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Multimedia Producer

Leave a commenton Multimedia Producer

POSITION:             Multimedia Producer

REPORTS TO:        Vice President of Communications

STATUS:                   Exempt

DEADLINE:            Until hired

LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, headquartered in downtown San Francisco, is looking for a full-time Multimedia Producer to join our growing organization.

Role Overview: LightHouse is a diverse and rich community of people who all have great stories to tell and voices that we want to amplify. We are seeking a multimedia professional who loves telling interesting stories in accessible and creative ways. You will have extensive experience in managing multiple projects from idea inception, through post-production and delivery to a wide range of audiences and platforms.

There are opportunities to pursue an ambitious slate of video, audio, and photo projects.

The LightHouse communications team is a small, agile team where everyone is expected to think creatively, produce steadily, and be prepared to juggle deadlines.

Diversity and Inclusion: LightHouse intentionally and actively works to minimize barriers to employment faced by many marginalized groups. As a result, we welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and abilities, including but not limited to applicants who possess various disabilities, racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, gender identities, and ages.

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism or similar
  • Demonstrated experience in multimedia storytelling
  • Experience in producing short and impactful training videos
  • Experience with all facets of video production including editing, subtitling/captioning
  • Experience with working with people who may be new to being filmed
  • Experience with managing input and storyboarding from a wide range of stakeholders
  • Experience with all technical aspects of shooting video including lighting, set-up and staging.
  • Ability to work from a set brief.
  • Ability to photograph in many settings and under many different conditions including outdoors, gatherings, action shots and stills.
  • Ability to crop and frame video and pictures for best results on social media
  • Ability to record high quality audio using wild track and sound to convey a picture
  • Ability to edit audio to a high standard
  • Have excellent verbal and written communication skills
  • Ability to write from video/pictures to form a written narrative.
  • Well-developed interpersonal skills and ability to put people at their ease and react to changing situations to capture the best footage and product
  • Ability to work independently or as part of a team

Physical Requirements:

  • Physical mobility and endurance to perform tasks while standing, walking, some for long periods of time.
  • Capable of using cameras and deploying lighting and audio while lifting objects weighing up to 25 pounds?
  • Ability to safely and properly use tools and equipment.
  • Ability to sit at a desk and perform computer-intensive work for long periods of time; operate standard office equipment; ability to work at offsite location(s) independently as needed.
  • Work on occasional nights and weekends

Job Responsibilities:

  • Produce high-quality video and audio of personal stories, trainings, events, seminars and other subjects as needed
  • Manage multiple video projects concurrently from idea inception through final product
  • Create interesting videos for a range of different audiences
  • Take, crop and edit photographs
  • Organize media assets
  • Produce and edit audio and video with strong LightHouse branding
  • Oversee and completes special projects as assigned
  • Work with all LightHouse departments to identify multimedia story opportunities
  • Train staff to record their own videos on location for editing later
  • Other duties as assigned

Other Duties: 

  • Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

The Multimedia Producer will be expected to follow directions from state, local government, and public health officials regarding the wearing of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). As a result, this job may be required to be performed using a mask and gloves for the protection of this employee, clients, and all Lighthouse employees.

Equal Opportunity

LightHouse is an equal opportunity employer.  LightHouse policy and the law prohibit discrimination and harassment based on an individual’s race, ancestry, religion or religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), color, age (40 and over), sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin (including language use restrictions), marital status, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), physical or mental disability (including HIV and AIDS), military or veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions, denial of Family and Medical Care leave, height and weight, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local laws, regulations, or ordinances.  Our policy and the law prohibit co-workers, third parties, supervisors, and managers from engaging in such conduct.

LightHouse personnel are employed on an at-will basis.  Employment at-will means that the employment relationship may be terminated, with or without cause and with or without advance notice at any time by the employee or the Agency.

We strive to maintain a scent-free environment and a drug-free workplace.  Employees are expected to behave in accordance with these objectives.

All employees at LightHouse are hired for an indefinite and unspecified duration and consequently, no employee is guaranteed employment for a specified length of time. Employment is at the mutual consent of the employee and LightHouse. Accordingly, either the employee or LightHouse can terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause (“employment at will”).

