for blind people. Blind people in your state are going through the same things you are. They can share their experiences. Maybe they’re baseball fans. Go to a game together! Maybe you want to go to the library together for a reading circle. Maybe you want to go to a yarn shop together! Go for it!
I hope you will continue to send your kids to our education programs. I hope you will get in touch with me with your thoughts and ideas. My email address is [email protected]. I’m happy to talk to parents at any time. I hope you have a great convention!
by Belinda Banks
Introduction by Cassie McKinney: We all have high expectations for our children, as we’ve talked about in many different ways today. We also understand that college isn’t for everybody. Some people want to have a trade. They want to do something that doesn’t require a college education. I asked our next speaker to come. Belinda Banks is from South Carolina. Some of you may not know this fun fact about me—if it weren’t for the Randolph-Sheppard program, I would not be here today. Now I’m going to let Belinda tell her story.
I’m going to start off by telling you a little bit about myself. I am totally blind. I have two kids of my own and one bonus son, which makes three, and one half-son, which is my oldest. His name is Derique Simon, and he is also blind. So, I understand how it feels to be a blind child, a blind parent, and a blind student.
I want to start off by telling you a little story about when I was younger. My family was very protective, and they just did not understand what I was going to do with myself. At the time I was the only one in my family who was visually impaired. I went to the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind.
When I graduated I was unemployed for a while. Then I became employed by the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind as a residential advisor, working in the dormitory. Then I got married and had Derique, my blind son, who is now twenty-four years old and well on his way to being very successful. He’s working at BISM in Baltimore. He moved away from home, and that was very hard! I’m so proud of him!
I went through a divorce and left the School for the Deaf and Blind. I was a single mom, trying to figure out what I was going to do with myself. I was blind and my son was blind. I knew college was not the answer for me. I reached out to the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and found out about the Randolph-Sheppard program, which is called the Business Enterprise Program.
That program changed my life for the better! I started off in a very small location, and I was just bringing home a hundred dollars a week. I worked that location for six months. I bid on several other locations, but I had no earthly idea that I was going to get one of the highest paying locations in the state, less than a year after being in the program! It changed my life and my son’s life!
I have had seven locations throughout the South Carolina BEP program. I’ve worked two to three locations at one time. I’m working two locations right now. One is a roadside rest area. I’m also working on one of the biggest military bases, which is Fort Jackson Army Base.
As I say, college is not for everyone. There are other paths you can take to be successful. The BEP Program has not only taught me to be successful in vending and food service. It has also taught me to be independent and to teach my kids to be independent.
I’ve remarried, and I just renewed my sixteen-year vow. One of the things I told them at my wedding renewal was that it took a strong man to take on a blind wife and a blind son. My husband and I and our three kids have worked my vending program machines, and my family has been very successful. We do everything that anyone else can do. We travel on vacations.
I want you all to know something that a lot of people in South Carolina don’t even know yet. I’m about to open up my own personal business. I just passed my last inspection. [Applause] I’m so happy that I pushed myself and motivated myself to move forward and do something on my own, without having the South Carolina Commission for the Blind help me.
Question: You’ve talked about the vending program as an option for blind people who don’t want to go to college. Do you have any thoughts about people who want to go to college but want to open a business later? Is there a good option for people who want to do that?
BELINDA BANKS: Of course! I tell everybody the sky is the limit. If you dream it, it can happen. Several of our licensed blind vendors went to college. They have several degrees, and then they decided they want to come into the BEP program. We have several vendors who went to college and had jobs in the field they studied. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Question: Could you please explain a bit about the Randolph-Sheppard Program, how it works?
BELINDA: Every state has its own rules and regulations. In South Carolina we have a sixteen-week program where you start off at the Commission for the Blind in the classroom. You have to have O&M training, JAWS training, and independent living skills. You go through your vocational rehabilitation counselor to get that training, and then you can come into the BEP program. You have four weeks of classroom training, and then you go out into the field and work in different types of locations. One type is a vendor route, where you have multiple stops, handling machines in multiple places. You may have five stops, you may have twenty stops, some people have a hundred and fifty machines that they work every week. It varies from person to person. You may start off small and add on locations as you grow. When you can handle more, the Commission for the Blind will give you more.
They also have what they call walk-through locations. A walk-through location is like a canteen in a state, city, or federal building. Those locations usually have extra vending added on. They have a cash register. It’s like a mini store. Some just have drinks and snacks. Some cook breakfast and lunch. They also have roadside rest areas, welcome centers—a lot of people call them truck stops. You also can have military dining, which can be Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. Those bases are some of the bigger locations.
When you’re first getting started you go out for on-the-job training for two to three weeks. Then you come back into the classroom, and they give you different kinds of testing. If you pass those tests, you move to the next level, where you can move to the bigger locations such as military dining and cafeterias. Then you have to take the service test, which is very hard. You definitely have to pay attention throughout your OJT [on the job] training and your classroom time. Once you finish the training and pass the tests, you can get your license to be a Certified Blind Vendor. Once you receive that they can place you in a location if they have one available, or you have to wait until something comes on the bid line. You interview for it and hope you get it.
by Narjis Karimipour
Introduction by Cassie McKinney: We heard from the mom of our next speaker earlier today. I think her dad is in the room, too. We like to highlight at our sessions our children who are living the lives that they want, who are excelling in their education and in life. I asked Narjis to come and share with you all, and here she is!
Hello, everyone! My name is Narjis Karimipour, and I’m an eighth grader here in New Orleans. I could tell you that technology changed my life, but that wouldn’t quite cover it. It’s more like technology built a bridge between me and the world. Some of you may already know that I’m deafblind. Because of that I rely heavily on technology for chatting with friends, surviving school assignments, and sending sneaky text messages to my friends. [Laughter]
Now, you might be wondering how exactly does someone who’s deafblind communicate. It’s a great question. While many deaf people use hearing aids or sign language, my situation is a bit unusual. My hearing loss doesn’t even have a name, so I gave it one: selective hearing. [Laughter] Not the kind parents accuse their kids of, but close. Basically, I hear most sounds just fine, but human speech? It’s like listening to someone mumbling through a tube while underwater! Trust me, it’s not ideal!
Shouting at me won’t help. What works best is speaking clearly, slowly, and not like you’re auditioning for a speed-talking contest. Sign language could be great, too, but not everyone knows how to sign. That’s where my technology comes in. I use the Brailliant BR-40 Braille display paired with my iPhone and Bluetooth keyboard. It’s a kind of tag team approach. Someone types on the keyboard, the phone shows what they type, and I read off the Braille display. Sometimes I type back, especially when I want to pass notes without being caught!
There is a bit of delay in this communication system, but let me tell you, it has been a lifesaver! After being diagnosed with an auditory hearing impairment, I felt disconnected from the world. Some of you may know I love to talk and be social. At school I’ve got a similar system with my QWERTY Braille display, Windows laptop, and JAWS screen reader. Someone can type on my laptop, and I can follow along on my Mantis while reading lessons, taking notes, and participating in class discussions. It’s my way of staying in the loop. No one deserves to be left out just because the world wasn’t designed with them in mind! [Applause]
But here’s the thing—you can hand someone the coolest gadget on the planet, but if they don’t know how to use it, it’s basically just high-tech paperweights. That’s why the National Federation of the Blind has been a game changer for me. My first technology teacher was also deafblind. She has taught me many things, such as navigating the refreshable Braille display, using an iPad with VoiceOver, doing Google searches, and the list goes on. When I became deaf I didn’t feel alone, because I knew Miss Rox’e was there as my mentor.
My second mentor from NFB was the incredible Ms. Treva Olivero—my deepest sympathy and condolences for her loss! She has really been missed by us here today. Let’s please remember her with a moment of silence. [Long moment of silence] She believed in me, and she taught me so much! Because of her I was able to learn to access Google Classroom and complete all of my assignments independently.
Before my mom started transcribing my materials into Braille, most of my work assignments were on the computer. I did not know how to navigate around a document or complete my assignments. Ms. Treva taught me all the key commands, and I was able to navigate the screen.
Ms. Treva didn’t stop helping me when I lost my hearing. In fact, she found new ways to teach me before most people even understood me. My technology lessons were on Zoom, and she tandem-connected to my JAWS, typing in real time to a Word document when speech wasn’t an option anymore. Even when her health declined, she made sure I was not left behind. She connected me with my current teacher, the brilliant Mrs. Ashleigh Moon. [Applause]
Ms. Ashleigh hasn’t just taught me how to use the computer. She’s taught me how to think through the technology. She is the absolute definition of an amazing technology teacher! Ms. Ashleigh has taught me how to explore the menus and find the hidden features and be curious. Learning tech isn’t just about memorizing computers and key commands. It’s about discovering possibilities.
She has helped me with my computer skills and how to better use my iPhone for day-to-day communication, using various apps.
Let’s be honest—technology isn’t just for watching YouTube or playing video games. It’s a tool, one that opens doors in this world that wasn’t exactly designed for people like me. Not everyone is willing to step into my world, so I use tech to step into theirs. Accessibility isn’t to make the world perfect. It’s about making it possible. Thanks to tools, teachers, and tech in my life, I don’t just communicate, I connect, create, and grow—and yes, occasionally I sneak a text in the middle of class. [Applause]
Thank you for listening to me today. I hope I have enlightened you with my journey and did not bore you. I always like to end my speeches with, “Blindness is not a disability, but a different ability. Braille rocks!”
by Jonathan Mosen
Introduction by Mark Riccobono: We’re going to talk technology for the next little while. Over the past year we’ve been reimagining what the Federation’s role can and should continue to be in this area. Step one was to bring this gentleman aboard to Team NFB. We were really happy that he joined earlier this year as our Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence.
Many of you have gotten to know him from some of his podcast work and from his work at tech companies. Through his leadership now as one of our executive leaders on the staff at the National Federation of the Blind, I believe you will have even more opportunities to get to know his heart and his commitment as a blind person. You know, it’s not an easy task to pick up and move to a new country and dive into a leadership position at the National Federation of the Blind!
I think that says all you need to about this guy. I’m really glad he is a friend and a colleague. Here he is for his first presentation to our Federation family as Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence. Here’s Jonathan Mosen!
Thank you, Mr. President, and good afternoon, fellow Federationists! It is an honor to be here as the Federation’s Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence. I would like to thank everyone who has made me feel so welcome to the Federation and to the United States.
Technology affects us all. Some of us embrace it. Some of us wish we could avoid it. Some of us find it intuitive, and some of us find it inscrutable. Some of us rise to the challenge. Some of us want to throw the damn thing out the window!
While technology evokes various responses and emotions, we all want this stuff to work so we can get on with our lives. We demand access that is equal in functionality and reliability. We proudly and unashamedly assert our worth, and we deserve no less.
