Shari Roeseler
Executive Director
[email protected]
Carla Newman
Receptionist / Administrative Assistant
Finance & Human Resources
Cherry Flanagan
Director of Finance & Human Resources
[email protected]
Debbie Hurst
CPA, CGMA (Consultant)
Terry Peterson
Finance Associate
Resource Development
Lina Lloyd
Director of Resource Development
[email protected]
Jesse Huynh-Nguy
Development and Marketing Manager
Ceridyn Wood
Community Engagement Coordinator
Core Skills Program
Shane Snyder
Director of Programs
[email protected]
Bob Cole
Instructor, Adaptive Technology
Jill Guilbeau
Instructor, Braille
Paul Gray
Core Skills Program Manager
Ozy Howe
Instructor, Adaptive Technology
Son Kim
Instructor, Adaptive Technology
Paige Meyerpeter
Instructor, Adaptive Technology
Joseph Nguyen
Instructor, Orientation and Mobility
Diane Starin
Instructor, Independent Living Skills and Braille Literacy
Samantha Adams
Instructor, Adaptive Technology
Terri Walsh
Instructor, Adaptive Technology
Jennifer Wuebbens
Instructor, Orientation and Mobility
Senior IMPACT Project and Independent Living Program
Shane Snyder
Director of Programs
Rachel Acob
Driver/Assistant
Priscilla Yeung
Manager of Senior Programs
Debra Celiz
Instructor
Randy Cummings
Instructor
Robert Edwards
Instructor
Dixie Nolasco
Client Services Coordinator
Debra Pendleton
Instructor
Roberta Raye
Instructor
Kathleen Shevlin
Senior Outreach Manager
Lovohn Williams
Driver/Assistant
Alex Zuniga
Instructor
CareersPLUS Youth Program
Low Vision Clinic
Rachel Norton
Director of Clinic Services and Outreach
[email protected]
Toni Boom
Low Vision Occupational Therapist
Kayle Edwards, O.D.
Low Vision Optometrist
Chelsea Gray
Manager of Clinic Operations
Jackelyn Meyer, O.D.
Low Vision Optometrist
Rhonda Franks
Low Vision Clinic Office Lead
Bingo Staff
Ellen Deleon
Bingo Manager
Braille Production and Training Program
Jill Guilbeau
Manager of the Braille Production and Training Program, Instructor
Elizabeth Gauntt
Coordinator in the Braille Production and Training Program
Access News
Attila Gulyas
Access News Coordinator
Society for the Blind’s Board of Directors
Volunteers With A Vision
A volunteer Board of Directors governs Society for the Blind. Society for the Blind seeks out Board members that bring the necessary skills and expertise to inform our strategic decisions, ensure financial responsibility and accountability, and to lead the organization in realizing its mission. At least one-third of our board members are blind or low vision.
Marlene Mourtzikos, President
Marlene Mourtzikos joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in January 2017.
Since joining Delta Gamma Fraternity in college, Marlene has been giving time to organizations that reflect Delta Gamma’s philanthropic vision of Service for Sight. She is especially passionate about serving our veterans and active duty men and women who are blind or have low vision, and has volunteered with the VA Long Beach Healthcare System’s Blind Rehabilitation Center since 2012. With over 18 years of retail and online industry experience spanning E-Commerce, catalog, and brick-and-mortar channels, she is currently a freelance internet retail consultant. Marlene holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science, cum laude, from the University of Rochester and a J.D./M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.
Janice Walth, Vice President
See No Limits
Janice Walth joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in July 2013.
Janice has been a world class competitive archer for the past eight years but has been blind since childhood with Retinitis Pigmentosa or R.P., a degenerative condition of the retina. Janice has a bachelor’s degree in Assistive Technology. She is an Independent Service Provider for the Department of Rehabilitation and offers technology support to individuals who are blind throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
Janice competed in the 2007 Paralympic Archery World Championships in Korea winning the overall silver medal for the United States (men’s and women’s), while setting five women’s world records. Janice continues to complete world-wide.
Allison Otto, Secretary
Otto Construction
Allison Otto joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in September 2007.
A third-generation member of the family business, Allison joined the Otto Construction team as its marketing director in 2000. In 2021, she became President and CEO.
Allison graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in business management and earned her Certificate in Construction Management from UC Davis.
Dawn Cornelius, Treasurer
Cornelius & Davini LLP
Dawn Cornelius has been a member of the Society for the Blind Board of Directors since July 2010.
