edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins
The announcement of products and services in this column does not represent an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its officers, or staff. Listings are free of charge for the benefit of our readers. “The ACB Braille Forum” cannot be held responsible for the reliability of the products and services mentioned.
To submit items for this column, send a message to [email protected], or phone the national office at 1-800-424-8666, and leave a message in Sharon Lovering’s mailbox. Information must be received at least two months ahead of publication date.
Financial Institutions and Accessibility Survey
G3ict (the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICT’s) and IAAP (the International Association of Accessibility Professionals) invite you to participate in a survey to learn how persons with disabilities are impacted by financial institution services. This survey also seeks to identify whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has impacted financial accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Please answer the questions in relation to your primary financial provider. The survey should take approximately 20-25 minutes to complete. An asterisk (*) next to a survey question indicates a required field. To take the survey, go to:
The survey closes on April 1, 2021.
New FSDB President
The Board of Trustees for the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB) has appointed Tracie Cascio Snow (former administrator of instructional services at FSDB) as the 19th president in the school’s 135-year history.
Snow earned a bachelor’s degree in Social and Rehabilitation Services and Elementary Education from Assumption College in Worcester, MA (1993) and a master’s degree in education from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. (1995), followed by a second master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of North Florida (2007). She holds several Florida state certifications, including educational leadership.
AER and VisionServe Launch Public Policy Alliance
VisionServe Alliance (VSA) and the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) have created a public policy alliance to amplify their reach and resources by capitalizing on their respective strengths and to model how national organizations can join forces to yield greater systems change through collaboration and partnership. This alliance is aimed at benefitting all individuals living with vision loss, but especially older people, who comprise the largest demographic of Americans experiencing vision loss.
College and Career Prep at Perkins
Perkins School for the Blind has recently launched two new programs, Career Launch and Compass.
Career Launch, a training and career services program, was designed to help blind and visually impaired young adults, ages 18 to 35, land professional, career-track jobs. This program is intense. It’s comprehensive. And above all, it’s proven. The virtual session starts with two months of thorough career training followed by a year of ongoing instruction, job acquisition and coaching support. For more information, visit Perkins.org/CareerLaunch/Virtual.
Compass is a nine-month virtual enrichment program for blind and visually impaired high school students in grades 9 through 11 to build the critical academic and blindness skills to reach their post-secondary goals. Compass works to fill the often-overlooked gaps in college and career preparation. Apply now for the September 2021 session. To learn more, email [email protected] or submit an inquiry online.
ACB Member’s Book Available
Now available is “Fifty Years of Walking with Friends” by DeAnna Quietwater Noriega. More than half of this book is devoted to the author’s first guide dog, Tammy. Each of the author’s nine guide dogs thus far is described in loving detail. All of the guides were trained by The Seeing Eye. It is available as an e-book and in print from Amazon and Smashwords.