When companies develop technology for our use, we, the blind, expect to have a seat at the table at a time when our voice can matter. President Riccobono chose the title of this address, “Access On through Collective Action.” I was delighted that he gave me this title. Collective action is the reason we have much of the technology we now take for granted.
Sometimes people say things to me such as, “I’m not really much of a joiner. When I feel strongly about an issue, I can just whip up a frenzy on social media or start an online petition and make change that way.” It’s true, you might have some success if you have a big enough following. Your issues get sufficient traction, and all the noise reaches the right person who can implement the change you’re asking for. I’ve seen it done, but it’s rare. It takes time, skill, and a lot of luck. This organization has an unmatched track record of bringing about technological advancements through the power of collective action.
Social media is often an echo chamber, but history proudly chronicles that the voice of the organized blind has been echoing through the corridors of power, changing the world for eighty-five years. It is the voice that cannot be silenced and will not be ignored. While an individual complaint may be seen as a personal grievance, the organization representing the nation’s blind transforms that complaint into a civil rights issue.
My fellow Federationists, the NFB is not fighting for us. Collective action means that the Federation is us fighting for ourselves and for one another. We are stronger together, unstoppable in our momentum, gaining solace and strength from our solidarity.
Now, to attendees in the room who have come to find out about the NFB, and to those listening online who aren’t a part of our movement yet, I have this to say. If you want to see technology evolve and improve, if you believe that the blind have not just the right but the duty to build on the work of those who have gone before and worked so hard to give us the technological victories we now enjoy, then our doors, our hearts, and our arms are open. Come join us. There is a place for you in the National Federation of the Blind at our Center of Excellence in Nonvisual Accessibility, which we call CENA for short. We inform, advise, educate, and advocate about technology.
I have to start with artificial intelligence, AI, specifically, generative AI. This is disruptive technology, and it has the ability to disrupt myths about blindness. The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness isn’t what holds us back, but constraining attitudes certainly do.
All the major AI players are well aware that, without intervention, AI may perpetuate harmful stereotypes about blind people. The generative AI revolution has presented an opportunity to correct the record, and we intend to see that it is corrected. We are making progress. Fortunately, it’s been a long time now since I’ve had an AI express sorrow to me that I’m blind.
AI companies are actively rebalancing data, ensuring that we are portrayed accurately. Many AI companies now have ethics boards that monitor AI for inaccurate portrayals. They use blindness specific data sets where we ourselves demonstrate what it is to be blind, help to reduce bias, and better inform the AI.
AI describes the world around us, and many of us find it helpful. Sometimes it produces vivid, accurate descriptions. At other times, though, it just makes things up. Although it continues to improve steadily, guided by member feedback, we in turn provide guidance to AI companies about the kind of information AI should convey in a range of settings.
AI should never replace our own travel skills and awareness of surroundings, but neither do we wish for companies to be overly cautious when they have the potential to provide us with useful information. We continue to talk with technology companies about the concept of AI as an alternative technique of access to visual information.
Everyone else can identify people they already know in a crowded room. In theory, AI can permit a blind person to do that, too. We must make it happen! We must find ways of allowing a blind person to identify someone they know while respecting privacy concerns. This problem is no longer technological; it is ethical. We will work with the industry to figure it out. You’ll be hearing much more about agents in the world of AI in the year ahead.
AI has the potential to create a new screen reading paradigm that will be particularly beneficial for people who become blind in later life and may not have vocational goals. It can be conversational and easy to use for daily tasks such as shopping and communication. We look forward to working with a range of companies in the mainstream and with access technology sectors to see this new product category emerge in a way that makes technology more inclusive while preserving the efficiency so many experienced users need.
Speaking of efficiency, we continue to receive feedback from members about the need for companies to remember efficiency when designing for accessibility. Some applications are broadly accessible but are unnecessarily verbose. Software developers mean well when they design in this way, but it is the equivalent of ordering a cup of coffee somewhere, and then when someone hands it to you, they say, “Be careful. That’s hot.” We know it’s hot! That’s what we ordered.
To give you an example, when we press Enter in a web browser to load a page, we don’t need to be told the page is loading. That’s what we ordered. We’re in the undesirable situation of having some applications speaking way too much. Third-party screen readers with far fewer resources than big tech are in the position of having to invest some of their limited resources in making these applications bearable. That is wasteful, pure and simple.
Some may think this is a finicky complaint, but it is not. When you calculate, over a work or school year, the lost productivity because of suboptimal experiences, it is clear that accessible but inefficient user interfaces hold us back.
Now I want to talk about something that we’ve received many phone calls and emails about: Facebook. Given how much concern people have expressed, I think it is important that I speak in detail to the convention about our advocacy on this subject.
Blind smartphone users who use Facebook have not had an easy time of it. Several severe bugs crept into the Facebook app, and they were left unresolved for a long time. Not everyone uses a smartphone. That is their choice and their right. If a desktop site exists, we demand that it be fully accessible to everybody.
Late last year, just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, when people often use social media to connect with one another, Meta closed down its Mbasic Facebook site. We know that change is the only constant when it comes to technology, and that the Mbasic site was designed for older mobile phone browsers that no longer exist. However, many blind people used it because it was clean, simple, and accessible.
I don’t think Meta appreciated the accessibility impact of depreciating the site. The elimination of that workaround exposed how increasingly riddled with accessibility problems the primary Facebook site had become.
Things were pretty bad, but the National Federation of the Blind and Meta have been in constructive, respectful, forthright dialogue. We’ve gathered your feedback. We’ve found common threads and provided helpful steps for the Meta team to duplicate defects. Meta, in turn, has been responding. It has fixed some of the particularly egregious bugs that were frustrating smartphone users. We are starting to see improvements to the main Facebook website, with some of the keyboard shortcuts fixed and extraneous block characters removed.
We are not yet at our destination. The journey continues, but as long as we see changes in response to our feedback, we will keep the conversation going.
I want to acknowledge Meta’s presence here at our national convention. They have come so they can hear from their blind users. We are pleased that they have responded to our feedback on improving the Meta Smart Glasses. I think you will be impressed with what is coming.
It was a significant moment in 1990 when Dr. Marc Maurer unveiled the concept of the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind. He said, “When the blind buy technology, we deserve the same consumer report-style independence that sighted people take for granted. The International Braille and Technology Center (IBTC) will exist only to answer one question: What really works for a blind person?” At a press briefing we launched the IBTC fifty years to the day that our Federation was founded.
Dr. Kenneth Jernigan said, “The IBTC has at least one of everything: every speech synthesizer, every Braille display, every scanner we can find. It is the tool we will use to keep industry honest and to keep blind people employed.” The Federation delivered. There is no place on the planet like the IBTC!
We have been so successful in our advocacy that many devices available for general purchase now offer accessibility features. The IBTC purchases a selection of such devices, but we have stayed true to the founding mission of the IBTC. When a device specifically for blind people comes on the market, we purchase it. We evaluate it without fear or favor, and we communicate our findings to you.
In 2017, in his banquet address, President Mark Riccobono observed, “We live in a time in which technology is constantly a part of our human experience. Of course, we’ve always lived with technology. However, the difference today is the speed with which technology is becoming increasingly important in our lives. The changes that occur as technology alters the pattern of our lives take place not in decades, but in days. The increased velocity of change will soon demand altered patterns of thought and behavior from us hour by hour or minute by minute. Technology has changed the way we work and play, and even the way we think.”
In response to the rapidity, impact, and nature of technological change, last year President Riccobono concluded that the time was right to create an executive director position with a technology focus. The Federation never stands still, and the time has come to write an exciting new chapter.
I recently completed a thorough strategic review of CENA, which includes the IBTC and related functions. There are ten key strategic objectives that will guide us as we move forward.
One: Be a timely, credible source of technology advice for our members.
Two: Make recommendations, provide technical advice, and perform detailed evaluations in service of the core programs of the Federation: for example, legal work, advocacy priorities, capacity building projects, et cetera.
Three: Facilitate means by which members can share information about the increasingly complex area of technology. No matter how talented our staff, they can no longer be expected to keep up with every option in minute detail.
Four: Conduct thorough, fair evaluations of products, based on a published test methodology to ensure transparency and equity, reducing the prospect of personal bias creeping into evaluations.
Five: Raise awareness of accessibility in the wider community, ensuring that the NFB is seen as the definitive authoritative source of information on the accessibility of technology for blind people.
Six: Build strong relationships with companies producing technology that blind people use, both mainstream and blindness specific.
Seven: Act as a conduit between members experiencing accessibility challenges and technology companies to promote speedy defect resolution, thus materially improving the lives of our members and adding value as an organization.
Eight: When necessary, provide clear information and calls to action that allow the membership to campaign on accessibility issues of importance.
Nine: Provide guidance to individuals and startups seeking to enter the access technology field, encouraging them to adopt a genuine interest in co-design and a respect for the self-determination of blind people.
Ten: Seek international cooperation with individuals and organizations with whom we have mutual objectives.
In the years ahead, we’ll be making operational changes that better equip us to deliver on these strategic objectives. As President Riccobono said in his report, in the coming year he will create a committee to more closely link the membership with CENA’s work. But there is much more to be done. We’ll find innovative ways to bring the knowledge of the IBTC to you. Our new technology podcast, Access On, is just the beginning.
Access On is an opportunity for us to tell you about some of the technology that we’ve been evaluating. Often you will hear the movers and shakers talking about the latest developments in technology. We also love listener contributions. Plenty of people in this room can add immense value to the podcast, giving it a strong Federation flavor. If you have something to share—a concern, a demonstration—others may benefit from your tech tip to improve efficiency. Remember, Access On is the Federation’s podcast, which means it is your podcast.
Now, as Steve Jobs used to say, I have one more thing I’d like to share with you. This is our bold dream for the International Braille and Technology Center of the future. We are re-imagining the IBTC’s layout to reflect that technology is not an end in itself, but the means to living the lives we want. In the IBTC of the future, when you look at equipment that can help you study, you’ll do so in a classroom. When you consider equipment to help you succeed on the job, you’ll do so in an office where you can sit down at your desk and try as many solutions as you need to. In the IBTC of the future, we’ll have extensive home automation set up so you can bring your own smartphone along, see what’s possible, and learn how effective it is to control the home yourself.
These changes will take time and significant resourcing. But we know that when the National Federation of the Blind has a dream, we always turn the dream into reality through the grit, determination, and love that are the life blood of our movement.
