Podcasts about blind afb

Welcome back to another episode of AccessWorld, a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. As we prepare to celebrate Global Accessibility awareness day, we thought it would be great to look into the future of accessibility, welcoming our special guest to the podcast Gemini, Google's AI platform, whcih gives us a glimpse into the power AI has toward making the world around us more accessible.  Aaron and Tony take time to talk with Gemini on its latest update to provide image and real world description in real time (Editor's Note: the version used in this episode is still in beta, so some of the lag times were edited out for brevity). The conversation serves as a launch pad to discuss how AI is already tackling tasks that three years ago seemed like light years ago in a galaxy far, far, away. Aaron then offers a breakdown on apps like Suno, which creates AI generated music. You can check out more about its own accessibility for content enthusiasts in the Spring issue of AccessWorld. The conversation moves into ways that AI may continue to be rolled out in other ways, such as when will Aaron and Tony's guide dogs be able to take a well-deserved vacation in the Bahamas as the development of AI robots continue to flourish. Guide dog users don't fret, we're still quite a ways away from guide-bots. In the meantime, enjoy this special episode that dreams about the future ahead of us. The AccessWorld podcast is an extension of AccessWorld Magazine, a quarterly publication from the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Published each quarter, AccessWorld Magazine offers news and reviews encompassing digital inclusion and accessibility. AccessWorld celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and we're excited to share all of our back issues online free for readers. Visit www.afb.org/aw for the latest issues and to access our archives online. Aaron Preece serves as editor-in-chief of AccessWorld, and Tony leads communications for AFB. Together, they enjoy meeting up each month to discuss the latest happenings around accessibility. Visit the AFB website to learn more about our exciting work like our groundbreaking research on the impact of AI for people with disabilities. And consider making a tax-deductible donation to help support this podcast and all of our work at AFB. Your support helps us create a world of endless possibilities for people who are blind or have low vision. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Spring has sprung, and so has a new season for the AFB Possibilities Podcast. As we kick-off this season, we'll be focusing in on AFB's Award winning documentary film Possibilities, which presents an authentic portrayal of life today for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision. The film was awarded this past weekend the Broader Vision Documentary Award at the Garden State Film Festival, and we're excited to share with you one of the featured voices in the film, New Jersey's own Krystal Allen. Recorded in 2024, AFB's own Melody Goodspeed joined Krystal for a conversation on the challenges people face when striving for independence, and the joys of shared experiences that blind people share across the world. Haling from Newark, New Jersey, Krystal is a leading community voice for people with vision loss and founded the nonprofit EyesLikeMine, which is rooted in the firm belief that “Vision loss doesn't break us, it builds…” She shares her own story and the work underway in North Jersey to breakdown misconceptions of blindness. A past fellow with AFB's Blind Leaders Development Program, she stresses the importance of mentoring and finding those pathways that open doors to independence. Formally the Inform & Connect podcast, the AFB Possibilities Podcast captures the real life experiences of people who are blind or have low vision and those working to make our world more inclusive and accessible. A production of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), listeners can learn more about the work of AFB by visiting www.afb.org.  Be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast and consider supporting our work by making a tax-deductible gift to AFB. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

In this month's episode of the AccessWorld podcast, Aaron and Tony talk with Dr. Joshua Miele, who shares his life's journey and work making the world more accessible for people with disabilities. A MacArthur Fellow and design scholar, Dr. Miele has played a key role in designing some of the leading  breakthroughs in digital inclusion over the past three decades.  Last month, Dr. Miele published his memoir, Connecting Dots: A Blind Life. And in this episode, we learn how Dr. Miele's passion for science and exploration took him from the tree lined streets of his boyhood home in Brooklyn, to the leading technology labs of Berkley, California. It's a story that goes well beyond the world of accessible design, unleashing that problem solver that sits restlessly inside all of us. To learn more about Dr. Miele's book and his current work on digital accessibility, visit his site at: www.MieleLab.com. AccessWorld is a production of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Published each month, it is a companion to AccessWorld magazine, now celebrating its 25th anniversary. Aaron Preece serves as the publication's editor-in-chief, and Tony Stephens leads communications for AFB. Together, they take time each month to speak with leading voices for digital inclusion and accessibility. Be sure to like and subscribe to AccessWorld, and visit www.afb.org/AW to  read the latest online issue of the magazine and browse through over 25 years of back issues, all completely free-of-charge. To learn more about AFB, visit us online at www.afb.org and consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our work as we create a world of endless possibilities for people who are blind or have low vision. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

New for 2025! On The ADNA Presents podcast, host Roy Samuelson dives deep into the heart of disability inclusion in the workplace with two powerhouse guests: Melody Goodspeed and Mindy May. Melody, Associate Director of Development at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), shares how authentic storytelling and connection can inspire donors and corporations to invest in accessibility, not as charity, but as a strategic advantage. She sheds light on the damaging impact of outdated perceptions of blindness and challenges companies to reframe inclusion as a pathway to excellence and innovation. Mindy, a certified career coach and HR strategist, reveals how bias still blocks opportunities for disabled professionals, and what leaders can do about it. From inclusive hiring practices to mentorship and accessible tech, she outlines actionable steps companies can take to create workplaces where everyone can flourish.   Together, they explore how accessibility benefits us all, with real-world examples like curb cuts and closed captions - and how small, intentional shifts can transform company culture, boost retention, and spark meaningful engagement. They also discuss the surprising value of integrating audio description into workplace settings as a tool for deeper inclusion.   Their message? Start small, lead with empathy, and let connection drive change.

#realconversations #helenkeller#americanfoundationfortheblind #blind #accessibilityCONVERSATIONS WITH CALVIN WE THE SPECIESMeet BILL SARINE & TONY STEPHENS:  ‘Possibilities'  a documentary film celebrating the legacy ofHelen Keller as told through the shared stories of 21st-century voices. “A short exhortation based on my interview with Bill Sarine&Tony Stephens. The world citizenry beginning at nine years old, in everyclassroom, living room, office, on tablets, phones, streaming…. everywhere,should really see ‘Possibilities.' A documentary film hugely celebrating thelife of Helen Keller. I knew stuff from the old movie, ‘Miracle Worker.' But Iknew so little about Helen Keller, one of the most remarkable Earth citizens.I'm still spinning from revelations and realizations. What a marvelous film.What a marvelous life. Thanks Bill, Tony and your team” Calvinhttps://www.youtube.com/c/ConversationswithCalvinWetheSpecIEs431 Interviews/Videos  8100 SUBSCRIBERSGLOBAL Reach. Earth Life. Amazing People.  PLEASE SUBSCRIBE ** BILL SARINE &TONY STEPHENS: ‘Possibilities' a film. Presented by the American Foundation ForBlind; for Garden State Film Festival March 27, 2025**YouTube:  https://youtu.be/JAKFLpdPN7oOfficial link -https://afb.org/news-publications/media/possibilitiesTrailer for the film - https://youtu.be/LAtNeaxzHew?si=L-OIevkuRQvqDgEI**Overview / description of the film‘Possibilities' is a documentary film celebrating the legacyof Helen Keller as told through the shared stories of 21st-century voices.Possibilities is a co-production of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)and Beachglass Films. The film's director, Bill Sarine, brought together acollaborative team, comprised of both blind and sighted individuals. Thefull-length documentary proudly stands as the first widely released film tooffer open audio description, ensuring accessibility for all audiences.**Contact person:Tony Stephens (He/Him)Assistant Vice President, CommunicationsAmerican Foundation for the Blind (AFB)212-502-7627 | Direct212-502-7600 | Maintstephens@afb.orgwww.afb.org**WE ARE ALSO ON AUDIOAUDIO “Conversations with Calvin; WE       the SpecIEs”ANCHOR https://lnkd.in/g4jcUPqSPOTIFY https://lnkd.in/ghuMFeCAPPLE PODCASTSBREAKER https://lnkd.in/g62StzJGOOGLE PODCASTS https://lnkd.in/gpd3XfMPOCKET CASTS https://pca.st/bmjmzaitRADIO PUBLIC https://lnkd.in/gxueFZw

Welcome to the AFB Possibilities Podcast. In this first episode of the newly rebranded podcast from the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), we wanted to share with you a special interview during this season of giving with AFB trustee Ted Francavilla and financial advisor Liz Updike. The AFB Possibilities Podcast is a production of the American Foundation for the blind. Previously the Inform and Connect Podcast, we take a deep dive into life, culture, and happenings for those experiencing blindness and low-vision. Melody Goodspeed is the host. And with her faithful guide dog Barney by her side, they travel the country, both literally and virtually, capturing the stories and experiences from the blind and low-vision community. Ted Francavilla has been an active member of the AFB Board of Trustees, shepherding AFB's finances over the years. A retired senior executive with JPMorgan Chase, he's been a passionate advocate for people who are blind or have low vision over the decades, and he recognizes the importance that donors play toward making nonprofit missions move forward. Elizabeth Updike has over 40 years in the business of financial planning and wealth management. Together, she and Ted share best practices and advice for those of retirement age on how they can give smartly and make their money last longer. Like this program? Please like and subscribe, and even consider making a donation to support our work expanding opportunity and creating a world of endless possibilities for people who are blind or have low vision. Visit www.afb.org to learn more. Check out the AFB Possibilities podcast page for past episodes and transcripts. Produced and edited by Tony Stephens at the Pickle Factory in Baltimore, Maryland. Digital media support from Kelly Gasque and Breanna Kerr. Questions or comments? Email us at communications@afb.org. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

The rise of artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm over the past two years, and it has the potential to have an enormous impact for people who are blind or have low vision. In this episode of AccessWorld, after a quick detour on the Blind barbie project, our hosts Tony and Aaron offer a rundown on what's in the latest online issue of AccessWorld Magazine, which takes its own deep dive into several related A.I. areas, and they then dive even deeper into the AFB Leadership Conference, held Sept. 23rd - 25th in Minneapolis. This year's #AFBLC focuses on Leading in the Digital Age, and one of the tracks will unpack the rise of A.I. and measure its impact across our community. There's still time to register and be part of the big event. AccessWorld is a production of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Tony Stephens leads communications for AFB, and Aaron Preece is the editor-in-chief of AccessWorld Magazine, an online publication that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year promoting digital inclusion and accessibility. Aaron Preece is editor-in-chief of AccessWorld, and Tony Stephens leads communications for AFB. ABOUT AFB Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates equal opportunities and expands possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision through advocacy, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. In addition to publishing AccessWorld and the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), AFB is also the proud steward of the Helen Keller Archive, which is available on the AFB website at www.afb.org. Consider making a contribution today and help sustain our mission to create endless possibilities for people who are blind or have low vision. And be sure to like and subscribe to our podcast. You can access past episodes and transcripts on the podcast page of our website.

Welcome back to another episode of AccessWorld., a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. In this episode, Aaron and Tony talk with AccessWorld contributor Janet Ingber on the latest updates with Apple. From  the recent announcement around Apple AI, to what is in the pipeline for Apple IOS 18, Janet helps break it all down. We also give a nod to AppleVis, the longtime Apple accessibility online resource blog that will be winding down. Then, Aaron offers an overview of Apple VoiceOver. The segment begins at 22:45, and it provides a useful tutorial for those who may be new to screen readers and want to get up and running on it. About AccessWorld AccessWorld is a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. A production of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the podcast supports AccessWorld magazine, a quarterly online publication that has chronicled happenings in the access technology space for over 24 years. To check out the most recent version, and to access all of the magazine's back-issues, visit: www.afb.org/AW.  About  AFB Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates equal opportunities and expands possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision through advocacy, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. In addition to publishing the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), AFB is also the proud steward of the Helen Keller Archive, which is available on the AFB website at www.afb.org.

Welcome back to another episode of AccessWorld, a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. Marking our 10th episode, we thought it would be great to bring on our own President & CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the one and only Eric Bridges. Eric has long been engaged in fostering partnerships and adovcacy at the intersection of accessibility and technology. In this episode, he reflects on some of his past experiences, sharing how our rapidly changing and technologically dependent world has brought us both great opportunity and challenges. And along with co-hosts Tony and Aaron, they look into the future at what opportunities may exist just beyond the horizon.  About the Hosts: Aaron Preece is editor-in-chief of AccessWorld Magazine. AccessWorld is a quarterly online publication produced by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Readers can access the latest issue along with over 20 years of back-issues for free at ⁠www.afb.org/AW⁠. Tony Stephens leads communications for AFB. When he's not geeking out on all things encompassing access tech, he's trying out new ways to use technology to master blind sailing on Chesapeake Bay. To check out Aaron's article breaking down NVDA even further in the most recent issue, ⁠click here⁠. About AFB: Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates equal opportunities and expands possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision through advocacy, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. In addition to producing AccessWorld, AFB publishes the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), AFB is also the proud steward of the Helen Keller Archive, which is available on the AFB website at ⁠www.afb.org⁠.

Welcome back to another episode of AccessWorld, a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. Apologies as we ran into technical issues with this month's episode but better late than never. This month's episode is an excellent resource for developers and those interested in learning more about the free text-to-speech engine NVDA. This application is a powerful tool to learn how text-to-speech works and to test out your own site. It's also a great solution for those looking to gain access on-the-go with a nimble application that can offer assistance through this access-tech application that has a wealth of add-ons to customize the users experience. Our co-host Aaron takes us on a deep dive of NVDA, providing a demo of how it responds to web content and breaks down some helpful extensions that make this free application a robust tool for blind and low-vision users. About the Hosts: Aaron Preece is editor-in-chief of AccessWorld Magazine. AccessWorld is a quarterly online publication produced by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Readers can access the latest issue along with over 20 years of back-issues for free at www.afb.org/AW. Tony Stephens leads communications for AFB. When he's not geeking out on all things encompassing access tech, he's trying out new ways to use technology to master blind sailing on Chesapeake Bay. To check out Aaron's article breaking down NVDA even further in the most recent issue, click here. About AFB: Founded in 1921, the American Foundation for the Blind creates equal opportunities and expands possibilities for people who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision through advocacy, thought leadership, and strategic partnerships. In addition to producing AccessWorld, AFB publishes the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), AFB is also the proud steward of the Helen Keller Archive, which is available on the AFB website at www.afb.org.