How to Apply:

After reviewing the complete Job Description located at our website at: https://lighthouse-sf.org/about/careers/, please complete an application as well as a cover letter and résumé as word processing document attachments, (no PDFs please). Please place the job title, Multimedia Producer, on the subject line.

Giving Tuesday is Here! Help Make Enchanted Hills Camp More Accessible and Sustainable.
LightHouse News

Giving Tuesday is Here! Help Make Enchanted Hills Camp More Accessible and Sustainable.

Please join LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Enchanted Hills Camp on Tuesday, November 30 for Giving Tuesday, and help us meet our accessibility and sustainability goals!

This year the funds we raise on Giving Tuesday will go towards the purchase of two wheelchair accessible electric vehicle shuttles for Enchanted Hills Camp as a part of our larger vision to make EHC fully accessible and carbon neutral by 2030. The shuttles will be charged on site by our own solar array.

Donations will also go towards camperships to send 40 kids who are blind or have low vision to Enchanted Hills Camp next year.

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving that kicks off the charitable season and end-of-year giving, and harnesses the generosity of people from around the world to bring about real change to the communities they know and love.

This is a philanthropic movement that connects diverse groups of individuals, communities and organizations around the world for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving. LightHouse joined the Giving Tuesday movement in 2016 and continues to receive many very generous gifts from our diverse group of donors, volunteers, staff, board members and friends.

Please take part in this year’s Giving Tuesday on (or before) November 30 and consider a gift to Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind. We sincerely thank Waymo for jump starting our 2021 Giving Tuesday with a very generous donation of $10,000.

Donate here to support LightHouse and Enchanted Hills Camp.

Giving Tuesday is Coming! Tuesday After Thanksgiving You Can Make EHC More Inclusive
LightHouse News

Giving Tuesday is Coming! Tuesday After Thanksgiving You Can Make EHC More Inclusive

Please join LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Enchanted Hills Camp on Tuesday, November 30 for Giving Tuesday, and help us meet our accessibility and sustainability goals!

This year the funds we raise on Giving Tuesday will go towards the purchase of two wheelchair accessible electric vehicle shuttles for Enchanted Hills Camp as a part of our larger vision to make EHC fully accessible and carbon neutral by 2030. The shuttles will be charged on site by our own solar array.

Donations will also go towards camperships to send 40 kids who are blind or have low vision to Enchanted Hills Camp next year.

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving that kicks off the charitable season and end-of-year giving, and harnesses the generosity of people from around the world to bring about real change to the communities they know and love.

This is a philanthropic movement that connects diverse groups of individuals, communities and organizations around the world for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving. LightHouse joined the Giving Tuesday movement in 2016 and continues to receive many very generous gifts from our diverse group of donors, volunteers, staff, board members and friends.

Please take part in this year’s Giving Tuesday on (or before) November 30 and consider a gift to Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind. We sincerely thank Waymo for jump starting our 2021 Giving Tuesday with a very generous donation of $10,000.

Donate here to support LightHouse and Enchanted Hills Camp.

Welcoming Employment Get-Togethers Going strong – Virtually
LightHouse News

Welcoming Employment Get-Togethers Going strong – Virtually

Like all LightHouse Programs, 30% & Growing, our monthly casual meetup to chat all things blind employment, went virtual when LightHouse stopped face-to-face services to keep the community safe at the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, it’s been thriving online with an array of special guests and spirited conversation from blind people with all levels of work experience.

In January of this year, Community Outreach Coordinator Sheri Albers took over the virtual gathering and here are Sheri’s thoughts about running 30% & Growing in a virtual format:

“When I offered to take 30% over, I was told I could make it my own. It was important to me to keep the “happy hour” theme of the event. If people were having a stressful day at work, I wanted them to have some place to come have fun.

“Of course, planning it is not the same as attending it. Not to mention we’re talking about doing it on a Zoom platform. You can’t have multiple discussions at once, like you would if people were in a bar or restaurant. As the facilitator I have to make sure everybody has a chance to participate. Also, there’s a fine line between staying on topic but also allowing conversation to go off on a tangent sometimes. I want 30% to be a relaxed atmosphere.”

