The past month has been an incredible success for our staff at the LightHouse Sirkin Center. First, we showcased our paper and cleaning products at the annual National Industries for the Blind (NIB) Expo. Then we threw open the doors of the new Sirkin Center facility to welcome over 200 people including the mayor of Alameda. We then rounded off the month by winning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award for the second straight year.
The proudest moment though was cheering Dr. Charles Umo, when he was announced as a 2022 NIB employee of the year nominee.
Dr. Umo joined the Sirkin Center team in 2020 and has degrees in microbiology and applied biology. He had a successful career working as a scientist for a clinical research company until he began losing his vision nearly a decade ago. After several surgeries and rehabilitation, he eventually found his way to LightHouse’s employment services program. In 2020, Dr. Umo accepted a position as a production assistant at LightHouse Industries (LHI). Despite being somewhat overqualified, Dr. Umo was eager to accept this role.
“The reason I accepted the position was because I fell in love with the mission of the LightHouse.” Dr. Umo said.
“It really connected with me. I thought, ‘I will move the mission forward. I try to make a positive contribution wherever I find myself. This will give me the opportunity to share my knowledge and my experiences to train others and together move the vision of the LightHouse forward.”
LightHouse Industries has grown in the past two and a half years, moving from a smaller warehouse in San Leandro to a beautiful new state-of-the-art facility, the Sirkin Center, in Alameda. As LHI grew and flourished so did Dr. Umo’s career with LightHouse.
Through his hard work and leadership skills, Dr. Umo has demonstrated his dedication to the LightHouse mission of changing perceptions of blindness and creating new opportunities and a standard of equality for the blind community. In two years, he has been promoted to Assistant Director of Quality and Compliance.
“When they told me I was nominated for Employee of the Year, I said ‘Oh, wow!’ It came as a surprise to me. It wasn’t until I got the email from NIB that it felt real.” Dr. Umo explains.
“But for me, the Employee of the Year nomination is not really about me. It is about Team LightHouse. It is about moving the mission forward, about busting stereotypes and kicking aside this prejudice. My goal is to improve the lives of my coworkers by creating learning opportunities, teaching them to mix chemicals, cleaning products, sanitizers, and disinfectants. It is exciting to watch every day. I see them learn; I see us grow together. I see us opening a path to become a better version of ourselves. I teach them every time you encounter stereotyping or prejudice to respond with excellence. That’s what the community needs.”
We are so proud of Dr. Charles Umo and his many accomplishments. It was an honor to celebrate him and his nomination of Employee of the Year at the NIB Conference and Expo in Washington D.C. last month. His hard work paired with the combined accomplishments of the entire Sirkin Center staff has been nationally recognized. LightHouse is excited to keep expanding, creating greater opportunities for our employees, and (as Dr. Umo puts it) continue to “respond with excellence.”
Speaking of the EPA Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award, here is a little more about it below!