This dream must come true, because technology affects us all. Accessible, functional, useful technology developed not only for us, but with us, means employment, education, entertainment, and empowerment. Let’s do what we must to preserve it and take further control of our technological future. Let’s make it happen! That is our right. That is our duty. That is our destiny. We are the National Federation of the Blind! Thank you so much!
by Wanda Díaz Merced
Introduction by President Mark Riccobono: Our next speaker became blind as a teenager, and like many of us, she was unsure what that would mean for her life. Fortunately, she learned about a radio astronomy project. It captured her imagination and gave her motivation for an entire career.
One of my first assignments as a staff member for the National Federation of the Blind was to put together a science program. Starting in 2003 I was part of our key relationship team with the folks at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). I spent a lot of time with the folks at the Goddard Space Flight Center. In 2005 there was a lot of talk about a young blind woman who was an intern at Goddard. I don’t think we actually met at that time, but I heard a lot of talk about Wanda Díaz and the work she was doing as an intern. Our stories intersected there, and they come back at this moment twenty years later. Today we have the opportunity to hear from a blind woman who is living the life she wants, pursuing research in astronomy. She’s a leader in her field, especially in sonification and many areas that I don’t well understand. I connected with her when I had the opportunity to attend the convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Puerto Rico last year. Here to speak with us about her work and to inspire us by talking about opportunities for blind people in science, technology, engineering, and math is Wanda Díaz Merced.
President Riccobono, thank you so much for the very kind invitation to present here at the convention. It is the highest honor. I wouldn’t be anywhere else! It took me almost twenty-four hours to arrive. It was supposed to be six hours, but then it multiplied by four. But before it multiplied to infinity, it stopped. I said, “I need to be in New Orleans, and you better take me there!” Sometimes we have to be firm, right? Respectful but firm.
I also want to thank my people from the National Federation of the Blind of Puerto Rico who are here in this room with all their energy. With their love and support and advice, many things in my life have begun to move in the direction of victory. Many victories are cooking right now.
I will tell you a little bit of my story. It’s a story that is unconventional. I humbly begin my story based on conversations I have had with scientists who are blind and conversations with scientists who have early onset disabilities. They study science, but they end up working on accessibility or education—doing something else not directly related to science, which is what they trained to do. Education and outreach are very important! They are the basis of everything else. But if I didn’t study to do education, why divert me to that field?
I have been diabetic since I was a child. My sight loss progressed severely and aggressively. By my early twenties I was almost totally blind. I have only peripheral vision in one eye. I do not know if there is light in this room; I assume there is, because sighted people need to orient themselves, right? I cannot orient unless I have my very good friend, the cane. [Applause]
I trust that we will reach a time when, if we do education and outreach, it is by choice and not because we have been diverted to those fields. I trust that a time will come when, as we are getting educated, we will be able to worry only about getting good grades and not about making our field accessible. I grieve at the thought of the countless people who give up, who end up feeling that they cannot contribute to society.
Today I am here as a scientist who uses multisensorial perception, or the many human senses. I use a combination of human senses, multisensoriality, to explore, to scrutinize data sets of astronomy information. I do not do accessibility! When people ask me about accessibility, I tell them, “Go and ask an accessibility specialist. I am a scientist doing research and producing results.” [Applause] Thank you!
The lack of access led me to do an interdisciplinary doctorate on human/computer interaction in astrophysics. As I was doing my PhD in astrophysics and analyzing data, I had to build the prototype I would use in order to analyze information. I had a good mentor at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. His name was Robert Candey. He gave me the opportunity to work with him as an intern.
My grades were very very bad! They were the shame of the university! My best grade was a D, almost an F. But I was determined to pass the class. I was studying hard, hard, hard, but not understanding anything that was happening in the classroom. Perhaps you have heard this before. When I brought a recorder into the classroom, the only thing I was able to understand was, “You put this here, there, and substitute here, and then, after you do this, this, this, this, and this, this is the result.” [Laughter] Nothing else. Not even my professors had the skill to convey with words what they were explaining. I was completely left out.
When I started working with Bobby at NASA, he said, “I want you to do a project. Translate the data that is saved in paleo-physics data facility databases into sound for blind people to become familiarized with the data.”
I said, “I don’t want to become familiarized! I’m already familiarized. I want to do the science.”
He said, “Well then, make it so.”
I began working twenty-four/seven in order to make this data not only accessible to Wanda, but for Wanda to be able to listen and find ways for other people to extract science from the data. My advisor was asking for blind people to become “familiarized,” and I didn’t want to become “familiarized.” Now he was giving me a scenario to move things forward. I wanted to demonstrate to my mentor, who trusted me, that he was not wasting his time with me.
I worked twenty-four/seven. I didn’t go out. I didn’t socialize with the other interns. Why would I socialize with them? I wouldn’t understand what they were talking about! They would talk about these huge projects, saying words that I had never heard before. I couldn’t read. I couldn’t imagine how those words were written! It was a very, very bad situation. But my mentor very patiently, very respectfully, answered all my questions. One day I said, “Bobby, I don’t know if I will be able to reach my goal.” He said, “The only thing I need is for you to continue doing what you are doing—working really, really hard. What I like is that you are not waiting for someone to come and do it for you.”
At the end of the summer I published my very first scientific paper on the most energetic explosions in the universe, called gamma ray bursts. We also released the first edition of the sonification prototype. Why were people not using sound? These people are very smart! They know it all. So, there must be a reason.
Through experiments with professional astronomers at the Harvard University Center for Astrophysics, we proved that sound increases sensitivity to astronomical events that by nature are hidden from the human eye. Our work transformed us from beneficiaries, only focusing on education and outreach, to benefactors who can come to science and, with our skills, make more discoveries.
Our work revealed a huge fracture in the sciences. Because of the evolution of machinery focusing on monosensorial technology and monosensorial productivity, other performance styles had been left out that could produce better results for society.
I went from one observatory to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next, always being diverted to education and people outreach. When they tried to divert me to education and people outreach, I said, “No, I didn’t come here to do that. You need to hire someone else for that. When I’ve done my science, then I’ll go and do education and people outreach.”
I went to Italy, and my mentor in Italy said, “I trust sound to allow us to peruse more information from gravitation wave telemetry, or measurement.” We analyzed a very well-known event in the gravitational wave community. We did it so that no one would be able to contradict my findings. If I found something new, I could say, “You have perused that data over and over, and you couldn’t find what I found.”
We analyzed the data using audio, and we were able to find things that were hidden to artificial intelligence and to the other collaborators in the gravitational wave sciences. I want to play the sounds for you. You need to notice the change. It’s very subtle and fast, but it’s at some point in the data.
[The audience heard a series of rhythmic tones with subtle changes at several points.]
After working with my mentor in Italy I realized that the work for equality and the work for us to mainstream in the job market—those two tasks are equal and prestigious. We should pay the same attention to both tasks. They are equally important.
Looking to the future, a new organization has been established under the Royal Academy of Sciences International Trust. This organization is called Science in Braille. The members are professional scientists. They are working to transform not only the scientific economy but the work economy into a multisensorial economy that will allow us to perform at our own maximum. It will support and enhance the ways we have to perform at our own maximum.
This work includes having very difficult conversations with many people. The economy depends on monosensorial technology. Sometimes it means convincing stakeholders this is the way to go, because our skills produce more science and more benefits to society.
Multisensoriality is not for accessibility—not yet. It is to produce more results for society and the economy. You are the ones with the skills. You are the ones who can come into that economy and transform it into one that will autonomously give the chance to everyone. [Applause]
Sonification has gone to Luxembourg. The Asteroid Foundation is using it for defense. It’s being used for diagnosis on neonates. It is being explored for use in flight with astronauts. It is being used for training with people on the autism spectrum and many other things. Some of my students didn’t know how to divide when they were in high school. Now they build antennae, they do calculations, and I think they are the most outstanding people in the world! They didn’t allow any social stigma to stop them. They took things into their hands and they didn’t give up.
We are all at a stage in life where the future is in our hands. The decisions we make here at the National Federation of the Blind move the country forward. They move each of our lives forward. This is our time to win. We will achieve equality by staying focused, not being diverted, and by not giving up. Remember, to win is to never give up! Thank you!
Photo/Caption: The 2025 Bolotin Award winners pose for a photo with the Bolotin committee members. Left to right: Steve Jacobson, Mary Ellen Jernigan, Mika Baugh, Casey Robertson, Sam Seavey, Jessica Beecham, Donald Porterfield, Lee Martin, Everette Bacon, and Diane Graves.
Presented by Everette Bacon
From the Editor: Everette Bacon is second vice president of the National Federation of the Blind, and he serves as the third chair of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee. Until 2008, most of us had never heard of Dr. Jacob W. Bolotin (1888-1924), although he was a well-known figure in Chicago and throughout the Midwest in his time. To our knowledge, he was the first medical doctor who was born blind. Each year, in collaboration with the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust and the Santa Barbara Foundation, we are pleased to present awards in his honor. Here is the presentation that Everette led as the first item on the final general session agenda.
Everette Bacon: For eighteen years now, we have been recognizing accomplishments in the many fields pertaining to blindness. I say fields because there are many aspects to being a blind person and many different ways that people can achieve in the blindness field. Let’s think about some of them: Braille, cane travel, independent living, access technology. Those are just some of the aspects of blindness. So many of them exist out there and there are so many different accomplishments that blind people are doing.
Now, let’s think about what blind people are doing outside the fields of blindness, whether that be architecture, whether that be medicine, whether that be space travel. That’s what the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award recognizes. Dr. Jacob Bolotin, the first ever blind doctor that we are aware of, accomplished many things in his very short life. I always like to recognize one of those things. He wanted to go to college. He was a smart man. He knew he could do great things in college, and he wanted to go to college and eventually to medical school. He was immediately told, “No, no, we can’t get you into college.” He kept persevering, he kept fighting, trying again. Eventually he was given an opportunity. He went to college, and from there he was told by professor after professor, “No, we can’t accommodate you.” “No, you can’t.” “We don’t have any way for you to do your schoolwork.” And he figured out ways to do it. He figured out ways to make his books accessible. He figured out ways to do the work in order to get where he needed to go. Eventually he became an administrator at a hospital in the Chicago area, leading the way in blindness and as a medical doctor. So, this is a pretty awesome award, and it’s a pretty awesome thing to be recognized in this way.
I’m very honored to be a part of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award process and to chair the award committee. I followed in the footsteps of two outstanding chairs, Gary Wunder and James Gashel, two people that I very much recognize and honor. I have an outstanding committee that works with me on the Bolotin Awards. Mrs. Mary Ellen Jernigan is part of that committee. Dr. Natalie Shaheen is part of that committee. Steve Jacobson is part of that committee. Donald Porterfield is part of that committee, and Jessica Beecham is part of that committee. We reviewed more than fifty nominations. So, thank you so much for all of your nominations out there. We came up with four finalists this year. I want you to learn about these finalists. So, Will, let’s roll the video.