How does running 30% & Growing differ from your other work as Community Outreach Coordinator?

“It was important to me not to make 30% another ‘Meet You at the House’ where I talk about the different services LightHouse has. 30% is about working and finding work. Everyone who comes is a LightHouse student, but this is a time for them to get to know each other and share tips.”

How do you draw on your own work experiences when planning and running 30%?

“Well I talk to other people about what they’re experiencing and a lot of us are going through the same things. I’ve experienced Zoom fatigue and I know others have, too. People have talked to me about work from home fatigue as well. I also listen to the news talking about how people have lost their jobs and are having trouble finding  resources. I use some of my own personal experience when I plan topics for 30% but the experiences of other people, too.”

How do you research and find guests?

“I have a large network of blind people I know from my years of doing community work and working with blindness organizations. I’m able to use that to help me find guests. I always say in 30% that networking is hugely important to helping a blind person find work.”

The next 30% & Growing is this Thursday, November 18 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. To get the Zoom info, contact Sheri at SAlbers@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7331.

Get Your COVID-19 Booster Vaccinations at Our San Francisco headquarters
LightHouse News

Get Your COVID-19 Booster Vaccinations at Our San Francisco headquarters

We are pleased to welcome members of our community, their friends and families and members of the wider community to receive a booster shot on four Tuesdays, from November 23 to December 14. Each vaccination clinic runs between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

And while you’re there, why not also have your flu shot. Both will be available at our LightHouse 1155 Market Street HQ. You will need to register by phone to have your booster vaccination at the LightHouse location.

To register to attend the LightHouse vaccination clinic at 1155 Market Street, you will first need to make an appointment by calling the Vaccine Call Center at 628-652-2700.

On that call you will be able to make an appointment for your booster vaccination at the LightHouse site.

When you call this number, you will be asked for some basic personal information:

  • Name of vaccine site you wish to go to
  • Where and when you got initial COVID-19 shot(s)
  • Date and time you’d like for your booster shot appointment
  • First and last name
  • Date of birth
  • Phone number
  • Home address
  • Email address

This appointment line is open and staffed from 8.30 am to 5.00 pm Monday thru Friday.

Voicemail messages can be left for call back outside of these hours.
This line is available to speakers of both Spanish and English. Other language interpreters are available once you leave a voicemail requesting a call back.

Please note: If you have not registered by making an appointment through the Vaccine Call Center, you will not be able to get the vaccine at our headquarters. We are only accepting appointments (no drop-ins) at LightHouse.

Please note: Any of the COVID-19 vaccines can be used for booster vaccination, regardless of the vaccine product used for primary vaccination. Both Pfizer & Moderna booster vaccines will be available during the four clinic dates. These clinics are for booster vaccinations only and the clinics are for people ages 18 and up. Vaccines for children ages 5-11 years old will not be available at the LightHouse, however staff can refer to other sites in the city offering pediatric vaccines.

Pfizer & Moderna COVID-19 vaccine recipients:

The following recipients of an mRNA primary series may receive a single COVID-19 booster dose (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or J&J) at least 6 months after completing their primary series.

J&J COVID-19 vaccine recipients:

  • People aged ≥18 years who received a single dose J&J primary series should receive a single COVID-19 booster dose (Pfizer, Moderna or J&J) at least 2 months (8 weeks) after completing their J&J primary series.

You are encouraged to consult with your primary care provider if you have questions about which booster vaccine type to take.

Dates & Location

Dates
Tuesday, November 23; Tuesday, November 30; Tuesday, December 7 and Tuesday, December 14 all from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Address
LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
San Francisco headquarters
1155 Market Street, 10th floor
San Francisco, CA 94102

Getting to Your Appointment

Please visit the directions to San Francisco LightHouse webpage for detailed information on how to get to your appointment by public transit and rideshare.

Please note masks are mandatory indoors at the LightHouse and we practice six feet social distancing.

The LightHouse is proud to be able to offer our headquarters as a central, easy, and welcoming location for our extended community to receive booster vaccinations.