On this special edition of the AccessWorld podcast, we welcome AFB's Chief Public Policy & Research Officer Stephanie Enyart and Senior Advisor for Public Policy & Research Sarah Malaier. Together, our hosts Tony and Aaron discuss with our guests the U.S. Department of Justice's recently published final rule on website and mobile app accessibility for state and local governments. This rule is the culmination of decades of advocacy and rulemaking and marks a significant step in ensuring that the digital world is fully accessible to people who are blind, have low vision, or are deafblind. Learn more about the final rule on the AFB Blog: https://afb.org/blog/entry/final-rule-website-accessibility. AccessWorld is a podcast and online magazine on digital inclusion and accessibility produced by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). The podcast drops at the start of each month, and the online magazine is published quarterly. To learn more about AccessWorld, visit www.afb.org/AW. Aaron Preece is the editor-in-chief of AccessWorld, and Tony Stephens is the Assistant Vice President for Communications at AFB. Be sure to like and subscribe to the podcast, and you can also support our work by making a tax deductible  donation at www.afb.orgdonate. For past episodes and transcripts, visit the AFB AccessWorld Podcast page.

On this episode we had the incredible opportunity to speak with Eric Bridges, President and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). With over two decades of experience championing causes that impact people who are blind or have low vision, Eric provided us with fascinating insights into the groundbreaking work being done at AFB.

Welcome to another episode of the Inform & Connect Podcast, a production of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). In this episode, AFB's Melody Goodspeed and Tony Stephens catch up with Spectrum's Petr Kucheryavyy, who provides a breakdown of what's new with SpectrumAccess and exciting news on the horizon for consumers of audio described content.  As the weather moves us more indoors, what better way to meet the changing seasons than curled up on the couch streaming the latest and greatest flics, or heading out to enjoy the rush of films that move into theaters during the final months of 2023. There's lots on the horizon around making media more accessible, and Petr shares what's in store for not just Spectrum subscribers, but anyone who enjoys accessing inclusive media through the SpectrumAccess app. So, before you press pause to cue up your own favorite streaming playlist, be sure to like and subscribe to the Inform & Connect podcast. Inform & Connect is made possible through the generous supporters of the American Foundation for the Blind. Since 1921, AFB has worked to create a world of no limits for people who are blind or have low vision. Consider making a gift today to AFB! Your contribution not only helps support this podcast, but all the exciting work our team does to bring the best in evidence-based research, advocacy, and programs intended to make our mission a reality. Go to www.afb.org to learn more about AFB. Transcripts of this podcast are also available on our podcast page for each episode. 

Welcome back to another episode of AccessWorld, a podcast on digital inclusion and accessibility. In this, our second episode, we take a deep dive into the latest update for Apple IOS 17. We're excited to have AccessWorld frequent contributors Janet Ingber and Judy Dixon, who break down the mainstream updates and new accessibility features for IOS-17 users. Check out their posts on the AFB blog for more information. We also wrap up National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), with a reminder that inclusion in the workplace continues to be something worth having on our radar year round. AccessWorld has a wealth of articles in back issues that spotlight employment in the tech field as well as in other careers. So, don't forget that you can access for free every issue of AccessWorld going back to the year 2000. We close out the episode with a sneak peak of what's in the upcoming issue of AccessWorld, which will drop later this month. About The Podcast: AccessWorld is a podcast produced by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Since 1921, AFB has been expanding possibilities for people who are blind or have low vision. The podcast is an extension of the online publication AccessWorld, a quarterly e-zine that focuses on digital inclusion and accessibility.  Aaron Preece is the Editor-in-Chief for AccessWorld. His co-host Tony Stephens is the Director of Communications for AFB. Together, they enjoy taking deep dives into topics encompassing digital inclusion and equal access for people with disabilities. For questions, comments, or show suggestions, feel free to send us a note. And be sure to like and subscribe to the podcast to get new episodes on the 1st of each month. You can also subscribe to AccessWorld on the AFB subscriptions page to get the latest issue of the publication when it drops each quarter. Transcripts of each episode are released at the time or shortly after the posting of each podcast on the AFB podcast page.

https://www.andrewleland.orgIn this episode of the Inform & Connect podcast, Melody and Tony welcome Andrew Leland, author of the recently released book The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, available through Penguin/Random House. Leland's book, which is part memoir and part cultural breakdown of blindness throughout history, shares his experiences loosing his sight from Retinitis  Pigmentosa, commonly referred to as RP. From the publisher: “A witty, winning, and revelatory personal narrative of the author's transition from sightedness to blindness and his quest to learn about blindness as a rich culture all its own.”  Andrew breaks down the driving themes throughout his book, and embarks on a discussion with Melody and Tony on the many shared experiences that others who are blind or low vision face each day. Visit Andrew's website to learn more about the book and his other creative and informative projects. Enjoy this episode? Be sure to like and subscribe from wherever you listen to podcasts. Inform and Connect is a production of The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Consider making a contribution today to help AFB create a world of no limits for people who are blind or have low vision.

