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For those of you who weren’t able to join us, imagine getting first-hand information from communications giants such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, and IBM, about innovations in the pipeline for consumers with vision loss.
That’s just one small part of what participants experienced at this year’s national gathering of leaders in the field of blindness. From the latest smartphone apps to sessions on employment, the Leadership Conference offered a wide array of fascinating programs and workshops for educators, rehabilitation specialists, and other professionals who work with people with blindness or low vision. Showcasing our headquarters city—New York—for the first time, we had a record number of attendees, sessions, sponsors, and partners.
The action kicked off on Thursday, February 27, with special all-day summits on accessible technology, transitioning to college and careers, and the latest advocacy initiatives for making classrooms, consumer products and services, workplaces, and public spaces more accessible.
On Friday, keynote speaker Kannan Pashupathy, director of International Engineering, at Google sat down with Paul Schroeder, vice president of AFB Programs and Policy, to explore the tech company’s latest research and development. Another session featured a discussion between Carl Augusto, CEO and president of AFB, Mike May, president of Sendero Group, and Martin Monson, superintendent of the Tennessee School for the Blind on the traits of successful blind leaders.
A highlight of the conference was the presentation of awards that celebrate outstanding achievement. J. W. "Bill" Marriott, Jr., executive chairman of Marriott International, discussed leadership and values with Carl Augusto and presented the first ever Stephen Garff Marriott Award to Richard Chen in honor of his late son. AFB Access Awards were given to Fleksy, Image Searcher, Inc., Independence Science, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. AFB’s esteemed Corinne Kirchner Research Award was given to Jane N. Erin, Ph.D., from the University of Arizona. Dr. Erin is also an editor emerita of AFB's Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness.
The prestigious Migel Medal, the highest honor in the vision loss field, was presented to James Kesteloot, the former Director of the Chicago Lighthouse and to Oral Miller, founding member of the American Blind Lawyers Association and the former president of the American Council of the Blind. This year, the Migel Medal was also bestowed, posthumously, to AFB’s most beloved ambassador, Helen Keller. Keller's great grandniece, Keller Johnson-Thompson, accepted the award.
Conference goers have told us that this year’s conference was the best yet, with one attendee noting, "I wanted to send kudos to you and all the staff at AFB for putting on such a stellar event" and another saying, "I’ve gone to so many trainings that I sometimes find that I’ve heard everything before. However, this was certainly not the case at this excellent event."
If you missed us in New York, please mark your calendars for the 2015 Leadership Conference at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown, from April 9-11, which is being held in conjunction with Arizona AER. If you’re interested in sponsorships for the 2015 conference, please contact Amanda Kolling at akolling@afb.net.
