Arkansas Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind

and Visually Impaired presents

All About Accessibility

#a11y

AR-AER 2017 Annual Conference

November 6 – 7, 2017

Holiday Inn Airport Conference Center, Little Rock

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Conference at a GlanceMonday, November 6, 2017 CEUs7:00-8:00 Registration with Continental Breakfast (Solarium) – Visit our vendors!

8:00-8:15Welcome & Announcements (Lindberg)Conference Committee Chair: Sandee Pinkstaff

8:15-9:00Keynote (Lindberg)Lis Geoghegan 0.75

9:00-9:40Vendor Demonstrations and Building Professional Networks (Solarium)

0.67

9:40-9:50State of the State (Lindberg)IFB SolutionsUA Little Rock

0.16

9:50-10:50American Disabilities Act (Lindberg)Bonnie Johnson

1.00

10:50-11:05 Break

11:05-11:50

1) Workplace Readiness & Technology Assessments (Lindberg A)Elizabeth Whitaker

2) Ahead of the Curve: Apps for the Field of Blindness and Visual Impairments (Lindberg B)Whitney Musick

0.75

11:50-1:20 Awards Luncheon (Solarium)

1:20-1:40 Election of Officers (Solarium)

1:40-1:50 Break – Visit our vendors!

1:50-2:50

1) Make and Take: Exploring the Senses with the ECC (Lindberg A)Lis Geoghegan and Sharon Niemczyk

2) Teaching Independent Living Skills (Lindberg B)Doris Pettis

1.00

2:50-3:30Vendor Demonstrations and Building Professional Networks (Solarium)

0.67

3:30-4:30

1) Make and Take: Strategies for Adapting Books (Lindberg A)Terri Fowler and Debbie Darrough

2) Humanware: Low Vision Technology Workshop (Lindberg B)Calvin Churchwell and Kevin Hughes

1.00

Total CEU hours Day 1 = 6.00

4:30-6:00Social (Solarium) – Entertainment by Everett & Emily ElamPrize drawing, Cash bar, fun, fellowship

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ARKANSAS DIVISION OF SERVICES FOR THE BLIND

The Division of Services for the Blind (DSB) is a state agency serving blind and severely visually impaired persons within Arkansas. The goal of DSB is to empower blind and visually impaired persons to live and work independently in the community.

Programs:

Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)

Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VR) Older Individuals who are Blind (OIB)

To refer yourself or a friend call us at(501) 682-5463 or

1-800-960-9270 (toll free)Deaf Relay 711

Fax: (501)683-1571

Conference at a GlanceTuesday, November 7, 2017 CEUs7:30-8:00 Light Continental Breakfast (Solarium)

8:00-8:45Business Meeting (Solarium)AR-AER President and Board Members

8:45-9:00 Break

9:00-9:30

State of our State (Solarium)DSBESVIVAASBVIWSB

0.50

9:30-12:00

Technology Tuesday (Solarium)Including:BrailleSense Polaris: A Star is BornHIMStastic HappeningsSeeing AI and Other New Cool Tech and AppsDave Wilkinson

2.50

Post Conference Workshop

12:00-1:00

Travel to the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub Box lunch provided upon arrival201 E Broadway St North Little Rock, AR 72114

1:00-4:00

3D Technology (Innovation Hub)The Innovation Hub offers everything you need to Build, whether that means building a product, building a creative project, or building a business. We have a wide variety of tools, technology and equipment, and we want to help you Build your vision!In our workshop, we will target 3D technology. Get hands on with 3D printing! Learn about the mechanics of 3D printers and how they work. Learn how to maximize the quality of your prints with tips and tricks to get the most out of a printer and make a model look great.

3.00

Total CEU hours Day 2 = 6.00

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Get your DRAWING TICKETS while there’s still time!

1 ticket for $5 or 5 tickets for $20

Drawing will be held at the social, Monday at

4:30. Don’t miss it!

