BEST Together Podcast

Kathy Mullen is Director of Education at Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS) in Louisville, KY. Kathy oversees the agency's education programs, including the full-time VIPS and Kids Town Preschools, toddler and infant classes, Summer Enrichment and statewide outreach services. VIPS serves as the model and inspiration for many of BEST's programs and services, and Kathy has been instrumental...

Dr. Terese Pawletko has worked with children since 1976, first as a teacher of the visually impaired, then as school and pediatric psychologist. Since 2001, Dr. Pawletko has been in private practice, evaluating children with autism spectrum disorders, visual impairments and other learning and developmental challenges. While at the Maryland School for the Blind, Dr. Pawletko and her...

Paula Landry, EI-TVI, Orientation and Mobility Specialist and certified VIISA and INSITE trainer, co-founded A Shared Vision in Colorado. Today, the nonprofit is the leading provider of Early Intervention vision services in the state. Wearing many leadership hats, Paula provides operational support and mentoring for A Shared Vision's teachers.  She also leads the nonprofit's efforts to provid...

Sarah Barnes is the Senior Director of Youth and Employment Services at Lighthouse Louisiana in New Orleans. Sarah oversees the services and programming provided by the Youth Services Team which include those provided to children and students with visual impairments of all ages as well as transition services for students with disabilities who are in their final year of high school. She works close...

Kate Borg is the Director of Outreach at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI).  She previously worked for the Utah School for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB). Kate has been an administrator, instructional coach, classroom teacher, and itinerant Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI). This is our first in a series of episodes featuring programs across the country serving child...

Ken Quinn is a husband, father of three, advocate, student and accessibility and tactile graphics consultant. He also happens to be blind. Ken's younger sister, Alicia Holt, is a wife, mother of two and Team Lead and Nonprofit Coordinator. She has typical vision. For this month's podcast we invited Ken and Alicia to talk with us and explore sibling dynamics when it comes to disability. Does having...

Kim Owens is a mother, blogger, entrepreneur and recent empty-nester who has a website called Navigating Blindness where she has chronicled her journey in raising a son who has a genetic condition causing progressive vision loss. Kim's son, Kai, is now 19 years old, in college and was diagnosed with a vision impairment at the age of 9. Kim joins us this month to share her story -- the story of a m...

Brooke Pernice is a teacher, singer-songwriter, works in ministry and happens to have been born blind due to Leber Congenital Amaurosis. She joined us in a webinar setting earlier this year to provide her lived experience and advice for both parents and providers. We loved our conversation so much that we decided to share it on our podcast. Listen as she shares her experiences about living and thr...

Annie Hughes has been a Teacher of the Visually Impaired for over 40 years. She joined us in a webinar setting earlier this year to provide her lived experience and advice for both parents and providers. We loved our conversation so much that we decided to share it on our podcast. Listen as she shares her experiences and best tips for caring for a young child with blindness or vision loss.

Born a micro premie at just 23 weeks, Abby Sweet is now a thriving and joyous 14-year-old student at the Tennessee School for the Blind - her  true appreciation for life and the future ahead are infectious. In this interview, Abby offers up advice and wisdom well beyond her years, and reminds us that we truly are BEST together and that we are all miracles.

Kate is a board-certified Music Therapist (MT-BC), singer-songwriter, and registered yoga instructor in Nashville, TN. Kate attended Belmont University, was a founding member of its Music Therapy program, and was among the first graduating class of Music Therapy students in 2016. Alongside her passion for Music Therapy, Kate received 4 years of training in voice, rhythm guitar, performing, and son...

JP Williams is songwriter, singer, and public speaker. Blind since the age of 10, JP brings a unique perspective to his work as a life coach and musician. He has performed on the stage of the Grande Ole Opry, written a no. 1 hit single and has his own publishing company. Recently he has turned his focus to his work as a life coach. Listen as JP discusses the trauma of losing his vision and his phi...

Heather Field is a Special Education Teacher, Parent Coach/Advocate and owns a tutoring center in Franklin, TN. She grew up on a farm in Australia as one of 8 children and has been blind since the age of 2. In this episode, Heather shares her lived experience and tips for both parents and teachers working with young children who are blind or visually disabled.

In this inaugural episode of the BEST Together Podcast, Alison and Stacy tell their own stories, share how they met and what united them to become two moms on a mission! They talk about why they created their nonprofit, Blind Early Services TN (BEST), and what they hope this podcast to be for other families and providers working to give young children with blindness or low vision their BEST start....

Meet Alison Clougherty and Stacy Cornwall, the co-hosts of the BEST Together Podcast! As parents of young boys who are blind, Alison and Stacy experienced first hand the importance of specialized services and support in the early years of raising a child with a vision disability. The goal of this podcast is to bring inspiring stories, informational resources and uplifting support to parents, careg...