How TMAP Reinvigorated How Angela Reynolds Serves Students
LightHouse News

How TMAP Reinvigorated How Angela Reynolds Serves Students

Since 2016, LightHouse’s Media and Accessible Design Laboratory (MAD Lab) has been continuously developing their innovative Tactile Maps Automated Production (TMAP) software and perfecting its outcoming product. TMAP, a tool to generate tactile street maps, has grown since its early days and has become a widely used Orientation & Mobility (O&M) tool among O&M instructors and blind and low vision travelers. The expansion of TMAP is due to MAD Lab’s reliable presence at O&M conferences, webinars, and various blindness podcasts and presentations.

We are proud to announce that TMAP has made its way across the world! We chatted with O&M instructor Angela Reynolds of the Orientation and Mobility Association of Australia (OMAA) about her experience with TMAP.

How did you discover TMAP?

“I heard Greg Kehret [Director of LightHouse’s MAD Lab] talking about TMAP on Kassy Maloney’s podcast ‘A Step Forward’ in February this year. I thought it sounded like a great practical resource and immediately created an account and started experimenting with it.”

What was your experience/relationship with tactile maps before discovering TMAP?

“I commenced working as an O&M in 2001. Early in my career, I had access to PIAF [Pictures in a Flash] machines in the offices I worked in so I would create tactile maps when required. For the last 15 years I’ve worked in a country region in northeast Victoria, and I’ve worked from home, our office is a three-hour drive away. This means I don’t have a PIAF machine or any type of embosser at my disposal. If I need a tactile map, I have to be very organized and create and order the map at least three weeks in advance to ensure I had it in time for the O&M session. At times, I have to admit, it was difficult to be this organized or predict the need for a map this far ahead. Sometimes during a session, it would become clear that a client would benefit from a map to increase their spatial understanding of a travel route, but I simply couldn’t get the map created in time for the next session.

“To address these gaps, I crafted my own maps. I used a variety of materials to do this such as cardboard strips pasted onto cardboard to create street maps. Often clients would assist by creating the braille labels so it would be a collaborative process. Other times I’d create a quick map when we were on the go during an O&M session by using a magnetic board and magnetic strips and symbols that I’d created, often embellished with Wiki Stix, foam stick on symbols and tactile dots. I’ve made maps out of lollies [candy] with children and larger street maps out of cut out pieces of wood, sandpaper and felt.

“I think maps are so important to develop spatial understanding so people can start to create a mental map of the areas they’re travelling through, so I pursued many options to create maps, however it was time-consuming because of how long it took to create a map.”

How has having a TMAP account affected your work?

“I’ve been so excited to discover TMAP! It has filled some major barriers that I was experiencing with my capacity to provide good quality and timely maps to clients. I’m very impressed with how easy it is to use, the ability to set a scale to provide a big picture map or a more detailed smaller view of an area, the north compass rose, the key and the embedded braille, braille, did I mention braille?! The braille is a major game changer. The other aspect of TMAP to create tactile maps is how quickly I can create a map, it’s so fast and I can quickly download it to my computer and email it through to another staff member and request them to put it through the PIAF machine for me.

“Since I’ve had access to TMAP is has reinvigorated my passion for tactile maps. It’s also resulted in me revisiting and thinking about the development of foundational O&M skills and how to teach tactile mapping skills to both children and adults. Map reading is a learnt skill, and the skills of tactile mapping are learnt in a graded and methodical way.  Even with the emergence of GPS technology there remains a strong need for tactile maps to increase spatial skill development, mental mapping and to use as a tool for enhanced and accessible learning of travel routes and environments.

“Due to the maps being sourced via Open Street Maps I find that the resulting maps are accurate and can really add value to the development of the conceptual understanding of the shapes of roads. And the TMAP software is working well in Australia and the fact that it’s free is also so exciting.”

How have your clients responded to working with TMAP?

