VisionServe Alliance 2026 Annual Award Recipients
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VisionServe Alliance Honors Carol Brady-Simmons with the 2026 Cathy Holden Excellence in Managerial Leadership Award
Educating, Innovating, and Changing Lives
VisionServe Alliance is honored to recognize Carol Brady-Simmons, Chief Program Officer of Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, for her nearly four decades of contributions to the Miami Lighthouse and vision rehabilitation for individuals living with blindness and low vision.
The Cathy Holden Award honors a senior team member of a VisionServe Alliance member organization who has made an impact on, contribution to, or led staff in the pursuit of organizational excellence.
Joining Miami Lighthouse in 1989, Carol Brady-Simmons helped launch the Early Intervention Blind Babies Program, named the Children’s Trust 2016 Program of the Year. She served on the Florida Department of Education, Division of Blind Services Community Rehabilitation Personnel Credential Review Committee, shares her expertise by conducting sessions at continuing education seminars for Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, and nurses, and has assisted public and private institutions in creating accessible and safe environments.
“Carol’s vitality, focus, and professional leadership have impacted the development of best practices and program expansion at the local and regional level,” said Lee Nasehi, President and CEO of VisionServe Alliance. “Whether serving as the Chair of Orientation and Mobility, Interim Director of Adult Services, Director of Services and the Low Vision Program, or in her current role as Chief Program Officer, she has consistently raised the bar and helped redefine organizational excellence.”
We extend our deepest gratitude to Carol Brady-Simmons for her exemplary leadership and life-changing efforts on behalf of our field and the people we are proud to serve.
The Cathy Holden Excellence in Managerial Leadership Awards will be commemorated during the Annual Awards Luncheon, hosted on May 29, 2026, at the Envision and VisionServe Alliance 2026 Conference in Columbus, OH.
About VisionServe Alliance
VisionServe leads an alliance of more than 130 organizations that vastly improve the lives of people with blindness and low vision. VisionServe Alliance collaborates with leaders to enhance the health of the vision service field, addressing strategic issues, cultivating leadership, enhancing management systems, sharing best practices, increasing capacity-building and sustainability, informing public policy, and maximizing awareness of life-changing vision rehabilitation training. For more information, visit VisionServeAlliance.org.
About VisionServe Alliance Annual Awards and Annual Conference: VisionServe Alliance bestows its Annual Awards on leaders and innovators in the BVI field. Leaders receive Annual Awards in several categories at our annual conference.
VisionServe Alliance press inquiries may be directed to SDraddy@VisionServeAlliance.org