AFB Possibilities

In this episode of Inform & Connect , Melody speaks with Scott Tennant, CEO and Founder of Senergy Medical Group , a holistic wellness company. Scott is also a generous philanthropist, seeing philanthropy and giving back as a huge part of his life and work. His generosity and passion to raise awareness of critical issues and drive positive change is evident in his practice. He was the sole fun...

In this episode of Inform & Connect , Melody speaks with Sherry Pablo who recently graduated from the inaugural cohort of the AFB Blind Leaders Development Program.  Transcript

This episode of Inform & Connect , the American Foundation for the Blind’s podcast, features Marty Schultz, cofounder and president of ObjectiveEd, an education technology company that provides digital curricula for children with disabilities. Full transcript available on our website .

Melody's guest on this episode of Inform & Connect is Sara Minkara, founder and board member of Empowerment Through Integration and “ Discovery in the Dark ” series creator. Leveraging all aspects of her identity—as a blind, Muslim, Arab-American woman—Sara uses blindfolds as a tool to encourage guests to embrace their own and others’ multiple identities, ultimately leading to true empowerment...

This episode of Inform & Connect features Sylvia Stinson-Perez, director of the Vision Specialist graduate certificate program and the Independent Living Services at the Older Individuals who are Blind Technical Assistance Center (OIB-TAC) at the National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision at Mississippi State University. The conversation will center around the issues the...

Richard Hunter is a four-time Boston Marathon finisher and has completed 22 marathons, three 50-mile endurance runs, and was the second visually impaired runner in the nation to complete a 100-mile run.  Richard was also the second visually impaired triathlete to complete Ironman in less than 12 hours, and the third to complete a Half-Ironman in under five hours. Richard volunteers as the pro...

Happy Global Accessibility Awareness Day (#GAAD)! We are excited to have Sarah Herrlinger of Apple and Christopher Patnoe of Google on Inform & Connect , the American Foundation for the Blind’s podcast. Both Sarah and Christopher sit on AFB’s Board of Trustees . The conversation, led by AFB Major Gifts Specialist Melody Goodspeed, focuses on AFB’s centennial, technology and inclusion, testing...

At the age of seven, brothers Bradford and Bryan Manning were told they would go blind. Instead of letting their diagnosis set them back, it became their mission to help others. In May 2016, they launched a clothing brand, Two Blind Brothers, which makes ultra-soft clothing and donates 100% of the profits to research to cure blindness. Their "Trust” campaign, in which visitors are encouraged to “s...

This Inform & Connect episode features a duo who share a true passion for music and advocacy in the blindness community: Victoria Claire , professional artist in contemporary sculpture as well as published singer/songwriter; and Thomas Reid,  creator and producer of the Reid My Mind podcast. Transcript

This episode of Inform & Connect —the American Foundation for the Blind’s ongoing series created to foster togetherness and camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, interesting topics—features a duo who work in the technical aspects of sound creation in film and television: Jeff Ross, Sound Engineer; and David Porcellino, Audio Mixer...

Inform & Connect , the American Foundation for the Blind’s ongoing series created to foster togetherness and camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, interesting topics, is back with a duo who share a true passion for quality audio description work in film and television: Roy Samuelson, audio description narrator; and Stephen Letnes,...

In this episode of Inform & Connect , Melody Goodspeed chats with Gabby Mendonca, blindness advocate and student. Gabby is a senior at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, studying communications in digital media. Growing up, she didn’t have anyone in the blind community to look up too for guidance. With this in mind, she started her own YouTube channel to connect with others like her—blind indivi...

This episode of Inform & Connect features a duo who share a true passion for bringing accessible entertainment to the blind and visually impaired community as well as the hearing impaired community through iOS devices. John Sweet and Petr Kucheryavyy of Charter Communications will discuss their work on Spectrum Access, a free app designed to provide entertainment access to persons with vision...

This episode of <i>Inform & Connect</i> will feature Helen Selsdon, who manages the Helen Keller Archive and serves as a grant writer and spokesperson for AFB’s historical collections. Helen will discuss the enormous project that was the digitization of the Helen Keller Archival Collection – the world’s largest repository of letters, speeches, press clippings, scrapbooks, photograp...

Inform & Connect , the American Foundation for the Blind’s live group conversation and podcast created to foster togetherness and camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, interesting topics, returns December 9th. The episode will feature special guests Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum, AFB Director of Research; and Elizabeth: Bolander, teacher...

Inform & Connect , the American Foundation for the Blind’s ongoing series created to foster togetherness and camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, interesting topics, returns with guest Jeff Heck, owner of NaJor Productions. Jeff founded NaJor Productions in 1996 as an outlet for his passion for being behind the camera and writing...

Inform and Connect , the American Foundation for the Blind’s ongoing series created to foster togetherness and camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, interesting topics, features special guest Thomas Reid, creator of the Reid My Mind podcast. Thomas’s podcast contains stories and profiles of compelling people impacted by all degrees of...

In this episode of AFB's Inform & Connect podcast, Melody speaks with Gena Harper, Senior Vice President, Investing with Impact Director, Senior Investment Management Consultant at Morgan Stanley.  Gena will share the story of her personal and professional journey, and setting the example of a life lived with no limits. Having joined AFB’s board of trustees in January 2020, she will also...

Inform & Connect , the American Foundation for the Blind’s ongoing series created to foster togetherness and camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, interesting topics, returns July 8th featuring special guest Becky Andrews, owner and clinical director of Resilient Solutions, Inc. Becky is an entrepreneur, licensed mental health...

This week on Inform & Connect , Melody speaks with C. Scott Hansen, Sr. Director, Guest Technology, Global Operations Marriott International, Inc. In our current times, we are moving back to the world of travel. We can all agree this looks very different from what we were used to. Scott not only has a vast amount of knowledge in the hospitality industry, but is a seasoned traveler that wan...

We have a special edition episode of Inform & Connect featuring the American Foundation for the Blind’s Director of Research Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum. Dr. Rosenblum will be discussing the Flatten Inaccessibility research report, the culmination of survey findings from 1,921 U.S. participants who are blind (65%) or have low vision (35%). The survey investigated the experiences of these partic...

Inform & Connect , the American Foundation for the Blind’s ongoing series created to foster togetherness and camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, and interesting topics. Today's guest is Alexa Jovanovic, designer and founder of Aille Design . The company works alongside a diverse team of fashion lovers from blind, visually im...

Inform & Connect , the American Foundation for the Blind’s ongoing series created to foster togetherness and camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, interesting topics. Today, Melody's guest is Catherine Harrison, a professional commercial print and fitness model. Catherine was a Registered Nurse prior to her sight loss. She was...

Inform & Connect , AFB’s ongoing series created to foster togetherness and camaraderie within the blindness community through informal storytelling and learning about relevant, interesting topics. This week, Melody Goodspeed speaks with guest Libby Thaw, founder of the Checkered Eye Project. Audiences will learn firsthand of the creation and mission of the internationally recognized Checke...

In this episode of Inform & Connect , Melody speaks with guest Jasmine Glass, founder of Spktrm Beauty . Listeners will learn firsthand of the creation of the world's first beauty brand to ban model re-touching entirely. With this focus on natural beauty, Jasmine will share the story behind her desire to help reshape the industry by making it more inclusive and transparent. Spktrm Beauty has b...