Speakers
Scott Thornhill
Executive Director, American Council of the Blind (ACB)
Scott Thornhill is the Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind (ACB), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the independence, security, equality of opportunity, and quality of life for all blind and visually impaired people.
Founded in 1961, ACB’s organizational roots reach back nearly 150 years, and it now leads the efforts of more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates, numerous corporate sponsors, and more than 8,000 individual members nationwide.
Scott was diagnosed at age eight with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) [reh-tin-EYE-tis pig-men-TOE-zah], a hereditary disease that slowly destroys the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eyes. By the time Scott was fifteen, doctors told him that he would be blind by age 40.
Despite this childhood diagnosis and the life changes it demanded, Scott excelled in academics and athletics through high school and even went on to play football at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC, with a limited amount of his vision remaining.
Throughout his professional life, Scott’s optimism and can-do attitude have helped him to find innovative ways to level the playing field for people who are visually impaired and to support them as they tackle the challenges they face in their home, work, community, and recreational pursuits.
Prior to ACB, Scott served as the Director of Public Policy for Alphapointe, a nonprofit organization that helps visually impaired individuals find better employment and navigate the workplace more easily. Scott helped to lead Alphapointe’s government relations, employment partnerships, operational innovation, and fundraising efforts.
While at Alphapointe, Scott successfully shepherded legislation that saved almost 1,000 jobs for people with disabilities. He also secured more than $6 million in funding through lobbying and private placement to support Alphapointe’s programming goals.
During his almost six years at Alphapointe, Scott navigated over 30 airports, took more than 275 flights, rode in countless rideshare vehicles, and stayed in hotels in dozens of cities while advocating for visually impaired employees across the country. With all those miles under his belt, Scott has become a leading consultant on improving access and accommodations for travelers with various needs.
In 2022, Alphapointe honored Scott as their Employee of the Year, and he was named a finalist for the Career Achievement Award from the National Industries for the Blind.
Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, Scott built successful businesses with his wife, Jane, including their Keller Williams real estate brokerage that served central North Carolina for almost 20 years. In 2018, Scott was named a Cultural Icon by Keller Williams Realty International, an annual recognition reserved for only a few of their 150,000 agents worldwide.
Scott has also served many nonprofit organizations, including the National Association for the Employment of People Who Are Blind (NAEPB) and VisionServe Alliance, both of which benefitted from his work on their public policy committees.
Scott’s ability to help others see blindness in a brighter light has made him a sought-after speaker and consultant around the country, especially with elected officials, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and educational and youth groups.
His easy sense of humor, compassion for anyone facing challenges in life, desire to increase equal access and opportunity for people with disabilities, and leadership excellence inspire audiences wherever he speaks.
More than anything, Scott hopes that his work will help eliminate barriers so that everyone can reach their full potential, whatever they want to do, and regardless of whether the “vision challenges” they experience are physical, mental, or emotional.
Scott received his undergraduate degree in sport management from Guilford College and his master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Scott, Jane, and their son, Will, split their time between Greensboro, NC, and Washington, DC.
Lee Nasehi
VisionServe Alliance
Lee Nasehi assumed the role of President and CEO of VisionServe Alliance on March 1, 2019. Previously, Lee served as President and CEO of Lighthouse Central Florida and Lighthouse Works since 2000. Prior to that, Lee had managed Early Intervention Services for Infants and Toddlers with Special Needs in the Florida Panhandle for five years, following a decade in the administration of Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Programming in Central Florida.
Her leadership is that of a visionary, consensus builder, and nationally recognized leader in the field of vision-specific rehabilitation and employment for people with blindness and low vision. As the mother of a now adult son who is blind and has other disabilities, Lee’s leadership has been fueled by personal conviction and a desire to empower individuals who are blind or visually impaired to live with dignity, independence, and fullness of opportunity.
Chief among her achievements to date, is the incorporation of Lighthouse Works, a nonprofit social enterprise subsidiary corporation with a double bottom line: employ people with blindness and low vision in competitive jobs while generating net “redeployable” revenue towards the fulfillment of its parent company’s mission of living, learning and earning with vision loss. Its business lines included 4Sight360, a full service inbound and outboard contact center; Supply Chain Services (sourcing, fulfillment and light assembly); Contract Close-out; and Technology Services focused on accessibility and productivity solutions.
Lee has a BSW and MSW in Administration from Florida State University. She obtained her Certificate in Non-Profit Management from the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business Philanthropy and Non-Profit Leadership Center and their Department of Social Entrepreneurship has recognized her as an Entrepreneur Member of the Rollins chapter of Sigma Nu Tau, the National Entrepreneurship Honor Society. Lee is an EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) Implementer.
She currently lives with her husband, Mehrdad, in Winter Park, Florida, and they are the proud parents of four children and three grandchildren.
Dr. Priscilla Rogers
Special Advisor, Aging and Vision Loss
Priscilla Rogers serves as a special advisor to AFB on aging and vision loss. Prior to this role, Pris was the Program Manager for VisionAware, an online program that helps adults who are losing their sight continue to live full and independent lives by providing timely information, step-by-step daily living techniques, and a supportive online community. She is the former director of the Adjustment Training Program for Older Blind at the Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind. In addition, she has served as director of Channel Markers for the Blind (now the Pinellas Lighthouse for the Blind), and Bureau Chief of Client Services for the Florida Division of Blind Services. She also served as Commissioner of the Department for the Blind in Kentucky.
Pris has authored several articles on vision and aging and was co-author of Aging and Vision Loss: A Handbook for Families. Her other works include Self-Advocacy Skills Training for Older Individuals Who Are Visually Impaired, Solutions for Success: A Training Manual for Working with Older People Who Are Visually Impaired, and the video Solutions for Everyday Living for Older People with Visual Impairments.
She received her BA from Eckerd College in 1971 and completed her MA in gerontology at the University of South Florida in 1975 with an emphasis on vision and ageing. She then received her Ph.D from Florida State University in 1998 in special education with an emphasis in vision and aging.
Mark Richert
International Programs Lead, Overbrook School for the Blind
Mark Richert, Esq., heads the Overbrook School for the Blind’s International Program promoting educational opportunity by leveraging the power of technology meeting the unique needs and capabilities of young people who are blind or who have low vision in Southeast Asia and beyond. Throughout his thirty-year career, Mark has provided public policy counsel and strategic leadership for the American Foundation for the Blind, the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, VisionServe Alliance, the Council of Schools and Services for the Blind, the American Council of the Blind, and National Industries for the Blind. Founder and President of eXcelsis LLC, a public policy and strategic leadership consultancy, he lives in Northern Virginia.
Amy Lynn Smith
Writer + Strategist
Amy Lynn Smith uses strategic communication and storytelling to catalyze action for the greater good. A writer and content specialist focused on issue advocacy, Amy works with nonprofits, foundations and others to create imaginative, persuasive messaging for every medium. She has a Master of Arts in Mass Communication with a concentration in Public Interest Communication from the University of Florida. Amy has contributed to AFB’s work for nearly a decade as a consultant, and is a staunch advocate who uses narrative change to help increase knowledge about and inclusion of people who are blind or have low vision. Learn more at www.alswrite.com.
Tony Stephens
AVP for Communications, AFB