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Meet our Braille Sense Polaris.

HIMS

Tradition meets Innovation

888-520-4467

www.hims-inc.com

Continuing Education and Professional Development ReminderACVREP, CRC and ADE Sanctioned

Attendees planning to receive ACVREP, CRC, or ADE continuing education credit must attend sessions in their entirety. Sign in/sign out sheets must be signed for each session. A session facilitator will distribute attendance stickers at the conclusion of each session. Attendance records must be submitted to Lis Geoghegan, the Conference Committee CE Coordinator, at the close of the conference; no late submissions will be accepted. ACVREP, CRC and ADE have approved 12 clock hours of CE if all sessions are attended.

Conference attendees who are not ACVREP, CRC or ADE certified do not need to track attendance in the manner outlined above. They should consult with their employers for instructions on attendance documentation. Generally, this is handled in-house and is not part of the AR-AER attendance verification procedure.

You may direct questions to Lis Geoghegan at Lis.Geoghegan@gmail.com, 501-918-8888, or in person at the conference.

Congratulations to the following 2016 AR-AER award recipients:J. Max Woolly Award: Kara AaronJoyce Ogburn Award: Stephanie SmithBill Tomlin Scholarship: Joseph MyersArkansas Distinguished Advocate (Business): Marileen TateArkansas Distinguished Advocate (Individual): Tanya Van HoutenTom Phifer Award: Sharon GiovinazzoArkansas Wall of Legends: None AwardedSon of Soil Award: Darick Wright

Special thanks is given to the awards committee, chaired by Debbie Adams, who will present the 2017 AR-AER awards at the annual Awards Luncheon in the solarium at 12:00 today. Please plan to attend to show your gratitude to the worthy recipients of these distinguished awards of recognition of excellence in our field.

New Board Members NeededThe Arkansas chapter is very grateful to the individuals who volunteer their time to oversee the operations of AR-AER and to conduct the business of our chapter. Each year five board members rotate off the board, and qualified leaders are needed to fill their vacated positions. A treasurer and secretary must also be elected annually, and a President-Elect must be elected every other year. The 2017-2018 board elections will be held in the solarium at 1:30 Monday, November 6, 2017. Nominations to be added to the slate will be accepted from the floor. All agencies are encouraged to nominate employees to ensure that the Board represents our entire field. For more details, speak to the nominations committee chair, Jeanette Forrest, or any other AR-AER board member. We will vote on:

President-Elect

Secretary

Treasurer

5 at large board members (2-year terms)

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From Our President

I first joined AER as a student in Pat Bussen-Smith’s RT program at UALR. I worked at LWSB for a while and my life journey took me for eleven years to an amazing place some of you football fans may despise called Aggieland, my sweet home in College Station, Texas. I think about two seconds after I returned to Arkansas in 2004, Lisa Reynolds asked me to get involved with the Arkansas chapter. That year I was elected secretary and I’ve been active since. I stepped down a few years ago when I thought I was moving to New York, but plans changed and my stay in Arkansas was unexpectedly extended, and there I was, involved in AER again. When I announced a few months ago that I was leaving, several people emailed me to ask if I really was leaving this time. I have begun a teaching position at the New York Institute for Special Education, and my husband and I have bought a home in the Bronx, so I guess it really is official; I am not an Arkansan anymore. Not sure that I really call myself a New Yorker yet either—I’m not sure what makes a place home instead of just a house, but I’m not there yet. My new boss is the President of AER International, so I feel pretty safe wagering that I’ll get involved with AER up here, so I bet I will see some of you at meetings or serve with you on International committees. Hit me up; let’s present a training session at a future conference together. I will miss all of you terribly. I’ll hunt you down when I visit Arkansas and I wish your chapter the best of luck!

On behalf of our chapter, I want to thank AER member volunteers for their generous dedication of time, professional expertise and insights. Without the help of volunteers, our chapter would not be able to function. Conference presenters, board members, officers, committee chairs, committee members, and fundraisers devote countless hours each year to help our chapter.