Have you ever heard of Ren'ee Rentmeester? Well, possibly especially if you lived in Florida in the early 2000s or if you searched around YouTube. Ren'ee is the producer and creator of a program called “Cooking Without Looking”. Ren'ee always wanted to have a career in journalism and began by getting her college degree in the subject.   She worked for television stations in Florida until she decided to start her own advertising agency. While interested in journalism Renee also has a strong entrepreneurial streak which was enhanced as she worked on a number of nonprofit boards.   In 2001 she decided to create this unique show called “Cooking Without Looking”. Ren'ee is not blind but felt having a program that would feature blind cooks and chefs was worth exploring. The program aired on a public tv station for a time in Miami. Now you can find it on YouTube and there is also a Cooking Without Looking podcast. Renee is seeking ways to bring the program back to a major streaming service. Don't be surprised if this happens as Renee is clearly unstoppable.     About the Guest:   For the past 22 years, I have advocated for people who are Blind/Visually impaired through the TV show called, “Cooking Without Looking,” the ONLY TV show which features people who are Blind/Visually Impaired. We aired on PBS in South Florida.   Blind people prepare their favorite recipes and speak frankly (including humor) about their lives as People living with Blindness. It's not sad. The feeling is like, “This is my life, and oh, by the way, I'm blind.”   Mr. Fred Schroeder, President of the World Blind Union, says this about our show: “Your work fits well with our belief that blind people need encouragement to live normal lives and the sighted public needs the opportunity to learn that blindness does not render people helpless nor grant them with superhuman gifts. Your show shows blind people doing normal things, and that is a powerful message for the sighted public and for blind people themselves.”   Over the years, I have spoken to thousands of Blind people in various organizations such as the National Federation of the Blind (NFB); the American Council of the Blind(ACB); and the American Federation of the Blind(AFB).   Before that time, I worked at CBS as a Press and Public Relations Manager/Spokesperson; Associate News Producer; and Assignment Editor. I've been nominated for two Emmys...one for a series of Black History Month PSAs about the Miami people who fought in the Civil Rights movement. The other was for the writing of a special on youth gangs, “Youth Violence: Walking The Line.” I've written/published two books of poetry available on Amazon…”Visions From a Dream Called, ‘Life': The Poetry of Meadowville”; and “Visions II: The Poetry of Life.”     Ways to connect with Ren'ee:   www.cookingwithoutlookingtv.wordpress.com   Twitter:   @cookwithoutlook   Facebook:   The Cooking Without Looking TV Show   YouTube channel:   Cooking Without Looking TV Show   Cooking Without Looking Podcast:   Anywhere you get your podcast, and is available on Alexa-enabled devices     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, Hi, and welcome to another exciting episode of unstoppable mindset. They're all exciting, actually. So I don't know why I said that. But they are and it's fun to talk about whatever comes along. today. Our guest is Ren'ee Rentmeester Ren'ee has an actually a very interesting story to tell, in terms of what she's doing now, what she has done, and so on. And I think it is a fascinating thing that hopefully will fascinate all of you as well. So we are really glad that you're here to listen to it. And Ren'ee, welcome to unstoppable mindset. Good morning or afternoon to you.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 01:58 Well, thank you so much, Michael. And thank you for the honor, I'm truly humbled by you honoring me with the interview. So thank you so much.   Michael Hingson ** 02:08 Well, my pleasure. And you know, as usual, this is really more of a conversation than just a plain old interview. So feel free to treat it that way. It's it's both of us talking to each other. Well, let's start with a little bit about the early Ren'ee you know, before you did what you've been doing lately and so on, so tell us about you growing up and all that and how you got where you are is it were?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 02:31 Well, usually my airplanes perfect.   Michael Hingson ** 02:35 Come fly with me.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 02:38 I was a born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin was a daughter My father is Anthony rent Meester. My mom, Margaret and dad was a worker in a factory, paper factory Procter and Gamble. And so you know, I'm just just was born and raised there. And I always wanted to go into TV. And my family were, you know, farmers and factory workers. So that seemed like, sort of a crazy idea to them. Like, what are you talking about get real and such. But I did it anyway. And I worked myself through college, working about six jobs. The favorite I could tell about is working in a pickle factory working six days a week, 12 hours a day putting pickles in jars or one at a time. I don't know if you remember the I Love Lucy episode where they were working in a factory. It was pretty much like   Michael Hingson ** 03:42 Yeah, well, one at a time. So why one at a time.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 03:48 Because they were spears, the pickle spears and and you had to put them in there because you had to get them standing nicely. next to one another. And in the middle, there would be a half a pickle half a half a cucumber that would go in and then at the end of the whole thing. The machine would cut that middle pickle into more spheres. So it was it was quite a learning experience. And I knew that I wanted to continue with college so I wasn't working in a pickle factory the rest of my life.   Michael Hingson ** 04:26 You didn't want to be in that much of a pickle. Oh, I had to say   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 04:30 it was a doozy of an opportunity.   Michael Hingson ** 04:32 I get it. Yeah, well we've been so it's pretty unique that that that kind of a job. How did all the pickle juice get into the jars? Did they also put pickle juice in or did the pickles just leak   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 04:50 in cotton pickles was a in the machine. I'm trying to visualize it now because honestly I don't remember but I know There was a part of the machine that just poured the pickle juice into it. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 05:04 And then when you filled a jar, what did you do with the jar?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 05:09 Well, it was on a moving line. So you know I'm a conveyor belt would just take it and then someone was at the end of the line, and those people will have to put them in put the jars that are already covered into a box.   Michael Hingson ** 05:28 So did you put pickles in while the jars were moving? Or? Oh, yeah. So you had to work at a at a decent speed and they didn't let you slow down.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 05:40 And they didn't let me talk, which earned me rubber gloves over the head several times from little Katie, the four person   Michael Hingson ** 05:51 which is for talking.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 05:52 That's right for talking, you know, so um, yeah, it was a problem. My head I talked too much.   Michael Hingson ** 05:59 Well, so that was one of your unique jobs in college. What were you majoring in?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 06:05 Journalism? I have a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire.   Michael Hingson ** 06:12 So you did pickles among other things? Yes. You go ahead. Oh, no, no,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 06:20 and and worked in a disco bar? I thought I just throw that out there. So pretty much you can you can tell I was also a bouncer at that disco bar.   Michael Hingson ** 06:31 Wow. And did you throw pickles at people? Or why you? No, no, I hear you that that you had a variety of different kinds of jobs. You just were pretty flexible in that regard? Huh? Yes. Well, you know   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 06:45 what, I had the goal, I had the goal of working myself through college. And that was the only way I was gonna get through. And actually the I was bartending at the bar. But then they found that I could be useful as a as a bouncer as well, because guys didn't want to look nasty when I walked up to them on was really nice and said, Okay, you have to go now, you know, they couldn't get into a barber all with me and look bad in front of the girlfriend. So   Michael Hingson ** 07:20 that's pretty cool. What did your parents think of all these jobs?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 07:24 Well, a mom would after I got home from the pickle factory. Mom would make me take my most of my clothes off in the garage, and she gave me a set of clothes because I smelled so bad. Imagine vinegar times 1000. That's what I smell like. And then sometimes I would I had a marketing job in, in a mall, and I also worked at a TV station as a nighttime receptionist.   Michael Hingson ** 07:58 Okay. Well, so you again, you did a lot of different things. And that's pretty unique. But it certainly had to broaden your horizons and a lot of different ways that I can appreciate that. But you graduated then and had your degree in journalism, and what did you do?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 08:17 Um, hey, I moved to move to Tampa first. And I just looked for any kind of job I could get to keep myself going. And one of them was a receptionist at an employment agency. And so as people would come in to the employment agency, I would ask them if they knew anyone in TV because it's, it's, you know, it's always who you know, and all that sort of thing. And I talked to this one gentleman, and he told me all his sister worked at a TV station, which was amazing. And I'm so sure he gave me someone to contact by this time. I was in Miami. I was only in Tampa for a year. I sold magazines in Tampa, and then I moved to Miami. And that's when I became the receptionist. And they he led me to assist her who led me to a job at an independent station in Miami. I wrote on the back of a motorcycle I didn't have a car or in the back of a motorcycle to get there and it rained it poured. It was my summer. It's   Michael Hingson ** 09:35 Miami. Yeah. What made you move to Florida from Wisconsin?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 09:40 My boyfriend boy who I eventually married. Oh, good. Okay. Now here are the usual the usual suspect.   Michael Hingson ** 09:50 Well, so you moved down there and so you got a job. Then through your sister and her contact   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 10:00 The gentleman's sister Yeah, I don't have a system to gentleman sister. Yeah, through her and I got to know who she was. And she had been in Miami for a long time. And my boss was, was pretty amazing. And I was a writer there as a writer at the station.   Michael Hingson ** 10:20 So what kinds of things did you write for? What did you write?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 10:24 Um, I started out just writing voiceovers, you know, little voiceovers I used to have between shows, I   Michael Hingson ** 10:30 don't know shows. Yeah. Well, not commercials, not the commercials, but just   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 10:35 the little voiceovers, like telling you like you had an acute C and about the show that was coming up. Like Benson falls down the stairs. You know, whatever. And and so it was the little things like that.   Michael Hingson ** 10:52 And then again, the game say something like, can you believe that that Benson guy fell down those stairs? Like Benson we liked Benson. That was a fun show.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 11:03 BENSON Yeah. I don't know how I just started that. It just popped into my head.   Michael Hingson ** 11:08 Well, so you wrote, and then what   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 11:15 we see there, your independent station. I was there for 13 years, and it turned into CBS. And I just said one place. And so I became that an associate producer and news and an assignment editor and news. And that was pretty cool. Because as associate producer, you write the news stories, I was just gonna ask. Yeah, you write the news stories. And I remember one of my most memorable news stories that I wrote was about a little boy, he was three years old, and he needed a liver. And in Florida, there's a rule against giving livers to certain people of certain ages, like, if you're under certain age, and over a certain age, while I was on the news desk that day, and the mayor or the governor was doing one of those wonderful luncheons that they do. And I called the father of this little boy. And I said, Listen, I'm going to send my photographer over to you get over there. And my photographer is going to shoot you and the governor asking to get your son a liver. And it happened. I could have lost my job, but it happened.   Michael Hingson ** 12:36 So you created the news.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 12:39 Yes. Well, it helped because three days later, the little boy had a liver. So the Governor made it happen.   Michael Hingson ** 12:51 Well, that's cool. And then you took the the time and the interest in doing that. Because that certainly had to be, as you said, a little bit of a challenge and you could have lost your job over it.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 13:03 Right. But as your title is unstoppable mindset. I don't ever let any of that train stop me like, what's more important my job or little boy's life?   Michael Hingson ** 13:15 Yeah. So did anybody chastise you for it? Or because of that or not? Okay. They Oh,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 13:23 yeah. Yeah. turned out great. I don't even know if a lot of people knew that my cameraman and I did that. I mean, that we set it up, sort of, because, you know, no one ever said anything about it afterwards. So, but it worked for a while. And then the little boy died a couple months later, because his buddy Jack did it. But at least he has a chance.   Michael Hingson ** 13:48 Yeah. What year was that?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 13:51 Ah, let's see. It was probably late 80s, early 90s.   Michael Hingson ** 14:00 Okay. So how long did you work at writing the news and being an associate producer and so on.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 14:09 I was I was there for that in a news department for one year. And then they created a job for me. I was a press and public relations manager. And that went upstairs because the news was downstairs and I went upstairs. And so I was I suppose, spokesperson for the station. And I also produced the PSAs. So that was pretty cool. And in the meantime, I started on a whole bunch of boards because I dealt with a lot of nonprofits. So that's, that's what I did there. And eventually, you know, 13 years later and you're like, Well, what else can I do? And I started my own advertising and PR company. I left the station started my own advertising PR company. And then I thought of something because then with so many different so many different nonprofits, like six of them at once I was on the board. I wanted something for myself, and I wanted something that was a legacy for my family. So I wanted to make a purpose have a purpose.   Michael Hingson ** 15:23 Before we get there, I'm just curious. So you were there until after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, because you were there? 13 years is that right?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 15:33 Was I? Um, no. Okay. Because we're already to that. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 15:41 you're gone by then. Because I was going to ask what, what you did or what was it like at the station and so on? Around September 11. But you were gone by then.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 15:51 Yeah, I was gone by then. I I remember that day, I remember where I was, I remember. I had a friend in New York, and I called her to see if she was okay. And I just watched her the coverage and and I kept my daughter home that day, my daughter was nine. And I kept her home from school. Because, you know, you didn't know what was gonna happen?   Michael Hingson ** 16:19 Yeah. Yeah, there was no way to know. No. Well, you eventually started as you're saying something that became very personal to you a project that you've been doing for quite a while, and in of itself is an interesting story. So why don't you tell us a little bit about that?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 16:39 Okay, um, I created cooking without looking at the first TV show that features people who are blind and visually impaired,   Michael Hingson ** 16:47 which we really call low vision today and appropriately. So. Because when you talk about visually impaired, where we should be compared to people who have eyesight, just like, if you said hearing impaired to a person who was partially deaf, they probably Dec you because hearing impaired is as they recognize a way of comparing to people who can hear rather than saying deaf and hard of hearing, right. So it's learning continuum. And so the whole concept of visually impaired is really unfortunate, for two reasons. One, visually, we don't look different, just because we're blind or partially, why do we deal with it in terms of impaired saying, well, you're impaired if you can't see fully? And so we're learning to say, as deaf people already have blind or low vision, but anyway. Alrighty. So you want it you started this this show?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 17:47 Right? Right. Because TV was what I did, that was my tool. And if you want to change the way people look at people who are blind or, or, you know, low vision, you will have to show people, you know, and it's also a way to bridge between the sighted community, the low vision community, the blind community, just just to show what is done because we still have an old mindset. So I did my research, and I went on some blind listservs. And learned about blindness from a lot of people. I did not know a blind person, I do not have a relative who was a blind person. It was just something I saw that needed to be done.   Michael Hingson ** 18:42 And you of course, are not blind. No, I am not. So you did a lot of research, which is always a great thing to do, and a great way to start. So this When did all this start?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 18:57 This started in 2001. Ironically, I'm talking to you and 2001. I was in my first meeting about the show, as the twin towers are being hit. That's what happened. And we actually took a break from the meeting and saw as the towers were being hit. Yeah. So your your story is much more compelling. But But I remember like, How can this happen? How, you know, like, we become desensitized to things like this, and it almost seemed like we were watching a movie. It didn't make any sense.   Michael Hingson ** 19:46 Yeah, it was very surreal to people because who would have thought somebody would fly our planes deliberately fly airplanes into the World Trade Center yet? That's the end of the Pentagon. And of course Shanksville, Pennsylvania, but that's what happened.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 20:04 Yep, exactly. So.   Michael Hingson ** 20:06 So what was the first meeting about? Was it trying to sell it to a station or plan or program? What was the meeting? Like? What was it?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 20:14 It was at Florida International University, the School of Hospitality, because that's where I met a man who was a blind chef. And I met him. And then he was a professor there. And he introduced me to all the people he worked with. And we were looking for anything like how can we work together? Sponsorships, whatever. Um, and that's, that's what we did. That's what we did it first. So So,   Michael Hingson ** 20:48 so when did the show actually start airing or when did you start producing it,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 20:56 we started producing an airing it. We started producing it in September of 2005. And after that, it went on in September. And we had a live studio audience at PBS station in West Palm Beach. And we were on like a couple of seasons. And then after that, we hit the recession at 2009.   Michael Hingson ** 21:31 How's my typical like three and a half years to actually bring the show to fruition? Since you had your first meeting in 2001. And it took until 2005, for the show to actually come on,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 21:44 there are so many moving parts. First, I found a man who I thought we should use as a host right. And then I had to start going out and selling the program. Because even my I was on the Board of Governors for the National Academy, TV Arts and Sciences. And even they couldn't understand having a show with blind people, because they thought blind people only only are taught, and that a lot of times I still find that out, but they couldn't understand it. So it was a lot of selling them apart just to sell the idea. Then I went to talk to the TV station. And then we had to find a sponsor, because we actually had to pay to get it produced on there. And so I produced it. And it was just a lot of explaining to people and making people understand and once they understood, you know, everybody really loved it and moved on from there.   Michael Hingson ** 22:58 So you obviously had a lot to go through at the same time you had your own advertising agency, you said right,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 23:07 right, exactly. So a lot of times whatever costs, I had to pick it up from my advertising company. And because I was you know, like, there were like three of us there. And PR, I do did a lot of PR for people. And I always tried to look at the positive side of it, trying to help people with my PR, you can have negative PR or positive PR. And I always I always used it for the positive and as a matter of fact, even just helping people with it.   Michael Hingson ** 23:42 Do you believe the in the comment, there's no such thing really as bad PR that even bad PR is really good PR?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 23:53 Well, I to a point, I won't say bad and good. Effective PR, which means that people at least know about you. And in some ways, because a lot of times they've done studies that people don't realize how they know about you or how they heard your name, but they just know you know, they know your name. And so So yeah, I just I believe that. Just getting your name out there. Sometimes people don't know how but they know of you.   Michael Hingson ** 24:36 And so there's no qualitative factor there. They just know who you are.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 24:42 Right. Exactly. Exactly. So then we continually went to many food festivals and people were just amazed we were at Macy's. We went to the Boca Raton wine and food festival. We do presentations with our hosts, one of which was time Although a blind on one was he has, he isn't nearly blind, nearly total and the other man who, who was not all the way blind at all, but we just we just had a lot of fun going together driving down the road hitting these festivals and showing people what it was like.   Michael Hingson ** 25:27 So was this before the show actually started airing or while the show   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 25:32 afterwards because when we hit 2009, we, most people didn't have any money to sponsor anymore because of the recession. So we just we had to find other ways to get the word out. And so that's what we did, we went on the road or went to the festivals and showed people, we pretty much closed down Macy's because the whole store when they announced that we were going to be there, everyone wanted to see people who were blind, you know, cook and give tips. And, and that's the cool part about our show because it actually is a bridge between, you know, the sighted and non sighted communities. And and so we can understand one another, we don't deal in stereotypes or, you know, something from the 1950s. We know what we can do, and we can do anything we want because we have an unstoppable mindset.   Michael Hingson ** 26:32 So is the show still airing at that time? Or were you just doing the festivals?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 26:37 No, the shows weren't airing but I had to keep, I had to keep it going. There was no way I was going to stop it. Because I had a purpose. And I felt like I had a commitment because so many people were backing it at least you know, supportive, even least just in their words. I had to keep it going. So I did we kept it going through. I started a podcast in 2018. Where we talk to people, our motto is changing the way we see blindness everyone there is either blind or low vision. And we also during the pandemic, we started doing it on zoom as a TV show, which we still do now. And we reached 61 countries.   Michael Hingson ** 27:33 Tell me if you want a little bit about maybe some of the unique recipes or some of the interesting experiences on the show. Love to hear some stories.