[During the following presentation, names and logos of organizations appear on screen as they are mentioned, and pictures of individuals appear as they speak.]
Narrator: Federationists and guests, the National Federation of the Blind is proud to introduce the recipients of our eighteenth annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards, made possible in part by the generous support of the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust and the Santa Barbara Foundation. These winners have broken down barriers faced by blind people in innovative ways, changed negative perceptions of blindness and blind people, and pushed past existing boundaries to motivate blind people to achieve new heights. The 2025 winners are: Mika Baugh, for the Sexual Health Education Research and Training Initiative specifically designed for blind people.
Mika Baugh: Certainly, I appreciate the support of the committee and of the blind community for myself and the work that I’m doing here. But I think on a larger scale, I am so grateful for the investment that we are putting into this area. It is tough, right? It’s not as easy as saying we need to learn about science or we need to get jobs or we need to have access to Braille, which are certainly all very important things. This is a little bit more of a sensitive area. It’s a high-priority area, but it’s hard. So, I’m so proud of us as a community for investing in this education, and also in this research so we can learn how blind people can drive educational opportunities, whether it’s sexual health education or any other kind of education as well.
Narrator: Lee Martin for the National Federation of the Blind Newsline Indiana television show, which he produces and co-hosts.
Lee Martin: I would like to see our initiative with this programming extend itself to our youth, to get them involved more in journalism, to get them involved in media or television. It has a lot of challenges, but they’re good challenges to overcome.
Narrator: Casey Robertson for her tireless and groundbreaking work to teach Braille to teachers and paraprofessionals as well as blind children.
Casey Robertson: Literacy is my love, and if everyone else has access to literacy, then so should blind people. I have made it my life’s work to make sure that we can teach people Braille in the best possible way. One of the myths we always hear is that Braille is hard. That is not true.
Narrator: Sam Seavey for his Blind Life YouTube channel demonstrating access technology and emphasizing blind people living the lives we want.
Sam Seavey: My channel is mostly known for assistive technology. It’s one of the top resources for assistive technology information pretty much anywhere. But I also like to focus on the life side of the blind life. And so, I love to get out and interview amazing people in our community or amazing people working with our community or amazing companies that are helping to further accessibility and advocacy within our community. And so, I think the award will help me do that much better.
Narrator: Each of these winners will receive a trophy and a monetary prize to advance their work to help blind people live the lives we want. Now, the National Federation of the Blind proudly presents them with their Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards.
Everette Bacon: All right, that sounds like some pretty exciting award winners, doesn’t it? Yes. All right. Well, let’s learn a little bit more about them. The first award that I want to give out is to the NFB-NEWSLINE® Indiana television show. For over a decade, this blind-hosted television show has reached over seven million viewers and listeners. NFB-NEWSLINE® Indiana has been on the air for over ten years now and has interviewed many blind dignitaries including President Riccobono, Dr. Marc Maurer, and Pam Allen, just to name a few. Many state and local legislators and officials have been guests. They have been proud to tackle the critical issues facing blind people in Indiana and throughout the United States. I am excited to award this Bolotin Award to Lee Martin and Diane Graves of Indiana for their outstanding achievements, and also to honor them with a $5,000 award. We’re going to hear for a few minutes from Lee—and here’s your award, sir. Thank you so very much.
Lee Martin: I’d like to give honor to my Heavenly Father for this opportunity. There are so many other individuals that I need to acknowledge, but the chairman told me I only had a minute or two minutes, so I’ll just give my acknowledgements. I had to keep this a secret from my affiliate members and a lot of family. Mr. Bacon, the chairman, told me that you had to keep this a secret. So, I went back to my military days. If you’re ever captured you just say your name, rank, and serial number, and that’s what I did. So, now I want to thank our national President. I want to thank Dr. Maurer for all the encouragement that he’s provided over the years. He doesn’t realize how much of an impact he’s had on my life. I want to thank or acknowledge my president for a number of years in the state of Indiana and his lovely wife, Mr. Ron and Jean Brown. I’d also like to give acknowledgements to my better half, Ms. Pamela Martin, for enduring and endearing with me over the years. My co-host, Ms. Florence Myers. We’ve both worked pretty diligently over the past ten to twelve years during this project. Serving and service is our initiative. So, I am very thankful to be able to serve. There is so much that we can do, so much that you can do! I never thought I would be up here at this podium saying anything to Federation family from across the country. And I say to each of you, be innovative, be inclusive, be collaborative, and be dedicated to the movement. And also, as you move forward, as Dr. Jernigan was saying, bridging gaps of visible differences as you live the life you want. So, find your niche in the organization. Continue to serve and understand that God is our refuge. Take good care, and God bless you.
Everette Bacon: All right, thank you so much, Lee. Our next award recipient, Sam Seavey and TheBlindLife.net. TheBlindLife.net, created and founded by Sam Seavey, offers a comprehensive resource guide for the blind and low-vision community through YouTube channels and podcasts. Sam shares personal experiences with blindness, provides in-depth reviews of access technology, and offers practical tips of independent living. Overall, the platform aims to inspire and inform the blind and low-vision community with a positive message and a humorous approach. The Blind Life is such a comprehensive resource guide, and it has such a widespread following that numerous technology companies pay to have their products featured on The Blind Life. Heather Looney and eighteen other blind people nominated Sam for this award. Yeah, that’s extremely impressive, and it demonstrates the value he has brought to so many. So, I want to recognize Sam Seavey with this award and also with a monetary award of $5,000.
Sam Seavey: Hello, NFB. Wow, this is incredible! They told me I needed to be quick. So first, I want to thank the leadership of the NFB. I want to thank the award committee for this prestigious award. I definitely want to thank my good friend Heather for the nomination, and I need to thank my family. Without their support over all these years of me making my crazy videos, none of this would have been possible. But more importantly, I need to thank everybody out there, my fellow VIPs. Without your support, without your trust in me, obviously none of this would have been possible, and I truly appreciate that. When I started The Blind Life twelve years ago, I never thought it would turn into this! Over a thousand videos on my YouTube channel, creating content exclusively for the blind and visually impaired across all social media platforms, including the podcast, and being recognized as one of the top resources online for information about assistive technology for the blind. I am humbled by this, and I truly appreciate it. Thank you, guys, again! And remember, get out there and keep living your best blind life!
Everette Bacon: All right. Okay. Mika Baugh created the first ever blind-focused sexual health, education, research, and training program. This program debuted at the 2024 National Convention of the National Federation of the Blind, and it provided an opportunity for participants to receive a hands-on approach to a subject that rarely has any focus designed with blind people in mind. Norma Crosby stated that this program could have devolved into silliness and inappropriate behavior, but because of the well thought-out design and careful planning by Mika Baugh, people were provided with an education to help them be more informed: more informed partners, more informed about their health, and more informed about how to advocate for their needs. The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Committee is excited to give this award to Doctor—well, soon to be doctor—Mika Baugh, and also a $20,000 monetary award to help her with her outstanding research. Mika Baugh, congratulations. Mika, here’s your award, and the microphone’s right in front of you.
Mika Baugh: Well, this is fun! Deep gratitude breeds great joy. I’m so happy to be part of the celebration of all of the work that we’re doing as a blind movement. I very much appreciate Norma Crosby, Pam Allen, and Jessica Beecham for their leadership and love and caring and feedback when we needed it. And I also appreciate the fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, however many of you facilitators who were there last year, but mostly the almost two hundred of you who came and participated with us. You were brave and walked into the room to learn about things that are sometimes a little bit difficult. So, thank you to everybody!
I appreciate the committee’s commitment to research. Sometimes research isn’t fun. Sometimes it takes a long time, and there are a lot of numbers and things that aren’t very interesting. But it’s important for us to generate the data that we want to use to change the world. So, thank you.
Everette Bacon: You did great. We could have just replayed her speech from earlier. That was pretty impressive. All right, our last award recipient, I’m really excited to give this award to Dr. Casey Robertson. [Applause] Casey is one of the most distinguished teachers of blind students in the country. She has taught hundreds of other teachers, students, and paraprofessionals and has pioneered her approach to teaching Braille through a natural order of contractions. She demonstrates that learning Braille is easy and is fun. It is not difficult, though society has proliferated this idea. Educators and students across the country have benefited from this approach, and we are now seeing a revolution of understanding that Braille truly is beautiful. That is because of people like Casey. For years, Casey has privately taught a fifteen-week summer class that both parents and professionals have completed. She offers this class freely and on her own time. Casey is the embodiment of being blind at heart, and I can’t wait to see what she is going to do next with this award. I’m proud to present this award to Dr. Casey Robertson and to give her a $20,000 award to continue her research.
Casey Robertson: Oh, my heavens! So, he said two minutes, but I’m a little speechless right now, so it won’t take that long. I want to start by thanking our Heavenly Father for giving me this small baby twenty-four years ago, my niece who was blind. She was the first blind person I ever met, and she transformed our entire family’s life. I’d like to thank Dr. Edward Bell and the PDRIB staff for training me and teaching me what it means to be blind. And I would thank each of you, every single person out there, for accepting me into a family like no other. So, on the count of three, we’re going to say Braille rocks. 1, 2, 3. [With audience] Braille rocks! All right!
Everette Bacon: Okay, let’s give one last Federation huge round of applause to these outstanding award winners. Thank you so much to the committee, Mr. President. That is my report.
Photo/Caption: The NFB National Scholarship Class of 2025: Left to right, back row: Erin Daley, Daniel Hernandez, Zoe Marsh, Gene Kim, Juna Gjata, Andrew Lee, Waseem Aljanazreh, Sergio Arvizu Arguelles, Noor Subhi Khraisat; Middle row: Katiana Urbina, Mary Nix, KaShonia Graham, Kaleb Calhoun, Rasheedah Kenner, Toby Harnish, Millie Rivera, Emily Schlenker, Riley Letterman, Joy Orlando; Bottom row: Ryan Lukowicz, Ghania Oussaci, Mandy Smith, Ren Lovegood, Kaelyn McColl, Nicole Quibol, Akliesia Teshome, Caitlyn Head, Lauren Altman, Izzy Bailey.
Presented by Cayte Mendez
From the Editor: One of the highlights of the board of directors meeting, and indeed of the entire NFB National Convention, is the chance to hear the members of each year’s scholarship class introduce themselves and share their stories, achievements, and goals. Cayte Mendez of New York chairs the National Scholarship Committee. Here is how she introduced the 2025 scholarship class as the final agenda item of the board meeting on July 10.