Dawn is a partner at Cornelius & Davini LLP, a local CPA firm. She specializes in income tax preparation and consulting, and litigation support services. Dawn has an undergraduate degree in Economics from UC San Diego and an MBA and Master’s in Accounting from the University of Washington.
William Carter, Immediate Past President
William E. Carter Co., Inc.
William (Bill) Carter joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in September 2007.
Bill is owner of the William E. Carter Company, a full service design/build residential/commercial remodeling firm, serving the greater Sacramento area since 1976. He has been a pioneer in the industry receiving many accolades and design awards including national, regional and local recognition
Ann Marie Bronte
Ann Marie graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a master’s in education and bachelor’s in Spanish. Her career spans both teaching and administrator roles, primarily in Title I schools. She also worked in retail sales/banking. Currently, she is a member of her church’s Pastoral and Finance Councils.
Ann Marie’s Delta Gamma experience began serving as a collegiate officer, chapter adviser, and alumnae officer in Sacramento. Her roles at the regional level include overseeing alumnae chapters and collegiate chapters in finance and chapter administration. Ann Marie served in several international positions for Delta Gamma primarily focused on housing/finance/overall administration. She facilitates Delta Gamma internal officer training at various Institutes and training days.
Adam Elshama
Ribbon Communication, Inc.
Adam Elshama joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in January 2023.
Adam Elshama is a technology leader with over 30 years in senior positions leading high-tech companies to achieve their goals. He has worked in a variety of organizations, from well-established corporations to startups, across multiple continents. Adam received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering from Northeastern University.
He grew up in Alexandria, Egypt, where he witnessed the challenges and lack of resources and education faced by visually impaired citizens. Adam’s grandfather lost his eyesight, and saw the barriers his grandfather had to face living in an area that wasn’t able to accommodate those who are visually impaired. This drives Adam’s passion to improve the quality of life for those who are visually impaired.
Prior to joining The Society for the blind, Adam served on the board of directors for the Sacramento Braille Transcribers.
Steve Haas
One Community Health
Steve Haas joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in November 2025.
Steve Haas has been Chief Human Resources Office for One Community Health since March 2021. Steve has over 30 years of experience from a variety of human resources, training, and management roles. His industry background includes insurance, call centers, technology, and publishing, primarily in the Fortune 500 world. He is happy to be completing the latter part of his career in organizations that have community-based missions. He was thrilled to be given the opportunity to lead at OCH since, as a member of the gay community, he was intimately familiar with its work and successes in HIV, as many of his friends and family members have been patients here. For six years prior to joining OCH, he was Human Resources Director for Disability Rights California, a statewide nonprofit law firm with 300 employees that provides a wide variety of advocacy services for individuals with disabilities. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and master’s degree in Human Resources, both from Golden Gate University. He served on the faculty of UC Davis Extension teaching for 7 years teaching a variety of HR topics and was on the board of directors for the Sacramento Area HR Association for eight years.
K. Thiran Jayasundera, M.D.
UC Davis Eye Center
Dr. K. Thiran Jayasundera, M.D., joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in November 2025.
K. Thiran Jayasundera, M.D., is an accomplished ophthalmologist and the Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at UC Davis Eye Center, located in Sacramento, CA. Dr. Jayasundera comes from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. There, he served as the Paul R. Lichter Professor of Ophthalmic Genetics and professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the university’s Kellogg Eye Center. Dr. Jayasundera is an internationally known retina specialist specializing in Inherited Retinal Diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, rod-cone dystrophy, cone dystrophy, achromatopsia, Leber congenital amaurosis, X-linked retinoschisis, Best disease, and choroideremia. He also sees patients with retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusions, central serous chorioretinopathy, retinal artery occlusion, hypertensive retinopathy, radiation retinopathy, sickle cell retinopathy, coats disease, macular edema, pattern dystrophy, macular telangiectasia, toxic retinopathies, autoimmune retinopathy, and cancer-associated retinopathy. He utilizes retinal electrophysiological testing to understand the retinal function in conditions that may be ambiguous to conventional examination and imaging modalities. He built his distinguished career by focusing on improving treatments and providing mental health support for patients with inherited retinal diseases. He has led numerous groundbreaking studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, Foundation Fighting Blindness and other major organizations. He developed the Michigan Retinal Degeneration Questionnaire & Michigan Vision-related Anxiety Questionnaire, which transformed how patient-reported outcomes are measured in clinical trials for inherited retinal diseases. He is the Principal Investigator of a NIH R01 funded clinical trial assessing the optimization of Low Vision Rehabilitation when combined with Emotion Regulation Therapy to improve functional vision limitations and vision-related anxiety.
