Dan Burke, Board Member

Counselor, father, and advocate

Dan Burke says about himself, “I was born a poor-sighted child, but I was in my mid-thirties before I admitted to myself that the visual techniques I employed at work and at home were less functional than those of friends who had no vision.” By that time in his life he had been a single father for six years, completed a master's degree, worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, and served on the board of the Montana Association for Rehabilitation.

Dissatisfied with the limitations presented by his lack of alternative blindness skills, he began to seek out colleagues who were blind to find out how they used alternative techniques such as the white cane and Braille. One of those colleagues was a member of the National Federation of the Blind.

Although he'd heard of the NFB, Burke had not been willing to adopt its ideas. He was now ready to test its version of the truth about blindness—that he did not have to accept a life of diminished achievement. With effective skills and healthy attitudes he could gain and enjoy the personal and professional opportunities made possible by his innate talents. Soon he was carrying a long white cane, taking part in a Braille self-study group with other Federationists and referring to himself as "blind," rather than "visually impaired" or "legally blind." He found his life was being transformed for the better.

Burke was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1957, the first of four children--three of whom would be diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive condition leading to blindness. Burke’s parents did all they could to help their children live normal, active lives. Because of their efforts he grew up with a love of the natural environment of Colorado and competent in outdoor activities such as fishing, backpacking, and camping. On the other hand, because his family did not know about the NFB's philosophy or the achievements of its thousands of blind members, for them blindness was a looming tragedy in the future of the family. Without access to better counsel, they accepted the assumption that the more their children could see, the better off they would be. They dreaded the future. Thus Burke grew up believing that even poor strategies that relied on his remaining vision were superior to blindness and nonvisual skills. He remembers always being assigned to the front row in school so that he could see the blackboard; indeed he continued to accept front-row seating when reading the board was no longer possible.

When he was sixteen, Burke was denied a driver's license because of poor vision, and his parents appealed for a restricted license in the belief that a normal life for Dan would require a driver’s license to approximate the experience of his friends. The restricted license was denied, and he was secretly relieved. His grades were below his potential in high school, but he was admitted to the University of Northern Colorado. Just before his graduation from high school, his mother learned of a teacher of blind students in the district, and with her advice Burke took the ACT, using a reader for the first time. He also learned about recorded textbooks. Using readers and listening to recorded texts were the only alternative skills he took with him to college, where he struggled with shame and embarrassment despite excelling in many courses. Throughout college and for some years afterward, he cast about for career options that he thought realistic for a blind person. But without a proper understanding of blindness skills and knowing no successful blind people, he received and acted upon consistent advice to ignore his dreams and to lower his personal expectations.

In 1982 Burke moved from Colorado to Montana, but as his vision progressively worsened, his frustrations and disappointments grew. Eventually he completed a graduate degree in rehabilitation counseling at the University of Montana at Billings and went to work again. After moving to Missoula in 1992 with his seven-year-old son Sean, he was faced with new responsibilities as a single parent.  "I couldn't tell my son he couldn't participate in soccer or Cub Scouts because his father was blind," he recalls. "I couldn't continue to let my world shrink--and his as well." Thus began Burke’s quest for blind role models and better techniques for dealing with vision loss.

In 1997 Burke headed for New Orleans to attend his first NFB convention. Of that experience he says: "I had eliminated so many careers for myself because I didn't think a blind person could succeed in them; suddenly at this convention I found blind people who had been doing those jobs--many of them since long before I had decided they couldn't be done by a blind person." That's when Burke began to understand the power of the NFB and its philosophy. He went home and became active in his local chapter and state affiliate. He attended Washington Seminars and lobbied for Braille literacy and changes in the Rehabilitation Act. He became involved in the reimplementation of the blind vendors program in Montana.  In 2001 he helped draft and pass a purchasing requirement for state government to buy technology that was accessible by nonvisual means, and in 2005 he worked on the passage of Braille literacy legislation in Montana as well as other key legislation affecting the blind of the state.

Although his parents hadn't known the truth about blindness, they had taught him not to accept the status quo, to approach problems creatively, to get involved, and to give back to his community. With his discovery of the truth about blindness through the National Federation of the Blind, his growth as an individual now sure of his ability to handle the normal give and take of life along with his peers was complete. The NFB philosophy added to his parents’ philosophy gave him the confidence to change his life as well as the techniques with which to do it. Since finding the NFB and its positive philosophy of blindness, he has devoted much of his time and effort to the organization. He was elected to his affiliate's board of directors in 2002 and to the office of affiliate first vice president in 2003. At the 2005 Montana convention he was elected affiliate president. Then, on July 5, 2006, he was elected to the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind.

Burke lives in Missoula, Montana, where he continues to enjoy the outdoors and other hobbies. He is the assistant director of disability services at the University of Montana and serves on the board of Montana Business Enterprises, Inc.  He also serves on the board of VSA Arts Montana and the Montana Vocational Rehabilitation Council.

"I may have been born a poor-sighted child," Burke reflects, "but embracing my blindness, accepting NFB philosophy, and learning from my friends in the Federation have made my life immeasurably rich."