Cayte Mendez: Good morning, Mr. President and members of the board of directors! Good morning to everybody in the room and everybody out there on Zoom! All throughout the morning, members of the scholarship class have been sending me text messages, letting me know they’re nervous. I’ve been telling them, “Oh, it’s okay, don’t stress.” But now I’m up here, and I’m nervous! Might have something to do with the fact that I’m six inches from the edge of the stage! Everybody keep your elbows in, because one good shove and I’m on the floor! [Laughter]
We determine these scholarships based on merit. We don’t consider need. Every year we receive hundreds of applications. It is a tremendous project on the part of the amazing Scholarship Committee to winnow that huge pool of applicants to the top thirty. There are so many deserving applicants! So, for the thirty of you who are selected this year, it’s really a feather in your cap. It’s a testament to the academic aptitude you’ve demonstrated throughout your scholastic career and to your contributions as individuals and as a community.
For everyone’s informational purposes, the scholarship class is stretched across three banks of seats in the front row here. They’re going to stand up, take about three steps forward, and they’re going to turn around. This is so they can be facing the audience rather than having their back to all of you. So, scholarship folks, that’s your cue! [Laughter]
Okay. They were in alphabetical order. Hopefully at the end of this process, they still are, and we’ll pass a microphone. I’ll introduce them first name, last name, home state, school state, and vocational goal. They’ll each have twenty-five to thirty seconds to introduce themselves and tell you a little bit about who they are as scholars and future leaders. All right, all set to go.
I’m going to remind everyone in the room to please hold your applause until the end. It’s been a long meeting, we want to hear from these folks, but we need to make sure we do one giant round of applause rather than thirty individual rounds. All right.
Here we go.
So, our first scholarship finalist this year is Waseem Aljanazreh, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, special education.
Waseem: Good morning, everybody. I’m a person who believes in turning challenges into opportunities. For a few years, I’ve been dedicated to supporting people with disabilities and students with special needs, not just by teaching, but also by designing awareness campaigns and inclusive materials and advocating for inclusive education. I’m pursuing a master’s degree in education to deepen impact and serve others while growing as an educator, committed to lifelong learning. Thank you.
Cayte: Lauren Altman, New Jersey, Louisiana, teacher of blind students.
Lauren: Hello, all! It’s such an honor to be here today. As Cayte mentioned, I’m from New Jersey. I just finished up my bachelor’s, and I’m currently relocating to Ruston, Louisiana, where I’ll be starting at Louisiana Tech in the fall. I’m very excited. I absolutely love to work with students. I love the lightbulb moment that goes off in people’s heads when they learn something new. I can’t wait to continue doing that throughout my life. And I’m also proud to serve as vice president of the National Association of Blind Students. [Applause]
Cayte: Sergio Arguelles, New York, law.
Sergio: It’s a pleasure to speak with you all today. I hope to have a positive impact on society. I hope to bring into law my empathy and compassion. I hope to go into public interest, helping underserved communities, especially elderly, disabled people of color, LGBTQ, every underserved community. I hope to help and bring my willpower and empathy and everything that I can to the table and help out.
Cayte: Izzy Bailey, Maine, Maine, social work.
Izzy: Hi all! I’m so excited to be here today. I’m starting my journey this fall at University of Maine, studying social work with a concentration in disability studies. In the meantime, I’m working toward outdoor equity initiatives in my beautiful home state of Maine. As a blind Indigenous woman of color, I feel very empowered by exploring the outdoors. And I think everyone deserves that right.
I am a first-time convention-goer, and I’m new to the NFB. I’m new to the blind community, and I feel so empowered by the people I’ve met here! I hope to reciprocate the energy that I’ve found here, and that I’ve found in my identity as a blind woman, for the rest of my days.
And I hope to give that back to the NFB as well.
Cayte: So, as you all know, or those of you who attend this meeting regularly, I always like to throw in a few fun facts about the class. This year was an excellent year to be born in October. Seven of the scholarship finalists this year have birthdays in October. I don’t think we’ve ever had seven [offstage noise]—
goodness—okay, that was not me falling off the stage, just to be super clear! [Laughter] I don’t know what that noise was, but that was not it.
So, this next finalist is, I thought actually that this person was our youngest finalist, but actually he’s not. Kaleb Calhoun, Virginia, Virginia, cybersecurity.
Kaleb: So, hi! I’m honored to be selected as a finalist by the NFB, and this is my first time at the convention. A little bit about me. At age fourteen, I joined the Virginia Department of Blind and Vision Impaired student program, where I gained skills in IT, advocacy, and self-determination. Today I mentor students traveling similar journeys in their vocational skills. Now I’m entering William and Mary College of Virginia this fall as a freshman. I’m excited to keep learning from this amazing NFB community, and thank you.
Cayte: Erin Daley, Colorado, Colorado, assistive technology consultant.
Erin: Hi, everyone. I was one of the luckiest people in the world to be born to a blind father of the National Federation of the Blind. I was raised by a blind single father. I think I was at the convention in ’97 with President Riccobono in Anaheim. But we didn’t cross paths, I was more interested in Disney at that age. I currently serve as secretary of our Denver Chapter. I absolutely love to travel. I did a Braille Monitor piece on my trip to Antarctica. So, I’ve been to six continents, and I would love to share that passion with blind people. I think that we, you know, now that we have more control of our destiny in this country, we need to explore the world.
I’m looking to become a consultant in assistive technology, because of the discrimination I received by employers. I feel like we can have whatever passion or dream we want, standing here and everyone sitting down. But if our expectations are raised but the employers’ are not, that doesn’t help us. I want to go out, build the Federation, build generational wealth for everyone, and give everyone the tools to have whatever dream they want and achieve that goal.
Cayte: Erin, Antarctica is on my bucket list, let’s talk. This year’s class has four tenBroek Fellows. Jacobus tenBroek was the first President of this Federation. If you have won a second National Federation of the Blind scholarship, you’re considered to be a tenBroek Fellow. The first of these is Juna Gjata, Massachusetts, California, content strategy in entertainment.
Juna: Hi, everyone! I went to Harvard for my undergrad and majored in cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary psychology. Yes, I have never used that a day in my life. After I graduated, I pitched a health podcast to my local NPR station because I was super into fitness. So, for six years my job was hosting a podcast. That was awesome, because I love to talk. Last year, I became the senior producer of The Mel Robins Podcast, the number one podcast hosted by a woman in the world, which is really exciting! This September I’ll be starting my MBA at Stanford, and after that I would love to work with the entertainment industry on how people with disabilities are represented in movies and TV shows. But I truly believe the best parts of my life are outside of work. I love snowboarding, the gym, jiu jitsu, and most of all my ten-pound Pomeranian Pooh Bear.
Cayte: KaShonia Graham, Michigan, Michigan, human services.
KaShonia: I’m from Michigan. I see the delivery guy who often describes himself as a Greek god, so I’m a caramel goddess from Michigan. I want to get students started on their vocational goals. That is my career goal, and I’m honored to be one of the scholarship winners. Thank you.
Cayte: Our scholarship class includes people from twenty-four states, including this next finalist, Toby Harnish, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, software engineer.
Toby: Good morning, everyone. I’m so privileged and glad to be picked as one of the scholarship finalists at the 2025 Convention program. Growing up I faced many discriminations because I was born in an environment where disability is viewed as a problem to society. But ever since I have been introduced to NFB, it changed my life. I want to use my skills to improve others’ lives as well. So, for this fall, I’m going to be majoring in software engineering so that I can create digital solutions that can benefit other blind people.
Cayte: Caitlyn Head, Ohio, Illinois, professor of music.
Caitlyn: Hi, everyone! I just got a notification from my Apple watch that my heart rate is way up, so we’ll see how this goes. [Laughter] I started my undergrad career and spent three great semesters at one college and then moved to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Ideally, I will be the music professor who encourages students regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, because it’s important, whatever it is, that they can do whatever they want. Thank you, guys, this is an incredible opportunity.
Cayte: Daniel Hernandez, Arizona, Arizona, clinical psychologist. [Cheering]
Arizona doesn’t follow directions!
Daniel: Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Daniel Hernandez. This is my second time at the NFB Convention. I’m a SAAVI Services for the Blind alumnus and a fourth year PhD student. I’m studying clinical psychology to be a therapist. My ultimate goal is to be a professor as well, doing research and teaching. That’s currently what I’m doing now, going into research. I really really hope to sort of bridge the disparities for students, both blind and underrepresented minorities like the Hispanic/Latino population. And, yeah, those are my goals, and I’m really really grateful to be a scholarship finalist. Thank you so much, everyone.
Cayte: I’m busting Arizona’s chops here but do remember that at some point we want to eat lunch before division meetings. So please hold applause till the end. Rasheedah Kenner, Kentucky, Alabama, social work.
Rasheedah: I’m an October baby as well. My background is in nursing and music. I lost my eyesight during the pandemic, and it was very traumatizing. I looked for a therapist that I could see myself in, being in Kentucky, and going through everything I was going through. I couldn’t find a therapist. So, I thought maybe I should put a change to that and take my previous nursing skills and clinical psychology skills and help other people. Also, getting a master’s in social work, I would love to continue advocating for our community and ADA rights as well too.
Cayte: Noor Khraisat, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, law.
Noor: Is it morning still? Good morning, everyone. I’m Noor—they said not to say my name, sorry, I’m nervous! I’m at University of Pittsburgh, studying political science. Everyone I’ve met at convention and commiserated about the elevators with has been the coolest. And no, I’m not just talking about the temperature of the hotel. It’s so exciting to be part of such an incredible organization. I love the NFB so much. Thank you.
Cayte: This next finalist is another one of our tenBroek Fellows.
Students, let’s see how well you follow directions. Gene Kim, California ... [Cheering] … Not well! Massachusetts, computer science.
Gene: Since I found the Federation six years ago, I’ve learned many things: how to plan and execute student seminars, how to design and engineer complex tools. But I’ve also learned that there are many out there who believe that blind people are incapable, broken, and in need of technology to fix us. We in this room believe that it is respectable to be blind, and because we believe this, I’m going to bring wisdom, the wisdom of the blind-led organization. I’m going to bring the conviction of the blind people’s movement, and the love of my Federation family, to MIT, where I will be pursuing my PhD at the computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory. I’m going to leverage my lived experience as a blind Federationist and the technical skills that I’ve learned at Stanford University to make sure that STEM is accessible to blind people. As long as it is called today, I will make sure we have a seat at the table to influence the technologies of tomorrow. [Cheering]
Cayte: Andrew Lee, Georgia, Georgia, entrepreneur.