Just about everything our chapter does takes money and raising it is probably our hardest job. I appreciate Stephanie Smith, our treasurer, for managing the chapter finances. We did not have an official Fundraising Committee Chair this year (regrettably no one felt called to step up to bat for this crucial role) but all of the Board members and numerous other Chapter members, notably Leonard Ogburn, pulled together via personal donations and by soliciting the community for help to make our fundraising efforts successful. Going forward, our chapter desperately needs to recruit more volunteers to help with this task. If you even have the slightest of a hunch that you could lead this effort, you will have an army fall in to help you. We are always looking for new ideas, new faces, and new connections with the community.

The Conference committee, headed by Sandee Pinkstaff, made today possible. The committee began its year by visiting several venues to find the perfect place for us to meet. Subsequent months were spent lining up speakers and making arrangements for you to be housed and fed and receive great training and continuing ed hours. Sandee will step in as President when I board my plane to go home. She is creative and organized and eager to make a difference; she can’t do it all on her own though–Jump in and give her a hand to take the Chapter to even greater places!

Whitney Musick headed the Social committee. Be sure to turn out to the conference social for fun, fellowship and to win those awesome prizes you’ve bought drawing tickets for. What? You haven’t bought any yet? Why not? Buy many! Buy often! Mark your calendar for a spring social at the Flying Saucer on May 10, at 6:00 p.m., and be watching for the Travelers’ game reschedule.

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Typically, an AER President serves two-years beyond their term as a Past-President. The purpose of this is to support the new leaders and to allow for leadership mentoring. Sharon Niemczyk knows AER like the back of her hand, and when I resigned (effective the end of this conference) the Board discussed the value of having an experienced member to step into the Past-President advisory role. As permitted by the bylaws, the Board asked Sharon Niemczyk to serve in my place as Past-President and she graciously accepted.

When I originally wrote this letter, I wrote about each Board member individually and highlighted all of their strengths. While I may share my personal thank yous with them, I’m not sure that you really want to read my additional many paragraphs. The shorter version is that it takes a bunch of folks to get the job done. Let’s share the load! Volunteers make table decorations, update Facebook, tweet tweets, file paperwork so you can get CEUs, buy drinks and boxed lunches, work conference registration, get involved in political action issues in the field, sell drawing tickets, seek donations, make nametags, update webpages, etc. There are lots of behind-the-scene things that happen to keep things going and they all take the hands, time, patience, creativity and willingness to serve of many volunteers. Several of your chapter members are also active in AER International committees and Arkansas is well represented at International Conferences and workshops.

If you would like to become more involved in volunteer opportunities in the chapter, talk to any board member. You DO NOT have to be on the Board to volunteer. There are some jobs that are busy year round and others that are shorter commitments. There are leadership roles and there are helper roles. Think about what skills you have, then pull out your calendar and find some time to lend a hand with AER. DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME YOU ARE TOO BUSY! All of us are busy; find an hour a day, an hour a week, an hour a month or we’ll even take an hour a year. You will find that by getting involved as a volunteer, you get to know people much better and your connection with the professional organization strengthens. There is nothing worse than feeling totally isolated out in the field. Join the fun; you will make a difference. Never assume that everything is covered; we never turn away willing hands. My work with AER started with a simple thing, Pat and then Lisa asked me to serve—and here I am still serving today So, I am following her lead, and I am asking. Would you please help us with AER?

If you have read this far, you are a true friend or you are really bored with my keynote address. I love our Chapter, and I’m so grateful that you have allowed me to serve as a leader in it. I appreciate all of you who have given your time and your talents to serve with me. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you will keep in touch with me.

Until next time,

Lis Geoghegan, President501-918-8888

LGeoghegan@nyise.org

999 Pelham ParkwayBronx, NY 10469

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Presenter Biographies and CredentialsNote: Presenters are arranged alphabetically by last name.