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 27:44 Okay. Well, you know, um, we had South African, it was a, it was a sort of organization like the lighthouse. And its Cape Town society for the blind, and we had them on there and they made South African food, which was like pretty cool. And then we had one gentleman when we were in Palm Beach, it was funny. We had a live studio audience and he was an elderly gentleman and he was he was nice man a little crusty. And he was showing us how to make it was like a poor it was called poor man's I forgot what it was. Anyway, he was put here to test the noodles, he actually put his hand in the boiling water. And this was the way he did it. Obviously I cut it out for the TV crowd. But when I was there, the people were yelling at me stick his hands on the floor. It's like he's 80 years old, you know, he knows this is how he does it but I won't put it in I'll you know I'll edit it out because I don't want little kids watching that. But um, let's see what other types of stories we we've had just like a lot of fun. We went to a school in Minnesota and we taught blind kids how to cook and we did our own little cooking without looking with them. And that was a lot of fun. We had a special script for them you know, it was just it's just every everything is full of stories. We also have podcasts where we speak to individuals who are blind visually impaired, we they talk about their life as a person who's blind or low vision sorry, caught myself and and and then at The end they present a recipe and all of our recipes that we present is the cooking without looking recipes of the day are submitted to us by blind or low vision people, and they've actually made them themselves. So we know that you know that they're good recipes. We don't have any sighted people present them. We just, you know, we just have a lot of fun together, we went to a bar, a year and a half ago, we went to an NFB convention, the Florida NFB and was a net, Alan and I in that now in our, our hosts, and we just had a great time. It's like we're family, we've been together now the 22 years, a full 22 years. So we just get a lot of laughs that way too, because we each have our own personality. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 30:59 well, and that's, that's, that's what really makes a long running operation work when you have a family and people are able to work together and so on. So what happened at the NFB of Florida convention? What did you guys do?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 31:16 Well, what we did was we put people on Facebook Live, and we had them tell their story. And then we took pictures with them, it's sort of like we were like, famous, quote, unquote. And we just, we just had a good time, we had people talk about themselves, and what they were doing at the NFB convention. And out of that, we got a sponsorship out of the Florida Division of Blind Services, and they appeared on one of our shows. So that was, that was a good time. It's nice to learn. I mean, every single person has a story that we can learn from, it doesn't matter who you are, where you are, where you are. Everyone has a story that we can all learn from. And that's it. That's what makes us unstoppable. You know, you know, my computer went down and and it was like, Okay, well, what's going on here? You know, what, what's happening with the universe, and my computer went down, because I couldn't do any of the shows or the podcasts. And those are really my fun. That's, that's the fun in my life. I don't bend to Disney World plenty of times.   Michael Hingson ** 32:37 There's a lot of that, then on cruises,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 32:38 Ben to other countries. But this is my fun, because I feel like I'm doing something that matters.   Michael Hingson ** 32:47 So you, I remember in looking at your biography, you mentioned Fred Schroeder, who is the past president of the World Blind Union, tell me about meeting him and a little about that.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 32:59 Well, that was wonderful. I actually met him when he was president of the NFB. And we spoke there. And when I met him, I was I was just, you know, he seemed like a really great person. But when he said all the nice things about us, you know, how he loved the show, I was honored, because here's a man who has been all over the place and who is blind, and told me that, you know, what we were doing helped. And honestly, when when you start something that has never existed, you're sort of sitting there all by yourself, going, you know, what, what am I doing? Why am I doing this? And, and he made me feel like, we were doing something that mattered?   Michael Hingson ** 33:59 Well, today, is the show airing on any TV stations or is it?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 34:07 Well, that's what we're working on. We wanted to get the TV stations, we want to stream it. So been working on getting it either Netflix or the Food Network or, you know, something like that. I've been in contact with Rachael rays, PR people. And Stevie Wonder is PR person. She's very nice. So you know what, we're starting the rebirth. Round two, but we keep it going on Zoom. And with Zoom, we can reach people around the world, which is what we've been going.   Michael Hingson ** 34:47 Yeah. Which absolutely makes sense. Well, how are you being received by Rachael Ray is people Stevie Wonder and so on, and kind of what have you had to do to keep them interested and so on.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 35:02 Well, you know, it's really just keeping on reminding people that we're there. Stevie Wonder's person, her PR, the PR person, you know, is Shelley. And she was very, very nice. And so I just keep up, you know, reminding her, Rachael Ray now has left her show, but she's starting something new. So I emailed them, which is very recent, and they're probably on vacation right now. And and people, you know, are actually very receptive. Well, we'll see what happens. But just like before, you just have to keep on knocking on the doors chiseling something out, you know, just keeping on trying. That's, that's all you can do.   Michael Hingson ** 35:47 Have you looked at any of the other Food Network people in the the other celebrity types and gotten any, anywhere with any of them? Or have you tried?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 35:56 No, I really haven't. Because I'm, I like the philosophy of Rachael Ray, which is similar to what we do. It's you don't have to be a fancy chef or whatever. It's the home cooking. We've all learned from our parents, grandparents or whatever, how to cook, and survive and have a good time. And, and I liked the way she does it. So our philosophies are similar. In the past, the first, the first host that we had did reach out to one of the people, I don't like the idea of, of, you know, racing or doing things fast and cooking in the kitchen or having a contest and you know, getting angry at one another. I don't like that. I you know, I like just showing people as they are. Because I think that's how we see ourselves. We're not all we're not all celebrities, we're just people who are trying to get by and do the best we can.   Michael Hingson ** 37:07 I would say I think there are places for some kinds of competitions, but I hear what you're saying. I think a lot of the angry, sharp edge things are really a problem. And they don't, they don't really serve a useful purpose. And I've enjoyed a lot of the Food Network. But I like things that are really more fun than yeah, getting angry.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 37:35 Right, right. And I and you can have so much fun in the kitchen. Think of it like, a lot of times, that's the way we get to know our grandparents are our parents is cooking with them in the kitchen. You know, like, I cooked with my daughter, my daughter cooked with me from the time she was little. And honestly, I think she's a better cook than me. She's more of a detail person where I'm like, You know what, this is my art. I'm just gonna throw this in. This sounds like it's gonna be good. Try this. Try that. So I'm a little more experimental. But that's the way you get to know your family, in a lot of instances. So I like that part.   Michael Hingson ** 38:16 Oh, I still think it would be fun to somehow involve Bobby Flay because he's such a fun guy. And yeah, he's an incredibly fun guy. He's an incredibly sophisticated guy. He's got an incredible grasp on food preparation, but I bet he would be a fun guy to somehow be involved with   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 38:37 that, well, you know what, firm your lips to God's ears. I'll give that a try. And you know, I'm living in a place of Ray Charles birthplace I live in Albany, Georgia. And, and so I was thinking about reaching out to their foundation to see how we could work together to get something done as well. There's a beautiful monument to Ray Charles is in the Ray Charles Plaza on the river in Albany. And it turns around, it's blueish. And it turns around, and it plays all of his songs in his voice. And is is is just really beautiful and inspiring, and, and a lot of funny things, a lot of the songs my mom used to sing.   Michael Hingson ** 39:28 Well, yeah, I think any place like that where you can get some funding would certainly be a valuable thing. But I, I think that an innovative visionary kind of guy, like a Bobby Flay might really take an interest in something like this, because it's unique and it's because it's different. And since that's just a thought, you know?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 39:54 That's good. It's a seed I'll work on seeing how I can reach Bobby flaying. No problem.   Michael Hingson ** 40:02 So, how has the show changed over the years? Like, from the pandemic, to now and so on? Is it really still basically the same format? How has it evolved overall?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 40:16 Well, um, it really evolved from the way we were doing it before. You know, during the pandemic, we started off with people from the United States, and it evolved into going to like seven countries, and having people from all around the world actually watch us. And so, as I wrote in the letter to, I contacted the CEO, both CEOs on ones left now of Netflix, like, Okay, we've planted the seeds all over the world for you. And, and there's an audience all over the world. And Netflix is, is one of the most watched shows by people who are blind, most watched streaming services of people who are blind, and all over the world. So they were, I had heard that that particular CEO was a very nice man. And I've always found a lot of people in TV are really nice, not, not the way we look at them. And TV shows they're actually like, real human.   Michael Hingson ** 41:28 So have you had a response from Netflix yet? What was that? Have you had a response from Netflix yet?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 41:36 Um, no, no, we haven't. His name was Ted Saran dose, and he's the CEO over there. And so that's where I sent it. You know, we'll do Bobby Flay. But we're, it's just, you know, an ongoing process of planting seeds, planting seeds. To get it this far, has been pretty amazing. Because, you know, I'm sort of like the Wright brothers with the first airplane, no one can really visualize that, like, What the heck are you doing? And, and, and now we've gotten to a point where we can launch it in a bigger platform.   Michael Hingson ** 42:20 Have you had guests on the show from other countries? Or just the Yeah,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 42:25 yeah. We have we've we've had seven countries. They're all blind people from other countries. It was, like I said, South Africa, Guyana.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 42:43 Barbados, Barbadoes. Let's see where else where else where else trying to think of the ones off the top of my head. But those are just some of them. But   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 42:57 everyone can go see them. They're all on our cooking without looking YouTube channel right now. And that's what we're focusing on just getting the things done and and showing people but yeah, we've had lots of different Oh, Jamaica, we had to make it too. So that was pretty cool. So yeah, we've had all these countries, that's really the biggest change that we've had is, is going and highlighting people from other countries, other people who are blind, cooking their native recipes in other countries.   Michael Hingson ** 43:35 How many shows have you produced so far?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 43:40 Wow. That's a good one. I think we were up to like 90 something. I'm not a numbers person. You know, I'm a writer. So um, but I'm pretty close to around 90 And then the podcasts as well. We just, you know, I've got another podcast to do tomorrow with a lady. So she's making peanut butter cookies. Yeah, only three ingredients. Peanut butter cookie. So she's going to talk about her life, and Tara coin. So that's what we do. So if you ever want to see or go to them, and enjoy them cooking without looking TV show on YouTube.   Michael Hingson ** 44:37 So how often do you produce a new show?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 44:42 Um, once a once a month, and we're going to start up again since my computer and then the podcasts are like, several times a month like whoever comes out and wants to do a podcast. We produce their podcast several times. The month.   Michael Hingson ** 45:02 So, you've, you've had a number of interesting people on needless to say, What's your favorite show so far?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 45:10 Oh my, well, that's hard. That's like asking her mother, a mother what her favorite child is, which one is your favorite child? It all depends on who was on there. We had a cute one. For Valentine's Day once, we had two blind couples on there. And we had a lot of fun with that. Um, that was, that was a cute one. And then I really liked the one from South Africa. That was, I was cool. Maybe it's like a little selfish because I love food from other countries. You can always see the similarities of of your own of the countries of your own. One of my favorite podcasts, we had a couple who was blind, and I actually they came to Miami and I walked him around Miami and the beaches and everything. And Mike Gravatt and his wife, Gianna, they're there just a hoot to talk to. Let's see what else they those are probably my favorites, that I can pop off the top of my head. But it's, it's nice to see that people get along and just enjoy themselves. And the blindness is really just a secondary factor. It's it's living and having fun and enjoying your life.   Michael Hingson ** 46:40 So when you do the shows, like on Zoom, and so on, you people are actually cooking during the shows. Oh, yeah,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 46:47 yeah, we have a script, everything.   Michael Hingson ** 46:50 So how does all that work in terms of the fact that typically, if you've got to have a camera and everything so people can see it? How, how easy is it to set all that up? I mean, from your side, it's great. But if the other end where the people are actually doing the, the cooking and so on, how does that work? Oh,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 47:08 it actually works really great. Um, I've only had edit like one or two of them just a tiny bit, that people put their cameras up either the cameras or their computers, and they are able to cook and we practice first, we have a rehearsal a couple of days before. And we look to see where their cameras set up a lot of times, we you know, they have a family member or something who sets the camera for them in a certain area. It's, and it goes really, really well because we we just do it ahead of time we show them you know, we take a look at see how their camera is set up or whether they're using their computer, and whatever works for them. But we've had lots of success that way. Not a big deal. People are always excited to be on the show the tips. We had one young man mica, he made like he has it down the perfect chicken breast because that's one of those things that can be really really difficult. And sort of dry, you can wear him as a shoe. And he he had a doubt and that became like, pretty popular. And he's a young man and he just took us through it. He was like, Okay, you do this, you do this, you do this. I'm very, very attentive, lots of attention to detail.   Michael Hingson ** 48:43 When people are cooking, there's, there's, there's the actual cooking part. And there's the preparation part. So do people move their cameras around? Or do you just have them in one spot? How does all that work?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 48:56 No, um, it depends. It really depends on the recipe. We have one lady who has a special syrup, and she was making some food, very special syrup. Oftentimes, if there's like a lot of cutting or preparation or whatever, we have them prep their food ahead of time. And then maybe just for example, if you need a cup of carrots, chopped carrots, they chop their carrots ahead of time, just like any other TV show, they chop their carrots ahead of time, and then show us just one. But there's there's not a lot of moving around. Most of them don't move around, we haven't worked out so like depending on the recipe, we tell them how to position your camera, how to position your computer, and, you know, look this way to your right to your love, you know. So, um, it actually hasn't been harder. This is probably the first time I'm thinking about it when you ask me this, Michael.   Michael Hingson ** 49:57 The reason I ask is I'm just thinking Have me. One of my favorite recipes is a recipe that I will do on the grill outside. But the preparation is inside. It's a chicken recipe. It's called Chicken Diavolo. It's actually a recipe my wife got from food and wine. And it's really our favorite recipe uses chicken thighs. And the marinate that you put the chicken thighs in is wonderful.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 50:26 Sounds good. And it's just, Michael.   Michael Hingson ** 50:29 And it's, it's, it's got a, it's, it's, well, it uses a fair amount of oil, but they're not really oily by the time you're done. But it's a wonderful recipe to do. But just the preparation or doing it and then putting it on the grill is in two different locations. And that's what really prompted me to ask the question, when I'm sure that we could figure out it would be fun to to do it. It's been a while since I've done chicken D. But   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 50:55 I would love to have you on that one that will be great. Because we don't have anything like that, I would have to see you do part of it, like part of it would be done ahead of time. Because that's really like a lot of TV shows the cooking, a lot of things are done partially ahead of time. And then do you have like some sort of a table alongside of you or?   Michael Hingson ** 51:22 Well, when I do the grilling, everything else is done. And then I take it out and there's there's a table on the grill. But it wouldn't be fun to to think about doing it. The preparation is really creating the marinade. Because then the chicken thighs go into the marinate and then they go on to the grill. So it would be it would be something to explore. And yeah, we'd love the idea would the idea would be that you create marinate, put the chicken in it, then let them marinate a while. And so that could be done inside and then just move the camera and everything outside. It might be fun to think about.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 52:00 Well, you could you could just you could have, are there like lots of ingredients for the marinade.   Michael Hingson ** 52:08 Not too many.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 52:10 But take those ingredients outside. You can have the chicken in the marinade already done, right?   Michael Hingson ** 52:16 Yeah, you can just take the ingredients outside that would go into the marinate and, and create a little bit of it. Yeah, that's another way to do it. Which also means when you do that, you get a second batch, which is also good. So that's fine.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 52:29 Right? You can never have too much grilled chicken. That's fine. No.   Michael Hingson ** 52:33 And and if unlike anything else, if done, right? They come out pretty moist. You don't want to overcook them. It is chicken thighs so that the marinate does get absorbed a lot better into the thighs than it would into like chicken breasts and so on, which is why thighs are used. But it's a it's a great recipe.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 52:52 Oh, that sounds good. Well, what's in it?   Michael Hingson ** 52:55 There's rosemary, there is oil. I'm trying to remember some of the the other spices are. Well, there's peppermint   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 53:02 rosemary.   Michael Hingson ** 53:03 Yeah, there's pepper. And I have to go back and find the recipe. It's been a while. My wife was ill last year and passed away in November. So frankly, I haven't made it for a while. So I'm going to have to do that. I've been lazy, but that's okay.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 53:19 Well give you a reason to make it. I'm sorry to hear about your wife, Michael.   Michael Hingson ** 53:23 Well, it's okay. We, we we continue to move forward. And and she's around watching. So it's okay. So I will do it right. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble. So it's no problem. Well, so what are your future plans for the show? You are? I know you said you're restarting it and so on. So kind of what are the plans? What do you expect to see happen?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 53:46 Well, I would like to get some sponsors. I would like to go to more events, the season in California, I'd like to go there, you know, bring my troops. So I'd like to be more on the ground with people. And I would like to find a resting place for us on a streaming service.   Michael Hingson ** 54:13 Well, I still think of Bobby Flay and Food Network as far as a place to go. I don't know Bobby, and then and all that, but I've watched him and just he's clearly an innovative visionary guy. And I would think if anybody would be intrigued it would be would be He. So something to think about.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 54:34 Well, I don't think I just do so um, this this week, I'll get a note off the bobby off the research how to get a hold of him. And um, you know, Rachael Ray knows him and the thing with her is Rachel has a her mother has macular degeneration, so I thought there will be a special in with her as well. Have you? Go ahead? No, no go up.   Michael Hingson ** 55:03 Have you ever had the opportunity to interview Christine? Ha, who won the Mastership?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 55:10 I did. And she's on our, our Facebook. I'm sorry, our Facebook, our YouTube channel. She's on her podcast. Oh, cool. Yeah. What did you want to know about Christine?   Michael Hingson ** 55:24 Well, no, I was just wondering if you had I mean, I've met Christine. But again, that might be a way to, to get some context, but I just was curious if you'd met her and had her on because she'd be a natural, that would be a good person to be on the show.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 55:41 Yeah, she, she wanted to be on the podcast. So she was on the podcast, it's quite interesting with her. She, they thought she had they, they thought she had multiple sclerosis at first. And then it went into blindness. And, you know, some of the medications she was taking, wasn't working, weren't working. And but, um, you can always, as I said, go to our YouTube channel. And she's there   Michael Hingson ** 56:10 to tell us if people want to watch the show exactly. Where do they go? Do you have a web address that you can give? Or do you have a website they can go to and we start from   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 56:19 the website, the main place they can go is a Cooking Without Looking YouTube channel, go to YouTube, and then type in cooking without looking. We have a website, which is w w w . cooking without looking TV,  .wordpress.com. And if that's a lot for you to remember what it is for me. You can always just Google cooking without looking TV show on or bring it to our, to our web.   Michael Hingson ** 56:52 Great. Well, and I assume that if anyone wants to reach out to you, they can go to your website and and make contact with you there.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 57:01 Yes, or, you know, we also have a Facebook page and cooking with the cooking without looking TV show Facebook page, and I can email me there.   Michael Hingson ** 57:13 And what is it called?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 57:15 What was that?   Michael Hingson ** 57:16 What is the Facebook page called? Specifically?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 57:18 The cooking without looking TV show. Okay, cool.   Michael Hingson ** 57:23 Well, I want to thank you for being on unstoppable mindset today. This has been fun. We've done some good cooking talk here. And a body is now getting hungry.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 57:36 Well, Michael, thank you. I'm so grateful for you to invite me over and and talk to you. I'm really humbled by you asking me so thank you so much.   Michael Hingson ** 57:46 Well, it's been an honor. And I really appreciate it. And I hope you listening out there enjoyed this as well go check out cooking without looking in all sorts of places from YouTube, to Facebook and everywhere in between, and go to the website. Reach out to Ren'ee. And we, we will I'm sure be hearing more from her as the show progresses. And hopefully we've given her and you some things to think about. Blindness isn't the problem. It's our attitude, that is really the issue that we have to address. So really appreciate Ren'ee again, you being here. And again, for all of you listening, we'd love to get your feedback and your comments. We would appreciate you giving us a five star rating wherever you're listening to our podcast. And if you'd like to reach out to me feel free to do so at Michaelhi at accessiBe A C C E S S I B E.com. Or go to our website. www dot Michael hingson m i c h a e l h i n g s o n.com/podcast. And we'd love to have you rate us there and listen to all of the podcasts that are there. You can binge listen and spend a whole lot of time at it now. So we what we really appreciate you listening to us and all the wonderful comments that you've gotten. And again, Ren'ee, one last time, thank you very much for being here with us today.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 59:14 Thank you, Michael. Thank you.   Michael Hingson ** 59:21 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com. accessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Episode Description On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, ACB's advocacy team catches up with an old friend, Eric Bridges, President and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Eric discusses his new role at AFB, including his experience at the AFB Leadership Conference and AFB's continued partnership with ACB. Find out more at https://acb-advocacy-update.pinecast.co

