VisionServe Alliance was well-represented throughout the APH Annual Meeting, held Oct 5-7, in Louisville, KY. Themed “emPOWERed”, the presentations primarily focused on “the power to make change, to break down barriers, to dream of a better world, to advocate for access.”
Above photos include:
Sharon Giovinazzo, VSA Board Member and newly named CEO of San Francisco Lighthouse, with her guide dog, Pilot, is congratulated by Allison Burdett, Wayfinders Associate Vice President, Visual Impairment & Developmental Disabilities Services.
Mark Richert (Co-Chair of AVLNC Policy & Funding Committee), Paul Schroeder (VSA Public Policy Committee), and Olaya Landa-Vialard (AERBVI President), led a lively discussion with session attendees about the Educating Blind and Visually Impaired Students Policy Guidance created in 2000.
Leanne Grillot, APH Senior Director of Outreach Services; Mark Richert, President-Elect of AERBVI and Overbrook International Program Coordinator; Emily Coleman, TSBVI Superintendent; Paul Schroeder, APH Vice President, Impact & Outreach; and Rachel Schles, Vanderbilt Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Visual Disabilities Program discussed the opportunities and challenges involved in using the definition of blind and visually impaired under IDEA.
Dean VanNasdale, OD, PhD, Ohio State University College of Optometry Associate Professor and Co-Principal Investigator of the Big Data Project, presented “emPOWERed by Big Data!” to a capacity audience. Among the attendees were Diane Nelson, VSA Board Member and VIPS Executive Director; Isaac Beaver, Executive Director, Field Services, AIDB; and Libby Murphy, Program Development, VSA.
and Allison Burdett & Libby Murphy