Thought Leadership

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 […]

For 85 years, National Industries for the Blind has championed diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility through its enduring mission to create employment opportunities for people who are blind. Seventy percent of working-age people who are blind in the United States are unemployed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobless rate for people with […]

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 […]

The NIB/NAEPB annual Training Conference and Expo (TCE), scheduled for October 14-18 in the nation’s capital, will offer a variety of exciting programming designed to empower employment for people who are blind. We will also recognize the 2024 Employees of the Year, representing NIB associated nonprofit agencies from across the country! To register for TCE, […]

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 […]

After retiring April 30 from a 44-year career at National Industries for the Blind and its associated agencies, Kevin Lynch, president and CEO emeritus, was honored May 14 with the R.B. Irwin Award.    The recognition took place during the General Session of the annual NIB/NAEPB Public Policy Forum. During the ceremony, Lynch was presented with […]

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 […]

Despite experiencing poor vision throughout childhood and progressive vision loss as a working adult, Gary Wagner lived most of his life trying to adapt to the sighted world. It wasn’t until he connected with NIB and the AbilityOne® Program through Visually Impaired Advancement (VIA), an NIB associated nonprofit agency in Buffalo, NY, that he began […]

Each January, people across the globe celebrate Louis Braille’s genius communication system of tactile raised dots representing visual alpha-numeric print. January is National Braille Literacy Month, and January 4 is World Braille Day.  Born in France on January 4, 1809, Louis Braille fell victim to a tragic accident in his father’s leather-harness-making shop as a […]