Honoring the Women of Society for the Blind

Staff of Society for the Blind from Left to Right in descending order: Debra Pendelton, Liz Campos, Kathleen Shevlin, Sheriann Garrett, Heather Perry, Laura Monaco, Debra Celiz, and Priscilla Yueng

In honor of International Women’s Day, I am dedicating this month’s blog to the 25 women on staff and on our board of directors at Society for the Blind. From our front desk to our Low Vision Clinic, in our Core program classrooms, Senior IMPACT Project, finance and administration offices and our board room, these incredible women are influencing, leading and making a lasting impact at Society.

Each and every day, the women of Society bring their professional skills, their ingenuity and, for eight of them, their lived experience as women with vision loss. They teach our students how to read Braille and to navigate at home, at work and in the community with a white cane. They show our students how to use accessible tools and products and help them gain the skills to live independently, go back to work or enjoy an active retirement.

The depth of experience among our staff and board is rich – from doctors to nonprofit leaders, military members, moms, athletes and so much more.

Staff of Society for the Blind from Left to Right in descending order: Lina Lloyd, Jill Guilbeau, Brandie Kubel, Shari Roeseler, Cherry Flanagan, and Diane Starin

From Society’s earliest days, women’s groups have lent their support. One particular group is Delta Gamma – also known as the DGs. Ruth Billows, one of their earliest members, was blind and asked her fellow DG sisters to make support for the blind the focus of their philanthropy. Over the past six decades, hundreds of DGs have served on our board of directors, volunteered for numerous events and raised significant funding for our programs.

To all the women who work at Society for the Blind and serve on our board of directors, and the DGs whose support is so steadfast, THANK YOU for your dedication, expertise and commitment. Thanks to each of you, everyone who walks through our doors can discover, develop and achieve their full potential.

Staff of Society for the Blind from Left to Right: Dr. Arie Wong, Toni Boom, and Chelsea Gray

Staff of Society for the Blind from Left to Right: Linda Taylor and CJ Boggus