AFB Blog

Mark Richert, AFB's Director of Public Policy Every year on April 23, the world comes together to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors. World Book and Copyright Day was created by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to encourage everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading. The American Foundation for the Blind joins with the World Blind Union in highlighting the importance of books and promoting our shared…

Thank you to everyone who came out to Oakland for the 2018 AFB Leadership Conference. From the knowledgeable presenters, panelists, moderators, and attendees to our wonderful sponsors and exhibitors, your participation is what makes our conference a success year after year. This year was the first time we held the Helen Keller Achievement Awards on the eve of the conference, and it was wonderful to kick things off with a celebration of diversity and inclusion. That theme continued the next…

On Thursday April 4, 2018 AFB presented the Helen Keller Achievement Awards (HKAA) to three very impressive recipients. The awardees were Facebook and Microsoft, for their exemplary roles in creating accessible products or improving the accessibility of their already-popular products; and Haben Girma, for her advocacy and dedication to creating equal opportunities for people with disabilities. This is the first time AFB held this prestigious gala on the eve of the annual AFB Leadership…

The 2018 AFB Leadership Conference kicked off this week in Oakland, CA with a technology panel, moderated by Jennison Asuncion, Engineering Manager, Accessibility, LinkedIn. The panel consisted of Megan Lawrence, Accessibility Technical Evangelist for Microsoft; Mark Lapole, Lead Product Manager, Accessibility at eBay; Sarah Herrlinger, Director, Accessibility Policy and Initiatives at Apple; and Jeffrey Wieland, Director of Accessibility at Facebook. Here are some shared insights on how…

The AFB Center on Vision Loss (CVL) was recently visited by the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) during their quarterly meeting. ASID members and CVL staff got acquainted with one another over a delicious baked potato bar provided by Dallas Sight and Sound. ASID Texas Chapter leaders, Karen Parks and Carrie Barron, kicked off the the day with opening remarks. Former Director of the CVL, Judy Scott, welcomed the group to the Center on Vision Loss. She…

Mark Richert, AFB's Director of Public Policy AFB has joined with a broad coalition of disability rights organizations and auto and motorcycle manufacturers, suppliers, repairers, and more in urging prompt action on the US Senate's version of autonomous vehicle legislation, AV START Act (S. 1885). This groundbreaking bipartisan bill includes many specific provisions drafted by AFB and our partners that make the Senate's approach dramatically superior to the House bill. Among other key…

The Cogswell-Macy Act Hill Day, February 28, 2018, was an activity of Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD), the American Foundation for the Blind, National Association of the Deaf, and other advocacy partners. Our heartfelt thanks go to Barbara Raimondo, Executive Director of CEASD, who helped us coordinate the registration process with participants from schools for the Deaf and other advocacy groups in the Deaf/hard-of-hearing (DHH) community.…

This week, AFB participated in a first-of-its-kind event with students, professionals, and advocates from all three sensory disability communities—blindness and visual impairment, deafness and hard-of-hearing, and deafblindness. The event was the result of excellent partnership with many groups coming together over several months to plan an informative, accessible, interactive event. Accessibility was everywhere! ASL interpreters, tactile ASL interpreters, pro-tactile support, braille, large…

Kirk Adams is president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind. This week we announced a partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind to carry on the award-winning web programs AFB has created, so that the American Foundation for the Blind can focus its full attention on creating a more inclusive and accessible society for millions of Americans with vision loss. Last year, we set out to create a new strategic plan for AFB’s future. We recognized a need to refocus our…