Andrew: Hi, everyone, I’m Andrew. Right now, I’m studying at Georgia Tech, where I’m pursuing my undergraduate degree in computer science. I had heard about the NFB for a long time, but I didn’t actually get involved until about three years ago, when I joined the Student Division. I now serve as secretary for the Georgia Student Division. I look forward to getting much more involved in the years to come. Again, thank you so much for this opportunity, and I’m excited to see what comes next.
Cayte: Earlier, I thought Kaleb Calhoun was our youngest. He’s got a fun birthday, which is April Fool’s. But our next finalist is actually the youngest. Riley Letterman, Michigan, Michigan, music therapy. She’s got you beat, Kaleb, by about three weeks.
Riley: NFB, hello! Thank you so incredibly much for this opportunity. I’m beyond thrilled to be here speaking to you today. So, for some background, like, about me, I have always been someone who is very precocious, some might say. I have always been the one who will ask questions, who will speak up, and who will fight for what I want. Which is why, when I was in second grade, when I developed a stutter, I found it very difficult. And for a number of years, I would shy away from any sort of confrontation, because, well, other people, they were saying the same things, so why did it matter?
But then, as I got involved in more things—dance, music, mock trial, forensics, so on and so forth—I began to face struggles with gaining equal access. And I realized, in order to create change, in order to fight for what we want, we need people like us at the table, speaking up for people like us. And through my involvement with various leadership, I realized that while being part of a team bigger than yourself, you have a unique voice. Each and every one of you in this room brings something different to the team. And so, through that, I discovered that I want to use my voice to inspire others to find theirs. Whether that is sitting at the table as a lawyer, making decisions for people like us and being part of that discussion, or whether that is as a music therapist inspiring others to find their voice, we must speak up. Because we bring so much, and only we can say things in our unique way. Thank you everyone, so much. [Applause]
Cayte: Ren Lovegood, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, professor and researcher.
Ren: This is what I imagine it feels like to be standing on the shoulders of giants, which is pretty incredible. I am a rising third-year PhD candidate, studying in the organizations and social change program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. My research centers on the lived experiences of people with disabilities, how we have historically defined and enacted care, organized mutual aid efforts, and challenged the boundaries of labor value in organizational contexts. In addition to that, my goal is to be a business ethics professor who critiques these dynamics and changes them.
Blindness is everywhere. It’s neither a rarity nor an exception, as you have heard from those in my scholarship cohort today. Thank you for being here.
Cayte: Ryan Lukowicz, Rhode Island, Rhode Island, politics, law.
Ryan: It’s been a pleasure spending this week in New Orleans as a scholarship finalist. I am a rising sophomore at Roger Williams University in a prelaw program. I got interested in politics during my freshman year of high school when the Rhode Island Department of Education thought it would be a great idea to have an out-of-state vendor come in, and we would lay off all the TVIs and O&Ms in Rhode Island. The NFB was part of fighting for the restoration of that funding, and the rest of my story is history. I went on to work at the State House, take notes for legislative sessions, and get my own bill passed senior year with the help of my state representative and senator to adjust requirements for people with disabilities taking physical education classes in our public schools. Now, at Roger Williams University, I’m honored to be a student senator as well as chair of a diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility student council. I can’t wait to continue to make an impact in my career pursuing something with civil rights law or public policy.
Cayte: Zoe Marsh, Connecticut, New York, O&M instructor.
Zoe: Hello, everybody. So, I am a person who was born legally blind. I lived half in the sighted world, half out. And I tried my best to be in that sighted world as much as I could. I turned away so many opportunities to learn Braille or JAWS or anything like that. And I just struggled so much to make friends or even have fun, that I just pulled myself apart trying to be in both worlds. But then, halfway through my junior year of high school, I went totally blind. It kind of saved me, because I was forced to learn JAWS, I was forced to learn O&M, and I walk so much faster than I ever did as a legally blind person! I don’t need extra time on assignments, because I know JAWS. I don’t have to squint at my screen. Now, I am in a gap year between high school and college, and I am attending the Colorado Center for the Blind. [Cheering] Yup! Which, to those people, I will never forget you guys. I will never let CCB go! I will also never forgive you for the teasing I get every single day! And the water gun to the butt the other day. [Laughter]
At CCB, we had a lot of fun, but also there’s one main message of Colorado Center, which is take charge with confidence. That is what I learned when, in my second week at the Center, we went to convention. My instructor, Ernesto DeLuca, said take charge with confidence. I was like, okay, and I went ahead, and said this is the door for this thing and that thing over there! And I have not shut up since. But I’m attending Marymount Manhattan College, a very small school in Manhattan, New York. And I hope to build a family there, and with the New York NFB, just like I did with CCB. And I hope as an O&M instructor to bring services to kids who did not know that they needed them, like I did, and to bring a message of positivity around blindness for everybody around the world.
Cayte: And we’re looking forward to having you join us in New York, Zoe. All right, Kaelyn McColl, Illinois, Massachusetts, medicine.
I want to remind everybody, we do have agenda items, so let’s try to keep it to that thirty seconds.
Kaelyn: I’m blind from birth, a proud blind dog user (my girl is from Seeing Eye), and I came up through the Chicago public school system. I did not receive services for the majority of my elementary school and middle school career. I taught myself pretty much everything I know. I found that challenging! I had no blind network or blind resources. So, in high school, I started a channel, Blind and Scholarly. It’s new. I’m trying to get content up there. It’s a resource for blind students who want resources for math classes, for chemistry, how to use a calculator, for what you should buy for geometry. These are resources. If your school system is not telling you about these things, you have a way of connecting with other blind people to find out this information. Anyway, I am attending Harvard as a freshman in the fall. I plan to earn a double major in biomedical engineering and psychology for premed. I hope to attend medical school and specialize in pediatric oncology or pediatric psychology. Thank you for this honor.
Cayte: Mary Nix, New Mexico, New Mexico, special education teacher.
Mary: Hi, everyone! I’m honored to be here. I’m super scared, but I was literally so happy when I got selected as a scholarship finalist. I remember the day I was in Target and I got this unexpected call, and I’m like, oh, wow! I was like, I know what to say to one of my mentors; I was so quiet and so excited at the same time. A little bit about me is my first thirteen years of my life, I grew up in India, and then I moved to the United States. I had to learn a lot, because I had to learn a new language on top of blindness skills and a new culture. In India, they didn’t have many resources, especially with blindness and everything. So, I just had to learn a lot. Now, I’m actually studying to be an elementary education special education teacher at New Mexico State University. I want to teach other students. I’m super passionate to help others teaching, and I feel like receiving this scholarship, being selected, I feel like I can pass that along to my future students and to show them you can live the life you want, and blindness does not define you. Thank you.
Cayte: Joy Orlando, California, California, clinical psychologist.
Joy: Hello, Federation family. A little bit about me. I started out in a community college setting, and I was put as president of Psi Beta. During my time as president, I went to the Western Psychology Association Conference and was selected to present research on audio description and how our brain reacts when we’re listening to it. Now, granted, we used sighted people. But the effects of this study were pretty consistent. So, after writing research papers and doing the research and taking statistics twice, I decided very quickly that was not for me. Research is not my field.
So now I am wrapping up my bachelor’s degree at Chico State—go Wildcats!—and I decided I’m going to go into a mentor/mentee field where I want to give back to our community. I want to help adolescents, adults, children, anybody going through a transition like I did where I lost my eyesight later, or you’re losing your eyesight. I wish I had somebody to talk to who was relatable. There are a lot of really good, sighted therapists. But what I’ve consistently heard was, I wish I could talk to somebody who could say I’ve been there too. I’m incredibly grateful to be where I’m at. I’ve learned that persistence and hard work pay off. And I can’t wait to see where I go in my career and where I go with our Federation.
Thank you.
Cayte: Amina Orzueva, New York, New York, law.
Amina: Good morning, everyone, I’m originally from Uzbekistan in Central Asia. I’m a rising sophomore studying political science and political studies. I’m currently interning at the New York City Comptroller’s Office, and this is my second convention. My favorite part of convention is meeting so many people from different fields doing so many great things. When I go back to the real world and someone questions if I can do something, I can always name someone from the Federation who is already doing it, which is definitely helpful. I would like to thank the board, the donors, and the scholarship committee for your generosity and for setting high standards for all of us. And yeah!
Cayte: Ghania Oussaci, Texas, Texas, health information.
Ghania: Good morning, everyone. I’m pursuing my bachelor’s degree in health information management. I’m hoping to get my health information in security and privacy to improve life of the blind community, and also, I believe, to live an independent life with dignity. Thank you so much for having me here today, and I’m so excited. Thank you so much.
Cayte: Nicole Quibol, Hawaii, Hawaii, professor of philosophy.
Nicole: Aloha, everybody! I’m a philosophy student at the University of Hawaii West Oahu. I’m passionate about environmental justice, cultural reclamation, and using philosophy to ask big questions, uncomfortable questions, especially those that center around power, identity, and belonging. In Hawaii, we have traditional proverbs or poetic phrases. One that guides me is [speaking Hawaiian], which means, “strive for the summit.” To me, that reflects what the NFB stands for. Not just believing in blind people’s potential but expecting us to reach the highest peaks. I’m honored to be here with people who live by the same value. It’s your contributions that have allowed us to be here. On behalf of myself and my fellow scholarship cohort, we want to thank you guys for this opportunity. Thank you.
Cayte: So, our next finalist has given me written permission to refer to her as the class grandmother. Now, that said, she was the one who was razzing us this morning because the students were lamenting that they had to wait to go to bed until the end of the NABS meeting, and she was like, “Really? Well, we should have all gone out.” [Laughter] So I don’t know if that’s really the appropriate designation for you! Now, this next finalist is also one of our tenBroeks, and in the interest of full disclosure, I need to tell you all that she received her first National Federation of the Blind Scholarship when I was five years old, in 1988. Millie Rivera, Maryland, Maryland, Biblical counselor.
Millie: Good afternoon. I’m receiving my master’s degree from Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago. I retired three years ago from a thirty-year career with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a lawyer. This is my thirty-fifth convention. Let’s see, I want to thank the board and the scholarship committee and also thank my sisters who are as much a part of the Federation as I am: Eileen and Caroline. I want to thank everyone for believing in me to do another stint at this. Thank you.
Cayte: Emily Schlenker, also a tenBroek Fellow, Kansas, Kansas, pharmacist.
Emily: Hi, everyone! I want to start by saying that the most important thing you should know about me is I’m a tenBroek Fellow because of my Kansas affiliate, because I have been—this is my fourth time in college. I am a three-time college dropout. I would start college, and the Braille would run out, and I would get my heart broken, and I would leave. And I will tell you that Tom Page and the rest of my affiliate, they held my hand. They’ve listened to me, they’ve carried me, they’ve pushed me and told me to get it together for the last twenty years. I’m now a candidate for my doctorate of pharmacy. I’m transitioning. I have gone from my three years of classwork, (which I did all in Braille by the way), to now caring for patients in a clinical setting. I will do this in multiple rotations, everything from poison control to pharmacogenomics to critical care. Another thing to know about me is I’m tougher than anybody should have to be. I don’t want my fellow finalists to go through what I’ve gone through! As was said earlier by Ren, I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. So, thank you.