“I have been providing services to a lady for a number of years on and off. She lost her vision due to retinoblastoma when she was 17 months old. She is an avid map lover and often requests maps from me so she can increase her spatial understanding of the areas she travels. Prior to TMAP, I had been crafting cardboard street maps and trying to put them together to create a big picture of the two towns she travels in regularly. Each map took me about 2 hours to make and there were issues with scale when we put them together. I am no cartographer! She was doing the braille labels and we’d stick them on together. Ultimately, I couldn’t keep up with her requests for maps, she wanted more, and I didn’t have enough time in my day to make the maps. This year when I discovered TMAP I was able to pump out multiple tactile maps for her so quickly and we spent several hours excitedly going over the maps together. This is also the other aspect that I really love about TMAP tactile maps, is the ability to sit down and share the experience of reading and looking at a map. She had the Braille version, and I had the text version and we read the map together in a really natural way. It felt accessible to both of us. Through TMAP, she learned that the street she has lived on for 25 years had a pronounced curve, it was curved like the shape of a horseshoe or the print letter U. She had always thought her street was straight.”

Since LightHouse chatted with Angela, she presented a paper at the Orientation & Mobility Association of Australasia online Symposium in Australia back in September. Our MAD Lab director, Greg Kehret, joined Angela for a joint presentation about TMAP. There has been a very positive response following the presentation, and several more O&Ms in Australia have created their own TMAP accounts and are starting to experiment and create tactile maps for their clients, as well. Nothing fills our hearts and fuels our ambition and dedication more than hearing feedback like Angela’s. LightHouse is thrilled to see MAD Lab’s services are vastly expanding and positively changing the lives of blind and low vision individuals worldwide. “I often highly recommend TMAP to other O&M’s,” Angela tells us.

Don’t have a local embosser but still want TMAPs for you or your students? No problem. LightHouse can produce the maps and mail them to you. Order online at Adaptations.org or call 1-888-400-8933.

LightHouse Public Board Meeting: Thursday November 4, 5:30pm – 8:30pm Via Zoom
LightHouse News

LightHouse Public Board Meeting: Thursday November 4, 5:30pm – 8:30pm Via Zoom

1 Commenton LightHouse Public Board Meeting: Thursday November 4, 5:30pm – 8:30pm Via Zoom

Members of the public are invited to attend this meeting of the Board of Directors of San Francisco’s LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, during which thirty minutes will be reserved for public comment. In an effort to provide a fair and equitable speaking opportunity for all members of the public, up to three minutes will be provided for each person’s questions or comments. At this meeting, the Board welcomes Board nominations, questions, and comments from the public on the operations and services of the LightHouse. As time is limited, members of the public are asked to sign up to speak no later than 5:00 PM the day before the meeting by email.

Contact information for the LightHouse is provided at the end of this notice.

Members of the public who would like to speak are encouraged to sign up early, as the 30-minute public comment session can accommodate no more than 10 speakers.

Board Member Nominations

Members of the public can bring potential Board candidates to the attention of the Board’s Nominations committee at this meeting (by email: include no more than 500 words describing why the potential Board candidate should be considered).  The Board will review and evaluate each potential Board candidate in addition to those made by the LightHouse staff and other members of the Board, using the Board nomination and selection guidelines at https://lighthouse-sf.org/about/board-of-directors-nomination-guidelines/.

Board of Directors Meeting Agenda

A typical LightHouse Board meeting usually includes Executive and staff reports, Board Committee reports, and an Executive Session (which is closed to the public).  A meeting agenda can be obtained upon request by email three business days prior to the meeting.

Contact Information

To request agendas, sign up for public comment or to write about prospective Board nominees please contact us at the below address:

Board-request@lighthouse-sf.org

Administrative Office Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Blind Chemist Hoby Wedler Leads first “Cooking with Community Class” for Youth
LightHouse News

Blind Chemist Hoby Wedler Leads first “Cooking with Community Class” for Youth

Calling all cooks and aspiring cooks in middle and high school who are blind or have low vision: LightHouse Youth Programs is pleased to announce a new class: Cooking Creates Community. This happens the second Saturday of the month from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. This monthly virtual cooking lesson and conversation will be led by LightHouse staff and a rotating guest mentor who is blind or has low vision and who has a passion for cooking, baking or anything food-related.

This class is a chance for blind and low vision students to connect with their peers and learn some basic independent cooking skills at home from cool mentors who will answer student questions and share advice.

