Presenters, SOMA 2024

Bill is a Blind Rehabilitation Specialist in the Orientation and Mobility section of the VA Southeastern Blind Rehabilitation Center. He has also worked in Information Technology at the Kent State Medical Center, as a Program Support Assistant for the Department of Veterans Affairs, as a Case Manager for the Blind with the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, and as Senior Orientation and Mobility Specialist with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services. While at the VA, he wrote the admissions, automatic scheduling, and data collection system for the Blind Rehabilitation Center. With his extensive background in technology, Mr. Adams is always looking to push the field of Assistive Technology and Orientation and Mobility and has developed ways to make indoor maps, and easily printed Braille that is usable and long lasting with 3D printing technology. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University in Justice Studies and Political Science and a masters in Orientation and Mobility from Western Michigan University.
• 3D Printing - Materials for Mobility
• All About Street Crossings
• The future of navigation using the oko app

Shaun Basham, Head of Rehabilitation Improvement fo Guide Dogs in the United Kingdom. Shaun has worked with Guide Dogs since 1995. In his current capacity he brings a wealth of experience in frontline service provision and an astute understanding of the needs of adult service users. He has a Diploma in Rehabilitation Studies and has championed the introduction of person centred approach into adult services. His expertise spans Rehabilitation Services, Community Engagement, continuous improvement and senior management across Guide Dogs’ services. His understanding and compassion for those living with sight loss means he enjoys a high level of respect from colleagues across the organisation.
• TBA

• Thinking about a group Orientation and Mobility trip? Here’s what we know!

After losing his vision fourteen years ago, James became keenly aware of the international need for white canes, training, and mental health services. A graduate of Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and co-founder of You Cane Give, Boehm passionately provides access to tools and services to individuals with disabilities.
• Empowering the Blind Worldwide-One Cane at a Time

Wendy Boehm is a special educator in Williamson County Public Schools, Nashville, TN with students in 4th and 5th grades this year. Wendy enjoys designing creative activities to keep her students engaged. A year ago, Wendy had the opportunity to learn and serve at Athlone School for the Blind in Cape Town, South Africa. When not at school or on family walks, Wendy and her husband, co-founders of the non-profit You Cane Give, refurbish used mobility canes for the blind to send to places in the world where people cannot buy them.
• Empowering the Blind Worldwide-One Cane at a Time

Jennifer Brooks is the APH Outreach Regional Specialist for the Northcentral Region of the US. Her professional career in the field of visual impairments extends over 18 years and includes serving as a TVI, O&M Specialist, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapist. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the country of Romania, where she developed sustainable programs in O&M and Independent Living at schools for the blind and nonprofit organizations.
• Teaching Touch and Exploratory Skills to Prepare for Tactile Graphics Learning

• Glidance: Revolutionizing independent Mobility with Glide

• Glidance: Revolutionizing independent Mobility with Glide

You cannot spell canine or cane without CAN! My name is Ellie Carlson. I am a former puppy raiser and current independent contractor dually qualified as a Guide Dog Mobility Instructor and Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist with fluency in American Sign Language. I believe that very few things in life are ever truly impossible, we just have to be patient and creative in order to accomplish them. I have been working with individuals who are blind, low vision, and Deaf-Blind for over 20 years. Empowering others to identify accommodations for the challenges they face is a passion of mine; I love to see people prove everyone including themselves wrong by turning “can’t” into “CAN!”
• Empowering the Blind Worldwide-One Cane at a Time ps://somaconference.org/program24.html#Buckberrough"Glidance: Revolutionizing independent Mobility with Glide

Marybeth Cleveland created A to B and Back to provide Orientation and Mobility training to people with vision disabilities in Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia. She has been an O&M Specialist for 30 years and is so passionate about accessibility in the environment, her whole family can point out areas that seem to be inaccessible or lack inclusivity. Marybeth is currently working on a project with Toole Design to create an accessibility design guide geared for the engineers who build the environment. She is also a member of the AER environmental access committee.
• Round table discussion: Public Transit

Sarah Duyck is a Guide Dog Mobility Instructor on the DeafBlind and Adaptive Services team at Leader Dogs for the Blind and has worked as a GDMI at Leader since 2013. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Sign Language Studies from Madonna University, and received a Master's degree in Orientation and Mobility from the University of Kentucky in 2022. Sarah is a certified American Sign Language Interpreter, and certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist.
• The DeafBlind and Adaptive Services Program at Leader Dogs for the Blind
• Preparing Your Client for Guide Dog Travel