Cayte: Mandy Smith, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, foreign service officer.
Mandy: I’m a rising senior at Allegheny College studying political science. I was born legally blind, 20/400 in my left eye, until I lost my sight due to a series of unfortunate events. I never let that stop my dreams. Because like everyone here, I don’t believe in barriers, only in breakthroughs. Thank you.
Cayte: Akliesia Teshome, Maryland, Massachusetts, data consultant.
Akliesia: Good morning! It’s an honor to be here. I’m currently earning my bachelor’s in data analytics from Boston University, and I’m a fellow for the class of 2025. In addition, I’m involved with the National Association of Blind Students, and I had the honor and privilege to serve as the co-chair for the Content Creation and Fundraising Committee. I want to deepen my understanding of the NFB philosophy, to be more involved in NABS, and it’s such a privilege. Oh, we’re in the city of New Orleans, hello, I’m an LCB graduate! [Laughter] Thank you so much for your time, to the donors, the Scholarship Committee, the board. Thank you for believing in me, for seeing the light in me when I couldn’t see it for myself, and thank you for your time.
Cayte: Katiana Elena Urbina, Florida, Florida, content production.
Katiana: As a Latina woman raised in Miami, I’ve always been drawn to the city. That’s why I’ve made it my mission to uncover originality in our communities. I am really passionate about creating stories that amplify, truly amplify humanity, complexity, and nuance in disabled voices. And now I am pursuing media—I’m pursuing a master’s in media and communications studies at Florida State University, to not only shake things up, but also truly champion inclusivity in entertainment and beyond. Above all, I want to make it clear that I’m very aware that I have a purpose in life, and all I want to do is move forward. In conclusion, the only way I can do that is through connection. Thank you.
Cayte: Mr. President and members of the board and everybody in the room and on Zoom, I present to you the Scholarship Class of 2025! [Cheering and applause]
At the convention banquet, each of the finalists received a scholarship in the amount of eight thousand dollars, along with a plaque and other prizes. Many received National Federation of the Blind Scholarships, while others received scholarships funded by and named for those who sponsored them, as follows:
National Federation of the Blind Scholarships: Waseem Aljanazreh, Izzy Bailey, Kaleb Calhoun, Juna Gjata, KaShonia Graham, Caitlyn Head, Daniel Hernandez, Rasheedah Kenner, Zoe Marsh, Mary Nix, Amina Orzueva, and Ghania Oussaci
Howard Brown Rickard Memorial Scholarship: Kaelyn McColl
Jesse and Hertha Adams Charitable Trust Scholarship: Riley Letterman
Alvin J. and Edith R. Domroe Foundation Scholarships: Sergio Arvizu Arguelles and Noor Khraisat
Charles and Betty Allen Scholarship: Ryan Lukowicz
E.U. and Gene Parker Scholarship: Akliesia Teshome
Oracle Scholarship for Excellence in a STEM Field: Erin Daley
Charles and Melva T. Owen Scholarships: Toby Harnish and Katiana Elena Urbina
Marvin and Mimi Sandler Scholarship: Andrew Lee
National Federation of the Blind STEM Scholarship: Emily Schlenker
Dr. Adrienne Asch Memorial Scholarship: Ren Lovegood
Handid Braille Services Scholarships: Lauren Altman and Mandy Smith
JAWS for Windows Scholarship: Nicole Quibol
Jacquilyn Billey Memorial Scholarship: Joy Orlando
American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults Scholarship: Gene Kim
Kenneth Jernigan Memorial Scholarship: Millie Rivera
Photo/Caption: Angie Valencia of Arizona smiles as she plays an accessible video game.
Photo/Caption: Jeff Altman instructs Rebecca Godwin at the Cane Walk.
by Amy Porterfield
From the Editor: Amy Porterfield serves as president of Saavi Services for the Blind in Phoenix, Arizona (www.saavi.us). She wears a different hat at the NFB National Convention each summer, when she coordinates NFB Youth Track, four days of fun and learning for blind young people. Here is her account of Youth Track at the 2025 NFB Convention.
Each summer, when thousands of grown-up Federationists gather for the National Federation of the Blind National Convention, the next generation of leaders gathers, too. This year, more than fifty blind youth, ages eleven to eighteen, came together in New Orleans for the 2025 NFB Youth Track—four days filled with learning, laughter, and discovery about what it really means to live the life you want.
The first morning of Youth Track was all about meeting new friends and reconnecting with familiar ones. The registration space quickly turned into a lively hangout as students swapped stories, played Braille games, and tried out team-building activities. For some, this was their first time at an NFB convention; for others, it was a long-awaited reunion. Everyone found a place to belong.
Those who didn’t yet have a cane picked one out from the cane bank and learned to use it with confidence. That simple moment—standing tall with a cane in hand—set the tone for the rest of the week: we move through the world on our own terms.
Later that morning, participants met President Mark Riccobono, who shared stories from the movement and encouraged the group to imagine what the Museum of the Blind People’s Movement could one day hold. The youth also met members of the National Association of Blind Students (NABS) and discovered that their peers are already leading advocacy work, building community, and shaping the future of the Federation.
The afternoon brought out everyone’s creative side. Screen printing T-shirts and tote-bags gave students the chance to design something that reflected who they are. There were no visual models, no templates, just hands, imagination, and conversation guiding the work.
That day ended with one of the most talked-about sessions of the week: the Career Mentoring Fair. Blind professionals from dozens of fields—teachers, engineers, chefs, lawyers, and more—sat down for one-on-one conversations with the youth. One student summed it up best: “I didn’t realize blind people did so many different jobs. Now I know I can do any of them, too.”
On Wednesday morning, students hit the hallways and streets for the Cane Walk, led by certified orientation and mobility instructors. For some, it was their first travel lesson; for others, it was a chance to brush up on skills. Either way, the energy was electric as students learned to walk independently and confidently.
That evening, the group turned its attention to how the Federation makes decisions. Together the young people unpacked this year’s resolutions, discussed what each one meant, and practiced forming their own positions. Several students even drafted notes to share on the convention floor. The discussions were passionate and thoughtful—proof that the future of the movement is in good hands.
Thursday’s challenge took students into the Exhibit Hall for an interactive scavenger hunt. Teams collected clues, met vendors, and learned about new technology and tools—all while racing to complete their challenge cards and win prizes. Later that night, the room transformed into a gaming arena, filled with accessible video and audio games. Whether participants were into storytelling, strategy, or fast-paced competition, everyone got in on the fun.
By Friday night, friendships were deep, and the energy had shifted from excitement to reflection. The session “Finding Our Collective Power” brought the youth together with college students from the National Association of Blind Students to talk about what confidence and boundaries really look like in daily life. Conversations were honest, funny, and sometimes serious—covering everything from advocacy to personal space. The takeaway was clear: strength isn’t something we wait to earn; it’s something we build together.
By the end of the week, the youth had gained much more than door prizes or T-shirts. They walked away with new friends, stronger skills, and a deeper sense that the Federation isn’t something that happens for them—it’s something they are part of, right now. Every handshake, every conversation, every moment of laughter helped shape a community of young blind people ready to step forward, ask questions, and take their place in the movement.
The future isn’t somewhere off in the distance—it’s already here, and it starts with learning to use a long white cane.
Photo/Caption: Shawana Gray, Antoine Warren, Virginia Mehu, and Rena McComb work together on a tactile art project.
Photo/Caption: Sharonda Goode and Josh Miele work on an origami project.
Photo/Caption: Hands examine a Tactile Challenge Card.
by Shelly Smith
From the Editor: A popular feature of the NFB National Convention every year is the Art Room. Started by sculptor Ann Cunningham in 2013, the Art Room is now a favorite destination for convention-goers of all ages. In this article Art Room volunteer Shelly Smith shares her experiences and impressions.
I met Ann Cunningham in Colorado last May, when I attended the Tactile Art Teach-In at the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB). Attending that three-day program was a life-changing experience for me! I’ve always had low vision, and now, in my forties, I’m finally getting in touch with myself in new ways.
Discovering that I can express myself with raised-line drawings and clay sculpture was truly amazing! So when Ann Cunningham invited me to help out at the Art Room during Convention, I jumped at the chance.
When I got to the Art Room, I wasn’t sure how I could make myself useful. Ann suggested I greet people at the door and help orient them to the room. That felt like a fit, so I stationed myself by the door to see what would happen.
What happened was a stream of people for two days, from the time the doors opened at one on July 9 until we finally packed up at six on July 10. It’s hard to estimate how many visitors we had altogether. Sometimes the room was fairly quiet. People wandered leisurely from table to table, making sure they didn’t miss anything. At other times the room was packed, and people waited in line for a seat to open up at one of the tables. I’d say that two to three hundred people visited the Art Room, at least briefly, but that’s only the roughest estimate.
Most of our visitors were families with kids, and we also saw a number of students in college or graduate school. I remember one mom who stood by while her daughter worked with clay at one of the tables. She said it was the first time she’d seen her daughter come out of her shell. A little boy sat down with a lump of clay and announced, “Mommy, I’m going to make you a heart!”
Some kids were shy and didn’t know where to begin. I’d tell them they could draw or work with clay, do puzzles, learn origami, or check out our collection of books with tactile pictures. Once they got their hands on the materials, they were really excited! There was no stopping them!
I noticed that a lot of parents had a tendency to hover over their children. If a child seemed hesitant, Mom would rush in with suggestions. Some parents even tried to direct their kids’ hands to whatever they thought would be interesting. We did our best to encourage parents to step back and give their children space to explore.
Our list of volunteers looked like the Who’s Who of blind people in the arts. MacArthur Genius Award winner Josh Miele demonstrated incredible paper folding at the origami table. Beside him was Chancey Fleet, who produces tactile diagrams at the New York Public Library. Minh Ha helped out with tactile drawing; she chairs the Accessibility Task Force at Perkins School for the Blind. Marco Salsicha shared his ideas about using SVG code (Scalable Vector Graphics) to create tactile graphics.
When the Art Room opened, everything was carefully organized. We had tactile coloring books on one table, raised-line picture books on another. Other tables featured puzzles, origami, and embroidered pictures. Before the Art Room closed its doors for the last time, crayons, papers, paper plates, chunks of dried clay, and empty Play-Doh containers were scattered across the tables and the floor. It was really wild! The art room had been a busy place!
