This day is especially close to my heart as we approach the official kickoff events for AFB’s new Blind Leaders Development Program, and we’re honored to feature Derek Shields on the AFB blog to ask him about his own experiences with mentoring.
“I was five years old when I lost my vision,” begins Kirk Adams’ essay published in the November 1 edition of the Seattle Times. The op-ed is an autobiographical account of Kirk’s own employment journey, interspersed with the employment-driven initiatives being undertaken by the American Foundation for the Blind.
Over a two-day period falling roughly halfway through National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the American Foundation for the Blind held its second employment summit at AT&T’s Dallas headquarters.
Fifty-five influencers from various blindness organizations and companies interested in disability inclusion in the workplace participated in the invitation-only summit. Nine major companies were represented, including:
AFB Director of Knowledge Advancement Programs Megan Aragon was recently a guest on the Reid My Mind podcast. She discusses her own journey with blindness, the advent of the Blind Leaders Development Program, and other assorted topics. The episode is titled “The Making of Blind Leaders.”
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). Throughout this month, corporations and other organizations renew and refocus their commitments to addressing the barriers that face Americans with disabilities in the workforce.
On September 24, and in light of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, George Abbott, AFB’s Chief Knowledge Advancement Officer, hosted a webinar sponsored by Getting Hired, a recruitment solution dedicated to helping inclusive employers hire professional individuals and veterans with disabilities. The webinar was titled “Hiring & Retaining Talent with Visual Impairments.”
During a recent broadcast of a nationally syndicated radio show, the hosts and listeners of the program took aim at a babysitter who called in and said she was unable to obtain work due to her blindness.
As we celebrate the 29th Anniversary of the ADA, AFB is pleased that Representatives Jim Langevin and Donald McEachin and Senator Tammy Duckworth have led the reintroduction of the Disabled Access Credit Expansion Act.
We are only halfway through the summer, but it has already been a busy one for AFB’s Public Policy team. In addition to bringing on board our new Director of Public Policy, Stacy Cervenka, we have been hard at work lending our expertise to the federal government on issues affecting people who are blind or visually impaired. Keep reading for an insight into the recent positions we have taken and comments submitted!