Dr. Kirk Adams is the Managing Director of Innovative Impact, LLC, a consulting company aimed at accelerating inclusion of people with disabilities into the workforce. Dr. Adams is also the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and a longtime champion of people who are blind or visually impaired. Dr. Adams frequently serves as a keynote speaker at conferences across the country, spreading his commitment to creating a more inclusive, accessible world for Americans with vision loss. He has consulted with top leadership at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and other high profile tech-oriented companies to discuss topics ranging from product and digital accessibility to civil and disability rights. Having lost his own vision at age 5, in our latest podcast episode, Dr. Adams shares his personal story and helps to shine a light on the importance of braille. Our other podcast guest, Daniel Lubiner, is a 25-year veteran teacher of students with disabilities and a teacher of the arts for blind and low-vision students. He founded a nonprofit organization, The TouchPad Pro Foundation, with a mission to distribute The BrailleDoodle, an inexpensive braille learning device and a tactile Science, Math, and Art tool. It allows someone to write and create and feel as they go. In this episode, Daniel describes the BrailleDoodle and how he plans to get one into the hands of braille and tactile learners across the world.

Welcome back to a new season of the Inform & Connect podcast. In this episode, AFB's Melody Goodspeed speaks with Timothy Breitenfeldt, who is nearly completely blind. Timothy graduated with his Bachelors in Computer Science in 2019. He has been working at JPMorgan Chase for 2 years as a software engineer, and helps manage applications that support Outside Counsel for the legal department. Timothy is an advocate for digital accessibility, and has lead multiple workshops on how to develop accessible web applications. This podcast is a production of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), creating a world of no limits for people who are blind or have low vision. www.afb.org

The great Neva Fairchild stops by to share her unique sight loss story with Cone Rod Degeneration (a form of Retinitis Pigmentosa) and how she was set on a path to success by her parents. Neva recalls her time at Esther's Place during her early days with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and her infamous encounter with John and the Motorola Q. Neva discusses her current AFB role coordinating the Blind Leaders Development Program which aims to increase successful employment outcomes, upward mobility, and leadership attainment of blind and visually impaired individuals.   :: SHOW LINKS :: For show notes, guest profiles, photos, blog and more information, visit AmbiguouslyBlind.com and connect on:    Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin  Like what we're doing? Support us: Buy Me A Coffee This is a listener supported podcast.  Please consider donating to build and sustain our community :: GUEST LINKS :: Book: The Leadership Challenge by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner  AFB Blind Leaders Development Program   Connect with Neva Fairchild: https://www.ambiguouslyblind.com/guests/neva-fairchild/

Kirk Adams stops by to share his sight loss story and journey learning to advocate for himself and how his work with the Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind lead him to the CEO position at The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Kirk talks about the AFB's history and his time with the organization and the role AFB Consulting plays in the development of accessible technology including VoiceOver on the iPhone. Now, Kirk is self-employed, with Innovative Impact LLC. He's looking for fun high impact innovative projects that accelerate inclusion of blind people in the work force.   :: SHOW LINKS :: For show notes, guest profiles, photos, blog and more information, visit AmbiguouslyBlind.com and connect on:    Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin  Like what we're doing? Support us: Buy Me A Coffee This is a listener supported podcast.  Please consider donating to build and sustain our community :: GUEST LINKS :: Connect with Kirk Adams: https://www.ambiguouslyblind.com/guests/kirk-adams/

Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) have announced the findings of The Role of Guide Dogs in 2022 and Beyond, a joint, two-year research study to examine the long-term outlook for guide dog use in the United States and Canada. This week Theresa sits down with Dr. Arielle Silverman to discuss the findings and next steps.

In this episode of Eyeway Conversations, George Abraham speaks with Melody Goodspeed, Major Gifts Specialist at American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). An adventurous and fun-loving person, Melody is also a wife and a doting mother to two children. After losing her vision at a young age of twenty-six, Melody hit rock bottom until she decided to fight and persevere through the disability. She went through rehabilitation, learned computer software, assisted living skills and made a re-entry into the world. Ever since, Melody has been advocating for persons with blindness and actively engages with people from all walks of life to create systematic and social change. Tune in to hear her story of perseverance! To access the podcast transcript, click on link: https://otter.ai/u/lVDchN47ev0T_zsRBX3Ic18gdq8 This podcast is brought to you by Score Foundation and supported by Cipla Foundation. To support our work, kindly visit the link: https://scorefoundation.org.in/get-involved/

April 6 , 2022 is Assistive Technology Awareness Day, and on this day we have Arielle Silverman, Research Specialist from the American Foundation for the Blind, in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about AFB's Workplace Technology Survey that completed in January of 2022. You can find out more about AFB and the Workplace Technology Survey on the web at AFB.org and AFB.org/WTS Full Transcript (From AFB.org/WTS) The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) in January 2022 announced the release of the Workplace Technology Study, a new report examining how technology in the workplace influences the experiences of workers who are blind, have low vision, or are deafblind. AFB Research staff have been engaged in focus groups, a survey, and interviews to gather data to identify the workplace technology barriers faced by blind and low vision individuals, the consequences of them, and solutions that will lead to positive employment outcomes. Using a multi-pronged research approach to gather both quantitative and qualitative data, we will be able to support HR professionals, IT personnel, supervisors, and co-workers to better understand how people with vision loss can do their jobs when needed accommodations are in place throughout one's work experience. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