When I went to the Teach-In last May I heard a new term for the first time: image poverty. Most blind people live in a world of words. They hear verbal descriptions of everything from ants to jet planes, but they seldom have the chance to explore models, tactile pictures, or even real objects. In a small but important way, the Art Room at Convention helps to open up a host of new possibilities.
If you didn’t get to the Art Room last summer, be sure to drop by in 2026. We’re already making plans for offerings that will be even more exciting and intriguing. Feast your hands and stretch your imagination. Unlock your creativity and see where it will lead you.
Braille is more than dots on a page. It’s a gateway to knowledge, independence, and imagination. Each year, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults invites blind readers across the country to celebrate their love of Braille through the Braille Readers Are Leaders contest.
This national reading challenge encourages Braille readers of all ages, from curious kindergarteners to seasoned adults, to set personal reading goals and track their progress. Participants compete for prizes, but more importantly, they gain confidence and pride in their literacy skills. In recent years, the contest has also welcomed teachers of blind students, recognizing that educators play a key role in nurturing lifelong Braille readers.
Every book, magazine, or article read in Braille builds fluency and strengthens a skill that can transform lives. Learning Braille provides freedom, confidence, and a sense of possibility that can shape education and careers.
The need for Braille literacy has never been greater. Only about one in ten blind students learn Braille in school today, while research shows that most employed blind adults are Braille readers. The connection between Braille and opportunity is clear, and the path to success begins with developing a love for reading.
Through the Braille Readers Are Leaders contest, the American Action Fund continues to inspire blind children and adults to embrace Braille, not just as a tool, but as a lifelong companion in learning and achievement.
Learn more about our programs, including Braille Readers Are Leaders, on our website: www.actionfund.org/programs.
Your support helps keep our resources free for blind children and adults. You can contribute to the Action Fund in three easy ways.
Often the simplest and most significant way to make a charitable contribution is to plan a legacy gift. Creating a lasting impact is easier than you might think. Choose an option that works best for your circumstances.
You can plan to give all or part of a bank account, insurance proceeds, investment assets, real estate, or a retirement account. You can even give a required minimum distribution from your IRA directly to charity and avoid taxes on the distribution. After taking care of your loved ones, you could bequeath a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate to an organization whose mission is important to you.
The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults Legacy Society recognizes and honors the generosity of friends of the Action Fund who have chosen to leave a legacy through a will or other planned giving option.
If you wish to give part or all of an account, simply fill out a POD (payable on death) or TOD (transfer on death) form. For pensions and insurance assets, you may designate a charity as a beneficiary. If you would like to leave a legacy to the Action Fund in your will, include the following language:
I give, devise, and bequeath unto the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, 1800 Johnson Street, Suite 100, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, (EIN# 52-1192529) the sum of $______________ (or) _________ “percent of my net estate” or “the following stocks and bonds”: ____________________, to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind persons.
If you have questions or would like more information, please reach out to Patti Chang at 410-659-9315 or [email protected]. If you have included the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults in your will or have made some other provision for a future gift, please contact Patti so we can recognize you as a member of our Legacy Society.
Legacy gifts carry the values and ideals that have been important to you throughout your lifetime and provide for generations of blind children and adults. Please consider the American Action Fund in your future plans.
Braille-reading students, adults, and teachers of the blind across the US compete against other participants in similar contest categories for seven weeks! Sponsored by the American Action Fund in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind, the contest begins December 1, 2025, and will run through January 16, 2026. We are using the platform Beanstack to register and log your minutes. There are badges to earn, prizes to win, and lots of Braille to read!
Purpose: To promote the joy of reading for pleasure; to promote pride in Braille as a reading medium equal to print; and to demonstrate the importance of independent reading in the development of Braille literacy skills.
Eligibility: Blind and low-vision Braille reading students, adults, and teachers of blind students
Registration: Registration for the 2025-26 contest will open on November 3. You can register by using the Beanstack app or at actionfund.beanstack.org.
https://actionfund.org/resources/braille-calendars
Every year the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults provides, free of charge, more than ten thousand Braille calendars to blind and deafblind people throughout the United States. These pocket calendars are an invaluable tool for everyday use. They provide the day, date, and major holidays for each month.
National Braille Press
88 St. Stephen St.
Boston, MA 02115
https://shop.nbp.org/products/2026-peanuts-happiness-is-calendar
The gang’s all here all your favorites: Snoopy, Woodstock, Linus, Lucy, Sally, and Charlie Brown! This full-color wall calendar is 12 x 12 with Braille on clear plastic labels.
While a number of mainstream board games have been adapted for blind players, some need little or no adaptation to be enjoyed by the whole family. Here are a few examples.
Mastermind is a code-breaking game for two players developed in Israel in 1971. The code pegs used in the game can easily be adapted by adding tape, string, rubber bands, or other tactile markers to differentiate the colors.
One of the oldest known games in the world, Mancala involves placing stones in pits along a narrow wooden board. Mancala can be played by blind and sighted players without any modifications.
Hive involves tiles with tactile insets that represent various creatures. The tiles can easily be marked with Dymo tape or some other tactile indicator to represent different colors.
In this game all players on one side must be blindfolded. They must navigate a dark forest while trying to escape a monster.
Starting January 1, 2026, more blind and low-vision people will become eligible to open an ABLE Account. If your blindness began before age 46 (instead of before age 26 as is currently required), you may be eligible for an ABLE Account. For more information about ABLE accounts, visit https://illinoisable.com/who-is-eligible.html. Stay tuned for a full article on ABLE in the Winter Issue of Future Reflections.
https://www.youthviewresearch.org
[email protected]
806-742-3769
A research team at Texas Tech University, led by Drs. Adam Schmidt and Sarah Victor, is conducting an NIH-funded project (Grant Number: R01ey036767). This project, the first of its kind, focuses on the experiences of blind and low-vision children and how those experiences impact their mental and physical health. Dr. Schmidt is blind and the father of a low-vision child, while Dr. Victor also has lived experience with a disability. The researchers are seeking children who are blind, or have low vision, or are visually impaired, along with their primary caregivers, to participate in a virtual study. Children must be between the ages of nine and seventeen and must live in the United States. Any blind, low-vision, or visually impaired child who can communicate in any form about their thoughts, emotions, and perceptions is eligible to participate, regardless of any additional disabilities. Sessions will take three to four hours, consisting of accessible surveys and interviews with parent and child. Families can be compensated up to $250 if they complete all portions of the study. The researchers will provide all participating families with mental-health resources, as the researchers want to be sure families have the resources if significant concerns arise during the research.
The NFB is gathering information regarding the accessibility of educational technology used in our nation’s schools (kindergarten through graduate level). If you are a student, parent, teacher, or administrator who uses screen access software or other accommodations to participate nonvisually in educational programs or services, or if you are the parent, teacher, or administrator of someone who does, please complete the Education Technology Survey once a semester and contribute to this important research.
by Bre Brown
On May 25, 2025, the blind community and the wider world lost a beloved friend, Treva Olivero. Treva will be remembered as a teacher, a mentor, and a loyal friend. Until her death she was deeply committed to her students and to the blind community.
Treva Olivero was raised in a traditional Amish community in Goshen, Indiana. From childhood she had a visual impairment and a rare bone disease. When she was eleven an infection in her right leg led to amputation above the knee. From that time forward, Treva used a wheelchair.
In the Amish community disability was not always well understood. Though they loved her deeply, Treva’s family did not know how to educate her and prepare her for life, but they wanted nothing but the best for her. For much of her childhood Treva received homebound instruction. At last, her family made the difficult but loving decision to send her away from her home and community to attend the Indiana School for the Blind (ISB) in Indianapolis.
Treva graduated from ISB in 1995 and went on to earn a teaching degree from Ball State University. When she was twenty-three, she made a wrenching decision. She decided to leave the Amish faith and the community that had always been her home. If she was ever going to have a full life as a person with disabilities, she knew she needed to build a life for herself in the wider world.
Treva then relocated to Richmond, Indiana, where she worked for a nonprofit, helping adults with disabilities get connected with needed assistance and resources. In 2007 she relocated to Baltimore, where she worked at the National Center for the Blind on our education staff. One of her favorite tasks was helping to develop mentoring programs around the country.
I met Treva in 2011 when I served as a mentor for a weekend at our national center with students from West Virginia. Though I lacked confidence in myself, Treva believed in me from the beginning. I vividly remember the time she assigned me to marshal at a symposium. She left me to herd people into the auditorium while she went off to do something else. I really had to step out of my comfort zone! I stood by the door and called out, “Auditorium!” at the top of my lungs. It did not start out this way as I am a really quiet person, but she encouraged me that it was okay to raise my voice some to help others find their way.
In 2011 I went to Ruston, Louisiana, for intensive training in the skills of blindness at the Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB). I was overjoyed when Treva arrived as one of my classmates in January 2012. We bonded immediately as we faced the challenges of training together. We also discovered that we shared a love of country music, playing games, and so much more. From that time on Treva and I were almost inseparable. We talked nearly every day until the end of her life.
Training at the LCB transformed Treva’s life. It gave her the confidence she never had before. After she completed her training at LCB, she enrolled at Louisiana Tech University and earned a master’s degree in teaching blind students. When she completed the program in 2014, her whole family came to Ruston to attend the ceremony. Though she had chosen to follow a very different path, her family was immensely proud of her.
In the fall of 2012, Treva took a job in the Lincoln Parish school system as a paraeducator where she worked until the fall of 2024. She also taught many students virtually. In addition, in 2012 she began teaching in the NFB BELL® Academy (Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning). She was a BELL teacher every summer through 2023.
Treva thrived on her work with blind students, helping them reach their full potential. She loved to teach assistive technology, and she was gifted at helping students use it to their best advantage. When her health began to decline, Treva fought to the very end. She did her utmost to ensure that her students gained the skills they needed while she was still able to teach them.
Treva’s deep faith was always at the center of her life. It radiated through everything she did. During her final illness, her faith helped her face the end with grace.
Treva will be remembered for her kindness, her embracing love of people, and her commitment to the education of people with disabilities. She cheered her students on with great joy every day.
When people reminisce about Treva, someone is sure to bring up her laugh. Treva’s laugh was absolutely famous! Treva had so much to give, and we lost her far too soon.
Treva passed away at her sister’s home in Indiana. Through her final days she was surrounded by loving family and friends, praying with her and singing her favorite songs. She is deeply mourned by her family in the blind community, especially by the children she taught over the years. To me Treva was a beloved sister and friend, and her passing is one of the hardest losses I have ever faced. The world just isn’t the same without her.
If you would like to share your memories of Treva or learn more about her life and her work, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
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