It may only be November, but I am already getting excited for the AFB Leadership Conference—formerly the Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute—which is paired with Florida AER and partners this year. The conference will be in sunny St. Petersburg Beach, Florida in early May of 2012. The Sunshine State holds a special meaning in my heart, as I have lived, gone to graduate school, and worked in Florida. How can you not like the beach and the beautiful Gulf Coast?
Beautiful weather aside, why attend? Glad you asked.
Amazing Sessions. The conference looks to be a tremendous event with exciting and innovative content being presented. I have heard that there will be sessions covering topics such as Apple products, accessibility, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), employment, the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC), innovation in small screen displays, optic nerve hypoplasia, current research, practical training tips, and resources, as well as sessions aimed at leaders in our field. This is just a small sampling of topics to be addressed. It sounds like there will be some tough decisions on which sessions to attend!
Networking Galore. There will be plenty of opportunities to network with professionals and experts from around the United States at the conference. I am also looking forward to seeing who will win the 2012 Access Awards and Migel Awards. I know there will be an amazing collection of nominees for all of these honors.
What about the location? I have been to a conference at the Tradewinds Island Resorts before, and I loved the location and especially the hotel staff. I had a great experience there. I will definitely be grabbing some seafood at one of the great local eateries—you wouldn't be able stop me from getting some of that fresh Gulf seafood. But, you can always hit up one of the restaurants on the grounds—I know I have in the past.
Lastly, a word on the conference name change. Since 1986, AFB's flagship conference was known as the Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute, named after the beloved educator and advocate for children with vision loss and with multiple disabilities. Ms. Taylor was an early champion, as well, for teacher training programs for instructors of the visually impaired.
Though we are indebted to Ms. Taylor for her contributions to the field, and we continue to honor her legacy with our national education and advocacy work, we have changed the title with the belief that the name more aptly reflects AFB's 90-year role in bringing together leaders in the blindness field, both seasoned and new, to share their knowledge and expertise to improve the quality of life for people with visual impairments.
