Associated Agency

After a short hiatus, NIB’s Heard & Empowered podcast is back with a new host, Dean Thompson, who has an extensive background in television and radio. Thompson has been an interviewer and producer for the majority of his adult life. He moved to New York from Cincinnati after graduate school and has worked for ABC […]

NIB launched the Advocates for Leadership and Employment program in 2012 to help people who are blind, low vision, or visually impaired represent their communities to their elected officials. Each spring, NIB’s public policy team welcomes a new class of Advocates from NIB associated agencies across the country who take part in a two-year training […]

More than 20 attendees from NIB and its associated nonprofit agencies participated in the 2024 NIB Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) Forum held December 11-12 in Tyler, Texas. Co-hosted by Horizon Industries (a division of East Texas Lighthouse), the 2024 Forum provided the opportunity for NPA staff ranging from plant managers to operations, compliance, and agency leaders to […]

In 2024, several additional AbilityOne Base Supply Centers® (BSCs) opened, bringing the total number to 162 nationwide. The AbilityOne BSC program harnesses the resources of a nation-wide network of providers to offer thousands of quality products to government and military customers. Located on military bases and federal installations across the country, BSCs offer one-stop shopping to […]

For 85 years, National Industries for the Blind’s enduring mission has been creating and sustaining employment opportunities for people who are blind. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for people with a disability is about twice as high as the rate for people without a disability. NIB strives to change those […]

The 2024 NIB/NAEPB Training Conference and Expo was a smashing success, with over 900 registrants from across the country attending the four-day event held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, VA. New this year were panel discussions with NIB associated nonprofit agency CEOs – including one composed of female CEOs who shared the […]

From its modest beginnings in 1936 as the Catholic Guild for All the Blind, to its internationally respected rehabilitation center, The Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, Massachusetts, is at the forefront of vision rehabilitation for people of all ages and all stages of vision loss. Today, the NIB associated nonprofit agency is among […]

National Industries for the Blind (NIB) – in partnership with the National Association for the Employment of People Who Are Blind (NAEPB) – held its annual Public Policy Forum May 13-16 in Alexandria, VA.   The event, which has taken place for more than 15 years, was held at the Westin Old Town Alexandria, with 42 […]

Advocacy makes legislators aware of the needs of their constituents, including people who are blind, and nobody is better equipped to tell the NIB story than the people who live it.   NIB launched the Advocates for Leadership and Employment program in 2012 to help people who are blind represent their community to their elected officials. […]

Alicia Howerton was advocating for members of the blind or visually impaired community even before her involvement with NIB as an Advocate for Leadership and Employment. Her professional advocacy journey began years earlier, in the Ohio statehouse, where she and others from the Cleveland Sight Center (CSC) worked diligently with legislators advocating for insurance coverage […]