Mael Fabien, CEO of biped and a 3x founder, boasts a diverse background in robotics, economics, and AI. Inspired by a transformative encounter with a blind pedestrian, he abandoned his PhD studies in voice technology to create biped and bring self-driving car technology to revolutionize mobility for blind people.
• Biped: Harnessing AI for a Smarter O&M Training

  Lukas graduated the State University of New York with a Bachelors in Speech Pathology and Audiology. After working as an instructor at The Seeing Eye for 8 years he completed a Master’s degree from Western Michigan University in Orientation and Mobility, before returning to The Seeing Eye as an instructor.
  He spent many years traveling the country “troubleshooting” guide dog teams which led to a deep interest in environmental access. He has served as a chair of the Environmental Access Committee of the O&M division of AERBVI, has worked alongside the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to develop standards for Accessible Pedestrian Signals and given many presentations on topics relate to access, and served on several Federal panels developing best practice guidelines.
  Lukas has also done a great deal of work with the International Guide Dog Federation as an assessor also served on both their Development and Education committees. He is the winner of several awards including twice receiving the Ethel Bender Award from Guide Dog Users Inc. and recently the Ken Lord Award from the IGDF.
  He is retired, and lives in Chester, New Jersey with his wife Pauline, formerly Manager of Admissions at The Seeing Eye, a cat and, surprisingly, a dog!
• GDMI panel: Apprenticeships, The Foundation: Let's talk about the best way to learn the basics
• GDMI panel: O&M Training for Guide Dog Instructors: How and how much?
• Accessible Pedestrian Signals

Joey Gan is Chief Elevator Inspector, Miami Beach Public Works
• The Ups and Downs of Elevator Accessibility

Lynn Gautreaux, MS, COMS, was employed at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired from 1980 until his retirement in 2013. He served as Director of Orientation and Mobility and statewide Director of O&M and VI services for Louisiana. Additionally, Lynn has worked as a contingent employee at Leader Dogs for the Blind from 2006 to the present day.
• AMD Transitions: Modifications, Options, and . . .

• How Artificial Intelligence can augment Existing O&M Skills

• Thinking about a group Orientation and Mobility trip? Here’s what we know!

Dr. Tina Herzberg is Professor and Coordinator of the Visual Impairment Education Program at the University of South Carolina Upstate. She is a certified TVI and COMS. Prior to USC Upstate, she served as a general education math and English teacher, and itinerant teacher of students with visual impairment."
• Implications of O&M Referral Policies and Professional Practices
• Using the Finding Wheels Curriculum to Build Independent Travel Skills

Ryo Hirano, GDMI, is Leader of the Puppy Section, Training Department, Kanagawa Training Center in Japan.
• Training Dogs to Follow Tactile Guide Paths in Transit and Other Environments: The Japanese Experience

Chris Holloway is the Eastern Region Sales Manager in the US and Canada for Polara Enterprises, LLC, the leader in Accessible Pedestrian Signals for over twenty years. Chris is responsible for managing the company’s important channel partners in the eastern United States and eastern Canada, and in partnership with them, establishing new business while increasing business with existing state, county and municipal customers. Chris is also responsible to communicate the benefits of Accessible Pedestrian Signals to organizations and groups that support the visually impaired. Chris has over 30 years experience building relationships and selling to local and state government, private contractors, and educating professional consultants about traffic signal safety technologies. Chris is gifted in building relationships and is thrilled to represent Polara to share the company’s exciting story and to help others see the benefit of Accessible Pedestrian Signals for the visually impaired and other pedestrians. Prior to joining Polara, Chris lived in Ghana West Africa for five years serving as a missionary where he used his relationship building skills to serve people in a poverty-stricken area of the country. Prior to that, he was a sales representative of a leading family-owned traffic signal distributor in the southeast for 24 years.
• Accessible Pedestrian Signals

Lee Huffman began working in the blindness field in 2005, when he joined the team at the American foundation for the Blind. He began working for the American Printing House for the Blind in 2020 and is now the Low Vision Product Manager working to help develop new APH products.
• Practitioner input to improve current and future O&M tools from APH

