AFB Blog

On February 25, members of Marshall University and the local business community of Huntington, WV were treated to an informative and entertaining evening at the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center with engaging speaker and accomplished author, Isaac Lidsky. Through speaking engagements—such as his TED Talks—and within the pages of his New York Times bestseller, “Eyes Wide Open,” Lidsky shared his experiences of overcoming personal and professional challenges as a person with a visual…

Each year, the United States’ two national consumer groups of people who are blind and low vision come to Washington, DC, to meet with members of Congress and advocate for policy changes that would improve the lives of blind and low vision Americans. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) held its annual Washington Seminar from February 10-13. The American Council of the Blind (ACB) will be hosting its annual DC Leadership Meetings from February 22-25. AFB is pleased to partner with both…

You asked and we listened: We've extended the early bird deadline to February 21! Conference registration is available online, as is exhibitor registration, so register today to get the best rate. If you would like to purchase ads or are interested in sponsoring the conference, please contact Amanda Kolling. Hotel rooms are going fast, so be sure to reserve your hotel room as soon as possible to get our group rate! Want to start planning your schedule? Take a look at our agenda. Have a…

The American Foundation for the Blind is proud to announce that Dave Steele, known as “The Blind Poet,” will be emceeing the 24th Annual Helen Keller Achievement Awards on March 25 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. The award recipients are the American Printing House for the Blind, P&G, and Dr. Chieko Asakawa. Steele is an award-winning poet, author, public speaker, singer, and advocate for the blind. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in 2014, his eye…

AFB staff and our colleagues Alison Burke and Toya Dubin were honored to participate in NYC Digital Humanities Week. We shared our work to make the Helen Keller Archive as accessible and user-friendly as possible, and freely available to educators who want to teach their students how to use primary sources. Helen Keller was a leading advocate for people with visual impairments, and likely the most famous person with a disability in the 20th century. She was also a devoted New Yorker! Helen,…

As part of the digital lifestyle magazine Bold Blind Beauty’s monthly “Men in Motion” series, Dr. Kirk Adams was the feature story for the February 2020 edition. In it, Kirk discusses his employment journey, learning to read Braille at a young age, and who were some of his biggest influences, among other topics. “Really, what’s next for me and for AFB is to change systems,” Kirk says in the exclusive video. “To eliminate barriers, to create opportunities, to understand where we can focus our…

Every day is a good day to show appreciation for the mentors who have helped you along the way. But during National Mentoring Month, January 30th is set aside as the official “Thank Your Mentor Day.” This day is especially close to my heart as we approach the official kickoff events for AFB’s new Blind Leaders Development Program, and we’re honored to feature Derek Shields on the AFB blog to ask him about his own experiences with mentoring. Derek is president of ForwardWorks Consulting, LLC…

On January 17, Huntington, WV-based Marshall University announced that Clio, a free history-based mobile app and website founded by the university, received a nearly $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to improve its accessibility for users who are visually impaired in collaboration with AFB. Drawing on AFB’s experience developing the fully accessible Helen Keller Archive, and the organization’s deep commitment to helping other organizations reach their digital…

You probably already know that developing, building, and supporting an inclusive organization begins with leader-driven awareness, and requires perpetual action and adaptability as market demands change. Let’s address an unsung hero of successful disability employment programs: procurement. Procurement is an essential component of business operations. Some of the “minor” elements procurement is involved in and can influence include: Profit: purchasing services/goods at the best price…