Aaron, Kara: Kara Aaron has been the Visual Impairment Services Team Coordinator (VIST) at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) in Little Rock since 2007. She earned her Master’s degree in Rehabilitation of the Blind from UALR, and is an ACVREP Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist. She has over 19 years of blind rehabilitation experience including working at DHS Division of State Services for the Blind, World Services for the Blind, and VA blind rehabilitation centers in Augusta, GA, and Birmingham, AL.

Caton, James: James Caton has served in the field of blindness and visual impairments for the past twenty-one years at the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He started his career as a Residential Advisor/Houseparent and from there moved into supervisory and administrative roles directing the residential program and the instructional resource center. Mr. Caton also taught art for several years before moving into the roles of Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, and Secondary Principal. In 2016 he was appointed by the Board of Trustees as Superintendent. He holds a BA in Art from UALR and a Masters in School Leadership, Management and Administration from UCA and a Post Masters Certificate in Educational Leadership from UCA. His CTVI was obtained through SFAU.

Churchwell, Calvin: Calvin Churchwell (Service Provider Name: Blazingcanes, Inc.) is a private contractor in the four state regions of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas providing Orientation and Mobility, Low Vision, Braille consultations and adaptive technology assessments and training for children, youth and adults. He works with a variety of different disabilities as part of his job over the past 35 year long career. Currently, he contracts with regional vision rehabilitation agencies, Veterans Administration, and the University of Arkansas to provide services for adult clients. He has been working with Midwest Low Vision Technology Center in Joplin, MO., Low Vision Center at JAB, Missouri State University and Drury University to provide needed services for

clients who are low vision or blind in the region. Most of the work has been in establishing services for children and youth providing orientation and mobility training, Braille training, and adaptive technology and low vision services. Recently, he has been active with providing professional development activities, grant projects, instructing courses in visual impairments and special education survey courses with regional universities. He assisted with development of the Blindness Skills position for Southwest Missouri. As the Blindness Skills Specialist Program Coordinator, he worked with a team of professionals toward improving services for persons who are low vision or blind in the Southwest Missouri area. He served on a Blind Literacy Task Force and was project coordinator for the Blind Literacy Study for the State of Missouri in 1999. Currently, he is directing low vision, technology adult and children services for the Midwest Low Vision Technology Center in Joplin, Missouri.

Darrough, Debbie: Debbie Darrough is a Visual Impairments Teacher/Consultant and Certified Orientation and Mobility Instructor for Fayetteville Public Schools, in Fayetteville, AR. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Northeastern State University. Ms. Darrough completed her Orientation and Mobility certificate program from Missouri State University in 2013. She started teaching in Poteau, Oklahoma as a special education teacher in 1997. Here she had her first blind student and found her passion for working with the blind and visually impaired. Since that time Ms. Darrough has had the opportunity to work as a teacher for the Visually Impaired in Ft. Smith, AR, Keller, TX, Springfield, MO, and Fayetteville, AR. Ms. Darrough has also worked as an Outreach Vision Supervisor for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in St. Louis Missouri, and as a Parent Advisor for MoSPIN (Missouri Statewide Parent Involvement Network).

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Fowler, Terri: Terri Fowler has her undergraduate degree from the University of Central Arkansas, her Masters from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and her post-graduate work from Memphis State and John Brown University. She holds certification in Speech Pathology, Special Education, Elementary Education, Teaching the Visually Impaired, and English as a Second Language. She has 30 years of teaching experience as a vision teacher (6 years in Memphis, Tennessee, 14 years in northwest Arkansas, and 10 years with her current employer, Rogers Public Schools.)