Jennifer Jeffcoat, MAT, COMS is a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, and Early Interventionist with the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind. She has presented at SOMA and the South Carolina AER on both vision and orientation and mobility topics. Jennifer has worked with Dr. Tina Herzberg on various projects including Adventures in Braille and BrailleSC.org In 2023, she received the Educator of the Year Award from the South Carolina Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. She has been a mentor for multiple orientation and mobility interns and enjoys sharing her knowledge with others in the field.
• Using the Finding Wheels Curriculum to Build Independent Travel Skills

Hannah Jones is a COMS at Leader Dogs for the Blind. She attended Western Michigan University where she graduated with her Master of Arts in Orientation and Mobility in 2023. She has a BS in Healthcare Services and Sciences with a minor in Medical Humanities from Western Michigan University
• O&M Support for Learners and the Critical Role of the Supporter
• Diabetes is an O&M Problem
• Preparing Your Client for Guide Dog Travel

Michexa is a dually trained vision rehabilitation therapist and orientation and mobility specialist. She came into the field by observing her colleagues make great meals with teens in their afterschool program at VISIONS Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired. After much persuasion from her former supervisor, she decided to pursue her dual degree at CUNY Hunter College. Michexa has taken her years of teaching with various ages and abilities throughout the low vision and blindness spectrum and currently works with the Helen Keller National Center as their senior orientation and mobility instructor. She loves teaching mobility, especially witnessing students become more confident in their traveling abilities. She also has a Master’s Degree in Educational Policy and Administration Studies from Hofstra University and proud undergrad alumni of SUNY Stony Brook University.
• Empowering Movement: Practical Approaches to O&M for Adults with CVI

• Using the Finding Wheels Curriculum to Build Independent Travel Skills

Dr. Justin Kaiser is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky. He teaches in the program to prepare orientation and mobility specialists, and teachers of students with visual impairments. He has previously worked as an itinerant orientation and mobility specialist and teacher of the visually impaired in Pittsburgh and St. Louis.
• Implications of O&M Referral Policies and Professional Practices

L. Dianne Luce, COMS, TSVI works with Tampa Lighthouse, Florida. Throughout her career she has worked with people of all ages who live (and thrive!) with vision impairment. She actively works with community partners, advocating to improve environmental and transportation access. She is a proud alumna of Florida State University.
• Goldilocks and the Three Cane Skills – Verification Technique could be "Just Right"
• The Ups and Downs of Elevator Accessibility

Jackie L. Macy, MS, COMS Received an MS in Rehabilitation Counseling for the BL/VI 1996 Portland State University Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist since 2000 Vision Rehabilitation Therapist I have served on various boards, presented at AER state sponsored conferences and international Currently work with school age children in Illinois where I currently live. Worked with adults most of my career in various agencies and states After graduation I began my career at North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation Vision Services. Fast Forward to 2024. I moved to Illinois from Oregon to be close to my only grandchild and am now working very part-time for two school districts.
• Round table discussion: Independent Living Skills and O&M

• Thinking about a group Orientation and Mobility trip? Here’s what we know!

Mike May has been a pioneer in new product development and was inducted into the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame. Mike was founder and CEO of Sendero Group, developers of the first accessible GPS. He was CEO of the Seattle Lighthouse, Chief Evangelist at GoodMaps and currently consults for the American Printing House.
• Wayfinding, from the cane to autonomous vehicles
• Practitioner input to improve current and future O&M tools from APH

Dr. Tessa McCarthy is an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh affiliated with the Visual Impairment and Blindness Program. Dr. McCarthy is both a teacher of students with visual impairments and a certified orientation and mobility specialist. Dr. McCarthy’s scholarship revolves around finding ways to improve educational practices for students who are blind and visually impaired. Dr. McCarthy is particularly focused on developing teaching strategies and curricula that enhance the mechanical abilities of children who are just beginning to learn to read braille.
• Implications of O&M Referral Policies and Professional Practices

Taylor McDonald, COMS/TVI, M.A is the Lead O&M Specialist for Equalize Sensory Services in North Carolina as well as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired. She has a lifetime of experience as a visually impaired traveler. She is a cane traveler and former guide dog user. Taylor has developed an online O&M Community of Practice called "Stepping Out- Assessments" that has gained accolades from participants nationwide. She serves a caseload of students, leads a team of O&M’s and mentors TVI’s and O&M’s nationwide. Taylor@equalizeservices.com
• O&M Assessments: LEVEL UP! - Part 1
• O&M Assessments: LEVEL UP! - Part 2