Those who sign up for the program will be emailed the list of equipment and supplies needed, along with the recipe and the Zoom link they’ll use for that month’s event. As a bonus, for students who sign up by the fourth of each month, LightHouse’s Youth team will mail the ingredients for that month’s recipe directly to them, on the house.

For the October 9 class, blind chemist Dr. Hoby Wedler, who has worked with LightHouse Youth in the past, will share his secrets to the best mashed potatoes. By walking students through his simple recipe and a conversation about how he chooses his seasonings, students will learn to make a dish that can be added to most meals. Sign up by October fourth to get ingredients as well as Hoby’s new line of seasoning, Happy Paprika, that they can try with this dish.

The first class will be Saturday, October 9 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm.

The classes to round out the year are Saturday, November 13 and Saturday, December 11.

RSVP to Jamey Gump at JGump@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7372.

Meet the Distinguished 2021 Holman Prize Jurors
LightHouse News

Meet the Distinguished 2021 Holman Prize Jurors

A few weeks ago, we introduced you to the fourteen 2021 Holman Prize for Blind Ambition Finalists. Three from this ambitious group of blind people who want to challenge misconceptions about what it means to be blind will be selected as winners of our fifth annual Holman Prize for Blind Ambition. A special thanks goes to Waymo for sponsoring one of this year’s winners.

But who chooses the winners? Each year a panel of esteemed blindness leaders from around the world come together for discussion and debate to select the winners of the Holman Prize. All committee members are themselves blind.

For the second consecutive year, our committee will meet virtually. The fifteen members of this year’s committee reside in six countries and work in a variety of fields from law to computer science, to academia, to leadership roles in blindness organizations.

Learn more about them below.

The 2021 Holman Prize Committee

Martine Abel-Williamson, QSM
Auckland, New Zealand
President, World Blind Union

Martine is employed as a Senior Human Rights Advisor for the New Zealand Human Rights Commission. She’s on the boards of the Accessible Books Consortium, Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind and Blind Citizens NZ. She also holds pan-disability roles as a board member of Disability Connect, a pan-disability service provider.

Bryan Bashin
Berkeley, California, USA
CEO, LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Bryan has led a diverse life since he graduated UC Berkeley in history and journalism. He first spent 15 years as a journalist in television, radio and print, specializing in science news. In 1998 Bryan was hired as Executive Director of the Sacramento Society for the Blind, where he quintupled the number of hours of teaching and developed innovative programs such as the Senior Intensive Retreat and summer immersion camps. In 2004 he was hired as the Region IX assistant regional commissioner for the United States Department of Education’s west coast branch of RSA, overseeing funding for $500 million in federal disability programs. In 2010 he was hired to lead the Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco, leading a staff of 140.

Jason Fayre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
National Lead, Accessibility and Assistive Technology, CNIB

Jason has been working in the accessibility and assistive technology field for more than 20 years. In his current role at CNIB, he ensures that any staff who are blind are able to take full advantage of the multitude of technologies available to them. He works directly with companies such as Microsoft and Google to assist them in providing the most accessible products possible. Prior to CNIB, Jason worked for Freedom Scientific, one of the largest providers of assistive technology for people who are blind or have low vision.

Karla Gilbride
Silver Springs, Maryland, USA
Senior Attorney, Public Justice

A graduate with honors of Georgetown Law, Karla clerked for Judge Ronald Gould on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Her current legal work focuses on fighting mandatory arbitration provisions imposed on consumers and workers that prevent them from holding corporations accountable for wrongdoing in court. She is also a board member for the National Employment Lawyers Association, and a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. She is an avid baseball fan and fantasy baseball nerd and enjoys hiking, cycling and playing goalball.

Georgina Kleege
Berkeley, California
Professor in Creative Writing and Disability Studies, UC Berkeley

Georgina has been teaching at UC Berkeley since 2003.  Her recent books include: Sight Unseen, Blind Rage: Letters to Helen Keller and More than Meets the Eye: What Blindness Brings to Art.

