ACB Advocacy Update

On Dec. 5, the ACB Information Access Committee (IAC) hosted an evening webinar on accessible shopping, technology, and home appliances with special guest J.J. Meddaugh, Author, Access World. ACB Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, Clark Rachfal, and IAC Chair, Tony Stephens, led this discussion on what is naughty and nice in terms of accessibility, … Read more

On this episode of the Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark spoke with Barbara Raimondo, Executive Director, Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf, about reintroduction of the Cogswell Macy Act (H.R. 4822 & S. 2681). Named for the first deaf student to be formally educated in the U.S. and for Helen … Read more

Traveling for the holidays, or need some personal time away from the family? The ACB Advocacy Update has you covered! On this podcast, Claire and Clark discuss all things audio description with Dr. Joel Snyder and Carl Richardson. We highlight the great work of the Audio Description Project, including the Benefits of Audio Description in … Read more

Calling All Actors! On this episode of the Advocacy Update, Clark spoke with starlet of the stage and screen, Marilee Talkington. Through personal and professional advocacy, Marilee has developed and launched the Access Acting Academy and will host the first-of-it’s-kind Professional Actor Training Program specifically for blind and visually impaired artists. This free flagship program … Read more

For this episode of the Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark spoke with Kelly Gasque, Executive Assistant and Multimedia Design Specialist for ACB. This is the second podcast in our two part series on ACB’s online presence. Kelly shared with us the work that she does to coordinate and update the ACB website and social media … Read more

Join Claire and Clark as they speak with Jeff Bishop, ACB Board Member, and part of the critical team that keeps ACB up and running on the Internet. During this conversation, they discuss the work being done to modernize the ACB and ACB Radio websites, and how these tools are used to enhance ACB’s advocacy … Read more

Apple will launch their new streaming video service, Apple TV+, on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019. On this episode of the Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark spoke with Joe Strechay, Associate Producer, about his work as a blindness consultant on the new series, See, and the accessibility features of Apple TV+. Additional information about the Apple … Read more

For National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Claire and Clark spoke with Dan Kelly from IFB Solutions. We discussed the employment opportunities available to people who are blind through the AbilityOne Program, and ACB‘s advocacy efforts to address the challenges posed by recent changes to procurement policies for the U.S.Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more … Read more

This week on the ACB Advocacy Update, Advocacy and Outreach Specialist Claire Stanley speaks with two ACB members. Chris Bell postulates about necessary policies and state action to prevent safety hazards, and Joanne Stombaugh shares her personal experience with e-scooters and her involvement in related advocacy.

This Advocacy Update is the first part of a two part series on micro and shared mobility services. Claire and Clark spoke with the Acting Executive Director of the Micromobility Coalition, Ryan McConaghy, about the proliferation of e-bikes and -scooters around the country. We discussed the role for these new services in the transportation ecosystem, … Read more