Dr Nicola McDowell is the founder and creator of the Austin Assessment, a screening app for cerebral visual impairment related visual issues, and a Senior Lecturer and researcher in the Institute of Education, Massey University, New Zealand. She is also a trained Orientation and Mobility and Vision Education specialist.
Her research interests include understanding and supporting children and adults who have cerebral visual impairment, empowerment of children and adults and equity in education.
Nicola also regularly shares both her research and personal experience of cerebral visual impairment through presentations and blogs, with a focus on improving outcomes for others with the condition.
• The hard-learnt lessons – O&M for adults with CVI

• Glidance: Revolutionizing independent Mobility with Glide

Jack Mitchell has been an Orientation & Mobility Specialist since 2019, and worked in the field of assistive technology since 2000, first as a Rehabilitation Engineer in Knoxville, TN and more recently as the NC representative for the Humanware dealer in the southeast. He is currently the O&M Specialist at Industries of the Blind in Greensboro where he teaches O&M skills to employees of IOB who are blind and visually impaired. He is currently a member of the AER Environmental Access Committee and an at-large board member of North Carolina AER. Jack also has a lifelong habit of tinkering with things and systems to find ways to make them work better...from assistive technology devices to computer software to accessible pedestrian signals.
• Modern Signals Part 1 - Signals and Timing and Patterns, oh my!
• Modern Signals Part 2 - Is this crossing safe? Assessing and reducing risks

Anastasia Overcash has been employed with the South Carolina Commission for the Blind for 5 years as an instructor at the Vocational Rehabilitation Training center located in Columbia, SC providing on-site and itinerant services in Braille, Home Management, and Orientation & Mobility. In her role at the SCCB she provides direct instruction, curriculum design, employee training, and public awareness training. Anna has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Florida Southwestern State College and holds dual Master’s degrees from Western Michigan University with CVRT & COMS certifications. She is also NCUEB certified and a LOC Braille Transcriptionist. She is the first Blind/Visually Impaired COMS in the state and one of four who hold dual CVRT/COMS certifications in South Carolina. She is passionate about providing a positive example for the people she works with using high-quality instruction, up-to-date strategies for the improvement and betterment of people she serves, , and being a role model in the Blind and visually Impaired community.
• Using the Finding Wheels Curriculum to Build Independent Travel Skills

Jennifer Pelletier, MS, MA, MT-BC, COMS, works with adults with MN State Services for the Blind. She is also a Board Certified Music Therapist of 27 years, with recent highlights including grant funding for integrating West African drumming, a braille music curriculum, and accessible music technology for students who are blind, Deafblind and visually impaired. Co-leading two international trips (France and Ecuador) with students from the MN State Academy for the Blind were particularly impactful in steering her to O&M. She has earned an undergraduate degree in music therapy, an M.S. in Human & Community Resources, and an M.A. in Orientation and Mobility.  
• Music, Movement, and MOBILITY!

• Exploring the next generation of O&M technology
• Wrap-up crackerbarrel

Dona Sauerburger is providing O&M services to adults as a private contractor in Maryland and Washington, DC. One of her special interest is street crossing, and on this topic she has done research, presented extensively, written articles and co-authored a chapter in Foundations of O&M and the online course Self-Study Guide: Crossing at Modern Signals.
• Modern Signals Part 1 - Signals and Timing and Patterns, oh my! Role-playing to learn about modern signals
• Modern Signals Part 2 - Is this crossing safe? Assessing and reducing risks
• Assessing and improving visual efficiency for students with various visual conditions
• Round table discussion: Student motivation and goals

Takashi Shimamoto, GDMI, is Manager of the Training Department, Kanagawa Training Center in Japan.
• Training Dogs to Follow Tactile Guide Paths in Transit and Other Environments: The Japanese Experience

Yolanda is originally from Birmingham. Her Father Jesse Smith was an O&M at the VA Southeastern Blind Rehabilitation Center (SBRC), which she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps. In 2012, Yolanda completed her bachelor’s degree in O&M from Stephen F. Austin and completed her internship at the SBRC. From there she worked as a mobility specialist covering central Alabama for the department of rehab. For a short time, Yolanda worked in the residential facility in Atlanta and as an itinerant mobility teacher for school aged children in Mississippi. Her work in mobility had her start “White Cane Day Alabama”, the largest yearly gathering of those with vision loss and professionals in the state. But Yolanda was not done, receiving a scholarship from AER, Yolanda went and completed her master’s in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from Auburn University, War Eagle!
• All About Street Crossings