Stephen M. Lerner
California Bureau of Real Estate, Sacramento
Steve Lerner re-joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in May 2014. He previously served on the board from 2003 through 2012, serving as Board President from 2004 through 2008.
Steve obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. Steve was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Legal Affairs at the California Bureau of Real Estate by Governor Brown Jr. in November 2015. Prior to this appointment, Steve served as Deputy Attorney General in the Natural Resources Law Section of the California Attorney General’s Office. Steve also worked in private practice for 16 years, including 10 years at McDonough, Holland & Allen.
Steve is a 2009 graduate of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Leadership Program and served on the program’s Alumni Board for several years.
Witnessing his grandmother lose her sight because of diabetes, Steve is passionate about Society’s mission to empower individuals living with low vision or blindness to discover, develop and achieve their full potential.
Mark J. Mannis, M.D.
UC Davis Health System Eye Center
Dr. Mark Mannis joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in July 2011.
Dr. Mannis is Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology for the UC Davis Health System Eye Center specializing in corneal transplantation and external diseases of the eye. He received his medical degree from University of Florida College of Medicine and has been in practice for 33 years.
Dr. Mannis has pioneered the use of the Implantable Macular Telescope (IMT) to restore central vision for patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration at the UC Davis Eye Center.
Bryce McAnally
Kaiser Permanente
Bryce McAnally joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in March 2010.
Bryce is the Director of Media and Programs for Kaiser Permanente. He has an undergraduate degree in Communication Design from California State University-Chico and an MBA in Marketing and Organizational Behavior from California State University-Sacramento.
Dr. Paul Peterson
Peterson Chiropractic Corporation
Dr. Paul Peterson rejoined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in January 2014. He previously served on the board from 1998-2011.
Although Dr. Peterson grew up with a macular degeneration which he inherited and was diagnosed with at the age of six, his vision has never slowed him down. Dr. Peterson has operated the Peterson Chiropractic Clinic in Sacramento for the past 37 years. He graduated as valedictorian from Palmer College of Chiropractic where he went on to become a member of the faculty. While teaching at Palmer, he was the team doctor for the rugby football team. Dr. Peterson has also been a member of the Palmer College of Chiropractic Board of Trustees for the past 33 years.
Goutam Sinha
Wipro Limited
Goutam Sinha joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in January 2023.
Goutam Sinha is a technology executive with extensive experience in product management of real-time systems with customers and engineering teams spread globally. With interest in non-profit organizations, Goutam is also serving as Chief Business Officer for CrowdDoing.world, focused on sustainability initiatives. In the past he has been board member and President of Sacramento Braille Transcribers. Goutam has an MBA from Ohio State University, MS from Texas Tech University, MS from University of Kentucky, and B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur, India. He resides in San Jose, California.
Dana Schwarzinger
VSP Global
Dana Schwarzinger joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in September 2023.
Dana has a Master’s in Social Science and nearly two decades of experience in high-growth environments with roles in finance, operations, and sales. She has held leadership roles with small and large companies including Flextronics, Bosch, and today with VSP as the Sr. Vice President of Provider Operations and Business Intelligence.
Kevin M. Spink
First Northern Bank
Kevin Spink joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in November 2025.
Kevin M. Spink was named Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer of First Northern Bank and First Northern Community Bancorp in February 2018. He joined the Bank in 2016 as Senior Vice President/Corporate Controller. Kevin reports directly to the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer and is a member of the Senior Management Team.
Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from California State University, Chico. He is a Certified Public Accountant, inactive, licensed in the state of California. He is an alumnus of Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is a former trustee, treasurer and Chair of the Investment Committee for the California Capital Region Foundation (United Way) and a former Board Member and treasurer of Keaton’s Child Cancer Alliance in Roseville.
Jeff Thom
Jeff Thom joined the Society for the Blind Board of Directors in September 2016.
Jeff Thom graduated from Stanford Law School in 1978, after obtaining a bachelors degree in political science from Willamette University. Jeff worked as an attorney for the California Legislature for 30 years. He is currently the immediate past president of the California Council of the Blind and first vice president of the American Council of the Blind. He has served in a variety of blindness-related capacities on the national, state, and local level and is currently chair of the Sacramento Regional Transit District Mobility Advisory Council. He is married, and is a father and grandfather. Jeff loves to read and watch sports.