Episode Description

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark is joined by Greg Stilson, Head of Global Technology Innovation, American Printing House for the Blind, regarding his and APH’s experience at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show. We discuss Greg’s impression of CES and experience as an exhibiter showcasing technology for APH. Also, they discuss the Accessibility Leaders Roundtable hosted by the Consumer Technology Association Foundation in which ACB and APH participated. To learn more about the American Printing House for the Blind, please visit www.aph.org.

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Episode Description

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark is joined by Kat Zigmont, Deputy Director, World Institute on Disability, regarding her and WID’s experience at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show. ACB and WID were invited to participate as part of the Consumer Technology Association Foundation’s Accessibility Leaders cohort. They discuss the evolution of accessible technology and why it is important to have disability inclusion at major industry conventions, like CES. To learn more about the World Institute on Disability as they celebrate their 40th anniversary, please visit: www.wid.org.

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Episode Notes

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark and Swatha get to know the newest member of the Advocacy and Governmental Affairs Team, Tabitha Kenlon. Tabitha will serve as ACB’s Audio Description Project Coordinator. Learn more about the Audio Description Project at adp.acb.org.

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Episode Description

Join ACB advocacy team Clark and Swatha, ACB President Dan Spoone, and ACB Executive Director Eric Bridges as they recap 2022 at the American Council of the Blind. Topics include ACB’s 10K community events, the 2022 hybrid convention, key legislation introduced by ACB in the 117th Congress, and the second annual Audio Description Awards Gala.

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Episode Description

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark and Swatha are joined by ACB Executive Director Eric Bridges, ACB Media & IT Manager Rick Morin, and ACB Media Coordinator Larry Gassman for a deep dive into a key program within the organization, the ACB Media Network. Learn about how Rick and Larry got their start in ACB, how it has evolved from simply being another method of consuming content to the key player and powerhouse it is today, and how you can access and consume its wide array of content.

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Episode Description

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark speaks with ACB member and Vista Center Board Chair, John Glass, and Sight Tech Global Executive Producer, Ned Desmond, regarding this year’s virtual event. A Vista Center production, Sight Tech Global is the first global, virtual conference dedicated to fostering discussion among technology pioneers on how rapid advances in AI and related technologies will fundamentally alter the landscape of assistive technology and accessibility. This year’s virtual conference will take place Dec. 7 & 8. To learn more and register for free, please visit: https://sighttechglobal.com.

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On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Clark and Swatha speak with John Pare, Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy at the National Federation

of the Blind, Claire Stanley, Public Policy Analyst at the National Disability Rights Network, and Stephanie Enyart, Chief Public Policy and Research Officer at the American Foundation for the Blind, on one of ACB’s 2022 legislative imperatives, the recently introduced Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act (H.R.9021 and S. 4998). We talk about how this bill got started, what it does and why we need it, and how listeners can get involved and build support to help get it passed. For the joint press release issued by ACB, AFB, NDRN, and NFB, visit Senator Duckworth and Representative Sarbanes Introduce Bill to Make Websites and Mobile Applications Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities | American Council of the Blind (acb.org) For the one pager, section by section analysis, and FAQ on the bill, visit Sarbanes, Duckworth Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Help Make Websites and Software Applications Accessible for Americans with Disabilities | Congressman John Sarbanes (house.gov) To contact your Representative and Senators, call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. To access NDRN’s tool for finding and contacting your members of Congress on this bill, visit Tell Congress to Make the Web Accessible for People with Disabilities! (salsalabs.org) To access NFB’s fact sheet on the bill, visit Fact Sheet: Twenty-First Century Mobile Apps and Website Accessibility Act | National Federation of the Blind (nfb.org)

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Get ready for the American Council of the Blind’s 2nd Annual Audio Description Awards Gala! Clark and Swatha speak with Kim Charlson (ACB’s Immediate Past

President and Co-Chair of the Audio Description Project) and Matt Ater (ACB Advisory Board Member and Vice President at Vispero)  about this year’s gala. We cover how it got started, lessons learned from last year’s inaugural gala, and some of the awards being given out this year. The Audio Description Awards Gala will air on November 29, 2022 at 7:30pm Eastern. You won’t want to miss this. Learn more about the gala at Home - ACB Audio Description Awards Gala (adawardsgala.org).

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As we head into the Mid-term elections, Clark and Swatha speak with Rylin Rodgers (Disability Policy Advisor at Microsoft) and Whitney Quesenbery (Executive

Director for the Center for Civic Design) about the work both organizations are doing to make voting accessible for individuals with disabilities. we discuss the work the Center for Civic Design is doing to make finding accessible voting information easier to access, the work Microsoft is doing in this space and why corporate engagement is important in voting advocacy, and the idea of democracy being a design problem. To find out more about the Center for Civic Design, visit Center for Civic Design To access the Accessible Voting Index, visit Accessible voting - Your guide to a private and independent voting experience To find out more about Microsoft’s voting advocacy work, visit Microsoft On the Issues - News and perspectives on legal, public policy and citizenship topics

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Episode Notes

The scientists, writers, and educators from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) want to make space accessible for everyone, and have created vividly detailed alt text for every photo that has been released from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. ACB’s advocacy team, Clark Rachfal and Swatha Nandhakumar, are joined by Dr. Kelly Lepo, STScI Education and Outreach Scientist, Claire Blome, STScI Principal Science Writer, and Timothy Rhue II, STScI Informal Science Educator, during this presentation to discuss how their team have collaborated with one another to make the Webb images accessible to people who are blind and low vision. Learn more about the panelists for this event.

Experience the breathtaking images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and share in the joy and enthusiasm of space during this engaging event!

Access the full image descriptions for the James Webb Space Telescope in the First Images Gallery under “Download Options” for each photo.

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