Lee has recently retired after spending 33 years at Guide Dogs UK. Starting as an Instructor, he held various management roles in the North West of England before specialising in programmes for people with multiple disabilities. This included working with deaf blind people, establishing a dual dog programme that supported people who wanted a combined guide dog/ hearing dog and even a guide of combines with a seizure alert dog. Lee also set up a programme for people with vision impairment who use a powered wheelchair, working with professional agencies and health specialists to develop an internal programme for staff. Lee has also served on the Development Committee for the International Guide Dog Federation for 6 years, as an IGDF assessor for 14 years and for a period, as a alTrustee of an assistance dog organisation based in the UK. Lee is married with 7 children, two of whom are qualified Orientation and Mobility Instructors.
• Guide dog training programs around the world - their challenges and successes

Originally from California, Dean was an adaptive ski instructor for people with visual impairments with Discovery Blind Sports in South Lake Tahoe. He spent 3 summers at Camp Bloomfield with Junior Blind of America, bringing the camping experience to hundreds of individuals with visual impairments. Dean studied Visual Disabilities at Florida State University and Deaf-Blind studies through Northern Illinois University at the Helen-Keller National Center. He taught orientation and mobility and vision rehabilitation in Florida the Washington D.C. area and participated in helping to organize the Metro Washington Association of Blind Athletes (MWABA). Dean is also a member of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI), National Federation of the Blind (NFB), American Council of the Blind (ACB), and the Lions Club. Dean currently works with Beaufort County School District and the Savannah Center for the Blind and Low Vision as a COMS and CVRT.
• Empowering the Blind Worldwide-One Cane at a Time

Thomas Strasz is a COMS at Leader Dogs for the Blind. He graduated from Western Michigan University with his Master of Arts in Orientation and Mobility in 2019. Tommy is part of the Membership Committee of OMSA and has presented at SOMA, International AER, and several state AER conferences.
• Diabetes is an O&M Problem
• Orientation VS Mobility

Gwyn Suttell, TVI/COMS, has been a Teacher of the Blind and Vision Impaired and a certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist for over 23 years. She received her BS in Education and Vision Impairments from Kutztown University and her MS in O&M from Salus University. Her career began in Rockingham County, Virginia, where she was the Teacher of the Visually Impaired. Gwyn then worked at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (VSDB-S) as their Orientation and Mobility Specialist and goalball coach. In 2015, Gwyn was given the opportunity to work with Allied Instructional Services (AIS) as one of the Vision Services Coordinators. AIS has continued to allow her to work with more students with blindness and vision impairments across Virginia and use her years of experience to mentor other Teachers of the Blind and Vision Impaired. She is a long-standing member of AER and CEC -DVIDB and has sat on the board as a Member at Large in each organization. She enjoys special projects for students with visual impairments, such as the Braille challenge, Cane Quests, and beeping egg hunts. Gwyn is now the Director of Workforce Management for AIS for the Vision Department. She continues to work directly with students and recruit top-notch teachers of the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility Specialists for AIS.
• Never say NEVER!

Dr. Jennifer Tharpe, DPT, PT, MS, has been a Physical Therapist for over 27 years and has worked in a variety of settings and roles including administration, outpatient, assistive living, skilled nursing, home health, and aquatics. She has been a School Physical Therapist for Harrisonburg City Schools and an employee of the Shenandoah Valley Regional Program since 2013. Jennifer received her BS in Biology from Shenandoah University, her MSPT from the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, and her DPT from Shenandoah University. Pediatrics in the school system has been both challenging and rewarding. Jennifer enjoys working with both her students and collaborating with teachers and staff. She believes a team approach is most effective in meeting the educational and functional needs of the student in the educational setting.
• Never say NEVER!

Marco Trujillo, a seasoned tech founder with a robotics background, brings over a decade of experience innovating in the assistive technology space. Known for creating the Sunu Band, a sonar bracelet for blind mobility, he now spearheads the introduction of biped's AI-powered ETA to the US.
• Biped: Harnessing AI for a Smarter O&M Training