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American Council of the Blind

LightHouse Goes to Omaha, NE for the American Council for the Blind’s National Conference

LightHouse Goes to Omaha, NE for the American Council for the Blind’s National Conference

It has been a busy and bustling conference season this summer with hundreds of people gathering all across the country after more than two years of only tele-connecting. Now that the dust has settled, and sleep has been caught up on, Communications Associate, Caitlin O’Malior, reflects on her first American Council for the Blind convention experience.

Stepping off the plane in Omaha, Nebraska last month, my mind was filled with thoughts of finding Baggage Claim and navigating my way to the Ride Share pick up location. As I left the plane, white cane in hand, I was immediately greeted with a kind and enthusiastic, “Hello Miss! Are you heading to the ACB conference?” Relieved, I answered, “yes,” as he gestured to a group of people also holding white canes. He was an American Council for the Blind volunteer, offering his assistance to the group to Baggage Claim and the hotel shuttle. I joined the group, and instantly felt a sense of community as the others happily greeted me and introduced themselves. “Oh, this is your first ACB convention? That’s wonderful! You’ll have a great time,” I was told. And indeed, I did.

My role at the ACB conference was to support my LightHouse colleagues exhibiting at the convention, promote LightHouse services and products, and network. On the opening of the ACB Convention Exhibit Hall, I joined my fellow LightHouse staff members at table 19 – staff from our Media and Accessible Design Lab (MAD Lab), the Adaptations store, and our Community Outreach Coordinator. Our table was equipped with MAD Lab produced Braille calendarsUEB guidebooksTactile Intersection booklets, and a collection of our best custom-designed tactile maps. The star of the show was definitely our TMAP station where Senior Accessible Media and Braille Specialist, Frank Welte, created and produced tactile TMAP street maps of our surroundings on the fly!

As conference attendees thumbed through all our accessible products, we chatted about maps, Braille, and of course, LightHouse’s programs and services – especially our hybrid and virtual programs that benefit not only those local to the San Francisco Bay Area. People from all walks of life and blindness visited our table. It is in these conversations that I re-affirmed the value of what we do and the products and services we create.

It is a privilege to participate in national conferences and conventions. To showcase LightHouse’s Braille and tactile designs at a table alongside leading assistive technology companies, the best guide dog organizations in the business, and even the Central Intelligence Agency, was a proud feeling. It is exciting to be able to connect with our community in such a way, and the experience was invaluable.

If you would like to learn more about LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the blindness trainings and services we provide, please visit our website.

Meet with MAD Lab at the Summer 2022 Blind Consumer Conventions

Meet with MAD Lab at the Summer 2022 Blind Consumer Conventions

Members of our Media and Accessible Design Laboratory (MAD Lab) team will be on hand at the LightHouse exhibit booths at this summer’s American Council of the Blind (ACB) and National Federation of the Blind (NFB) conventions. They’ll be showcasing our famous TMAP, which is a tactile street map of a specific area or location as designated by the end-user. Frank Welte will be representing the MAD Lab at the ACB convention in Omaha, Nebraska and at the NFB convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.

If you’re going to the ACB convention, stop by our exhibit booth, say hi to Frank and take a look at a tactile map of Omaha.

Those of you going to New Orleans will find it a bit easier to explore the city because NFB and MAD Lab are working to make copies of a TMAP street map of the area near the convention hotel available, including the French Quarter. Make sure to pick up one of those maps.

Going somewhere else on vacation this summer? No problem! You can purchase TMAP tactile street maps and other unique MAD Lab products at the Adaptations Store. Visit www.adaptations.org or call 888-400-8933 for more information.For inquiries or questions for the MAD Lab, please contact madlab@lighthouse-sf.org or visit the MAD Lab page on the LightHouse website. We look forward to meeting you at this year’s summer conferences.

Learn More about MAD Lab, Adaptations and LightHouse Services at NFB, ACB Conventions

Learn More about MAD Lab, Adaptations and LightHouse Services at NFB, ACB Conventions

LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco will be making appearances at the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and American Council of the Blind (ACB) virtual Conventions this July.

