Careers for the Blind

Ian is a visually impaired person with Optic Nerve Atrophy.  He attended Kansas City University - college of Osteopathic Medicine.  Currently, he is a resident at Phornix Children’s Hospital.

Aaron Hale, a 14 year veteran, military chef and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (E.O.D) team leader has overcome all odds. From the moment a blast robbed Aaron of his vision in Afghanistan to years later when he lost his hearing, he refused to accept defeat,.

Tyler is losing his sight to a genetic condition called Stickler Syndrom.  He tried to fit in as a sighted person for most of his life, but is now begining to embrace his situation.  The struggle of confronting vision loss is real, and Tyler hopes to help others facing a similar struggle by sharing his story.

Jack Chen lost his sight from an early age due to a failed eye operation.  He remained motivated and initially pursued Computer Science, completing his undergrad at Harvard and a masters at UC Berkley.  He ultimately found his passion in patent law and completed a law degree as well.  He is currently Assistant General Counsel @Facebook, and leads the core Online Advertising Product...

This C.I.A. Officer lost her sight as a teenager.  After a brief adjustment period she was back to forging her own path.  In college she discovered the C.I.A., and is currently an Officer with the agency as an Analyst.

Taylor has been blind since birth.  She planned to major in Computer Science, but circumstances as a result of COVID lead her to start her own business.  She is now a Freelance Accessibility Consultant, and WordPress Professional.

Mike Moran lost his sight from an early age due to Congenital Glaucoma.  He’s been a Substance Abuse Counselor, a Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Field Representative for the Seeing Eye.

Melissa lost her sight from a young age due to a hereditary form of Glaucoma. She was an excellent student throughout high school and college, and her networking ability helped her land her first two jobs since graduating.  She is currently the College and Career Advisor at the EDGE Employment Transition Program.

Preston has been blind since birth due to Cone-Rod Dystrophy.  Through the use of Braille and assistive technology he has completed his undergraduate and Masters degree.  He is currently a Web Accessibility Specialist and part time lecturer

Ida lost her sight gradually from a young age due to Retinitis Pigmentosa. While attending Drew University she learned about the EDGE program, which helped prepare her with employability skills. Her hard work and determination has resulted in her current position as a Software Engineer at J.P. Morgan.

Pat lost his site at the age of five due to an auto immune disease called Ten Syndrom. He has been a fitness instructor, a lawyer, worked for the Seeing Eye, and is currently the director of the EDGE program in New Jersey, a employment readiness program for students.

Mike lost his site gradually from an early age do to macular degeneration.  He spent two decades as a computer applications programmer, but then went on to start his own Executive Recruitement company for people with disabilities called Blind Institute of Technology.

Ed lost his sight gradually due to retinitis pigmentosa. While there were times he struggled with his sight, he chose to ignore the problem throughout college and his early working life. Once he embraced his situation, that's when his career really took off.

Jeff has been losing his side gradually due to retinitis pigmentosa. For most of his career he tried to hide his vision loss. Once he embraced his situation he found a renewed passion for his career, and is currently the Director of the Office of Customer Accessibility at Fidelity.

Jessica attended the university of Arizona, and was pursuing a normal cited career path. At the age of 27 she lost the majority of her central vision to Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. She struggled for a short time as she adjusted to her vision loss, but once she embraced her situation her career took off.

In January 2021 I had a conversation with Dan Berlin.  Dan has been losing his site gradually his entire life. He struggled with letting people know that he had issues with his vision but was able to complete his undergraduate and masters degree in microbiology. He went on to have a successful career in corporate America, but ultimately followed his desire of owning his own business. With a b...

David lost his site at an early age you due to retinitis pigmentosa.  By the age of 19 he had no usable vision. He completed his college degree and after working for a number of years went back and completed his masters degree as well. He is currently the chief inspiration officer for his company Sky's The Limit.

Dr. Joseph Donnelly lost the majority of his sight at an early age do to Lebers Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.  As a visually impaired person in college he wasn't sure what career he would pursue. Joseph completed his undergraduate work and went on to his masters and doctorate program. He has spent the last 25 years as a professor at Montclair State University

Mark is a sighted person, but he served as executive director for the United States Association of Blind athletes for 20 years. Mark shares his story of how he became the executive director of the U.S.A.B.A. and some of the remarkable feats that he’s witnessed blind and visually impaired people accomplish. 

Kevin was declared legally blind from an early age, and has continued to lose vision throughout his life.  He has been a strength coach, trained with the US Olympic team in Judo, but ultimately found his passion for sales.  He is currently the Head of Sales for the New York/New Jersey region for Cigna.

Mary lost her sight at a very early age.  She considered many different career paths growing up.  After having a few jobs during and after college, she decided to get her MBA and is currently the Inclusion and Collaboration Global Strategy Research Lead at Cisco.

Dr. Susan D'Mello has been legally blind from a young age as a result of Retinitis Pigmentosa.  She knew by the time she was in high school that she wanted to be a Psychologist, and refined that dream in college when she discovered her passion for Industrial Organizational Psychology.  She is now a Sr. Research Scientist at HumRRO.

Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum has been a visually impaired person her whole life.  She initially started her career as a teacher, but later went back to school for her Ph. D. to focus on research.  Today she is the Director of Research for the American Foundation for the Blind. 

Rich Ruffalo lost his sight due to Retinitis Pigmentosa over many years, and lost his remaining useable vision in his 30's.  He always wanted to be a teacher and he wasn't going to let anything stop him from fulfilling his dreams.  He ultimately became an award winning teacher, and paralympic gold medalist several times over.  He has also shared his positive approach to life through...

Al Lost his sight gradually due to Retinitis Pigmentosa.  He started out as a Software Engineer, but once his vision finally failed him in his 30's, he decided to go to Law School for a career change.