ACB Salutes Our Veterans

November 12, 2020

Episode Notes

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark get to know the organizations supporting our blind and visually impaired veterans. First, they speak with Don Overton, President, Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) about BVA’s peer support network and advocacy initiatives. Then, they speak with ACB’s own Tyson Ernst, acting President, Visually Impaired Veterans of America (VIVA) regarding the VIVA affiliate and the tools and resources available to visually impaired veterans. To learn more about BVA, please visit: www.bva.org. To learn more and become involved with VIVA, please send an email to [email protected].

Audio Description Update

November 5, 2020

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark discuss the recent updates in the audio description marketplace. They speak with Sam Joehl, President, ACB of Virginia, about the work of the Federal Communications Commission and their Disability Advisory Committee, and they speak with Dr. Joel Snyder, Director, ACB’s Audio Description Project about ACB’s ongoing work to increase audio description availability. To learn more about audio description innovations and to know what content is audio described, visit www.acb.org/adp.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month

October 29, 2020

This week on the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire Stanley and Clark Rachfal have the great opportunity to speak with Chairman Neil Romano from the National Council on Disability (NCD). In celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the three talk about the low rate of employed persons with disabilities, the AbilityOne program, the work of NCD, and other issues concerning employment. #NDEAM

Flattening the Inaccessibility Curve

October 22, 2020

This week on the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire Stanley and Clark Rachfal speak with Kirk Adams, the CEO and President of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), about the “Flattening the Inaccessibility Curve” research project. The study, which can be found at https://flatteninaccessibility.com, explores the experiences of adults who are blind or have low vision during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey covered areas of healthcare, transportation, employment, education, social experiences, access to meals, food, supplies, and voting.

White Cane Day

October 15, 2020

This week on the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire Stanley and Clark Rachfal speak with three ACB members - Jeff Thom, Maria Kristic, and Lindsey Tilden, as they celebrate National White Cane Day. The guests talk about their own life experiences as white cane and/or guide dog users and the independence they afford. The holiday emphasizes the independence of blind and visually impaired persons, which often runs contrary to societal misconceptions.

10 Years of the CVAA

October 8, 2020

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark discuss 10 years of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA). ACB member Jesse Acosta shares his personal story and advocacy which helped lead to the passage of the CVAA, and Carl Richardson, co-Chair of the ACB Audio Description Project, shares where accessibility and digital inclusion needs to go in the future. In addition to this podcast, please enjoy this video message from Stevie Wonder on the passage of the CVAA – https://youtu.be/DiaoBxu-FrA

USABA & National Blind Sports Day

October 1, 2020

On this episode of the Advocacy Update, Clark Rachfal is joined by representatives from the U.S. Association of Blind athletes (USABA) to discuss the third annual and first virtual National Blind Sports Day. Cat Bouwkamp, USABA’s Membership and SafeSport Coordinator shares the impact of USABA’s work on the health and wellness of people who are blind and low vision, and Paralympian Ben Goodrich shares his personal experience as a judo athlete as well as additional resources available to help ACB members and the broader community to get up and get moving. To learn more about and participate in National Blind Sports Day on Oct. 3, visit: www.usaba.org/blindsportsday/.

Celebrating 2 Years Strong!

September 24, 2020

Episode Notes

This week on the podcast, Claire, the advocacy and out reach specialist, and Tony Stephens, the director of development, celebrate the two-year anniversary of the podcast. They reminisce about the first episode of the podcast, and then turn to the topic of the week: national guide dog month. They both talk about their experiences as guide dog handlers. Lots of laughs ensue.

Voter Engagement

September 17, 2020

Episode Notes

This week on the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark discuss a newly formed coalition of organizations that is working toward equal access to voting for all people with disabilities. They speak with Jack Rosen from the National Disability Rights Network, Maria Town from the American Association of People with Disabilities, and Sarah Blahovec from the National Council on Independent Living to learn more about the coalition as well as several other exciting projects to promote equal voting rights during this voting season and for future election cycles.

To learn more about the National Coalition for Accessible Voting, visit: https://www.ncavoting.org.

Talking About My ReReReResolutions

September 10, 2020

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark recap the 2020 ACB Resolutions as adopted by the Board of Directors. They are joined by ACB Resolutions Committee co-Chair, Gabe Griffith, to discuss the work of the 2020 virtual Resolutions Committee. The episode concludes with a conversation with ACB 2nd Vice President Ray Campbell about the ad hoc task force he is chairing to modernize the ACB resolution process.