Karen Knight
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
General Manager of Client Services, Vision Australia

A proud Australian, Karen spent the first fifteen years of her career as a psychologist specializing in youth suicide prevention and mental health promotion. It is her lived experience and many years involvement in the consumer movement of blind people in Australia that has shaped her views about best practice in blindness service delivery. Karen is passionate about blind and visually impaired people living their dreams without the shackles imposed by others. Being out there telling blind positive stories is one way to change attitudes.

Karen has two young adult children and is a keen ballroom and Latin-American dancer.

Trisha Kulkarni
Dayton, Ohio, USA
B.S. Candidate in Computer Science, Stanford University

Trisha is an incoming senior at Stanford University studying computer science with a minor in creative writing. This summer, she is working as a software engineering intern within the Office Experience Organization at Microsoft, while also proudly serving as the President of the National Association of Blind Students. Kulkarni is humbled to be taking part in this incredible opportunity and looks forward to building our future together.

Jim Kutsch, PhD
Morristown, New Jersey, USA
Retired President, The Seeing Eye

Jim served as President and CEO of The Seeing Eye from 2006 until he retired in December 2019. He served as Chair of the Board of the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF), Chairman of the Morris Animal Foundation Board, President of the Council of U.S. Dog Guide Schools, and Chairman of the Board of National Industries for the Blind. Earlier, Kutsch was a Professor of Computer Science, a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Bell Laboratories, VP and Chief Information Officer at AT&T Universal Card Services, and VP of Strategic Technology at Convergys. His degrees include a Psychology BA and a Computer Science MS and PhD, as well as an honorary Doctorate for lifetime service to people with disabilities, including designing the first talking computer.

Jim Marks
Helena, Montana, USA
Program Director, Area IV Agency on Aging, Rocky Mountain Development Council

Previously, Jim served as the Director of Disability Services for Students at the University of Montana and as Montana’s director of vocational rehabilitation. Jim is the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Montana. He lives with his wife, Kathy. They have four adult children and six grandchildren.

Natalina Martiniello, PhD
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Research Associate, Université de Montréal; President of Braille Literacy Canada

Natalina is a Research Associate and teaches in the Graduate program in Visual Impairment and Rehabilitation at the Université de Montréal, in Montreal, Canada. She is the President of Braille Literacy Canada (the Canadian Braille Authority) and a strong advocate for braille literacy and accessibility. As a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist, she has taught braille and access technologies to children, adults and seniors with visual impairments. Her research focuses on braille, adult learning and aging and on developing evidence-based strategies to support working-age and older adults who learn braille. An avid traveler, her most memorable trip was visiting the house of Louis Braille.

Florence Ndagire
Lawyer
Wakiso, Wakiso District, Uganda

Florence is the first visually impaired female lawyer in Uganda. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Makerere University and a Master of Law in international and European human rights law at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. She is currently enrolled at Makerere University in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and tropical medicine for her PhD research on access to reproductive health services by persons with disabilities in Uganda. She is the chairperson of the UN Women Regional civil society advisory group of East and Southern Africa. She is the current UNPRPD advisor. Florence is the primary author of “Will the proposed reforms in the mental health treatment act be consistent with Article 12 of the Convention on the rights of Persons with disabilities in Uganda?”

Walt Raineri
Northern California, USA
Partner Emeritus, Fenwick & West LLP

Walt’s legal and accounting professional, academic, philanthropic, entrepreneurial, and adaptive athletic sports careers span 45 years, and counting. He has practiced in the areas of international taxation, multinational mergers and acquisitions, and large group consolidations. Walt is also a CPA, a former Associate Professor at Golden Gate university, former Lecturer at UC Berkeley, and Stanford University. He founded four for profit companies, notably Ariat International, the equestrian clothing and footwear company. He is an alumnus of UC Berkeley School of Business Administration  and Georgetown university School of Law. Walt is a Paralympic level athlete in multiple sports and has a passion to help others achieve their fitness objectives. He has helped guide dozens of nonprofit organizations focused on supporting the visually impaired community.