Episode Summary Talk about a man on a mission and a man with a vision, meet Dr. Kirk Adams. Dr. Adams was one of the fortunate children who happen to be blind and whose parents did not stifle his growth but let him explore his world no matter where it led. As an adult, Kirk worked for a time in the financial world, but later he found that his talents went more toward him working in the not-for-profit world. Today, Dr. Adams leads one of the largest and well-known agencies in the world serving blind people. The AFB today conducts a great deal of research about blindness and explores how to help lead blind persons to be more fully integrated into society. This week you get to experience Kirk's visions and thoughts first-hand. I hope you will come away with a different and more inclusive attitude about what blindness really should mean in our world. If you are an employer, take Kirk's positivity to heart and consider hiring more blind people in your business. About the Guest Kirk Adams, Ph.D. President and CEO American Foundation for the Blind As president and chief executive officer of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), Kirk Adams, Ph.D. is a longtime champion of people who are blind or visually impaired and is committed to creating a more inclusive, accessible world for the more than 25 million Americans with vision loss. Dr. Adams has led AFB to a renewed focus on cultivating in-depth and actionable knowledge and promoting understanding of issues affecting children, working-age adults, and older people who are blind or visually impaired. His role involves pursuing strategic relationships with peers, policymakers, employers, and other influencers to engender and accelerate systemic change. Dr. Adams frequently serves as a keynote speaker at conferences across the country, on topics including education, vocational rehabilitation and workforce participation, vision loss and aging, and technology. He has consulted with top leadership at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, as well as key leaders in the finance, public policy, nonprofit, and tech sectors to discuss topics ranging from product and digital accessibility to civil and disability rights. Before joining AFB, Dr. Adams was president and CEO of The Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. He was a member of the Governor's Task Force on Disability Employment and the Seattle Public Library's Strategic Plan Advisory Committee and served on the boards of the National Industries for the Blind, and the National Association for the Employment of People Who Are Blind. Dr. Adams graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and earned his master's in not-for-profit leadership at Seattle University in Washington. In 2019, he completed his doctorate in Leadership and Change at Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 2020, he was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from SUNY Upstate Medical University. About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is an Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favourite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes Ad  00:01 On April the 16th at 2pm North American instant time, blind musicians from across the globe are getting together for an online benefit concert for Ukraine. It's called we're with you, and all money raised goes to the World Blind unions unity fund for Ukraine. To learn more, including how to listen and how to perform it were with you visit mushroom m.com/withYou that is mushroomfm.com/withYou   Michael Hingson  00:30 access cast and accessibly initiative presents unstoppable mindset. The podcast we're inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet Hi, I'm Michael Hinkson, Chief vision officer for accessibility and the author of the number one New York Times best selling book thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion and acceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The Unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by excessive B, that's a cc E, SSI, capital B E, visit www.accessibility.com To learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson  01:50 Hi again, and welcome to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset today. I'm really honored and proud and pleased to invite and have someone on the podcast who I've known for a while and he's he's moved up through the world of working with blind persons and disabilities over the years. When I first met Kirk Adams, he was the CEO of the Lighthouse for the Blind in Seattle. He is now the would it be CEO Kirk, President and CEO, President and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind. But more important than that, I mean, that's just a little thing more important than that. In 2019, he became a PhD he became as my mother used to say a doctor. Anyway, so Kirk Adams, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Kirk Adams  02:39 Well, it's a pleasure. Thanks for having me.   Michael Hingson  02:42 So you, you have been involved in in the blindness world for a while, tell us sort of maybe some of the early parts about you that that, that you want to talk about growing up and how you ended up being involved in blindness and advocacy and all that stuff?   Kirk Adams  02:59 Well, it's, it's interesting, and I'll just kind of start where I am, and then I'll zip all the way back. But I'm very, very interested in social justice, and a more inclusive society. And of course, the way I come at that is through my lived experience of blindness, and working hard, day and night, to create more opportunities for inclusion for people who are blind in society. And in particular, I'm very interested in employment. As we all know, the workforce participation rate for people are blind is about 30, or 35%, which is about half of the general population. And I say whatever outcomes you're looking at, it's either half as good or twice as bad for people who are blind compared to the general population. As far as employment goes, but, you know, I'm at AFP. Now we're a very much a research focused organization. And when we do research and we look at the factors that lead to successful employment for blind adults, I through good fortune, and mostly not, not on any effort of my own, I lived a life that gave me a lot of those success factors. So it really started when I my retinas detached when I was in kindergarten. I became totally blind within a couple days had a bunch of emergency retinal surgeries that weren't successful. This was pre laser surgery. And so my parents were told Kirk cannot come back to school here at the neighborhood school, he needs to go to the state school for blankets, and we live north of Seattle. My parents visited the Washington State School in Vancouver were not very impressed with what they saw there. They were both teachers just starting out on their careers. And my retinal specialists, you University of Oregon medical school in Portland, said you should check out the Oregon State School and Salem, it's great. They visited, they liked it, they quit their jobs moved. So I could go to Oregon State School. And the success factor here is I was totally blind. There was no question. Does he need to learn braille? Does he need to use a cane? There's there's so many kids with, you know, varying levels of vision that are not, unfortunately, not always given the right instructional curriculum. So kids are using magnification and audio and not learning braille. But there was no question. And we know that strong blindness skills are a strong predictor of successful employment. So I've learned to read and write Braille as a first grader, and type on a typewriter and use a white cane. And a little aside, the one of the happiest days for me is when the Braille book review comes and one came last week, and they're in the children's book section is a book by Michael Hinkson. Running with Roselle anyway. Yeah, so there it is. I put it on my request list. I'll be reading it.   Michael Hingson  06:17 And let me know what you think.   Kirk Adams  06:20 And then, you know, my parents, although they didn't know any blind people we grew up in. I grew up in small towns, we're not connected with with blindness organizations, they instinctively did a couple things, right. One is they had very high expectations of me, they expected me to get good grades, and expected me to participate in sports. Expected expected me to do chores, and I didn't always helped me figure out how to do it. But the high expectations were there. And we see that as well as a predictor that the parents when schools have high expectations of blind kids, they, they they do do well.   Michael Hingson  07:05 Back thinking back on your parents, not telling you how to do it. What what do you think of that? And I'm sure it's different than what you thought at the time. But what do you say experiences?   Kirk Adams  07:16 Well, I'd say I learned how to it was sink or swim. So I learned how to swim. I was in public school, I was the only blind kid and all my schooling, I kind of had to wing it a lot. And I don't I don't think my psycho social deeds were attended to much, but I did, I did learn. And this was another another point, living every day as a blind person, you have opportunities to develop characteristics and some really unique ways and some strengths that the average person may not have around resilience and problem solving and grit and determination and how to work with teams. How to communicate, I got when I when I went to college, and I had some money from the Commission for the Blind to hire readers. So I was 18 years old. I was interviewing and hiring and sometimes firing employees readers and now invoicing and take taking care of the the the the accounts and and those things that my classmates were, we're not doing. The other the other thing I had early work experience. I was really into sports. My dad was a high school basketball coach, I wrestled ran cross country, and I became the sports editor for the high school paper. And the sports editor for the high school paper got to write a weekly high school sports column for the city weekly paper. So I was a I was a 16 year old sports columnist writing a weekly column for the Snohomish Tribune, showing up my timesheet and getting a check and happily spending that minimum wage. Thing was three 325 an hour, something like that. So again, I had some of these early I had some of these success factors that lead to successful employment for people who are blind. And my opportunity at AF B is to create those opportunities for lots of other blind people. So we develop programs that seek seek to level the playing field for people who are blind, we are focused on employment. And I had the experience as a young college graduate with a good track record and school Phi Beta Kappa and Akun laude and a four point in my field of econ and could not you could not get a job like many young blind people. We are the most highly educated, most underemployed disability group as far as college, college graduation, things like that. So I wanted a job in finance, I started applying for jobs, I wanted to live in Seattle, I went to college in Walla Walla needed to live where there was a bus system. I, you know, sent sent in resumes and cover letters, would get a phone interview, would be invited in for the in person interview, and then the employer would be very confused about why a blind person is coming at applying for this job. How in the world could they do it? So you know, disclose disclosing your disability is the thing, when do you do it? So I wasn't disclosing until I walked in with my cane, and my slate and stylus, and some braille paper in a folder. And then I started disclosing in my cover letter playing, I'm totally blind. This is how I do what I do. This is how I'll do the job. And then I wasn't even getting phone interviews. So yeah, I guess cast my net wider and wider and wider. And I applied for a job with a securities firm a sales job selling tax free municipal bonds. And the sales manager had also gone to Whitman College had also been an econ major, like 15 years before me. So he called some of the professors that we had, and they said, Sure, Kurt can sell tax free bonds over the phone. So I did that for 10 years, straight commission 50 cold calls a day every day builds build strong bones. And when I turned 30, had a had an opportunity to make a change. The firm I was with was purchased by another firm and just a good inflection point. And I got the What color's your parachute book, out of the Talking Book and Braille library and read it and did all the exercises and got clear that I wanted to be in the nonprofit sector. And I wanted to be in a leadership role. And I wanted to devote the rest of my working life to creating opportunities for people who are blind. So the next little blind kid could have an easier, easier time of it. And I got very interested in leadership, I went back to school and got a master's degree in not for profit leadership, got involved in nonprofit fundraising, was hired by the lighthouse, Seattle to start their fundraising program and foundation and eventually became the CEO there simultaneous to that. Again, really believing leadership is key to changing our world. I went back to school, as you mentioned, and earned a PhD in leadership and change through Antioch University.   Michael Hingson  13:09 I know the first time the first time I heard you speak was when you came to the National Federation blind convention after just becoming I think the CEO in Atlanta, in Atlanta, I had gone to work for Guide Dogs for the Blind, we were having challenges at gdb because people would not create documentation in an accessible format before meetings. And I recall you talking about the concept of no Braille, no meeting, no   Kirk Adams  13:40 Braille no meeting,   Michael Hingson  13:41 I took right back to them. And it helped a little bit. But it was amazing to see that there was such resistance at such a prestigious organization to hiring and being open to hiring blind people given what they do. And it was, it was a real challenge. Bob Phillips, who was the CEO at the time, created the job that that I had, and I'm sure there will I know there was a lot of resistance to it, but he was the CEO and made it happen. But still, the culture was not oriented toward being open for blind people to to have jobs there. And there are a few blind people working there now, but not even what there was several years ago, which is unfortunate, because there are a lot of things that that could be accomplished by blind people in various aspects of that organization. And as you point out of most organizations, you and I had a lot of very similar life experiences growing up, which is, I think, just evidence of what needs to be done for for kids who are blind and I'm defining blind, as Ken Jernigan used to which was your blind when you lose it If I sight that you have to use alternatives to be able to accomplish tasks and I gather you agree with that. When you were in college, did you have an Office for Students with Disabilities on campus? And if so, how did know?   Kirk Adams  15:14 You didn't know? Yeah. I went to Whitman College, which was small. You know, I graduated from high school in 1979. So I got a, you know, had the four track cassette player and I got is read by volunteers by Recording for the Blind. And the state provided me with a Perkins Brailler, and the cutting edge technology of an IBM Selectric typewriter with a recent. That's, that's what I had.   Michael Hingson  15:46 Well, I asked the question because when I went to, to UC Irvine, we had an office. And Jan Jenkins, early on when I started there, said to me, she lectured me, she said, I want you to understand what I do here, and this is her. She said, I'm here to assist, you need to take responsibility for doing things like going to professor's if you want books in braille, and getting the the books and, and doing the things that you do. But my job here as a principal in the university is if you can't get the cooperation you want, then you come to me, and I'll help you do it, which is such a refreshing attitude, even today. Because in the office is for students with disabilities, mostly today, you come into our office to take a test or we'll get the information for you, we'll get the things for you. And as you pointed out so eloquently, students as a result, don't learn to do it. And and like you I had to hire and fire readers. And and do all of the the same sorts of things that that you had to do. And it's the only way for us to succeed.   Kirk Adams  16:57 Absolutely. And again, if you if you look at research, and you look at what employers say they want employees for the 21st century, its employees who are resilient and flexible and have grit, and are problem solvers, and are creative and know how to analyze and manage risks and know how to work in teams of diverse people. And in my conversation as well. If you're looking to win the talent, war, blind people, by the fact of living everyday lived experience of blindness, learn, learn how to do all those things and develop those capabilities, develop those characteristics.   Michael Hingson  17:39 I think I've told the story on this podcast before but I like you debated often about whether to say that I'm blind when I'm writing a cover letter for a resume. And in 1989, I was looking for a job. And my wife and I were talking and we found this great job in a newspaper. It was perfect. And I said to her I said well, I say in the cover letter that I'm blind and my wife like wives all over can can say this. She said you're an idiot. And I said why? And she said you What is it you've always said that you learn when you took a Dale Carnegie sales course when you started out selling for Kurzweil? Well, she was ahead of me as often is the case. And finally, she said, you've said that you tell every sales person you've ever hired and every person that you've ever managed in sales, turn perceived liabilities into assets. And I think that's the key. Because blindness isn't a liability. It's a perceived liability. And what I did is I went off and I wrote a letter based on that. And I actually said that I'm blind. And the way I did it was I said in the last paragraph, so the letter, the most important thing that you need to know about me is that I'm blind because as a blind person, I've had to sell all of my life just to be able to survive and accomplish anything I've had to sell to convince people to let me buy a house, take my guide dog on an airplane, pre ACA, nada, rent an apartment and all that. So when you're hiring someone, do you want to hire somebody who just comes in for eight or 10 hours a day and then goes home after the job is done? Or do you want to hire somebody who truly understands sales for the science and art that it is and sells as a way of life? So I mean, that that I think is the whole point of perceived liabilities? Well, I did get a phone call from them. They were impressed by that. And I got the job and worked there for eight years. Fantastic. And I think we all need to learn how to win whatever job that we do to take that same sort of approach because I think most any job could adapt that same concept to say why blindness is a perceived liability on the part of the employers and why we're best for the job because of the way we live.   Kirk Adams  19:59 Perfect. Now I'm thinking about Carol Dweck work on the growth mindset versus the fixed mindset. So it all, it all holds together, you know, access strikes based asset, space, philosophy, etc?   Michael Hingson  20:17 Well, it does. And, you know, blindness is a perceived liability, and is all for us only as much of a liability as we allow it to be.   Kirk Adams  20:26 I think that's background expectations, too. As I mentioned, before my parents held high expectations of me, therefore, I hold high expectations of myself. Yeah, I know that not every blind kid is in a family situation like that. I've talked to many blind parents who are Parents of Blind Children, rather, who don't first learning their child is blind or going to be blind, just despair, and, you know, feel that their child has no future. And will, there'll be a caretaker role. And so it's really, really important that the high expectations get established early on. And like I say, not not every point blank kid is born into a family that's going to do that, automatically. So that's, that's an opportunity for all of us who are blind, to talk to parents of blind kids, and something I really enjoy doing, and letting them know that, you know, your, your kiddo can do whatever they want to do, as long as they are given the right tools and supports, and the opportunity.   Michael Hingson  21:36 Yeah, how do we get parents who feel desperation and so on? How do we get them to change their minds?   Kirk Adams  21:48 Well, I think that's exposure. And I think exposure to blind adults, successful blind adults, I am a big advocate for both consumer groups. So if someone's listening and are not connected with plain adults playing people, for the National Federation of blind American Council of the Blind, comes in different flavors, they have chapters and and different groups and affinity groups. And I would suggest checking it out. I think that's one way. I think that's an important way in the same in the workplace. And, you know, again, I'll keep harping on research. You know, it's shown that if a department or a manager hires a blind person, they're much more likely to hire another blind person, you know, then than another department hiring their first blind person. So, you know, familiarity, understanding the capabilities, and understanding that people are people with the same emotions and tribes and hopes and dreams and all the things I will before before I forget, I'm mentioned at work workplace technology study that we just did. And it was very well designed. We did We did focus groups interviewed then created a, an online survey then did in depth, in depth interviews, just to understand the dynamics of technology in the workplace, for people who are applying, what's working, what's not working, what tools do people use for which functions, and it's available on our website, so FB dot o RG? Easy, easy website to remember that we've done. We've done four or five, I think, really important studies in the last couple of years and and all that data is there.   Michael Hingson  23:36 You were talking a little bit earlier about what employers are looking for in terms of being flexible and so on? Where does loyalty fit into all that in today's world? You know, you used to hear about people staying in jobs for most of their whole time. And now it's a lot different. But where does loyalty fit?   Kirk Adams  24:01 That is a super interesting question. And I don't think there's clarity on that. And I was just reading an article this morning about the 10 greatest risks faced by corporate corporate boards, and one of them was the uncertainty of what the workplace is going to look like, in the future. Strategically, how do you build your workforce and your talent pool, not knowing exactly what the workplace is going going to look like? So a couple a couple things that come to mind. One One is that people change careers. I can't cite this. I can't cite the numbers, but something like seven, seven or eight job changes now and a lifetime of work. And the trick is to manage that person's career path. While keeping them in your organization, if you value them, and you find that they're a great contributor, and you don't want to lose them. So it's a different type of conversation, what? You, you try it HR, you don't like it that much, you'd rather be in it, how to recreate a pathway to keep a person within the organization. And then then the next thing we have, we've had the great resignation here with COVID. And so many people, it's been a wake up call for so many people to say, Hey, I'm Life is too short, I want to do something that's meaningful, I want to do I want to live well, I moved from the East Coast back to Seattle, to be closer to closer to family. So people are making those kinds of life based decisions that I think are much greater right now. I would say that the shifting landscape and employment I believe will create more opportunities for people who are blind as remote work, telework and hybrid work situations become normalized. You know, there, there is language in our statutes that says, setting up a person to work with a disability work from home is the accommodation of last resort. That was the, you know, the assumption was that everyone needed to go into the office, and everyone needed to be in a building with their co workers. And to set up a person to work for from home was the the last accommodation that should be considered. And I think that's, that's been flipped. Now. So I'm really, I'm really excited to see what it's going to look like.   Michael Hingson  26:44 I think that it is a, it is a moving target for everyone. And the key is to not allow blind people to be part of that flip. And I think that's that you're exactly right, it will be interesting to see where it goes, I asked you that question, because one of the things that I've often heard is, a blind person who is hired to work somewhere, will tend to be more loyal and want to stay there, rather, and will do a better job as a result rather   Kirk Adams  27:17 than and that's going out of that and that's verifiable. Look at Disability Research, DuPont did a really long longitudinal study 5060s 70s that people with disabilities are, they have less turnover, you have less absenteeism. Morale, in work groups goes up. customer perceptions improve. So there's there's a lot of there's good business cases for employers to include people with disabilities.   Michael Hingson  27:55 Yeah, it makes good sense. And, and, you know, we, we see in so many different ways that there are advantages to being blind, which which all of us also need to learn how to explain. And an emphasize another one that comes to mind. We've used it excessively a fair amount is the concept of brand loyalty, which is a little different. But the Nielsen Company did a study in 2016, talking about the fact that people with disabilities in general, and I'm going to narrow it to blind people tend to be a lot more brand loyalty to the companies online that give them access to their stuff, because they don't have to slave and work so hard to get access to it. And they're going to continue to work with those companies. That make sense to me. It is, it is just absolutely relevant that that we need to to get more of those messages out and make it happen. Of course, that's one of the reasons that we have unstoppable mindset is to hopefully educate people about some of these things, because it makes perfect sense to do. And there's no reason why we can't get get better access. It's just a matter of educating employers and a lot of decision makers who are not blind that we're, we're actually an asset to them.   Kirk Adams  29:16 Yeah, and I again, I'll mention an AFP. I think one of our crown jewels is our annual leadership conference. It'll be May 2 and third in Arlington, Virginia. When I first went to work for the satellite house in 2000, the person who hired me said if you want to get to know the blindness field, you need to go to the AFP conference. So I went to my first in 2001 I've never missed and it's it's fairly unique in that we bring together all the stakeholders so we bring leaders from voc rehab for the the federal agencies, nonprofit CEOs, corporate diversity, inclusion and access ability folks, academic researchers, blindness advocates advocates into the same space. And that's a really interesting thing to do. Because those groups don't often talk to one another. Although they, they would, they would all say they share a common goal in improving employment outcomes for people are blind. There's a really cool research study where they asked VR counselors and HR hiring managers, the same set of questions. And the one that stands out to me was the question was what what is the greatest barrier to successful employment of people who are blind, and the the VR counselor said, attitudes of employers, perceptions of the employer, and the employer said, lack of understanding of our business needs on the point of VR. So, you know, both groups would say they are very dedicated to improving employment outcomes, but but they come at it from from different angles. So, AFP Leadership Conference is a place where we, we bring all those stakeholders together in conversation. So it's, it's pretty cool.   Michael Hingson  31:14 And hopefully, you can get them to communicate a little bit more with each other. Yes. I don't know. It is it is interesting. Do you ever watch the ABC ABC show? What would you do? I have not. Have you ever heard of it?   Kirk Adams  31:30 I don't think   Michael Hingson  31:31 so. Duncan Jonas, has run the show in the summer, every year for a number of years. And one of the the whole premise of the show is that they bring in actors to play roles. And see how the, the people who are around them react. So for example, on one show is actually one of the first shows they brought in a an actor to play a barista at a coffee shop. And this was, I think, put on or created by the Rochester Institute for the Deaf. They brought in two women, deaf people, and there was a job posting and they went in and applied for the job. And the whole process for the decrease barista was to simply say, No, you're deaf, you can't do the job. And, and he did a really good job of that. But these, these two deaf people kept saying, well, we could do the job. This is a kitchen job. You're not asking for me to even interact with customers all the time. And he said, Well, what if there's something I need you to do? Well, you can write it down, or I can read lips, and he just continued to resist, which was great. But during the day that they did this, there were three HR people who came in. And they after listening to all this for a while, pulled the barista aside, and they said, you're handling this all wrong, these people have more rights than the rest of us. Just take the application and write on it. It's not a good fit. But don't don't keep arguing. It was it was fascinating that the HR people did that. So there is a there is a problem with HR. But again, that's what we have to help educate in, in all that we do too. So I'm glad to to see what you're doing and that you are bringing people together. I've I've been to a couple of the leadership conferences, but not not lately.   Kirk Adams  33:34 Well, we'll see. We'll see you in May. But I've got to work that out. But the workplace technology study I mentioned earlier, there's there's real data there from real people. Current so we can show HR managers that, hey, blind people report that part of your recruiting process involves some sort of online exercise or test 60% of your blind and low vision, people are having challenges accessibility challenges with that, you know, 30% of the people you're hiring, are having problems with your employee onboarding processes. So you know, there's anecdotal stories, there's complaints, but now we have real data. So it's really intended for the HR manager, the IT manager, and assistive technology developers to really show what's what's actually happening. You know, how your blind employees are needing to take work home and use their own equipment and work more hours. And, you know, they're having having to ask sighted colleagues to do essential steps in their processes. And I know people hear those stories, but now we've got we've got numbers and we got statistics. And you know, and I HR person doesn't want to say Yeah, 30% of this group of people is having problems with my onboarding process. You know that that's, that's a number that is going to get some attention, we think.   Michael Hingson  35:12 We hope so. And we hope that we can continue to find ways to, to get people to be a little bit more aware of all this, because accessibility to the tools is, is one of the biggest challenges we face. You know, that's why I joined accessibe. B last year, because I saw that there were opportunities and accessibility has even expanded a lot. And is saying that what it does to create internet access, which began with an artificial intelligence system that does a good job with some websites and a significant part of websites, but also doesn't necessarily do everything in an accessible he has now put together additional processes to create human intervention to help with the rest of it. But excessive he also wants to educate people about web access, whether they use excessive these products or not, because the feeling is we've got to do more to educate people in that exactly what makes sense to do.   Kirk Adams  36:13 Yes, and as I mentioned, before, we began our recorded part of our conversation, FB, NFB ACB, and the national rights Disability Network have drafted a joint letter to the Department of Justice, asking them to implement the web and app accessibility regulations that they are empowered to enact. And we have sign on letter. Again, you can go to afp.org, for more information, and we're looking for disability and civil rights organizations who want to join us and Ernie urging the Department of Justice to do that. Because it's so meaningful. I am a I'm not a high tech person. I like you said, I'm brand loyal to a small, small number of retail websites. But we also did a study last year, as part of what Mississippi State National Research and Training Center on blindness was doing. They contracted with AFP, we looked at 30 corporate websites, and we looked at specifically at their recruiting and hiring portals. And there's lots of accessibility issues. So they're there. So   Michael Hingson  37:42 five away compliance for the government. Yeah.   Kirk Adams  37:45 Yes. So whatever we add FB can do to change that landscape to change the way institutions, government, nonprofit corporate address, inclusion, put it under the umbrella of digital inclusion. You know, I think it's somewhat similar to we've more from diversity to inclusion. In our language, I think we've more from the digital divide to digital inclusion, which I think as a much more proactive concept.   Michael Hingson  38:21 A speech I've given for years is actually titled moving from diversity to inclusion, because diversity is doesn't even include us anymore. Which is unfortunate. And so we've got to go to to something that makes more sense. And you're either inclusive or you're not, you can't be partially inclusive, because then you're not inclusive.   Kirk Adams  38:40 There you go. Like it makes I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm stealing that one here. Welcome   Michael Hingson  38:46 to have it, it's You go right ahead. Because you either are inclusive, or you're not, it's a quantum jump in you can't be partially inclusive and say you're inclusive. You shouldn't be able to say you're partially diverse. And so you're diverse, because but but you know, that ship has kind of sailed. But I think it is something that that we need to do. And it's all about education. And it's all about finding ways to give kids at a young age the opportunity that you talked about Braille earlier. How do we get the educational world to recognize, again, the value of Braille and what's happening with that? Oh, boy. I know that was a loaded question.   Kirk Adams  39:36 That's that's that's my my personal soapbox, which I can can get oh, I don't know how to do it, other than frame it in terms of literacy. It is a literacy question. Reading is reading listening to something as listening to something writing is reading writing, you know, if if we didn't need to read and write and cited kids wouldn't be taught how to read and write. It's just a matter of efficiency and efficacy and art and being being a human human being in a literate society. So there's some there. There are some numbers embedded in some of our research, that that show the number of employed respondents who are Braille readers or use Braille displays. There are some there were some numbers generated 30 years ago that indicated that 90% of of blind people who are employed read Braille, that doesn't appear to be the case. Now, based on what we can infer from from our surveys. Does that I'm not sure what that means. So I I will say, to answer your question, I don't know. And we need to figure it out. So I will take 10 I think that's some deep research questions. But I would be energized to explore   Michael Hingson  41:15 take what you said to another level, let's let's say your right 30 years ago, 90% of employed blind people were Braille readers. And that number has dropped. Just for the sake of discussion, let's say significantly. The other thing that immediately comes to mind is how far people who are blind especially who are not Braille readers today are advancing as opposed to Braille readers. Because Braille is the, the means of reading and writing, I know so many people who are partially blind, who have grown up, not having the opportunity to learn to read Braille, who are very blunt about saying, if we had only been able to learn to read and write Braille, we would have been a lot better off because it's just so much slower and harder for us today.   Kirk Adams  42:14 Yeah, so I hear people with those same, same regrets. And, again, it's back to what I said earlier that as a, becoming totally blind at age five, there was no question I knew I was going to learn braille, and I was instructed in Braille. And, you know, it wasn't a question or debate. Who, who, you know, who knows what would have happened if I would have had enough usable vision to read with magnification? So I like I guess, along the same lines, is what you mentioned about Doctor turning his definition of blind, you know, if, if a child cannot read at the same rate as their sighted classmate using magnification, they need to learn braille, so they can read read just as fast as their kid at the next desk, you know,   Michael Hingson  43:03 otherwise, why do we teach sighted kids to read just let them watch TV which is, which is another, which is another technology and art form or whatever, that that isn't as creative in some ways as it used to be, but they're also good shows. So I guess we got to cope with that, too.   Kirk Adams  43:24 But yeah, audio description is not not our thing. Although we appreciate it immensely. And I know some other blindness organizations are really carrying the torch to increase the amount of audio description. But that just brings to mind that accessibility and innovation around accessibility for people with with particular disabilities is good for everybody. Yeah, and I know, my, my wife, she's puttering around the kitchen, and there's a movie on, she'll put the audio audio description on, you know, so she can, she can follow it. When I was at the lighthouse in Seattle, we worked with Metro Transit to put larger bus numbers with contrasting colors, because we have had a lot of employees with ARPI. A lot of Dateline, employees with ushers, and they did enlarge the bus numbers and put them in contrasting colors. And they said they had more positive comments from their general ridership about that than anything they've done. Because it made it easier for people with 2020 vision to see if that was their bus coming. Sure. So simple, simple example. But yeah, one of   Michael Hingson  44:45 the things that one of the things that really surprises me still, and I've mentioned it before, and so it's one of my soap boxes is Apple, put voiceover partly because they were compelled To do it, but put VoiceOver on iPhones, iPods, iTunes, you and all that, but on iPhones and iPods and the Mac, they put voiceover, they created it. But I'm very surprised that in the automotive world, they haven't done more to make voiceover a part of the driver experience so that people don't have to go look at screens on their iPhones or whatever. As opposed to being able to use VoiceOver, because clearly, it would be a very advantageous thing. And I also think of like the Tesla, which uses a screen including a touchscreen for everything. And my gosh, yeah, you can do a little bit more of that, because the Tesla has co pilot that allows you to interact in some other ways, although you're still supposed to keep your hands on the wheel and all that, but why aren't they using voice technology more than they are?   Kirk Adams  45:53 That's a good question that I can't answer.   Michael Hingson  45:56 I know, it's, it's, I've never heard a good explanation of it as to why they don't. And it makes perfect sense to do it. The voices are very understandable, much less dealing with Android and so on. But no one is using the voice technology and the voice output to take the place of of screens, which is crazy, much less voice input. So it is it is a mystery. And it is one of those things that it would be great if people would would consider doing more of that the automotive industries missing out and of course, we as blind people are the ones who bring that opportunity to them will take credit.   Kirk Adams  46:34 There you go. Well, you know, when when I was walking around with my four track, cassette player listening to textbooks, I was the, you know, the the oddity in school, and now everyone listens to Audible books. Right, right.   Michael Hingson  46:51 It's a common thing. And now not only that, you can use things like bone conducting headphones, so you can listen to your audio as you walk around and still hear what else is going on. So you're a little bit safer.   Kirk Adams  47:05 Yeah, I don't know how far afield you want to get in this conversation. But you know, indoor wayfinding navigation systems, many people are trying to figure that that out, you know, the GPS systems work pretty well when you're outdoors. But when when you're indoors, what are the wayfinding tools that are that are emerging? And you know, I'm thinking about haptics and, yes, different modes of receiving information than then audibly, because most of the adaptations accommodations for people who are blind tend to be audible. And if you get 234 things going at once you get you get a diminishing marginal utility there. And then at some point, you know, becomes counterproductive if too much is going on audibly. So I'm, I'm I went to Consumer Electronics Show ces for the first time, this past January. And I was very interested, I was very interested in kind of the the emerging use of different modes of conveying information, either through vibration or temperature or airflow, different types of information. So lots of smart people out there, trying to figure out ways to make make us all live better.   Michael Hingson  48:35 Yeah, I will have to hunt down Mike Mae and get him on the show, because he can certainly talk our ears off about indoor navigation integration, you should haven't done that. I've got to get hold of Mike, I think that would be cool. But it is all part of as you said, making all of our lives better. And the whole concept of virtual reality is something that all of us can take advantage of and use. And again, a lot of the things that that come about because of some of these developments actually started with with blindness. I mean, look at Ray Kurzweil with the Kurzweil Reading Machine, he developed the technology to be able to let a camera build a picture of a page of print. And his first choice was to develop a machine that would read out loud of course for blind people. Percy took it further after that, and now OCR is a way of life but it did start with Ray without machine, the Kurzweil Reading Machine for the blind.   Kirk Adams  49:37 Yep. Remember, it becomes a washing machine. Now Yeah, we can just now you can do with your iPhone.   Michael Hingson  49:43 You can and better how much our computer processes have have evolved over the years. It's really pretty incredible, isn't it? It really, really is. And you know, but technology is all around us. And it, it is a it is a good thing. But again, it's all about how we use it and how we envision it being used. So it again, it gets back to the discussion that we had about Braille. You know, people say, Well, you don't need Braille because you can use recordings and all right, well, that's just not true. Why is it that we should be treated differently? Why should our exposure to being able to read and write be different than people who have eyesight because reading and writing with Braille is really equivalent to reading and writing with, with printed page or pens and pencils, or typewriters now that I knew mentioned running with Roselle earlier, I remember, sitting on an airplane going, I think I was flying back to California from somewhere. And we were going through many revisions of running with Roselle at the time and Jeanette Hanscom, who was my colleague in writing that who writes children's books, so she was able to make the words something that we felt would be more relevant for kids, although I gotta tell you more adults by running orthros health and then children do so I've heard. But I spent the entire time flying from the East Coast to the West Coast, going through an editing, running with Roselle. And I was using a computer that talked but I also know that the skills that I learned as a braille reader gave me the ability to catch nuances and so on, that I never would have been able to learn to catch if I hadn't learned how to truly be able to read a book. And we edited the book. And you know, it is where it is today.   Kirk Adams  51:45 Well, it's on its way to me from the Talking Book and Braille library. I look forward to reading it. Congratulations on yet another publication Good on you.   Michael Hingson  51:56 Well, thank you, we're working now towards another one. Writing about fear, and especially with the pandemic all around us. And, gosh, fear has taken on many forms, some of which are understandable, and some of which are ridiculous. But we're we're looking at the fact that well, when I left the World Trade Center, I didn't exhibit fear. And that was because I learned what to do, and approach to the day when an unexpected emergency happen from a standpoint of knowledge. And I had actually, as I realized, over the last couple of years developed a mindset that if something were to occur, I mean, obviously something could happen. And we could have been smashed by something, but but without that happening, I could step back and quickly analyze whatever situation was occurring as we were going down the stairs or getting out. And I could focus on that and let the fear that I had not overwhelm me, but rather instead be a mechanism to keep me focused. So it's developing the mindset. So we're, we're working on it, and we've got proposal out to publishers, so we're hoping that that's going to go well. And, you know, we'll   Kirk Adams  53:18 see. Well, as mentioned earlier, I am president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind. And as such, I am scheduled to be on a zoom call with our Finance and Investment Committee of our Board of Trustees.   Michael Hingson  53:33 Well, we're gonna we're gonna let you go. But I'd like you to want to tell us if people want to reach out or if he wherever you want them to go to to learn more about AARP or you and reach out to you yeah,   Kirk Adams  53:45 FB dot o RG is the website. My email address, if you want to email me is my first initial K my last name Adams, K da ms at AFB dot o RG. And AFP and myself are present on social media. And you can find us easily and we'd love to connect. Get your thoughts, share our thoughts. Check out the Leadership Conference, May 2 and third in Arlington, Virginia and go to fb.org and look at our research.   Michael Hingson  54:20 Well, perfect. Well thank you very much for being with us today on unstoppable mindset. We very much appreciate your your time and hope that we'll be able to chat some more.   Kirk Adams  54:29 All right, Michael, keep up the good work.   Michael Hingson  54:32 We'll do it. If you'd like to learn more about unstoppable mindset, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com/podcast Or go to wherever you listen to other podcasts. We have a number of episodes up we'd love to also hear from you. You can reach me directly at Michael H AI that's ni ch AE L H AI at accessibly ACs. c e ss ibe.com. So Michael hai at accessible comm we'd love to hear from you. If you've got suggestions of people you think that we ought to have on the podcast, please let me know. We're always looking for guests if you want to be a guest, let us know about that as well. And most important of all, please, after listening to this, we'd appreciate it if you would give us a five star rating in wherever you're listening to podcasts. The ratings help us and they help us show other people that we're doing something of interest. So if you feel that way, please give us a five star rating. Thanks again for visiting us today. And we'll see you next week with another episode of unstoppable mindset the podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet.   Michael Hingson  55:51 You have been listening to the unstoppable mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hinkson.com/podcast. Michael Hinkson is spelled ma ch AE l h i n g s o n y you're on the site. Please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hinkson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hinkson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free ebook entitled blinded by fear. The Unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessibility and is sponsored by SSP. Please visit www.accessibly.com accessibly is spelled a cc e SSI B E. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) just released its workplace technology study, examining how workplace technology influences the experiences of blind, visually impaired, and deafblind workers. Joining us to talk about the study are Stephanie Enyart, AFB's Chief Public Policy and Research Officer, and Arielle Silverman, the American Foundation for the Blind's Research Specialist.   To listen to this week's “Speaking Out for the Blind,” go to: https://www.acbmedia.org/home/streams/, and choose one of the links under the heading “ACB Media 1 – Mainstream,” or call 1-518-906-1820, and when prompted, press “1” for ACB Media 1. You may also listen to the program live on the ACB Link mobile app. For more information, go to http://link.acb.org. Show archive page is at https://speaking-out-for-the-blind.pinecast.co/.   How to access ACB Media 1 on Amazon Alexa: From your Alexa-enabled device first Enable the skill by saying: 1. Approach your Alexa device and issue this command: “Alexa, Delete Everything I've Ever Said on this device” Please Note: This will need to be done on each Alexa device in your home.   2. Wait 30 seconds and then say: “Alexa, Open ACB Media” The new ACB Media skill will launch.   As a reminder, ask for the name of the stream that you would like to hear. The list below are the names for each of the ACB Media stream designations:  ACB Mainstream is now ACB 1   Facebook page is at Speaking Out for the Blind and Twitter page is at SpeakOutfortheBlind (you may also access this at SpeakOutBlind).   For more info related to this week's show, go to: https://speakingoutfortheblind.weebly.com/list-of-episodes-and-show-news/for-more-information-episode-289-workplace-technology-study

