Employment

Over the years, we have published a great deal of material related to employment in our AccessWorld magazine. Though much of the content we have published is time specific, there are still many articles with information and advice still of use today. Historically, we published a column in AccessWorld titled Employment Matters, now our Employment Journeys series, which detailed the life and work of people who are blind and or low vision and successfully employed.

One of our goals at AFB is to promote wide spread high-level change in society for people who are blind or have low vision. One way we do so, in the Digital Inclusion space in particular, is by encouraging the employment of people who are passionate and knowledgeable about accessibility in the technology industry.

The Blind Leaders Development Program was created in 2019 and produced its first graduating class in 2021. Since then, the program has seen a steady rise in both applicants as well as fellows and mentors. The third cohort begins this summer, and the positive results of the program are already being realized.

[Editor’s Note: The following post comes from Chris Fendrick, a fellow in the Centennial Cohort of the Blind Leaders Development Program, and the second of a two-parter. His first entry describes the program; Part 2 recaps the AFB Leadership Conference.]

[Editor’s Note: The following post comes from Chris Fendrick, a fellow in the Centennial Cohort of the Blind Leaders Development Program, and is Part 1 of a two-parter.]

[Editor’s Note: The following post comes from Laurie Alice Eakes, a mentor in the Centennial Cohort of the Blind Leaders Development Program.]

This year and every year, the American Foundation for the Blind wants to take a moment to give tremendous thanks to the veterans who so selflessly have defended and protected our country with honor and pride. Thank you for your service.

Marc Safman is a fellow in the Blind Leaders Development Program Centennial Cohort. Marc is deafblind and has experience as a paralegal specializing in anti-money laundering compliance and litigation.

One of the first questions people ask one another is, “What do you do for a living?” That question has such deep implications for most of us. Our jobs can be closely tied to who we are and what we value. What we do for work tells the world a lot about us: It can indicate our level of education or give an idea about someone’s personality. We often associate our self-worth with our careers.