AFB Staff

From April 18-20, AFB hosted its annual flagship conference (formerly titled the Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute), together with Illinois AER, in Chicago. With over two dozen exhibitors and more than 400 attendees, we made many new friends and reconnected with old ones. In spite of some initial bad weather, attendance was strong. A day of pre-conference sessions gave way to Friday morning’s keynote address from Chieko Asakawa, Ph.D., of IBM Research-Tokyo. Blind since the age of 14…

Celebrating Helen During Women's History Month [Editor's note: In light of Women's History Month, this post concludes our series of interviews with Helen Keller experts on the AFB Blog. The following Q&A comes courtesy of Helen Selsdon, Archivist at the American Foundation for the Blind, including the Helen Keller Archives.] How has your close contact with so much of Helen's writings and, well, life, affected you? Silly as it might be, whenever I’m in an upsetting or tricky situation I…

We invite you to tour the newly redesigned AFB Bookstore and save 20% on all publications during AFB's Virtual Open House this Wednesday through Friday, March 27-29, using code AFBSTORE13. Other activities include giveaways and contests to win AFB Press books and DVDs. AFB will announce details each day of the Open House on the AFB Bookstore page at www.afb.org/store and through the AFB Press Facebook page at www.facebook.com/connectwithpress beginning Wednesday morning. The redesigned…

Celebrating Helen During Women's History Month [Editor's note: In light of Women's History Month, we'll be running a series of interviews with Helen Keller experts on the AFB Blog. The following Q&A comes courtesy of Doreen Rappaport, author of the award-winning biography Helen's Big World.] Many books have been written about Helen Keller, including many children’s books. What motivated you to write one as well? What sets yours apart? I visit many schools each year talking to children…

Celebrating Helen During Women's History Month [Editor's note: In light of Women's History Month, we will be running a series of interviews with Helen Keller experts on the AFB Blog. First up: Keller Johnson-Thompson, Helen's great-grandniece.] Helen Keller was an ambassador for those with vision loss. Working for the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education, you are an ambassador for Helen. What difficulties do you come across, if any, in promoting the life of a woman who is so…

In this new series, guest blogger and Center on Vision Loss volunteer Holly will chronicle her experience in attaining a new dog guide. Monday Madness Today was our most action-packed day, so far. All was going well while I was getting ready, and I figured things would continue that way. I had already fed Tyra and took her out. It was raining, but that’s nothing new. On my first day here, we had the obligatory fire drill practice, and I thought that was the end of it. I was putting on my…

In this new series, guest blogger and Center on Vision Loss volunteer Holly will chronicle her experience in attaining a new dog guide. Stepping Out Saturday Saturday was full of adventures. After another great breakfast, and a dog distraction on the way to the van, we headed into Portland. I'm happy to report that, for the first time, I was not cold! I didn’t even have to wear a jacket, and for this Texan, that was a welcome change. Normally, because our lounge is downtown, parking is at a…

In this new series, guest blogger and Center on Vision Loss volunteer Holly chronicles her experience attaining a new dog guide. Fast Moving Friday! Happy Friday! Today was fast and furious. It started with the fact that it was raining like crazy when I woke up. It made me nervous because the sound of the rain can block sounds in the environment and make it harder to read traffic. We had another dog distraction along the sidewalk en route to our vans. Tyra had to do a timeout, but afterward…

In this new series, guest blogger and Center on Vision Loss volunteer Holly chronicles her experience attaining a new dog guide. Working the Wild Wednesday Coming to you live from the Portland lounge, with lots to report. First off, we have worked two very successful routes, and for those of you who know my lack of interest in coffee, you will find it funny that our destination route was to a local Starbucks. I have been inside it once to find the counter. Each of us will be working with…