Blind Abilities presents Micheal Hudson, Director of the Museum for the American Printing House for the Blind (APH). The APH Museum, located in Louisville, Kentucky, comprises more than 3,000 Square feet of space and multiple exhibits which present the history of blindness, and the role that the APH played in that history. Jeff Thompson and Pete Lane sit down with Micheal Hudson, an articulate and well-versed expert in anything and everything related to the museum. He takes us on a journey through a variety of topics, such as the Helen Keller archives, recently acquired from the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Micheal also describes many of the old  machines currently housed in the museum, which opened in 1994. These include braille embossers and braille writers, hard vinyl disc presses, magnifiers, refreshable braille displays, typewriters, an impressive slate collection, cassette players, live Talking Book recording studios, an entire section dedicated to the history of Talking Books, Stevie Wonder's piano acquired from the Michigan School for the Blind and much much more. Join Jeff and Pete with their fascinating guest, Micheal Hudson as they delve into dozens of the machines, displays and other items. Micheal has a myriad of stories and is not hesitant to share many of them with the Blind Abilities team, so pull up a chair and settle-in for this outstanding podcast!  APH employs more than 300 employees. Check out job vacancies through the Job Portal on their web site:  at:  www.APH.Org where you can also nominate a candidate for admission into the APH Hall of Fame, Legends and Leaders in the Field of Blindness.  Check out the museum web site at: www.APHMuseum.Org They are also on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-6093 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