LightHouse at the NFB Exhibit Hall
LightHouse Breakout Session at NFB Convention
LightHouse at the ACB Convention

LightHouse at NFB Exhibit Hall

LightHouse will be in the NFB Virtual Exhibit Hall to talk about our services the following dates and times:
 
Tuesday, July 6: 6:00 am to 2:00 pm Pacific (9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern)
Wednesday, July 7: 6:00 am to 2:00 pm (9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern) 

NFB Exhibit Hall Zoom url: https://lighthouse-sf.zoom.us/j/97124211821?pwd=K1pJMFQ5cEE2MmYreUtRc1Z3akxBZz09
NFB Exhibit Hall Zoom Meeting ID: 971 2421 1821
Password: 982034
Dial toll free in the United States: 1-833-548-0282

Additionally, the Media and Accessible Design Laboratory will have a breakout session on July 6 from noon to 1:00 Pacific (3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Eastern):

LightHouse Breakout Session at the NFB Convention

LightHouse Presents: Tactile Maps and More!
LightHouse in San Francisco invites you to hear how our MAD Lab TMAPs can help you learn a city block or navigate a new neighborhood and how tactile intersection diagrams can enhance O&M instruction. Find out how you can touch the news and learn about our online Adaptations store.
Hosted by Sheri Albers, Community Outreach Coordinator, San Francisco LightHouse
Tuesday, July 6 from noon to 1:00 Pacific (3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Eastern):

NFB Breakout Session Zoom meeting URL is https://zoom.us/j/92618487109
NFB Breakout Session Zoom meeting ID: 926 1848 7109
Dial toll free in the United States: 1-833-548-0282

LightHouse at the ACB Convention

 LightHouse will be in the ACB Virtual Exhibit Hall to talk about our services the following dates and times (in Pacific):
 
Monday, July 19 through Thursday, July 22 from noon to 2:00 pm Pacific (3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Eastern) daily
 
Join Zoom Meeting: https://lighthouse-sf.zoom.us/j/94402436903?pwd=elJWcFVINmJVYlNlMkcwdHE5WU5UZz09
Meeting ID: 944 0243 6903
Passcode: 035006
One tap mobile +16699006833,,94402436903# US (San Jose)
Dial toll free in the United States: 1-833-548-0282
 
So if you’re attending one or both the conventions, we hope you’ll stop on by and hang out and ask many questions of our friendly, skilled staff.

LightHouse’s MAD Lab Receives the Robert S. Bray Award for Innovation in Tactile Graphics

LightHouse’s MAD Lab Receives the Robert S. Bray Award for Innovation in Tactile Graphics

Last week, the American Council of the Blind awarded LightHouse’s Media and Accessible Design Lab with the Robert S. Bray Award for Media Excellence at the annual conference in Reno, Nevada. The Bray Award is given to a person or a company that has improved communication technology or devices, or expanded access to such devices for all blind people.

Last year, the award was presented to LightHouse partner Apple for the company’s strides in accessibility and continued dedication to inclusion-based innovation for blind users.

MAD Lab Alternative Media Specialist Frank Welte attended the conference and accepted the award on behalf of MAD Lab.

“It was exciting to see MAD Lab recognized at a national level for the cutting edge work we’re doing in making high quality tactile graphics available to the blind community,” he says. “It’s an indication that we’re coming into a golden age in the creation of and availability of tactile graphics that are accessible to blind people. We’re seeing that greater attention is being paid to effective use of tactile graphics to communicate visual information to blind people.”

The MAD Lab has earned a reputation for producing fabulous tactile media of all kinds, including raised line drawings, tactile graphics and tactile maps like this one for Alcatraz or this one of California, and other GGRNA maps – for everything from Burning Man to BART. We are thrilled to be on the forefront of tactile innovation, education and literacy.

For a rate sheet or an informal quote on a business project, contact MADLab@lighthouse-sf.org or call 415-694-7349.