Geoghegan, Lis: Lis Geoghegan has her BA in Psychology from Millersville University in Pennsylvania, and her Masters of Art in Rehabilitation Teaching and Masters of Ed in Special Ed, Teaching Visually Impaired Children from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR). She is certified as a TVI and K-8 general education and high school science. She was a Pre-K teacher in Texas. Her roles at World Services for the Blind have included: rehabilitation teacher, College Prep Instructor, and most recently, Director of Transition-Aged Youth. She was blessed to teach for 11 years at the Arkansas School for the blind, where she also served as the Coordinator of the Middle School program. Lis has also taught at the college level, serving as an adjunct professor in the Special Ed Department at Texas A&M and as a lecturer in the rhetoric Department at UALR. She is currently employed as a TVI and Middle and high School English teacher at the New York Institute for Special Education in Bronx, New York. She also works for Educational Testing Service (ETS) as a Praxis test item writer and as an accessibility consultant.

Lis has been a member of AER for 28 years and has been a leader in the Arkansas AER Chapter for the past 13 years. Lis is active with the AER International Accessibility Committee, for which she has also served as chair. She is a recipient of the AER Joyce Ogburn Award and Outstanding Leadership Award. She has served on various advisement committees with APH, BANA, ANFB, and UBAA.

Lis sang her first solo in church at age four and hasn’t stopped singing since. She sings for

corporate conventions, sporting events, and community celebrations. She has been blessed to sing in tiny country churches as well as the big stages of Las Vegas. She sang for President Bush at his Presidential Museum in College Station, Texas, and for President Clinton in the White House. ‘Live in Spirit’ is her part-time contemporary Christian music ministry that carries her across the country sharing the gospel through testimony in song. She is a Singer, song-writer, and piano and flute player. She has sung with many local choral groups and theater organizations.

Lis is the proud mama of two boys, and this September, she lost her heart to a precious new grandbaby, sweet, amazing Allison Grace!

Lis's philosophy in life is simple: "Every day I get up and I challenge myself to learn something new, to love someone for exactly who they are not who I want them to be, and to always make a difference!”

Giovinazzo, Sharon: Sharon Giovinazzo is currently the President/CEO of World Services for the Blind.

She has worked extensively on the local, state and national platforms at the executive level, as well as direct service in training and advocating for people who are blind and Deaf-Blind.Sharon was a nurse, and a combat medic in the US Army, and in 2001, she began losing her sight due to Multiple Sclerosis, little did she know that would launch her into a whole new journey of discovering and learning that losing her sight would allow her to gain a vision.

Hughes, Kevin: Kevin Hughes is the West Region Manager for HumanWare. He has 16 years of experience with HumanWare technologies as a trainer and consultant. Kevin works closely with educational accounts, agencies and distributors in his territory assisting them with product support efforts.

Johnson, Bonnie: Bonnie Johnson is a partner at Williams & Anderson. She practices in the areas of education and nonprofit law, business litigation, appeals, and employment law. Her clients represent a wide range of enterprises, including charter schools and other for-profit

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and nonprofit entities. Her charter school clients include LISA Academy, Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock, Exalt Education, Inc. (a charter school management organization), and Future School of Fort Smith. She has assisted charter schools with incorporations, applications to the IRS for recognition of nonprofit status, charter applications and renewals, negotiation of leases, human resources and special education issues, governance questions, and other legal matters. Ms. Johnson is the author of the Legal Guide for Arkansas Nonprofit and Volunteer Organizations, published in conjunction with the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law and the Arkansas Department of Human Services Division of Community Service and Nonprofit Support. She has over thirty-five years of experience working with Arkansas nonprofit organizations, including Heifer International, World Services for the Blind, Arkansas Foodbank, and Presbyterian Village. Ms. Johnson earned her Juris Doctor and Master of Public Administration degrees with high honors at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and the UALR Institute of Government. She clerked for two years for Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber of the Arkansas Supreme Court. Ms. Johnson is an active community volunteer. She founded the Jennifer L. Carson Endowment, a scholarship for single parents who are students at the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law. She serves on the boards of directors of Exalt Education, Inc., a national nonprofit manager of public charter schools, Arkansas Charter Partners, and Portland Charter Partners. Ms. Johnson volunteers for the Arkansas Repertory Theater and is an active member of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church. Ms. Johnson belongs to the Henry Woods Inn of Court.

