From Wednesday, July 25, 2007 through Sunday, July 29, 2007, VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired hosted its 1st Annual Employment & Technology Institute at VCB, a 35-acre campus in nearby Rockland County, NY. The five-day Institute offered visually impaired job seekers an opportunity to sharpen their employment skills, develop networking strategies, and gain hands-on experience with the latest assistive technologies. A diverse array of programming included:

• Seminars on employment legislation, advocacy, and benefits planning.
• Panel discussions on career development, financial management, and entrepreneurship.
• Workshops on interviewing techniques, resume writing, and online job-seeking strategies.
• An Exhibit Hall where vendors, service providers and assistive technology experts showcased their products and services.

See program highlights and speakers for more information and links to audio files of some of the program sessions.

VISIONS Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired received funding in support of the Institute through a grant from the Reader's Digest Partners for Sight Foundation, so that The FULL registration fee (which included meals, lodging and roundtrip transportation from Manhattan to Rockland County) was only $25.00 per participant. Scholarships were provided to those who could not afford the registration fee. Over 125 visually impaired job seekers and professionals attended the Institute, and the feedback regarding the event has been overwhelmingly positive.

For more information about upcoming Institutes at VISIONS as well as other employment and technology related events and services, contact Dawn Suvino,Director of Information Services and Technology Training at (646) 486-4444, extension 14, or Betsy Fabricant, Director of Recreation and Residential Services at (212) 625-1616 extension 124.

Building Your Future Program Highlights and Speakers

Below is a list of just some of the programs and speakers offered at VISIONS 1st Annual Employment & Technology Institute. Thanks to Nancy O'Connell and Marten Tegnestam of ESight Careers Network, audio files of several program sessions offered at the Institute are now available for streaming or download on ESight.org.

Keynote Address:

Dr. Karen Wolffe, Director of Professional Development and CareerConnect® at the American Foundation for the Blind.

Seminars on Employment Legislation, Advocacy and Benefits Planning:

• Commissioner Mathew Sapolin, Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities
• Ted Finkelstein, Director of Project Equal Access, NYC Commission on Human Rights
• Christina Curry, Executive Director of the Harlem Independent Living Center
• Alexander Wood, Executive Director of the Disabilities Network of New York City
• Aldrin Stoja, Congressional and Public Inquiries Specialist with the Social Security Administration
• Miriam Cotto, Executive Director of the Rockland Independent Living Center.
• Carl Jacobsen, President, New York State affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind
• Mike Godino, President of the American Council of the Blind of New York
• Becky Barnes, 1st Vice President of Guide Dog Users Inc.
• David Deport, President, the NYC Chapter of Guide Dog Users, Inc

Presentations on Career Development, Networking, Entrepreneurship, Interviewing Techniques, and Resume Writing:

• Top Ten Interviewing Tips from Dr. Karen Wolffe, Director of Professional Development and CareerConnect® at the American Foundation for the Blind
• A panel of Human Resource Professionals from Bear Stearns, Home Depot, the IRS, and JP Morgan Chase
• Dramatizations of interviewing "do's and don'ts" from Theatre by the Blind
• A presentation on business attire from Dress for Success Worldwide
• Management Training workshops from J. David Sweeny, President of PDS Development Corporation and Amy Ruell, Programs Manager with National Braille Press
• Successful strategies for "Selling Yourself" to prospective employers from Jeremiah Taylor of Proactive Sales, Inc.
• A presentation on Financial Management, Investment and Retirement Planning from AIG Valic, and other financial advisors

Hands-on Workshops and Seminars:

• Internet for Job Seekers, presented by Dawn Suvino, Director of Infoermation Services & Technology Training at VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• The Talking Touch Tablet, presented by Steven Landdau and Richard Holborow of Touch Graphics, Inc.
• Apple Voice Over Accessibility presented by De Witt & Associates
• Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Buying Your Own Computer... But Were Afraid to Ask, presented by Dawn Suvino of VISIONS, Robert Koznac, President of ComputerTalk of NJ, and Dwayne Anthony Sykes, Founder and President of 360 Disability Solutions
• The K-NFB Reader presented by Carl Jacobsen, President of the New York Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind
• An introduction to the Information & Referral Specialist Training Program at Blindline® presented by Michael J. Cush of VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• "Is A Dog Guide in Your Future?" presented by Audrey Schading ofGuide Dog Users, Inc., Becky Barnes of Guiding Eyes for the Blind, and Ray Kornman of The Seeing Eye</ li>

Technology Exhibits, Workshops and Product Demonstrations:

• BrailleNote, PocketViewer, Trekker, and VictorReader from Humanware
• Window-Eyes6.1, Braille Sense, Small-Talk Ultra, and SenseView from GW Micro
• Lunar, Hal, SuperNova, Smart Hal, Dolphin Pen, and Pocket Hal from Dolphin USA
• JAWS 8.1, MAGic 10.5, Pac Mate, and video magnifiers from Freedom Scientific
• Low vision solutions and ergonomics in the workplace from Smart Solution Partners
• The latest "Gadgets and Gismos" from Independent Living Aids
• "Ask the Experts" Assistive Technology Clinic from The Solid Rock

Acknowledgements

While it would be impossible to name all of the professionals, program managers, technical and administrative support staff, interns, and volunteers who were responsible for the success of the Institute, VISIONS extends its sincere thanks to everyone who was involved in planning and executing the event. Special thanks to the following members of the original Planning Committee who so generously contributed their time, energy, insights and ideas:

• Andrew J. Chepaitis, President & CEO of ELIA Life Technology, Inc.
• Mike Godino, President of the American Council of the Blind of New York
• Karen Gourgey, Ed.D, Director of the Computer Center for Visually Impaired People at Baruch College, City University of New York
• Mindy Jacobsen, Adjunct Computer Instructor at Visions/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Joseph Nye, Training Coordinator with the New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped
• Rona Shaw, Ed.D. Director of Graduate Programs in Education at Dominican College
• Karen Wolffe, Ph.D. Director of Professional Development and CareerConnect® with the American Foundation for the Blind