Will Schell, J.D.
Washington, D.C.
Deputy Chief of the Disability Rights Office, Federal Communications Commission

Among other things, Will manages the Disability Rights Office complaints team, drafts various guidance and orders and engages in outreach with the disability community. He also serves as the Designated Federal Officer of the Commission’s Disability Advisory Committee, which provides advice and recommendations to the Commission on a wide array of disability issues within the FCC’s jurisdiction. Prior to that, Will was a disability rights attorney at the Office for Civil Rights and at Disability Rights California where he represented people in litigation to prevent them from unnecessary segregation.

Abby White
Oxford, England, UK
Co-founder and  Volunteer CEO, World Eye Cancer Hope

Abby’s mother was raised in France and her father in Kenya, where he was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma in 1946. Her globally scattered family inspired her love for travel and study of geography at university, with emphasis on development in sub-Saharan Africa. Abby co-founded World Eye Cancer Hope, responding to the needs of one child with retinoblastoma in Botswana, and the desire to help many more worldwide.  While working with the charity in 2015, Abby’s guide dog, Annie, became the first to visit Kenya – during a conference circuit that also took in South Africa and the USA.

She enjoys audio books, creative writing, open water swimming and long country walks. She lives in Oxford, England, with her current guide dog, Ritzie.

Joe Xavier
Elk Grove, California,
Director, California Department of Rehabilitation,

Joe Xavier has over 36 years of experience in business and public administration, as well as many years participating in advocacy and community organizations. As an immigrant, a blind consumer, a beneficiary of the DOR’s services, Joe has the experience and understands the challenges and opportunities available to individuals with disabilities, and the services required to maximize an individual’s full potential. Joe: believes in the talent and potential of individuals with disabilities;  in investing in the future through creativity, ingenuity and innovation; ensuring decisions and actions are informed by interested individuals and groups; in pursuing excellence through continuous improvement; and  preserving the public’s trust through compassionate and responsible provision of services.

 

LightHouse partners with SciAccess to launch Mission: AstroAccess
LightHouse News

LightHouse partners with SciAccess to launch Mission: AstroAccess

LightHouse is excited to partner with SciAccess Initiative for the launch of a new program, Mission: AstroAccess. This is a program designed to bring diversity and inclusion to the STEM field in a study that will consist of a group of ten disabled people that will participate in a historic zero gravity parabolic flight. The flight’s blind, low vision, Deaf, and disabled volunteers will complete targeted tasks during the flight to help answer basic questions about how disabled people can safely and accessibly live and work in space.

“Space is not just part of humanity’s future – it is a place where we can rethink life on earth today,” says Mission: AstroAccess project lead, George Whitesides. “With this flight we hope to lay the foundation for future disabled space explorers.”

The goal of this mission is to bring together the largest and most diverse group of disabled crew members in a weightless environment, with the hopes to learn how to adapt and make accessible outer-space travel for disabled space explorers, scientists, and researchers. The Mission: AstroAccess parabolic flight is scheduled to take place on October 17, 2021, launching from Long Beach, California.

“Our mission is to change outer space and change the world. If you are a disabled person who is confident, enthusiastic, playful, and literally willing to float upside down to change the future, we are looking for you!” says Dr. Sheri Wells-Jensen, Associate Professor of Linguistics at Bowling Green State University.

So, what else does it take to be a participant in Mission: AstroAccess? You must be eighteen years of age or older, a speaker of English or American Sign Language, a resident of the United States, and you must be blind, low vision, Deaf, and/or someone who identifies as disabled. Applications are now open and will be accepted through August 15. Mission: AstroAccess will be hosting an informational webinar for all of those interested in applying for a mission slot on July 21. Until then, you can find more information about Mission: AstroAccess on the project website.

“This partnership is the first step in making the people who explore space look like all Americans,” said LightHouse CEO Bryan Bashin. “Blind people have been explorers, scientists and communicators for millennia, and Mission: AstroAccess and the LightHouse for the Blind – San Francisco will help move our contributions into space.”

We are excited and proud to be part of this inclusive change to the STEM field, and encourage all of our students, friends, and mentors within the blind community to apply for a mission slot. Together, the blind community can help make space inclusive and accessible for all.

For more information about the work that SciAccess Initiative does, please visit the SciAccess website. You can apply for a participant slot for Mission: Astro Access by following this link.