McAllister, John: Dr. John W. McAllister taught Orientation and Mobility at the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired for 14 years. He joined the UALR faculty in 2015. Dr. McAllister has a B.A. (Psychology) from Philander Smith College, a M.A. (Orientation and Mobility) from UALR, a M.A. (College Student Affairs) from UALR, and an Ed.D. in Higher Education (Administration) from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.

Morris, Katy: Katy Morris is the Director of the DHS Division of State Services for the Blind (DSB), which provides rehabilitation services statewide to persons who are blind or severely visually impaired.

Mrs. Morris joined DSB in 1985 as Assistant Director, responsible for daily program, administrative and financial operations. Prior to her tenure with the division, she had served as Budget Analyst for the DHS Director’s Office and for the Department of Finance and Administration.

Mrs. Morris is a graduate of UCA, receiving both her Bachelor and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University. She is an active member of the Little Rock Founder’s Lions Club, and serves on the Board of the Arkansas Information Reading Services for the Blind. A native of Fort Smith, she currently makes her home in Conway with her husband, Jim.

Musick, Whitney: Whitney Musick is an Arkansas native. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor emphasis in Sign Language Studies from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR). She served as a Claims Representative for the Social Security Administration before pursuing her M.A. in Rehabilitation of the Blind: Orientation & Mobility at UALR Whitney worked with the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired’s Early Childhood Program before assuming her role as an Orientation & Mobility Specialist at the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired teaching students ranging from ages 3-21. Currently, she provides both kindergarten and O&M instruction to the A.S.B.V.I.'s student body. She also serves as an active member of the state AER board.

Niemczyk, Sharon: Sharon Niemczyk has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the U of A and a master’s degree in orientation and mobility from UALR. She is also a certified teacher of the visually impaired. Immediately upon graduation, she moved to New York where she worked as a mobility instructor at Helen Keller National Center and Catholic Charities Services for the Blind. In 1992, she returned to her home state of Arkansas and has

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taught at Arkansas School for the Blind and Little Rock School District. She is currently a consultant for Educational Services for the Visually Impaired. For many years, she was an adjunct instructor at UALR in the O&M program. She has served on the AR-AER board for many years as a member at large and an executive officer. She has also served on the AER international board as Council of Chapter Presidents’ Chair and on several committees. She is the former recipient of the Joyce Ogburn Award and the J. Max Woolly Award. She is married to Mike and they have a son, Edward, and a daughter, Theresa.

Pettis, Doris: Doris Pettis is a Wife, a mother, a Nana, a teacher, an advocate and a visually impaired adult. She is one of eight siblings, raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She worked in nonprofit organizations that were dedicated to helping families and children reach their full potential for well over 30 years. She was the Executive Director for two nonprofit organizations in Minneapolis, developed a pre-school curriculum and sat on an advisory committee that designed a case management plan for visiting nurses in Minnesota.

She received her Bachelor of Art Degree in Human Services from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul Minnesota and her Associates Degree in Early Childhood Development from Minneapolis Technical College in Minnesota.

Doris is compassionate about life and enjoys helping others. Currently, she is employed at World Services for the Blind where she embraces the mission to empower people who are blind and visually impaired in the United States and around the world to achieve sustainable independence. As the instructor for the Techniques of Daily Living class, she is blessed to have an opportunity to share what she has learned throughout life about living independently.

