AFB Celebrates 2026 Helen Keller Achievement Awardees
CONTACT: Tony Stephens, Assistant Vice-President, Communications 212.502.7627 | tstephens@afb.org
NEW YORK CITY (April 23, 2026) — National disability rights leaders and champions for inclusion and accessibility gathered tonight at the 32nd annual Helen Keller Achievement Awards, held at the Harvard Club of New York City in midtown Manhattan. Honorees included social influencer and author Molly Burke, nationally recognized teacher and author Kathy Nimmer, and T-Mobile US Inc.
“All of our honorees this evening reminded us that Helen Keller’s passion to create a world of endless possibilities continues to burn bright,” said Eric Bridges, AFB president and CEO. “While Helen’s work was groundbreaking during her time at AFB, there’s still much work to be done, and it’s exciting to see it carried forward by these outstanding leaders.”
As a social influencer with millions of followers across her YouTube and Instagram channels, Molly Burke routinely creates content that pushes back against ableism, breaking down misconceptions about people who are blind. In September 2025, she published her memoir, Unseen: How I Lost My Vision and Found My Voice.
A motivational speaker, writer, teacher, and pianist, Kathy Nimmer spent 29 years teaching English at Harrison High School in West Lafayette, Indiana. In 2015, she was recognized as Indiana’s “Teacher of the Year” and was a national finalist that same year. There, she founded SEEDS, a mentoring program for new teachers, which garnered her the “Excellence in Leading & Learning” award in 2024 from the State of Indiana. A published author, she has written two books: a nonfiction work celebrating the relationship between service dogs and their handlers, and a book of poems.
Receiving the organizational award this year is T-Mobile US Inc., one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies. Branded as the “Un-carrier,” T-Mobile places significant focus on customer service, and its accessibility team has made notable advancements in creating a more digitally accessible environment for smartphone users with disabilities. In recent years, the company launched MagentaA11y, a powerful toolkit for designers, developers, and testers. The site, which is free to access for all, is a valuable resource to ensure that digital content is accessible to everyone.
Since 1994, the Helen Keller Achievement Award has recognized the finest thought leaders, change-makers, and performing artists committed to carrying on Keller's mission to create a world of full and equal inclusion for people with disabilities. The Harvard Club of New York City served as a particularly moving reminder of Helen Keller’s impact. Not only was she the first deafblind person to receive a college degree, graduating in 1904 from Radcliffe College, but she was also the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from Harvard University in 1955, eight years before Harvard would fully accept women as students.
AFB continues to honor Keller's legacy by recognizing exceptional individuals and organizations from industry, education, and the arts who have distinguished themselves in pursuit of expanding possibilities for those who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision. Past honorees include author and advocate Haben Girma, tech leader and entrepreneur Bernard Newcomb, Chef Christine Ha, filmmaker Shawn Levy, and performing artists Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. Past organizational honorees include Mattel, Netflix, Comcast, and JPMorgan Chase.
Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates equal opportunities and expands possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision through advocacy, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. In addition to publishing the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), AFB is also the proud steward of the Helen Keller Archive, which is available at helenkellerarchive.afb.org.