ACB Advocacy Update

Get ready for the American Council of the Blind’s 2nd Annual Audio Description Awards Gala! Clark and Swatha speak with Kim Charlson (ACB’s Immediate Past President and Co-Chair of the Audio Description Project) and Matt Ater (ACB Advisory Board Member and Vice President at Vispero)  about this year’s gala. We cover how it got started, … Read more

As we head into the Mid-term elections, Clark and Swatha speak with Rylin Rodgers (Disability Policy Advisor at Microsoft) and Whitney Quesenbery (Executive Director for the Center for Civic Design) about the work both organizations are doing to make voting accessible for individuals with disabilities. we discuss the work the Center for Civic Design is … Read more

Episode Notes The scientists, writers, and educators from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) want to make space accessible for everyone, and have created vividly detailed alt text for every photo that has been released from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. ACB’s advocacy team, Clark Rachfal and Swatha Nandhakumar, are joined by Dr. Kelly Lepo, … Read more

Congress is back in session, and so is the ACB Advocacy team! On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark and Swatha provide another round of updates for our listeners. Topics we cover include Rep. Sarbanes’ letter to the Department of Justice with over 30 supporting Congressional offices, ACB’s accessible at-home COVID test accessibility … Read more

Episode Description On this week’s episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Swatha meets with our two re-elected Board members from the 2022 National Convention, Jeff Thom and Koni Sims. She learns about their history with ACB, what they’re excited to work on in their new term as director, and advocacy issues important to them. Jeff … Read more

Episode Description On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark and Swatha head into the August Congressional Recess with another round of advocacy updates. They cover the DOJ Uber settlement, updated COVID testing guidance, ACB’s website accessibility action alert, a new AbilityOne subminimum wage rule, updated HHS and DOJ guidance on telehealth, Concept2, and … Read more

Episode Description On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark and Swatha speak with our three newly elected members of the ACB Board of Directors, Gabriel Lopez Kafati, Rachel Schroeder, and Terry Pacheco. They discuss their history with ACB, including why they became a member, their leadership experience, why they ran for a board … Read more

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark and Swatha speak with Dr. Rebecca Sheffield (Education Programs Specialist at the US Department of Education) Dr. Frances Mary D’Andrea, (Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Pittsburgh) and Sarah Chatfield,(Doctoral Candidate at Texas Tech University) about their recently published journal article “How Many Braille … Read more

Episode Description On this episode of the Advocacy Update, we discuss the ongoing advocacy efforts to make at-home COVID-19 tests more accessible for people who are blind and low vision. Clark is joined by ACB President Dan Spoone and Immediate Past President Kim Charlson, and Deputy Director Jill Heemsker, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and … Read more

Episode Description On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark and Swatha speak with Christine Kim (Trial Attorney at the US Department of Justice Disability Rights Section) and Aaron Konopasky (Senior Attorney Advisor at the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) about the recent guidance on AI and algorithmic technology and disability-based discrimination in employment … Read more