Swindle, Jay: Jay Swindle was hired by IFB Solutions as Director of Operations on November 10, 2014. He came to IFB Solutions Little Rock with over 20 years’ experience in production operations management. Before joining the IFB organization, Jay was the Senior Operations Manager for Maybelline of North

America where he headed all aspects of an 180,000 sq. ft. facility with a $2.5 million annual labor budget. He directed teams of employees to provide quality products, uphold safety standards and improve the customer experience. In two years, he increased the productivity level over 41%, earning numerous accolades. During the time he has been with IFB Solutions Little Rock, he has aligned efficiencies in the production schedules for the T-Shirt, Textiles and Paper departments by cross training and balancing workloads on the production line. By creating cycle count programs throughout the company, inventory is more efficiently maintained to provide an ongoing measure of accuracy and procedure execution. He was instrumental in the successful completion of the ALB ISO 9000 audit which is a quality management system of standards designed to help organizations ensure that they meet the needs of customers. The aim is a continual process of review and assessment to verify that the system is working as it is supposed to; to find out where it can improve; and to correct or prevent problems identified. While he has many short and long term goals to guarantee the success of IFB Little Rock, one primary focus is on the safety of all IFB Little Rock employees. Safety training and awareness, continual improvements in machine guarding equipment and the implementation of a 5s Safety Program will ensure that safety and good housekeeping practices are maintained. Jay has a BS in Industrial Technology from Southern Illinois University with an Associates Degree of Applied Science in Electronics from Arkansas College of Technology.

Whitaker, Elizabeth: Elizabeth Whitaker is the State Rehabilitation Technologist for Arkansas, and as an employee of the Division of Services for the Blind, is passionate about helping Arkansans who are blind and visually impaired gain confidence, skills, and independence. After receiving a bachelor’s in communications and fine arts from the University of Memphis, she began working at DSB in November of 2000 as a resource technologist. While in that position, she implemented training initiatives and wrote materials designed to provide skills needed for competitive employment.

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Elizabeth was promoted to program coordinator and state rehabilitation technologist in May 2013, and currently oversees the DSB tech section. In addition to assisting consumers who are college-bound obtain the tools to succeed, she and her staff also engineer worksites to meet a wide range of accessibility needs, and test hardware and software throughout the state to promote accessibility and equality. Most recently, Elizabeth graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a Master’s in English and Creative Writing, a degree she will use both on her job and in her side business as a freelance writer.

Wilkinson, Dave: Dave Wilkinson is the National Education Manager for HIMS.

Dave is a lifelong user of Access Technology and has almost 20 years of professional experience in the field. He has presented nationally and internationally on Assistive Technology topics including but not limited to GPS for the Blind, creating and accessing e-books, and refreshable braille and mathematics.

Before joining the HIMS team, Dave was an Access Technology Specialist for a number of companies and organizations including World Services for the Blind, HumanWare, and Freedom Scientific.

Jobs outside of the adaptive technology industry include working as a college residence hall director, several clerical positions while working his way through college, and running his own piano tuning business in high school.

For several years Dave was a competitive cross-country skier. In 2003, after moving to the South, he started running as cross-country skiing wasn't a viable sport in this part of the country. He has run numerous marathons, half marathons, and other races.

Dave has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in History and Radio and a Masters of Education in Student Personnel Administration in Higher Education from New York University.

When he's not surfing the Net or listening to outdated 70's art rock music, Dave enjoys spending time with his family, running, coin collecting, and a good book.

Young, Angyln: Angyln Young has served as the State Coordinator for Educational Services for the Visually Impaired, ESVI, for the past 10 years. She worked with ESVI for the past thirty years in the following positions: Preschool Specialist; Regional Vision Consultant and Orientation and Mobility Instructor; State Coordinator; and Special Education K-6 resource room teacher for Fort Smith Special School District.

AER International Conference 2018July 25 - 29, 2018Peppermill Resort Reno, Nevada

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Canon Grill Dave & Busters Dean Ingalls Golden Coral Leonard & Susan Ogburn Miller's Mud MillPainting with a Twist Tim Collier with Pacer, Ltd.Walmart Whitney Musick Also, thanks to Emily & Everett Elam for their gift of music at this year's social.A special thank you to all those who donated items, bought tickets and sold tickets.

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#a11y notes