News Flash: The book is now up on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats! Buy it here. Prices are: $14.95 for the paperback and $4.99 for the E-book. Book Cover: Just Human: The Quest for Disability Wisdom, Respect and Inclusion by Arielle Silverman. Dr. Arielle Silverman joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio and introduces her new book, Just Human: The Quest for Disability Wisdom, Respect and Inclusion, is a combination of a memoir divided into chronological segments with lessons learned and for others to take from and learn themselves. Arielle brings us front and center as well as taking a look into the future through the glass of research and experience.  Dr. Arielle Silverman is a Research Specialist at American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), and has conducted research studies for the last 10 years. Her passion has remained and we are all looking forward to her work with AFB.  Her blog, Disability Wisdom has been publishing articles for the last 3-4 years and with her focus on her new book and new job, we can still expect her blog to be producing articles in the near future. To stay on top of what Arielle is doing and to find out more about her book, join Arielle's Facebook group and not miss a thing. With all of Arielle's life and work experience, her advice to Transition Students is good as gold and Her book, just human: The Quest for Disability Wisdom, Respect and Inclusion, Is Also a Great Read for Transition Age Students, parents, teachers and especially those who are wanting to become a teacher. You can join the Just Human Quest Facebook Group, Follow her Disability Wisdom blog, and contact Arielle at Arielle@DisabilityWisdon.com . Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361. Contact: You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Storeand Google Play Store. Give us a call and leave us some feedback at 612-367-9063 we would love to hear from you! Check out the Blind Abilities Communityon Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired group

The latest episode on the “Life's Tough—YOU can be TOUGHER!” podcast, hosted by Dustin Plantholt, features guest Sean Callagy with a priceless perspective to all listeners. Sean is the business owner and operator of Callagy Law, founder of the UNBLINDED movement and UNBLINDED Results Formula, ambassador for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), as well as an internationally recognized public speaker and business coach. Growing up with grandparents, aunts, and high school coaches who are rich in love, values, and mentorship, Sean delves into how he was blessed by the successful people around him. Modeling their behaviors from a young age, he developed the life skills necessary to succeed the most challenging of circumstances. During his undergraduate college career at Columbia University, Sean began to feel the impact of his degenerative genetic eye disease. Pivoting from his dream to go pro in baseball, he decided to apply to law school for financial stability and self-sufficiency as he would soon become fully blind. However, after working at a top firm post-law school, he realized that pursuing law was no longer his dream. Dissatisfied with his position, he looked around at the office and realized that most people complained about the work while only a small few were happy and empowered leaders. Wanting to feel a similar sense of agency and growth, Sean educated himself about business and gained mentor figures in his life—including Tony Robbins and Jay Abraham. What got Sean out of this undesirable cycle? Actively releasing his fears of rejection and failure. Prioritizing what matters. Integrity. Grit. Devotion to life-long learning. Sean attributes a major part of the growth in his businesses to reading books such as How to Make a Fortune from Public Speaking by Dr. Robert Anthony and Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins. From thereon out, Sean forged a new path for himself as the founder of Callagy Law, a highly successful law firm, and UNBLINDED, a personal and professional development company. Once he embraced the boundless possibility his future held, Sean “started generating clients and went from $100,000 in debt to a 40-person law firm in 2 years.” He also started asking challenging questions about how to grow and build structures using his gifts and talents to become a business owner who focuses on what fuels him. From sales meetings and what Sean coined as “ecosystem merging” through communication with niche client ecosystems, he prioritizes his life with integrity and passion. “I love growth. I love challenge.” Sean Callagy affirms, and through creating new opportunities and sharing his story, he encourages all of you to do the same. Because while Life's Tough, YOU can be TOUGHER! Do you want to access Sean's formula to becoming more free, happy, empowered, and in leadership? Do you want to learn how your weaknesses can be your greatest strengths and ignite a “why” that propels you? Have you been letting fear of rejection and failure prevent you from taking risks and truly living your life? By listening to Sean Callagy's journey and the steps he took to get to where he is today, you will not only witness a powerful and moving episode, but a motivational talk that transforms the status quo. To delve more into Sean Callagy and his blockbuster-worthy story, check out www.unblindedmastery.com and his social media @SeanRCallagy.  For more information about Life's Tough media and our host, Dustin Plantholt, visit our page at www.lifestough.com and platforms via @LifesToughMedia on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Today I welcome . . . DISABILITY JUSTICE AND COVID-19 Lakshmi Fjord, Elaine Gerber, Lenore Manderson. LAKSHMI FJORD, Ph.D. is an environmental justice anthropologist whose community participatory action research methods and evidence led to two historic legal precedents for environmental justice at the federal and Virginia state level. For the first time, a federal appeals court overturned the air permit to site the largest U.S. fracked gas compressor station in an 83% majority Freedmen descent community on the basis of environmental justice. This contributed to the cancellation of the $8 billion dollar Atlantic Coast Pipeline. With Devva Kasnitz and Pam Block, Lakshmi was a foremother of Disability Studies in Anthropology, and Deaf Studies in Disability Studies. She organized the first AAA panel on Disability and Disasters immediately after Katrina in 2005, recruiting Elaine Gerber and Karen Nakamura. She now works in 4 Freedmen-built communities in Virginia facing imminent threats of new toxic polluting infrastructure. Elaine Gerber is a medical anthropologist and disability studies scholar at Montclair State University, and a former president of the Society for Disability Studies.  Prior to joining the faculty at MSU, she served for five years as the Senior Research Associate for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and taught in the graduate program in Disability Studies at the City University of New York. Her work examines the intersection between culture and the body, initially with a focus on women’s reproductive health, and more recently, on disability. Current projects revolve around food insecurity and disablement, audio description, and cultures of ableism. There are both theoretical contributions and practical applications to her work.   LENORE MANDERSON is Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Medical Anthropology in the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, and an NRF A-rated scholar. She holds appointments also with Brown University, US, and Monash University, Australia. Known internationally for her work on inequality, social exclusion and the impact of compromised health and embodied difference in Australia, Southeast and East Asia, and Africa, she has published some 750 books, articles, book chapters and reports in these and other areas. She chairs the External Review Group of the Social Innovations in Health Initiative of TDR (2015-) and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA). She was awarded the Society of Medical Anthropology Career Achievement Award in 2016, and in January 2020 was admitted as a Member of the Order of Australia.

I have the true pleasure to be here today with Scott Tennant. He is a CEO, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist and Angel Investor. With the Tennant Institute for Integrative Medicine and the Senergy Medical Group, he and his father Dr. Jerry Tennant - the author of ‘Healing is Voltage - have & are pioneering healthcare from sick care to wellness, rejuvenation and longevity. Scott shares: - His fathers health challenge leading to breakthrough discoveries - How he started working with his father at a young age - How health is related to frequency & voltage - Why emotions, feelings, trauma can you make you ill - Why it's not about a pill but looking for root causes & patterns - How witnessing patients seeing again inspired him to his career - The importance of pattern recognition in his patients - Why your body requires adequate voltage to make new cells & heal - How pH is related to voltage - Why chronic disease is associated with loss of voltage - How to measure voltage and keep it at optimal levels - Why the body is a battery - The optimal voltage levels in your cells for health and wellbeing - The voltage levels for degeneration and cancer - The main voltage stealers and voltage donors - Rife technology and frequencies neutralizing viruses - The huge importance of teeth - The difference between disease & health - Food choice and preparation affecting voltage - Meridian energy device, voltage meter to measure overall body voltage - How to charge and reset your autonomic nervous system - how to add and hold voltage - How to change the healthcare system from the outside - Why patient empowerment is key - Why he trains his patients to ask questions - Why its elementary to listen to the patient and ask questions - Why good wellness care leads to less sickness - His success secrets & the power of possibility - Why his life is about learning and teaching & we are all just here to help - Why its ok to dont know how to do sth and ask for help - The importance of encouragement & how his family always backed him up - The power of mind: “Why not me!” - Why don't make it about yourself but help others - His philanthropic initiative with Helen Keller and American Foundation for the Blind - Reframing disability - there are not limits - Why blind and deaf people dont necessarily need help, are very capable and can see more than us! - Why he hates the word dis-abilities, better different abilities ► About Scott Tennant: FB: www.fb.me/scott.tennant.56614/ FB: www.fb.me/ScottETennant IG: @scottetennant http://scott-tennant.com/blog/ ► Further Resources: www.senergy.us www.tennantinstitute.com afb.org/HKfilm (American Foundation for the Blind – AFB, Helen Keller Documentary fundraising page) ---------------- ★★ SHARING = CARING! If this episode was valuable, please review & share with others who could benefit from this information too! TY! ★★ SIGN UP for free workshops & more: https://simonrilling.com/newsletter

Join us for a special event with ACB President Dan Spoone, as he sits down for a fireside chat with leaders from across the blindness field, including Mark Richert, Interim Executive Director for the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), Kirk Adams, President & CEO of American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), Craig Meador, President of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), Don Overton, Executive Director of Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), and Lee Nasehi, President & CEO of VisionServe Alliance.

Welcome to this edition of Michael's Weekly Perspective Podcast. In this podcast, I am first going to demonstrate a key feature in Jaws 2021, then, I am joined by a person who is a parent of three blind and visually impaired kids. Her name is Dawn Snow. Together, we are going to talk about how she started the journey, and we are also going to talk about the issues that she phased while raising her kids along the way. Here are the resources that we discussed in the podcast. 1. The Facebook page of Virginia Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments 2. Click or press enter on this link will take you to the page of Parents division of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia 3. Click or press Enter to activate the link of American Foundation of the Blind(AFB) 4. Right click or press Enter to view the page of American Counsel of the Blind (ACB) Thanks for listen to this edition of michael's Weekly Perspective and have a nice day.

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is pleased to announce the second episode of its Inform and Connect series focusing on the journey of Dave Steele, the Blind Poet, and how he took his fight with RP to create an expressive art form of captivating poetry. “Originally scheduled to emcee our Helen Keller Achievement Awards, I got to meet Dave personally when he visited our AFB office in Arlington,” said Melody Goodspeed, AFB Major Gifts Specialist. “I was immediately moved to a place of peace and wonder as he recited his poetry from his heart. This will be a moving and engaging experience – participants should come ready to be moved by Dave's art. He is a calming and engaging presence, teaching us all that we can find hope and wonder, even through the darkest of times.” Inform and Connect was created with the idea of fostering camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, interesting topics. This week's guest will feature the Blind Poet Dave Steele as he walks us through his personal story, his journey to healing, and how he reaches others through his poetry reading and advocacy. Episode Transcript.